“You can have fun like a normal kid. You can forget what is wrong with you.”
—Patient
“Nursing staff always report gales of laughter coming from the rooms and a more positive patient attitude after a visit from these two magicians (Teaching Artists).”
—Hospital Administrator
Each year TheatreWorks continues to bring joy and laughter to the patients at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Throughout the school year, two gifted Teaching Artists visit the hospital and serve patients and their siblings in elementary, middle, and high school. Through improvisation at patients’ bedside, creative drama workshops in the hospital classrooms and comprehensive care unit for teens with eating disorders, as well as monthly special family workshops, these artists shed a special light in patients’ lives.
On any given Wednesday you might see our artists playing a wacky version of American Idol in the dialysis unit, four youngsters laughing uproariously as they disqualify each actor's attempt to master a certain singing style. Or you might witness fifteen high school students, some in various stages of chemotherapy, playing with the language of Shakespeare. You may even hear a couple of young siblings explaining why they were a superhero that day. Through the Children’s Healing Project, patients have the opportunity to forget their troubles and enjoy creative and imaginative exploration.
Though many might want to implement a program such as this they might not know how. To help organizations investigating the value and impact of this program we developed The Children’s Healing Project Workbook, a resource to help other hospitals and arts organizations start similar programs of their own.
