Wild Swan Theater (WST) is dedicated to producing professional theater of the highest artistic quality for children and families and to making that theater accessible to everyone including low income, minority, and disabled children through low ticket prices and innovative outreach programs. We advance our mission by offering:
1) MAINSTAGE SEASON—WST offers a season, that runs from October to May, of seven productions with 30-35 mainstage performances. Every performance is American Sign Language (ASL) shadow interpreted for the Deaf. Mainstage performances are held at the fully accessible Towsley Auditorium on the campus of Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor.
2) TOURING PRODUCTIONS-- WST offers a changing repertoire of 10 touring productions Each year our talented troupe of actors and musicians travel throughout Michigan, delivering 70-80 performances in schools, libraries, museums, and theaters (see Media Library).
3) ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY--Accessibility and affordability are central to our mission. All of our mainstage performances are ASL shadow interpreted for the Deaf (see Media Library). Accessible and companion seating for wheelchair users or persons with physical disabilities and audio-description and backstage touch tours for blind or low vision individuals are available, and can be reserved in advance, at every mainstage performance. All of these accessibility services are free and have been offered, without interruption, at all of our mainstage productions since the mid-1980s. We keep our ticket prices low and we give away hundreds of tickets each year to schools and agencies serving economically disadvantaged or special needs children and families.
4) INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND ONLINE/VIRTUAL RESOURCES -- WST designs and provides a variety of classes, camps, and workshops each year. We are currently building a library of resources for children and families to enjoy at home entitled Wild Swan in the Wings. At a time when schools are closed and Wild Swan is unable to perform, this new initiative will provide drama games, writing activities, storytelling, and performance videos.
