IN CLASS Workshops

We offer year-round programming with something for every class from grade 4-12!

We’re teaming up with Tarragon Theatre to offer Studio 180 IN CLASS workshops in connection with exciting world premiere productions; we’re bringing back our beloved Queer Elder Series and Reclaiming Black Canadian History workshops to help examine Black and Queer histories and build classroom community; and we’re enhancing our popular Finding Your Voice series with our latest creation-based workshop delving into Verbatim Theatre. For younger learners in grades 4-8 we’re offering customized versions of most of our workshops so we can support more students in finding and raising their voices!

APPLY FOR A SUBSIDIZED WORKSHOP

QUEER ELDER SERIES

This fabulous new workshop returns after a successful pilot year, with twice as many subsidized spots available in 2026/27! The Queer Elder Series celebrates diverse 2SLGBTQ+ identities and stories, nurturing intergenerational dialogue and strengthening communities – all through a dramatic lens. Three-session or full-day experiences take place at your school, according to your timetable, inspiring creativity, self-reflection and promoting empathy in your school community. Through dramatic presentations and hands-on generative activations, Elders model courage and vulnerability in storytelling, empowering students to bravely listen, create and connect. Legendary Elders Patricia Wilson and Walter Borden return this year, with the addition of Rico Rodriguez, to guide the work with passion and care. 

This workshop was piloted with support from the K. M. Hunter Foundation and its continuation is made possible by a Community One Rainbow Foundation Grant.

Recommended for grades 9-12. Perfect for all drama classes, QSAs and 2SLGBTQ+ affinity groups. Get in touch to discuss customization for elementary and middle school classes.

The Queer Elder Series was an incredibly valuable experience. Finding community through art, discussion, and writing was empowering and beautiful. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to connect with Patricia, our queer elder, and the other like-minded queer young people who I got to meet and become friends with. So many lovely connections were forged through this project. Thank you!

Grade 12 student, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, TDSB

finding your voice workshops

Looking to inspire student writing and creation? Our popular Finding Your Voice workshops amplify student voice and offer a diverse range of theatre practices from which to choose. Flexible and adaptable to your class’s needs, our standard model includes three sessions culminating in the creation of a solo or collective piece. Our process-oriented approach nurtures a brave, judgment-free space in which students can build trust and take creative risks. Teachers also love using this work to launch final assignments and performances!

Finding Your Voice workshops are customized for each class and grade level, recommended for students from grades 7 – 12.

Finding Your Voice: Verbatim Theatre

New in 2026/27! Since 2003, Studio 180 has been one of Canada’s leading verbatim theatre producers. With decades of experience creating and performing this unique form of issue-based theatre, and inspired by years of integrating verbatim techniques into numerous production-based IN CLASS workshops, we are delighted to offer the latest in our Finding Your Voice series.This three-session workshop takes place in your classroom, according to your timetable, introducing students to the power of verbatim writing and performance techniques and guiding them in explorations of the Big Questions that matter most to them.

Generative, provocative and collaborative, this work honours and empowers student voice. Perfect for Drama and Writer’s Craft classes, this workshop can be a self-contained week-long activity or a springboard to creation for drama festivals, school performances or culminating assignments.

It really got me thinking about myself and the world and all these things that are going on in my life right now… as I am transitioning to a big part of my life.

Grade 12 Drama student, Danforth CTI, TDSB

Finding Your Voice: Identity, Culture & Community

In these empowering and uplifting sessions, students reflect on themes of culture and community, excavating their own responses and opening themselves up to the experiences of others. Through ensemble-building, improvisation activities and other innovative drama-based exercises, we collaborate to foster trust and nurture a brave space for creation and sharing.

My favourite part of the workshop was just the presence of the artist educators in general. They brought a positive energy to the classroom. They taught us how to dive deep into our identities and explore our individuality. I’m proud to have shared my DEEPLY personal monologue.

Grade 12 drama student, John Fraser Secondary School, Peel

Finding Your Voice: The Monologue

This skills-building workshop emphasizes self-discovery and personal storytelling through drama-based activities that promote confidence, foster empathy, and amplify student voice.

Participants will play, reflect, and share as they engage in a variety of creative activations rooted in improvisation, ensemble-building, playwriting, and dramaturgy. A perfect way to introduce younger students to the dramatic form or to support senior students as they hone their craft.

I shared my monologue with the rest of the class which was really scary. But I’m really glad I did it and I’m really happy with how my monologue turned out. I faced things that I knew pushed me out of my comfort zone, things that I have purposefully avoided in the past. And though the thought of writing a monologue and sharing it scared me to death, I ended up loving the workshop.

Grade 12 Drama student, R. H. King Academy, TDSB

Finding Your Voice: Devised Creation

With an emphasis on collaboration, improvisation, and physical exploration, students embark on a  collective creation journey filled with joyful experimentation and risk-taking, culminating in the sharing of devised group pieces.

Helmed by experienced theatre deviser Jenna Harris, this workshop is a great way to promote student voice while enhancing a sense of community in the classroom.

The complete lack of limits of what our creations could be… how to approach creation through discovery and experimentation. This was surprising and refreshing.

Grade 11 Drama student, Wexford CI, TDSB

Finding Your Voice: Spoken Word Poetry

Looking to ignite authentic self-discovery in your classroom? This workshop, helmed by multidisciplinary theatre artist Marcel Stewart, blends decolonial insights with rhyme, poetry, and spoken word. Together we will be empowered to reject conformity and embrace our unique, individual narratives.

This workshop will nurture self-expression, challenge norms, and amplify confidence through discussions and hands-on activities that prompt student creation. Join us on this transformative journey.

It was such a fantastic workshop. The students were able to voice their opinions in a safe, welcoming space and were even able to share some of their spoken word poems with the class… Some of my students who usually are rather quiet or to themselves really came out of their shells. It was awesome.

Tonya Giuliani, Drama Teacher, Father Henry Carr CSS, TCDSB

Reclaiming Black Canadian History

Offered in partnership with our friends at BCurrent Performing Arts, this popular workshop harnesses the creativity, curiosity and imagination of young people and guides them in researching Black Canadian historical figures and spaces through a dramatic lens. 

Established by Studio 180 Artist Educator Marcel Stewart and led by some of Canada’s most acclaimed Black theatre artists, students will develop skills in research, creative writing, acting, and storytelling through the body and voice and create short theatrical pieces based on their learnings. This workshop can be spread over three separate engagements or booked as one full-day in-school fieldtrip. Perfect for BSAs as well as Drama and History classes!

New in 2026/27! Due to popular demand we are now offering modified workshops to students in grades 4-6 and 7 & 8!  

The workshops were impactful and have led to continued important conversations in our classes.

Benjamin Smith, Equity Curriculum & Student Success Lead Teacher, Chinguacousy Secondary School, Peel

Holocaust education project

New in 2026/27! In collaboration with Playwright Emil Sher, this workshop offers creative, empowering Holocaust education through a drama-based lens. With versions designed for students from grade 4-12, this multi-session or full-day experience enhances Sher’s popular Unpacking the Holocaust: A Playwright’s Journey, enjoyed for years by students and teachers across the country.

Pre- and post-presentation hands-on workshop sessions compliment Emil’s hour-long “you could hear a pin drop” presentation on his acclaimed stage adaptation of Hana’s Suitcase, the beloved book by Karen Levine. The brief life of a young girl who was killed in Auschwitz and the tireless Japanese teacher devoted to sharing her story has touched the lives of students and readers of all ages. What are the challenges, the choices, the considerations when history is both honoured and dramatized on stage? How can sets, costumes, masks, slides and silence give voice to an unspeakable tragedy? How can a dark chapter from the past bring light to children today? This doorway into Holocaust education invites students to engage in conversations about empathy and moral choices. By journey’s end, Emil has stitched together an unexpected pairing: the Holocaust and hope.

Emil’s presentation on Hana’s Suitcase was superb. My Grade 5 class remained focused and on the edge of their seats throughout the entire presentation. Emil effectively emphasized the lessons of anti-racism and connected Hana’s story and the teachings of the Holocaust in a way that had a profound impact on my students. His discussion of how the dehumanization of Jews can be understood and used to help prevent all forms of hatred in society today was especially powerful. It was one of the most thought-provoking and impactful presentations I have witnessed in my more than thirty years of teaching, and I would highly recommend it.

rachel netley, maurice cody school, toronto

MAINSTAGE WORKSHOPS

Experience a full production of a provocative play, featuring award-winning creative teams. Pre- and post-show sessions – delivered at the theatre or in your classroom – contextualize and delve into the themes, big questions, and characters of the play, while fun and generative drama-based activities inspire ensemble-building and student creation.

The Fifth Step

Studio 180’s Mainstage production this season is David Ireland’s darkly funny and emotionally charged, The Fifth Step, which explores addiction, masculinity, faith, and the fragile line between guidance and control.

Wednesdays January 20, 27 & February 3 @ 1pm – Student tickets are $25

Tarragon Theatre, Extraspace
30 Bridgman Ave, Toronto, ON

Two men. One room. Luka is new to AA. James has agreed to be his sponsor. What begins as a ritual of confession becomes a volatile struggle for power.

Studio 180 Theatre presents the North American premiere of David Ireland’s gripping theatrical showdown.

A Studio 180 Theatre production in association with Tarragon Theatre.

For the best experience at the theatre, book a workshop with a pre-show session to contextualize the themes and two post-show sessions that unpack the play’s characters and Big Questions and springboard to student creation and performance.

Ferociously funny and disarmingly honest.

The times

Recommended for Grade 11 & 12 for strong language, some physical violence (punching and hitting) and mature themes including mentions of addiction, sex, gun violence, self-harm, suicidal ideation, pornography, masturbation, abuse and sexual objectification

For questions about content and suitability for your students, or to obtain a reading copy of the script, contact Jessica Greenberg (Director of Youth & Community Engagement): jessica@studio180theatre.com or 416-669-5377. 

Tarragon Mainstage Project

At Studio 180 we believe people engage more fully in the world through the experience of live theatre. That is why we’re deepening our partnership with Tarragon Theatre to offer our unique production-based workshops in connection with two of their Mainstage productions. Our hands-on, three-session workshops prepare your students for mature and relevant material, nurturing a brave space in which students can grapple with big questions, develop empathy for diverse viewpoints and draw inspiration for their own creation. Choose from the following Tarragon Theatre World Premieres:

The Night Logan Woke Up

Wednesdays December 2 & 9 @ 1pm – Student tickets are $15

As a girl, Emilia Lynch would cheat insomnia by slipping into neighbouring houses to spy on people as they slept, including her childhood crush Logan Goodyear.

Now, many years later, Emilia— an internationally renowned embalmer to the rich and famous— has returned to her small Newfoundland town following the death of her mother. As she prepares for the funeral alongside her three brothers, a shocking revelation is unearthed in her mother’s will; the final devastating consequence of the night Logan woke up.

Surreal, daring, and darkly funny, The Night Logan Woke Up is one of Bouchard’s finest works, making its long-awaited English language world premiere

★★★★ Michel Marc Bouchard delivers a masterful performance with a hard-hitting script.

La Presse

Themes and Styles: Theatre in translation, family secrets, family drama, funerary practice, small-town Newfoundland

Recommended for Grades 11 & 12 for foul language (including slurs), death/morbidity/grief, embalming a corpse, descriptions of masturbation and violence, mentions of sexual assault, drug use, drinking, homophobia and domestic violence

You’re Still Here

Wednesdays April 7 & 14 @ 1pm – Student tickets are $15

A new medical technology tests the impossible: accurately predicting when a person will die. When it is quietly introduced into a hospice, Dr. Froese, a leading palliative care physician, must navigate the ethical and emotional tremors it sends through his daily life.

What does it mean to live, knowing when we’ll die?

You’re Still Here examines the cost of knowing too much, and the ways medicine shapes our understanding of dying, asking how we measure a life when the end is no longer abstract.

Kat’s work…marches head-on into complicated, risky and challenging subject matter with delicacy, integrity and deep care.

Toronto guardian

Themes & Styles: Death & dyeing (palliative care), medicine & technology, care work, medical drama, philosophy

Recommended for Grade 10+ for end-of-life care, illness (including cancer), infrequent foul language, the medical system, mention of drug addiction

Travel subsidies are available for schools for whom cost is a barrier. This can be applied to buses, cabs, or TTC. Educator tickets are complimentary.

In addition, both shows are accompanied by:

• an Audience Resource Guide;
• a Venue and Studio Guide; and
• a Fact Sheet

IN DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Get a rare glimpse into the theatre creation process with a workshop featuring one of Studio 180’s plays IN DEVELOPMENT. Pre- and post- show sessions focus on the themes, characters, and big questions of a work-in-progress, inviting students behind the scenes to meet the artists, provide feedback, and activate their own creative expression.

2026/27 IN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCED SOON!

Junior Drama Workshops

With so many requests for drama-based programming for younger learners, we are pleased to expand our workshops to include students in grades four – six.

Based on our popular Finding Your Voice model, customizable sessions cultivate a brave space in which to nurture drama, movement, voice, improvisation and writing skills, while building community, fostering empathy, encouraging self-reflection and inspiring creativity. Artist-educators specializing in arts education for junior learners lead these fun and active creation-based sessions with enthusiasm and care.

When are you coming back?

Grade 4 student, Levi Creek Public School, PDSB

professional development

Workshops for Teachers

Having engaged with thousands of young people across diverse contexts, we are here to support educators in hands-on, participatory sessions where we share tools and techniques and foster a brave space for dialogue. Whether you are seeking support with online engagement, or the challenges of holding space for difficult conversations, our professional development workshops provide a supportive and empowering opportunity to learn, connect and share with artists and colleagues. All sessions include a pre- workshop participant survey and are custom designed to suit your needs.

How can teachers best support IN CLASS Artist Educators?

• Please direct all communication to Jessica Greenberg, Director of Youth and Community Engagement
• Your enthusiasm leading up to the first workshop session will be infectious. Please take some time in the days leading up to Session One to familiarize your students with Studio 180 Theatre and the Artist Educators.
• Your leadership during the class is essential. By modelling attentiveness and participation, you lead by example and empower the students to be brave and participatory. Being physically present in the circle or having your camera on during virtual sessions goes a long way to support both the students and guest artists.
• Most workshops are self-contained with very little preparation required on the part of teachers. In some cases, background resources will be shared a week prior to the first session. We appreciate you encouraging your students to engage with these materials before Session One.
• Most workshops include a creative writing component. Please make sure students are equipped with notebooks/paper and writing implements or tablets/laptops. Cell phones do not make good creative writing tools and we request that all phones be put away during performances and workshops
• We are constantly adapting and innovating our workshop models to meet student needs. Please designate time following the final session to have students complete our online Student Feedback Form. We also encourage teacher feedback to help us know what is working and where we can improve.