Applied Theatre & Community Engagement
Playwright Mentoring Project

Director of the Playwright Mentoring Project – Devised Theatre program for under-served teens (2013-2015)
As Director of the Playwright Mentoring Project at Barrington Stage Company, Stauffer ran a devised theatre program for under-served teens. In addition to leading several teen groups, she hired, trained, and mentored a staff of 25, including Artistic Mentors (group leaders), Peer Mentors (assistant group leaders, often graduates of the PMP program), professional playwrights, and therapists. She worked with Barrington Stage Company's development office to write grants securing funding for the program, recruited participants through visits to area high schools, and solicited referrals from high school guidance counselors. She supervised staff and participants, documenting behavioral needs and progress growth in order to refer participant to area resources as needed.
Barrington Stage Company's Playwright Mentoring Project, under the program directorship of Kim Stauffer, was named the recipient of the 2015 Commonwealth Award for CREATIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.
Watch the video below to hear Kim share information about the Playwright Mentoring Project:
The Simulation Project (formerly known as C.A.L.L)
C.A.L.L. - Community Applied Learning Lab (2016) developed officially into the Simulation Project in 2020
In the spring of 2016, Professors Kim Stauffer (Theatre Program) and Dr. Wonhyung Lee (School of Social Welfare) collaborated to create the “Community Applied Learning Lab.” It is an interdisciplinary project between the Theatre department and School of Social Welfare, which features a hands-on, experiential learning embedded in social welfare and theatre courses.
Our project, Community Applied Learning Lab (C.A.L.L.), involves a combined classroom session that brings social work and theatre students together. Social work students are given an issue they must research in preparation to meet and engage a “client” who will share their stories or struggles around that issue. These topics relate closely to struggles that might be experienced by college-age students such as video-gaming addiction, anxiety and depression as related to social media, abusive relationships, suicide, substance abuse, and more. In preparation for the session with their “client,” social work students must be ready to suggest potential resources for further assistance as applicable to their client. Theatre students are also assigned one of the issues, and are tasked with creating a believable character which with specificity in preparation for a role playing exchange as the “client.” They spend 4 weeks developing a character backstory, portfolio, and timeline of life events through structured class improvisations. They must be ready to arrive as that character on the day of the event – in attitude and attire – prepared to engage in a half hour long intake session during which they must improvise as that character. Following the exchange, both groups initially debrief separately, and then come together as a large group to give each other feedback. Together, they process what they experienced, providing a powerful, hands-on learning experience for both social work and theatre students.
C.A.L.L. became a fully funded official initiative in the School of Social Welfare, called The Simulation Project, in 2020 with Kim Stauffer as the Director of Actor Simulation Training. Acting students and recent alums are hired and trained to portray clients in simulations with MSW students. The Simulation Project currently offers fall, spring, and summer Simulation Cycles, providing an average of 200 simulations per year.
An Interview about C.A.L.L. with Stauffer and Lee:
Professors Kim Stauffer and Wonhyung Lee have been recognized by UAlbany’s Center for Experiential Learning for co-creating the only interdisciplinary experiential learning project currently offered on campus. To inspire more interdisciplinary initiatives, Stauffer and Lee were interviewed by the Center about their work on the project:
Q: Why do you think experiential learning is beneficial for your students?
Wonhyung: I truly believe we learn by doing. Looking back my own classroom experiences, what I still remember and think have had long-lasting impact on me are the activities that I had to engage my multiple senses. I see the same applied to my students. When students need to engage in hands-on activities, mingle with others, or go out into the community and do something, they become more interactive, proactive, and reflective throughout the learning process. And often it comes back with excitements and positive reports about what they did, what surprised them, why they are motivated to do more or do things differently next time, and so on.
Kim: In the UAlbany Theatre Program, the majority of our learning is inherently experiential, but what makes this learning project uniquely beneficial for our acting students is the direct, improvisational engagement with those who could be considered the “audience.” This type of setting requires a deep level of emotional preparation and commitment to creating a role. The students were highly motivated to do their character justice. In addition, they felt a kind of sacred responsibility, knowing they were playing a part in the learning experience of another student. They felt the responsibility and honor in that. Frequent class discussions centered on questions about the social welfare students they would eventually meet for this exchange. What they are learning right now? How might they be feeling as they prepared for the joint activity? It was delightful to see empathy growing between students who had not even met one another yet. That empathy bred deep motivation and commitment to their work on the project.
Q: What impact has this experiential project had on your teaching pedagogy?
Wonhyung: It has challenged me to think more critically about what kind of classroom experience I hope students to walk away with. It becomes more and more convincing to me that in order for teaching to be impactful, it needs to engage the mind, body, and spirit of every single student. It is the responsibility of the instructor to figure out how to create the environment and tasks that will boost up students’ motivation to engage in such learning experiences.
Kim: Guiding students through this reminded me that experiential learning can feel incredibly risky to our students. Inviting and allowing them to process the questions, fears, or anxiety – individually and collectively - is a critical part of the process. I want to work diligently to scaffold in progressions of low to high-risk preparation activities that give them tools at every step so they can surprise themselves with a readiness to embrace the risks and rewards of taking on the challenge.
Q: What lessons have you learned from leading this project that you’d like to share with other faculty members?
Kim: Find a faculty partner that you enjoy working with, and plan early. Be flexible and persistent while going through the hurdles of logistics. Classes and schedules run like clockwork in our “silos,” so stepping outside of that for an interdisciplinary project often requires you to blaze your own trail. For example, we wanted a joint meeting for our 2 classes, but this was not an option since our classes met different times and days. We eventually brainstormed the possibility of requesting that our final exams be held at the same time. This was approved. You may need to be inventive and come up with your own solutions to the logistical challenges. Be ready to explain your project to those along the way as you try to enlist help in making “outside the box” projects happen.
Professors Kim Stauffer and Wonhyung Lee have been recognized by UAlbany’s Center for Experiential Learning for co-creating the only interdisciplinary experiential learning project currently offered on campus. To inspire more interdisciplinary initiatives, Stauffer and Lee were interviewed by the Center about their work on the project:
Q: Why do you think experiential learning is beneficial for your students?
Wonhyung: I truly believe we learn by doing. Looking back my own classroom experiences, what I still remember and think have had long-lasting impact on me are the activities that I had to engage my multiple senses. I see the same applied to my students. When students need to engage in hands-on activities, mingle with others, or go out into the community and do something, they become more interactive, proactive, and reflective throughout the learning process. And often it comes back with excitements and positive reports about what they did, what surprised them, why they are motivated to do more or do things differently next time, and so on.
Kim: In the UAlbany Theatre Program, the majority of our learning is inherently experiential, but what makes this learning project uniquely beneficial for our acting students is the direct, improvisational engagement with those who could be considered the “audience.” This type of setting requires a deep level of emotional preparation and commitment to creating a role. The students were highly motivated to do their character justice. In addition, they felt a kind of sacred responsibility, knowing they were playing a part in the learning experience of another student. They felt the responsibility and honor in that. Frequent class discussions centered on questions about the social welfare students they would eventually meet for this exchange. What they are learning right now? How might they be feeling as they prepared for the joint activity? It was delightful to see empathy growing between students who had not even met one another yet. That empathy bred deep motivation and commitment to their work on the project.
Q: What impact has this experiential project had on your teaching pedagogy?
Wonhyung: It has challenged me to think more critically about what kind of classroom experience I hope students to walk away with. It becomes more and more convincing to me that in order for teaching to be impactful, it needs to engage the mind, body, and spirit of every single student. It is the responsibility of the instructor to figure out how to create the environment and tasks that will boost up students’ motivation to engage in such learning experiences.
Kim: Guiding students through this reminded me that experiential learning can feel incredibly risky to our students. Inviting and allowing them to process the questions, fears, or anxiety – individually and collectively - is a critical part of the process. I want to work diligently to scaffold in progressions of low to high-risk preparation activities that give them tools at every step so they can surprise themselves with a readiness to embrace the risks and rewards of taking on the challenge.
Q: What lessons have you learned from leading this project that you’d like to share with other faculty members?
Kim: Find a faculty partner that you enjoy working with, and plan early. Be flexible and persistent while going through the hurdles of logistics. Classes and schedules run like clockwork in our “silos,” so stepping outside of that for an interdisciplinary project often requires you to blaze your own trail. For example, we wanted a joint meeting for our 2 classes, but this was not an option since our classes met different times and days. We eventually brainstormed the possibility of requesting that our final exams be held at the same time. This was approved. You may need to be inventive and come up with your own solutions to the logistical challenges. Be ready to explain your project to those along the way as you try to enlist help in making “outside the box” projects happen.
Diversity Transformation Project
In the winter of 2017, Stauffer’s proposal was awarded a Diversity Transformation grant from the Office of Diversity to support a production of Water by the Spoonful in UAlbany Theatre’s mainstage season. Below is the final grant report to the Office of Diversity which includes details of community partnerships and engagement with local addiction recovery agencies. It also chronicles the evolution and impact of the production. Included are production photos, production poster, and a press release about the project.