Sofa Stories is a community arts project using live theatre and digital media to amplify the stories of young Detroiters who have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity and have resorted to couch-surfing as a means to survive.
Since late 2019 the Sofa Stories team worked with young people at the Detroit Phoenix Center to create a series of short monologues that all explore homelessness/housing issues in some capacity.
Physically distanced, in-person performances took place in Detroit in August & September 2021 in outdoor locations across the city. At each performance, a selection of monologues was performed by actors sitting on sofas to one audience member (or pair) at a time. At the end of each performance, audiences heard from young people from the Detroit Phoenix Center to learn more about what they can do to help end youth homelessness.
The first phase of Sofa Stories was made possible with funding from the 2019 Knight Arts Challenge Detroit, an initiative by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support local art that connects people to place and each other, and additional support from Floyd and Trip Wipes.
Short films of select monologues will be available to watch online in 2022, and more in-person productions are planned for summer 2022 and early 2023.
Since November 2018 I have worked with TimeSlips, an organization founded by MacArthur Fellow Anne Basting that is focused on creative engagement for elders and people living with dementia.
As a Project Manager, I facilitated a human-centered design process between TimeSlips and the Detroit-based creative firms Lafayette American and Midwest Common to design and produce a new “Imagination Kit”.
The process began in January 2019 through a series of focus group gatherings in partnership with the Greater Michigan Chapter Alzheimer's Association, with the goal to design and produce a resource to bring creative engagement to family and professional caregivers. As part of this initiative, I also facilitated the pilot phase of developing and hosting "Engagement Parties," which are informal gatherings for people to learn simple techniques to engage family and friends with memory loss.
In 2020 I became a permanent staff member responsible for promoting the Friends & Family resources and supporting educational partners as part of the Creative Campus program.
Read more about TimeSlips here.
The RACE
In November 2020 I served as one of four directors working on Matrix Theatre Company’s production of Sojourn Theatre Company’s The Race, a devised production aiming to provide space for civic inquiry and civic dialogue around the 2020 presidential election.
This virtual adaptation blended performance, call and response, question and answer, and dance into a participatory, highly choreographed, and at times improvised exploration of what America (and Detroit, specifically) wants in a leader.
Since 2015 I have facilitated the Theatre for Life class as part of the Ennis Center for Children’s Fostering Creativity program, a therapeutic arts program for youth aged 5-21 who have been affected by foster care/out-of-home placement.
Through interactive participatory drama games and exercises, youth participants in the class have the opportunity to develop communication, problem-solving and emotional literacy skills and creatively explore shared issues of concern in a safe and supportive environment. Theatre for Life is motivated by the idea that by participating in theatre, people become better equipped for life.
Read more about Fostering Creativity at the Ennis Center for Children here.
A Flint Youth Theatre World Premiere Production. May 2014.
Following the Death of his father, 15-year-old Daniel and his mother, Lisa, are forced to move to the unfamiliar Flint, Michigan. After a violent outburst at his new school, Daniel's social worker, Michelle, suggests he spend a week working with her father, Bobby, an urban gardener of several abandoned lots in the middle of the city. A week soon turns into a few months, and as the two men spend the summer tending the gardens, they begin to plant some much needed hope in a neighborhood plagued by blight, and help each other heal some old wounds.
"A beautiful tale of growth, of connection, of hope, and of ways to overcome whatever it is that life throws at us." - Bridgette M. Redman, Encore Michigan. Read the full review here.
"A heartwarming tale of plants and people." - Helen S. Baas, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Bloom is available for purchase and licensing through Dramatic Publishing, Inc. You can read an excerpt here.
Written by: Andrew Morton
Directed by: Jeremy Winchester
Set Design: Tim McMath
Costume Design: Shelby Newport
Lighting Design: Andrew D. Smith
Sound Design: Jeremy Winchester
Photos: David-Lorne Photographic
A Flint Youth Theatre Production. Performed onsite at the Flint Farmers' Market. Oct-Nov 2014.
This site-specific theatrical experience, that traveled the audiences through the Flint Farmers' Market explored nine different ways the market engages and nourishes the Flint community. The product of nearly three years of collaborative research, interviews and community dialogues, 9 x Nourished was devised by Flint Youth Theatre in collaboration with Michael Rohd of Sojourn Theatre.
"An experience that brings the Flint Farmers' Market to life in new ways while also exploring the commitment people feel to their city, no matter what its reputation might be." - Bridgette M. Redman, Encore Michigan. Read the full review here.
"Portrayed and performed with the audience as part of the action all the way, 9 x Nourished is itself a labor of love and totally unique in the way it serves as a sort of dedication to the space." - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Written by: Michael Rohd
Conceived & Directed by: Janet Haley
Devised by: Michael Rohd & FYT
"Nourished by Food" by: Andrew Morton & devised by FYT
Scenic, Lighting, & Sound Design by: Jeremy Winchester
Costume Design by: Katherine Nelson
Photos: David-Lorne Photographic
A Flint Youth Theatre Production. December 2016
Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka follows enigmatic candy manufacturer, Willy Wonka, as he stages a contest by hiding golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whomever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats: the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket, who takes the tour in the company of his equally amiable grandfather. The children must learn to follow Mr. Wonka's rules in the factory... or suffer the consequences.
Read Bridgette M. Redman’s review for Encore Michigan here.
Directed by: Andrew Morton
Set Design: Tim McMath
Costume Design: Adam M. Dill
Lighting Design: Drew Florida
Sound Design: Dan Gerics
Photos: David-Lorne Photographic
A Flint Youth Theatre World Premiere collaboration with Tapology and Raise it Up! Youth Arts and Awareness. April/May 2016.
What's in a name?
"Vehicle City"
"Murder Capital"
"Comeback Town"
We are defined by the stories we tell each other about ourselves. What does it means to call Flint, Michigan “Home”?
The result of a multi-year collaboration with several community partners and local residents, The Most (Blank) City in America began as an exploration of what it means to call Flint “Home”, and asked questions about the words we hear, use, and would like to see used to describe the city of Flint.
"Flint is more than just the national headlines...There is creativity, commitment, revitalization, strength and courage. Morton doesn’t just focus on the negative. He finds the soul of the city and the reason it hasn’t just turned out the lights and packed up." - Bridgette M. Redman, Encore Michigan. Read the full review here.
"...A fitting cap on Andrew Morton’s previous FYT collaborations that also reference Flint – Bloom and 9XNourished." - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
The project was also featured in Belt Magazine, and live streamed via HowlRound. You can watch the entire archived live stream here.
Written by Andrew Morton
Directed by Jeremy Winchester
Set Design: Tim McMath
Costume Design: Amber Cook
Lighting Design: Andrew Florida
Sound Design: Jeremy Winchester
Photos: David-Lorne Photographic
A University of Michigan-Flint Department of Theatre & Dance production. January 2016.
Annie and Peter decide to adopt, setting their sights on a child from Africa. But, when they receive surprising news from the adoption agency, their marriage is put to the test, secrets of the past are exposed, and this couple approaching midlife is left with an unexpected choice. Politically charged, funny and tack-sharp, The Call is a startling portrait of cultural divide, casting global issues into the heart of an American home.
“Andrew Morton has taken on an interesting challenge with The Call. It raises issues of race relations, gay marriage, and insidiously, white privilege. It explores the definition of marriage from a variety of viewpoints considering such aspects as just what constitutes a marriage and its completeness.” - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Written by: Tanya Barfield
Directed by: Andrew Morton
Set Design: Shelby Newport
Costume Design: Lisa Borton
Lighting Design: Doug Mueller
A University of Michigan-Flint Department of Theatre & Dance production. August-September 2011.
This play was created by the UM-Flint Collective Playwright's Workshop in response to a dramatic rise in arson fires in the City of Flint in 2010. Based on interviews and found material, EMBERS asked: what does it mean when a town starts burning itself up? A recipient of a 2011 Arts of Citizenship Fellowship from the University of Michigan.
"EMBERS is an emotional piece for Flintites who remember well the mornings filled with the smell of smoke and the nights alive with sirens. Eighteen cast members continually change costume pieces to play many roles in bringing these voices to life." - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Written by: Andrew Morton, with the UM-Flint Collective Playwright's Workshop
Directed by: Andrew Morton
Costume Design: Michelle Berg
Photos: Marwan Prince
A participatory theatre project developed in collaboration with consumers at Genesee Health Systems. June 2013.
The play From A to B was the result of a series of participatory drama workshops exploring participants' thoughts and concerns regarding transportation, health and wellness in the City of Flint. Part of the larger Imagine Flint Master Plan Artist in Residence Initiative, the project was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Read more about the project here.
A Shop Floor Theatre Company Production. Feb-March 2013.
Inspired by Michigan's controversial Emergency Manager legislation and it's impact on the City of Flint, this community-based play was created from interviews and found material, and asked: is this what Democracy looks like?
"Clearly a call to action, the play will nonetheless leave viewers with a perspective they may not have had before. It is reality theatre at its most intriguing because it’s about Flint and Michigan and ultimately about we, the people." - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Written by: Andrew Morton, with Jessica Back, Beth Brooks, Nic Custer, & Kenneth Indish.
Directed by: Andrew Morton
Costume & Scenic Design: Cat Boss
Photos: Brandon Blinkenberg
A University of Michigan-Flint Department of Theatre & Dance production. November 2013.
This play was created by the UM-Flint Collective Playwright's Workshop course as a way to honor the venerable music venue: the Flint Local 432 (or "the Local"). For almost three decades, this all-ages, substance-free club has brought the best of underground music to Flint. The Local was a story celebrating community, creativity, and punk rock.
"A chronicle of an incredible youth music scene that's been at times both surviving and thriving in downtown Flint for nearly thirty years." - Kathleen Kirby, Flint Area Theatres. Read the full review here.
Written by: The UM-Flint Collective Playwright's Workshop
Directed by: Andrew Morton
Set Design: Lisa Borton
Costume Design: Shelby Newport
Lighting Design: Doug Mueller
Original Music: Hawk & Son
Photos: Mark Baker
A Blue Elephant Theatre Participation Project, London. 2008-2010.
From 2008-2010 I served as the Speak Out! Project Director, devising Forum Theatre plays that explored topics including knife crime, teen pregnancy, and cyber-bullying. Each piece would be devised by a small team and then presented at schools and youth centers across South London.
A Blue Elephant Theatre Production. London, December 2009.
Burgers. French-fries. Milkshakes. Baby Jesus? A combination of out of work actors and zealous Christians gather in the parking lot of a Mega Church to tell the greatest story ever told in the way Americans like best: fast and convenient. Are they revolutionary, or seriously misguided? Drive-Thru Nativity asks whether there are some things worth getting out of your car for.
Written by: Andrew Morton
Directed by: Aaron Patterson
Set Design: Kasper Hansen
Costume Design: Emily Stuart
Photos: Tina Engstrom
A national TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) symposium and competition hosted by Childsplay/Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe, AZ. March 2013.
Bloom was one of four plays selected for development and awarded the Dorothy Webb Prize at Write Now 2013. After a week of development at Childsplay, Bloom was presented as a staged-reading at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
Listen to more about Write Now on Arizona Public Radio here.
Photos: Write Now
A participatory arts project in collaboration with the Salvation Army Community Counseling project, Kenya. 2007 & 2009.
In 2007 & 2009 I worked alongside Community Counselors working in the Salvation Army Kenya East Territory to incorporate a variety of participatory theatre and arts techniques into their work with people living with HIV/AIDS. The project received funding from the John Thaw Foundation (UK) and served as my final thesis project for my MA from Goldsmiths' College-University of London.
