Temporary LockDown - Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center

The Temporary LockDown program brings storytelling, movement and drumming workshops to the young men and women students at the Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School located in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center (CCJTDC).

Working in cooperative groups with MTW teaching artists, participants meet twice a week to share and discuss their writing-looking for common themes and life challenges. In addition, they learn movement and theatrical techniques to support the performance of their written work.

Based on this collaborative experience, the young writers create composite characters, then outline and create an original musical play centered on those characters. By examining themselves as characters with a fixed, unchangeable past, Temporary LockDown participants grasp the power of their own decision-making skills by focusing on an open-ended, positively-affected future. This process reinforces their recognition of choices and consequences-enhancing their ability and desire to make choices that will lead to forward-looking outcomes.

Throughout the sessions, participants will set expectations and goals for themselves that help to reinforce the need for positive interactions with peers, staff and families.

Next Public Performances: TBA
Attendance is by invitation only.
You may request an invitation at Contact Us.