Lauren Goldman Marshall
playwright, director, teaching artist

Theater of Possibility - Rehearsal for Living
Empowering neurodiverse youth through acting and improv

Theater of Possibility ("TOP"), founded in 2010, works with neurodiverse and other underserved populations to foster creativity, teach resilience, and build community through acting, improvisation and the creation of original theater.

TOP programs in Seattle and Bellevue serve kids, teens, and adults with autism spectrum and other ability differences, as well as peer allies. Between 2014-2020, TOP also regularly worked with economically disadvantaged kids living in subsidized housing.

TOP has received four annual Youth Arts Awards from the Seattle Office of Arts Culture.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS:

Weekly classes in Seattle at University Heights Center:

Kids/Tweens (ages 9–14): Saturdays, 9-10:20 AM, Feb 24–May 18 (no class 4/6). Last class on May 18 meets 9-Noon for rehearsal, potluck and friends & family sharing.

Teens/Adults (ages 15 and older): Saturdays, 10:30 AM–Noon, Feb 24–June 1 (no class 4/6). May 18 meets 12:30-2 and last class on June 1 meets 10:30-2 for rehearsal, potluck and class sharing.

Tuition:

Kids-tweens: $450 (12 meetings)
Teen-adult class: $525 (14 meetings)
10% sibling discount, half- scholarships and pay-what-you-can available on request. No one will be turned away for inability to pay. TOP is a DSHS/DDA respite care provider.

Location: University Heights Center, 5031 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Taught by TOP founding director Lauren Marshall.

Here is a downloadable flyer.

Contact Lauren Marshall for more information and to register.

TOP classes for ages 13-adult at Bellevue Youth Theater, taught by Sylvie Crowe, are currently being offered Saturdays 10:30-11:45 AM. The 2023-34 session, running October - March 23, is already underway, but students may be allowed to join mid-session.  Contact Bellevue Youth Theater admin for information about registration.

About TOP classes:

TOP offers an inclusion program, especially designed for youth with autism spectrum and other special needs, as well as typically-developing peer allies. (Siblings welcome!) Every person is valued for their gifts. Through fun theater games and activities, students will be introduced to acting, improvisation, collaboration and play-creation. The session culminates with a class sharing for friends and families.

TOP's curriculum is designed to highlight relationship skills, but it is not didactic and social skills instruction is "through the back door". We meet students where they are at and gently challenge them to stretch their capabilities.

Summer camp at Northgate Community Center: 

The 2022 and 2023 summer camps were great successes. Please check back soon for dates & details on summer 2024.  It is typically a two-week half-day camp in late July and/or early August for ages 9-16. Ages 17+ inquire about serving as a junior counselor.

Contact Lauren Marshall to get on the email list to be notified about upcoming classes and programs.

GIVING VOICE TO AUTISTIC NONSPEAKERS

Love Letters: A True-Ly Short Epistolary Romance, may be the first professionally-produced play written by an autistic nonspeaker. 

*Nominated in Seattle BroadwayWorld for Best New Play or Musical of 2023*

L: Juliette Jones as Melody in Love Letters. Photo by Ben Kerns; R: Playwright Sofia Ghassaei. Photo by Tracey Ghassaei.

19-years-old when she wrote the play, award-winning Seattle poet and playwright, Sofia Ghassaei has difficulty controlling her speech and body movements due to apraxia, and had no reliable means of communication until age thirteen, when she learned to share her thoughts through a technique called Spelling to Communicate, which involves pointing to letters on a letter board, one at a time.  Now she has written a one-act play, augmented with original songs by autistic nonpeakers.  Theater of Possibility produced Love Letters with a professional cast at University Heights Center, Seattle, June 15-18, 2023. If you missed the live production, you can see it expertly captured on edited video on YouTube @theaterofpossibility.

To learn more about Spelling to Communicate, check out the award-winning documentary Spellers.

TOP NEWS:

TOP presents Words Unheard for Sound Theatre's Gaslight Project:

TOP participated in Sound Theatre's Gaslight Project, presenting Words Unheard, an afternoon of three short plays by emerging writers on the autism spectrum, exploring the theme of gaslighting. The event, on July 16, 2022, at 12th Avenue Arts, included Words Unheard by Sofia Ghassaei, Planet Venus, by Beezus Murphy, and Blood, Sweat and Fears, by Jackie Moffitt, along with audience-interactive techniques drawn from Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed.  

To get a taste of the transformative power of this event, check out Breaking a Stereotype, Not a Leg, Sofi's interview with the performers, Beezus Murphy, who played her physical self, and Valentine Wulf, who spoke her thoughts and poetry in Words Unheard. Sofi, who is a non-speaker, expresses joy at seeing her words come to life onstage, and invites the performers to reflect on their experience.   

Previously, TOP's advanced troupe has presented for Intersections Festival, The World Affairs Council - International Visitor Leadership Program, North American Drama Therapy Association, Seattle Public Schools, Seattle Children's Hospital, WA State Arts Alliance Cultural Congress, and an American Alliance for Theater in Education mini-conference at SPU.

TOP on video

Theater of Possibility student Kenassa Sarka shares his story on living and learning with autism, his love of theater, and his desire to go to college in this lovely short video, produced by Rooted in Rights:

TOP parodies behavioral therapy: Check out this excerpt from Autism Therapy for Neuro-typicals by Jackie Moffitt, performed at The Intersections Festival, Seattle, March 2018:

TOP uses forum theater to educate teachers on how to create a more inclusive classroom: Here is an excerpt of TOP youth performing You Don't Have to Freak Out by Lauren Marshall and the ensemble, at Seattle Pacific University, March 2014:

Come Explore the Possibilities! Theater of Possibility ("TOP") helps young people give voice to their ideas and dreams! Through fun and zany theater games, improv exercises and role-playing, we explore the dynamics of friendship, family and school. Along the way, we shape powerful emotions and ideas into moving, profound and funny works of theater.

Social skills are inherent in what we do, but TOP classes are playful and non-didactic. Relationship topics such as making and keeping friends, responses to bullying or exclusion, peer pressure and social injustice, might be explored through the creative genres of a fantasy, sci-fi or absurdist comedy.

We practice flexibility, non-verbal communication, recognizing social nuances, and perspective taking, collaboration and leadership. But the primary focus is on creativity and collaboration. I want to give students tools to better understand relationship dynamics and empower themselves, but rather than deign to teach students how to conform to societal norms, I aim to give them a voice to teach the world!

Who: TOP serves children, youth and adults who are interested in using theater to explore and express themselves more fully and authentically. We welcome students who are quirky, spirited or shy, or who may have Asperger's, autism, ADHD, or other learning or ability differences. TOP promotes an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for each person's unique gifts.

Note: Students must be able to participate in structured group activities or come with an aide. The first class of each session is an introductory class to make sure it is a good fit for all.

Here is what some parents & participants have said about TOP:

"The real triumph for me was watching Alex. Thought you'd like to know that he has had an INTENSE fear of speaking or even appearing in front of other people. When he was the stage manager in high school he would even refuse to be acknowledged on stage at the end of a performance. I cried through his entire performance. He even improvised - pure magic!" Jonibeth Whitney, mother of a 20 year old TOP actor

“This is the year my dreams come true!  My play has a fabulous team of actors, musicians and a director who believes Nonspeakers have a place in the arts” Sofia Ghassaei, 19-year old neurodivergent playwright

"I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for creating the TOP community.... John has flourished in his later teen years and I directly connect that with your program in helping him find flexibility and building self confidence in his ideas. Thank you!"  Xaviera Vandermay, mother of 18-year old TOP actor

"It lets you be differently expressive in your abilities." TOP actor

"[My son's] mental rigidity has given way to flexibility and a new found ability to function within a group. His self-esteem is soaring and the class has become an anchor for life. He marveled aloud that “Lauren could bring together such different kinds of kids and have us get along so well.” Susan Moffitt, mother of a 17 year old TOP actor.

"My daughter was able to actually see and experience choices for turning a potentially hurtful social interaction into a beneficial one. Theater of Possibility, is, as they say, a rehearsal for living." Ann Morrow, mother of a 13 year old TOP actor.

"My daughter…is the NT sibling. Her brother is HFA. It was a great experience for her. Besides just being fun, it gave her the chance to see how other kids with different abilities are (and how they feel about situations in life) instead of only having her little brother as a reference. I think this is a very powerful tool for our kids. It 's a fun way to learn how to deal with some of the social difficulties that our kids face." Barbary El Naby, mother of a 12 year old TOP actor

"He loved it. It was the first class/activity that he has done and not worried about going to: he felt very safe and enjoyed it. He especially enjoyed the performances.."  Holly Tabor, mother of a 7 year old TOP actor

Theater of Possibility was highlighted in the October 2017 issue of Seattle's Child in Valuing Difference, about innovative programs for kids on the autism spectrum.

And More TOP news

TOP featured in podcast on Education Evolution.

Dr. Maureen O'Shaughnessy interviews TOP founding director Lauren Marshall and veteran student turned TOP teacher Jackie Moffitt in a 34-minute podcast on Education Evolution, Using Acting To Support Neurodivergency with Theater of Possibility, aired June 21, 2022.

Theater of Possibility presents at the World Affairs Council
Four advanced students and teaching assistants from the Seattle and Bellevue teen/adult classes joined Lauren on August 1, 2019, in presenting a workshop on Theater of Possibilty for a delegation of theater artists from Egypt, participating in the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, focusing on the role of independent theater in promoting social change. We had a blast doing theater games and demonstrating techniques from Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed with the highly talented Egyptian theater artists.

Presentation for Dads!
In November, 2018, Lauren gave a presentation on TOP at the 2018 Washington State Fathers Network Conference in Bellevue.

Washington State Arts Alliance Cultural Congress, 2018
In October, 2018, Lauren and veteran TOP troupe members Jackie Moffitt and Kenassa Sarka presented on a panel entitled, The Full Meaning of Inclusion, at the Washington State Arts Alliance Cultural Congress in Ellensburg, WA. Joining them on the panel were Patty Kiang, of Deaf Spotlight, and King Khazm, of 206 Zulu, to talk about how organizations can make the arts more inclusive of communities with (dis) abilities.

Kenessa Sarka, Xanne Sarka, Lauren Marshall & Jackie Moffitt

TOP perfoms at Intersection Festival!
The Theater of Possibility ("TOP") advanced youth troupe performed two short pieces, Autism Therapy for Neurotypicals, by Jackie Moffitt, and Kaleidoscope, by Lauren Marshall and Pam Shane Johnson, at the Intersections Festival, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way, SW Seattle, 98106, Sunday March 25, 2018.

TOP's advanced troupe of teen and young adult performers is made up of highly talented individuals with autism and peer allies.

Intersections is a comedy festival focusing on equity, inclusion and representation.

TOP at North American Drama Therapy Conference:
The Theater of Possibility teen/adult troupe was invited to do a demonstration workshop at the North American Drama Therapy Conference in Seattle, October 2016. Lauren also presented on TOP at the NADTA conference in Boston in October 2017.

Lauren has been selected for the Creative Advantage Community Arts Partner Roster for teaching artists working in the public schools. She was also a selected participant in the 2016–17 Washington State Teacher Artist Training Lab, sponsored by Seattle Children's Theatre and the Washington State Arts Commission.

From 2014–20, Lauren also taught a Theater of Possibility program to youth living in Sand Point Housing. This was a joint project of Solid Ground and Seattle Music Theater, supported by a Youth Arts Award from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture and grants from the Windermere Foundation.

Theater of Possibility - Sand Point Youth troupe performed The Rude Princess, a mini-play loosely inspired by The Taming of the Shrew (but with an ending that doesn't make women cringe), at the downtown Seattle Public Library as part of the Shakespeare First Folio celebration, on March 26, 2016 and April 3, 2016. Click here to learn more about this project.

Ways to be involved with TOP:

1. Register for a class (see above).

2. Inquire about volunteering. We seek capable and compassionate teens and adults to participate as student interns and teaching assistants. Community service credit may be available through your high school.

3. Custom-design a workshop for your school or group. Lauren can provide a custom-designed workshop of any length, from 90 minutes to 30 hours, or anything in between in your venue, tailored to general or specific themes. Social skills themes, for example, might focus on inclusion, anti-bullying, risk reduction or self-empowerment. Literary themes might include playwriting, adapting fiction for the stage, or creative generative theater through group improv and collaboration.

4. Book the TOP youth troupe. Bring the teen/young adult TOP troupe to your school or community for a custom-designed interactive theater workshop on the topic of your choice. This powerful video captures TOP youth giving a powerful performance to theater arts educators at SPU on what can go wrong in a class when teachers don't understand autism.

5. Inquire about workshops, trainings and master classes for adults. Lauren offers weekend intensive workshops by invitation and independently for educators, therapists, parents and other adults wanting to learn these techniques. See below for recent partnerships.

Articles about TOP:

• Valuing Difference, by Sydney Parker, Seattle's Child, October 2017
• The Rude Princess: Sand Point Housing youth reach for the TOP, by Liz Reed Hawk, in Solid Ground, Groundviews, March, 2016
• The Theater of Possibility, by Cheryl Murfin, in Seattle's Child, January 2013
• Theater of Possibility, by Margaret, Wallyhood, September, 2012

Also check out these blogs by Susan Moffitt, TOP parent:

• Champions of change
• Theater of Possibility for Autism

Theater of Possibility - community partnerships:

• Performance at Intersections Festival, 2018.
• Weekend master class. California State University Northridge
• Youth demonstration: Seattle Children's Hospital, Neurodevelopmental team
• Youth demonstration: American Alliance for Theater in Education Conference, Seattle Pacific University
• School partnerships: Laurelhurst Elementary, Arbor Heights Elementary, Stevens Elementary
• Co-Instructor, Hero's Journey video production camps, Redmond Parks & Recreation
• Classes and/or summer camps: Youth Theatre Northwest and Bellevue Youth Theatre-Crossroads
• Sand Point Housing, co-sponsored by Solid Ground, Magnuson Community Center and Seattle Musical Theatre, with support from the Windermere Foundation
• Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society
• Guest artist workshops: Silver Kite, Sammamish Arts Council, Northwest School, Plymouth Congregational Church, Middle East Peace Camp, Learn-to-Succeed & Washington State Fathers Network
• Training workshops for educators: Antioch University and Western Washington State University
• Presentations at the North American Drama Therapy Association Conference, Seattle, 2016; Boston, 2017
• Presentation for visiting delegation of Egyptian theater artists at World Affairs Council, Seattle, 2019
• Virtual presentation to UW Special Education EduDesign Fellowship, 2021
• Audience-interactive performance at 12th Avenue Arts as part of Sound Theatre's Gaslight Project, July, 2022.
• Teacher artist training for Coyote Central, October 2023

Thank you to the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Youth Arts Awards, 2012–14 and 2015–17 & City Artist Project (Love Letters, 2023), Arc of Snohomish County, Windermere Foundation (via Seattle Musical Theatre), Ron and Cindi Allen, in memory of Pam Shane Johnsen, and the estate of Leslie Grace, for their support of TOP.

In fondest memory of Pam Shane Johnsen, who served as the assistant teacher for TOP at Sandpoint Housing and University Heights Center over many years. Warm, compassionate and never judgmental, Pam was much loved by our students, many of whom developed close, trusting and long-lasting relationships with her. She was a wonderful teaching partner, uniquely capable of understanding and supporting the students we serve. Pam passed away in 2021. We will greatly miss her and our class dog, Elsie!

Original Material and Coding Copyright © 2010–24 by Lauren Goldman Marshall. All Rights Reserved.