AFP In the Schools

Like The Anne Frank Project’s guiding philosophy, AFP in the Schools begins with Anne Frank.  While Anne Frank’s wisdom can be applied in multiple ways, AFP in the Schools focuses on Anne Frank the storyteller.  Clearly, Anne Frank’s story has impacted millions not only as a lasting personal testament to the horrors of the Holocaust, but also as a universal inspiration for hope, peace and the human ability to find light in the darkest of times.  Anne Frank was an amazing writer.  We believe in the power storytelling. From the shaman of Mesopotamia 7,000 years ago using chanted stories to communicate survival strategies to their tribes, to the masked chorus of Greek tragedies in 6th century B.C. who translated the complexities of the gods to eager Athenians, to today’s Broadway actors who transport audiences to magical, far away places through song—Storytelling remains at the heart of who we are, how we communicate, and what moves us forward.  

The Anne Frank Project was founded in the home of organized storytelling, the theater.  Theater professors and students lead the project from a variety of colleges and universities around the globe.  These teachers and students are from programs where theater is not simply taught as a form of entertainment, but rather, as a storytelling tool for social justice, community growth and conflict resolution.  While we believe theater should be entertaining, it must above all else, utilize the medium as a tool to impact the society, community and world we leave in.  The idea that theater’s ultimate goal is to entertain is historically brand new.  AFP is committed to emulating the majority of thousands of years of theater history by using the storytelling process to reflect upon, challenge and advance the human condition.

AFP is uniquely prepared to address the following important issues with high school students:  bullying, hate crimes, social and cultural conflict, stereotyping, war and genocide.  The process of researching, rehearsing and producing a live play requires the exact set of tools necessary to combat those difficult issues:  collaboration, listening, diplomacy, clarifying, articulating, communicating, reconciliation and forgiveness.  Students learn that there is no such thing as “them” in creating great stories, only “us.”  Since all stories reflect life in creative ways, it is no surprise that the storytelling process is a microcosm for successful living.  It is our experience that students develop tools and vocabulary applicable to multiple academic and life subjects well beyond the theater through the storytelling process.

AFP believes young people are capable of absorbing and processing intense subject matter.  To this end we again defer to our project’s namesake as we use Holocaust and genocide studies as a basis for our curriculum.  This subject matter exposes students simultaneously to cultural diversity, literature, history, geography, economics, political science, anthropology and sociology.  Our teachers and students have researched and traveled to multiple international locations and maintain strong relationships with conflict survivors from around the world—this body of research and relationships can be available to you and your students in a variety of ways including live video conferencing.

AFP Programming Options
AFP and Learning Standards

RESERVATIONS:  716-878-5221 or kahnaj@buffalostate.edu