Project Compassion

Following the successful seventh grade Shakespeare residency at Ho-ho-kus School, the school approached our co-founder Stephen Davis with a challenge. Can you create and conduct a residency that covers the subject of Genocide, part of the eighth-grade curriculum? And from this challenge, Project Compassion was born. Project Compassion is an educational resource that is structured to take place over seven to ten classes (50 minutes in length).  

The purpose of Project Compassion is to place the player/student into a situation over the course of the game where they have to make choices that have ramifications to each and every member of an imagined society.  Players create relationships with their characters and others in the imaginary game world. Players will then attempt to keep their characters alive by making their way around the game board.  Characters will interact with each other, asking to stay with fellow players and avoid being sent to the “crossroads transports” around the board. 

The Project Compassion Board Game was developed by co-founder Stephen Davis as part of an in-school video residency conducted with a group of eighth graders in Ho-ho-kus New Jersey.  The game was further developed at Centenary University in Hackettstown New Jersey. The name of the entire game “Project Compassion” is to honor the students of the residency as this was the name they gave to the yearlong educational focus on compassion and genocide awareness.  As genocide education is a curriculum requirement in New Jersey, Project Compassion is intended remove the “arm’s length” approach to studying the difficult subject of genocide. 

Focusing primarily on students in grades 8 – College age, the game and the residency focus on a number of techniques of character creation from the world of theatre, group interactive discussions, and role playing to confront difficult issues in an imaginary world. 

Instruction style for this residency includes lecture, interactive games, character creation, group discussion, and follow-up discussion.

• Collaborate with peers and teaching artists

• Explore cause and effect actions and the consequences of those actions

• Recognizing the stages of genocide in reflection of actions which occurred during the game

• Foster a sense of unity and community among participants

• Encourage active participation and encourage follow up discussions

Size: Ideal sizes are for individual classrooms or groups of students between 15-25 students. If working with a grade level, residency should be primarily in the individual classes but include group activities with the entire grade level.

Pricing: Cause and FX will work with the school or organization to schedule a Project Compassion residency once the budget for the residency is established. This will determine the structure and engagement of Cause and FX in your school.