The Pink Umbrella ABCs

Acceptance and Accessibility

At Pink Umbrella, we greet every student and artist in every classroom and rehearsal hall with acceptance and create accessible spaces.

Body, Breath and Belief in Self

Actors use their body and breath to tell stories. By the time they hit the stage, they not only believe in themselves but the characters they portray.

Communication

Communication is key on and off stage. At Pink Umbrella, we craft our lessons to enhance and engage our communication skills.

Dialogue and Drama

Where would theater be without some drama?! Our uniquely crafted stories create a dialogue between the actor and the audience. Theater wouldn't be theater without these two!

Empathy and Emotions

One of the best places to learn empathy is theater because we jump into the shoes of the characters we play. Emotions are explored, expressed and emoted through the work, too!

Fundamentals of Theater

At Pink Umbrella we teach and do theater! As you have seen (and we have many more letters to go) theater teaches more than just theater. The fundamentals are universal.

Goals

Over the years, we've seen actors, artists, students and teachers set goals. They have attained them all. Pink Umbrella Theater will continue to exceed every goal we set.

Harmony and Hard Work

Harmony comes in the form of music and when you see actors and artists work together seamlessly to create theater. It is hard work and worth every moment.

Imagination

One of the actor's tools. This is what sparks stories. This is where the narrative changes.

Joke Telling and Jesting

Theater is jovial, jubilant and joyful! What?! Do you think we are joking?! 

Kindness and Knowledge

When we explore new plays and characters, we learn about new worlds, lives and experiences. The kindness comes from doing the work together.

Language and Listening

It's true. Learning theater enhances whole body listening and removes language barriers. Actors and artists actively engage these skills in everything we do.

Mindfulness and Movement

These two go hand in hand. As storytellers, we are mindful of every move we make on stage. We learn to express paragraphs even in the smallest of movements.

Non-verbal Storytelling

Did you know that 95% of acting is non-verbal? The nuances of listening and communicating non verbally is honed in everything we do at Pink Umbrella. It is essential to our craft.

Openness and Observation

Theater challenges us to open our minds and hearts to new experiences. We use the power of observation to bring characters to life. Without these two elements, theater wouldn't be theater.

Play

Play as in performing a play! Play as in engaging in sensory play! Play as in making a play! Play as in, well, play! 

Quick Thinking and Questioning

Ever engaged in Improv? Quick thinking is key!  Actors and artists question everything. Why is the character saying this? Doing that? What do they want?  Without questioning we would never get to the core.

Rhythm and Resilience

Actors and artists learn resilience with every role they wanted and didn't receive. This is part of our rhythm in theater. We roll with the punches and come out stronger and better on the other side

Storytelling and Social Skills

One of our goals is to create as many storytellers who identify with a disability as possible! Through this work we hone our social skills and share our narratives.

Timing and Teamwork

Without team work there would be no theater. No other discipline is so collaborative as this. Timing is key in all that we do, including landing a punch line!

Understanding and Universal Design

At Pink Umbrella we strive to understand and meet all of our actors and artists where they are. We work to create lessons, shows, and spaces that meet the standards of Universal Design to engage everyone!

Voice

This is just one of our actor's tools. We use our voices, in ALL its various forms, to share our work. We lean in to listen to the beautiful cacophony of voices in every class and rehearsal hall.

Wonder, Worth and Welcome

Anyone who has ever attended a show at Pink Umbrella knows that they are welcome. We hope that they leave with a sense of wonder and find worth in their experience. Would you agree?

eXcitement and eXperience

Pink Umbrella provides a space for a community who may have only had limited experiences with theater in their youth. This makes all of us very excited to enter the space together and create!

Youth

Believe it or not, we never set out to work with the youth when we started but we are so grateful we did! The Young Actors at Pink Umbrella are the future of the Company. And that future looks soooo bright!

Zip, Zap, Zop and Zoom

Bet you didn't think we had anything for Z :) Every person who has ever learned theater knows the game Zip, Zap, Zop. And who can forget about Zoom! A lifesaver and source for theater since March 2020!