Theatre Horizon
Theatre Horizon is a theater group located in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Performances
[edit]The group performs plays, musicals, open-air, and "community-centered theater." According to an interview with artistic director Nell Bang-Jensen in 2023, Theatre Horizon seeks “to engage community members, specifically community members who haven't felt a sense of belonging at the theater.”[1]
History
[edit]Erin Reilly and Matthew Decker founded the theater in 2005 as a summer theater with open air performances. In 2019, Bang-Jensen succeeded Reilly as artistic director.[2] She is Senior Lecturer at the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at Philadelphia's University of the Arts.[3]
They moved to a building in the Norristown Arts District in 2012, remodeling a home to be a theater with seating for 120.[4]
Education initiatives
[edit]The theater's administrators say that more than 10,000 children have participated in drama classes and camps. Company members started an autism program.[5] Group members started a Drama Club at Eisenhower High School in Norristown.[1]
The autism program for children and adults was covered on The Kelly Clarkson Show.[6]
Awards
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Building a Sense of Belonging through Community-Centered Theater". Pew Center. March 27, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Von Bergen, Jane M. "Theatre Horizon's young new artistic director is a rising star nationally". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ "Nell Bang-Jensen". University of the Arts. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Riley, Rachel (September 23, 2019). "Beyond the Horizon". valleyforge.org. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Crimmins, Peter (April 5, 2021). "Theatre Horizon's autism theater classes continue through the pandemic". WHYY. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Redden, Elizabeth. "An Invitation to Art-Making". Swarthmore Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Shapiro, Howard (October 14, 2019). "'Gem' and 'Color Purple' dominate Barrymore Awards". WHYY. Retrieved January 17, 2024.