This summer, Union College professor Dr. Jayme Kilburn is offering a free theater workshop for the local community. Participants will get to try their hand at writing, acting, and directing in this collaborative month-long class. 

Kilburn has previously facilitated her Community Performance Workshop (CPW) in New York, Maryland, and Germany. She says the overall goal “is to create a space where people feel comfortable telling their story — whatever stories they choose to share — and then empower them to direct those stories.”

The first part of the workshop is all about fun, getting to know the other participants, and learning about theater concepts. Next, the group will move on to writing and directing their own personal narratives.

“The playwright becomes the director of their own show and uses the rest of the group as their actors,” Kilburn explains. “Each of these vignettes is then strung together into a powerful night of theater.”

The CPW is open to anyone in Barbourville and the surrounding area age 16 and up. It will take place June 21–July 23 in Rector Little Theatre at Union College. Workshop sessions will be Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons through July 15, followed by tech week July 17–20 and performances July 21–23. There will be a break for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and attendance at all meetings is not mandatory. No experience is needed, and there is no upper age limit.

Kilburn encourages anyone interested in storytelling or theater to get involved in whatever way works for them. She says her method is geared toward an “easy entrance into theater-making” and that the workshop is “designed to work with everyone's comfort level.” What the participants gain “through the experience of making their play” is what matters most.

“Theater has given me a sense of purpose, taught me confidence, and helped me heal from trauma,” Kilburn says. “I believe strongly that being able to tell one's story in a community and have that story witnessed is a transformative process.”

To sign up, click the link below or email Jayme Kilburn at jkilburn@unionky.edu by June 19th. In the email, let her know why you would like to get involved and list any accommodations that would make it easier for you to participate.