Where We’re Going/Where We’re At

Meet the Artist Leader, Dylan Fresco

What happens when a dozen students in a drama class at Minneapolis Transition Plus School team up with three theatre artists from Arts On Chicago?

Where We’re Going/Where We’re At is a five-week long arts residency with students at Transition Plus. T-Plus is a school for students with disabilities aged 18-21, located in the Wilder Educational Complex on Chicago Avenue between 33rd and 34th streets. The project is produced by Dylan Fresco, a performer, playwright, musician and educator. He’s joined by fellow teaching artists Anton Jones and Lindsey Samples. Once a week, they’ll visit a drama class taught by Patricia Milbrath, which the students have signed up for as an elective. The residency will focus on performance and improvisation skills, and together, artists and students will collaboratively create music and poetry. The artwork will spring from facilitated conversations about students’ lives, their hopes and plans, and their connections with the neighborhood.

Written, audio and visual work samples of class will be archived online. At the end of the residency, postcards and flyers will be created that include a sample of the poetry and a link to the website. As part of their class, students will then distribute the postcards to local businesses and organizations along Chicago Avenue. The goal is to circulate some of the amazing creativity, risk and learning that happen at Transition Plus every single day. The project aims to provide opportunities for the community at large to connect with and recognize the talented young people with disabilities who are part of our neighborhood.

View the project’s archive at TPlusPoets.wordpress.com