Our Mission
Mission Statement:
To make performance more accessible to our region by providing professional artistic opportunities and building partnerships that foster deeper engagement.
Artistic Vision:
We believe that theatre and dance are relevant when they respond to the immediate needs and desires of the local community. We will engage our community with risk, delight, and attention to provide quality entertainment that speaks to our shared humanity.
We believe:
That a vibrant arts culture helps to foster healthy communities and strong local economies
That we can and should make work by and for our community
That we can and should work to foster better opportunities and healthy modes of artistic expression for the youth.
That we can and should work to tell stories that matter, to give voice to all members of our community, inclusive of gender, sexuality, race, spiritual belief, and background
In the value of live performance when it is accessible to everyone
Arts Programming
Unveiling Narratives: Community Empowerment
See The Elephant’s Community Engagement series partners with the many incredible organizations serving the El Dorado County community to create relevant and transformative performing arts experiences. Community engagement projects are developed with a deep care for community members and a sensitivity towards telling all stories, especially those that are lesser known or understood.
Image from Gold Hill Samurai, an original play developed in partnership with the American River Conservancy with support from Arts and Culture El Dorado. Performed at the Wakamatsu 150th Anniversary Festival. Photo by Sarah Bennett, featuring actors Mathew Hanjoong (left) and Alexandria Wilson (right).
Arts Education
In an effort to increase exposure and broaden opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the performing arts, See The Elephant offers various arts education opportunities. Arts education projects includes:
Partnership with El Dorado High School to provide playwriting classes and create live performances with students.
Traveling Tales, a pilot program using puppetry and film to foster imagination and empathy. Most recently, See The Elephant partnered with Placerville Boys and Girls Club to provide free workshops for kids.
Classes, workshops, and free online content to make arts education more accessible.
Image from See The Elephant’s Playmaking project at El Dorado High School.
Productions
One of See The Elephant’s primary goals as a new company is to produce dynamic, powerful, and delightful theatre and dance performances in the local area. El Dorado County is a mostly-rural and geographically spread out area with limited access to live arts experiences. See The Elephant is working to become a force of change to ignite the arts here and bring more variety to the performing arts scene. We create full-length productions alongside “pop-up” style performances for all ages.
Image from the production Trojan Women, photo by Chandler Flanagan.