RESIDENCY PROGRAM

P45 Theatre and Interlochen Center for the Arts build on their continuing partnership, bringing two artistic powerhouses together to provide cutting-edge theatre to Northern Michigan. This partnership carves out a full-time, dedicated residency for professional directors and theatre-makers to create new material for P45 utilizing Interlochen’s extraordinarily talented theatre students. In residency from January-March, a P45 director will work with Interlochen students to provide a script for the P45 canon with a performance in March.

Emilio Rodriguez is a playwright whose works enable underrepresented individuals to hear their own narratives and audiences to experience untold stories. In his work, he seeks to create three dimensional roles for Latinos and actors of color in order to give these actors a chance to showcase their true talents and to make the theatre community better aware of the fact that all of our experiences have commonalities regardless of race. During his 8- week residency with Interlochen and P45, Rodriguez will develop the classic fairy tale The Frog Prince with a powerful eye to the values of representation, inclusion and empowerment. During his 8-week residency, Academy Theatre students will bring this funny, charming, and poignant story to life in a production bursting with heart and energy.

Sun in Ya Hands
The Brothers Grimm's classic fairy tale The Frog Prince gets a contemporary spin in Sun in Ya Hands, an original theatre work from Detroit-based theatre artist and University of Michigan playwriting instructor Emilio Rodriguez. Set in the Caribbean with production design inspired by beloved Disney films Pocahontas and Moana, Rodriguez's updated plot chronicles the unlikely friendship between a frog and a princess—and the important lessons in selflessness they learn in the course of their shared journey. Join the Arts Academy Theatre Division as they bring this funny, charming, and poignant story to life in a family-friendly production bursting with heart and energy.