Arts Discovery High School

“The shows at People's Light engage our students on many levels. Students leave the theatre talking, debating, and laughing. Teachers often conduct mini-classes on the buses returning to school because we don't want to miss these wonderful 'teachable moments.'”
—Nancy Robinson, Downingtown High School English Department Chair

Project Discovery High School began in 1987 with a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Since then People's Light has provided 450,000 free tickets to students from 21 area high schools. Funding from corporations, foundations, and individuals cover the cost of the tickets. For many students, coming to People's Light is the first time they have seen a professionally produced play. During the 2010-11 school year, Project Discovery High School students attended One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, adapted from the novel by Ken Kesey. Past productions include Encountering Lear, an interactive performance of Shakespeare’s King Lear; The Persians, based on the classic Greek drama by Aeschylus (this production toured to the schools); A Tale of Two Cities based on the novel by Charles Dickens; Theophilus North, based on a novel by Thornton Wilder; The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams; Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and Carson McCullers’ Member of the Wedding.

The same high schools take part each year. This continuity allows for long term relationships to develop between the teachers, students, and People's Light.

Project Discovery High School Partner Schools

Chester County
Avon Grove High School, West Grove
Bayard Rustin High School, West Chester
Bishop Shanahan High School, Downingtown
B. Reed Henderson High School, West Chester
Center for Arts & Technology, Pickering Campus, Phoenixville
Coatesville Area Senior High School, Coatesville
Coatesville Area 9th & 10th Grade Center, Coatesville
Conestoga High School, Berwyn
Downingtown East High School, Downingtown
Downingtown West High School, Downingtown
East High School, West Chester
Great Valley High School, Malvern
Kennett High School, Kennett Square
Octorara Area High School, Atglen
Owen J. Roberts High School, Pottstown
Oxford Area High School, Oxford
Phoenixville Area High School, Phoenixville
Unionville High School, Kennett Square

Delaware County
Interboro High School, Prospect Park

Montgomery County
Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School, Horsham
Norristown Area High School, Norristown

Next season's Arts Discovery High School shows include August Wilson's Seven Guitars and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. For more information, contact Wendy Bable, Producer for Arts Discovery Programs, at 610.647.1900 x101 or by email at bable@peopleslight.org.

Click here to view our Arts Discovery Supporters who make Project Discovery High School possible.