University of Wisconsin - Extension

Just around the corner in your imagination is a world of dancing and singing animals, where relationships are saved and lakeshores preserved. It's a world of Balance and Swing.

Balance and Swing educates through the arts, explains Beverly Stencel, Washburn County community resource development agent, who helped create this play with an educational message.

"Balance and Swing creates a theatrical world where educators can make connections with some of the people they're trying to reach," she explains. "Balance and Swing uses UW-Extension information to educate the public on issues critical to lakeshore preservation. It also forges new connections between arts, the environment and lake organizations. Neighbors work together, building a sense of community as they connect to protect the lakes they live around."

Through viewing the play, people are educated about the actions they can take to mitigate shoreland development and lake-use impacts. "Education through the arts is a strategy that can reach diverse audiences substantially larger than anything we typically get with a lecture format," explains Robert Korth, UW-Stevens Point/Extension lake education specialist. "We are using education through art to build awareness since folks are more likely to go to a play than to a lecture."

The theater format also works well getting the message to lakefront property owners who do not live year-round on their property and may not attend educational sessions during vacation time, but who do enjoy local festivals, concerts and theater offerings.

More than 400 people viewed four local performances in Washburn County, receiving an educational message about lakeshore development impacts and actions to protect lakeshores. "These numbers are substantially higher than attendance at past traditional educational offerings," explains Stencel. "In addition, some of the lake homeowners who were attracted to the play because of the lake-related theme had never attended a local theatre production before. While there, they connected with community people they would not ordinarily have connected with, hopefully enhancing their sense of community."

Sense of community was revealed in Stencel's recent Washburn County Lakes Planning Study as a critical determinant of lake stewardship activities.

Audiences attending the plays also were more diverse than the typical audience of lakeshore owners who attend local lake workshops, adds Korth. "People enjoyed the entertainment aspect while receiving a powerful educational message. At post-play discussions, audience members remarked that they appreciated 'not being lectured to' and said the message was presented in a 'fun not preachy' way."

An additional 500 people viewed the performance at the state lakes conference, where emphasis was placed on how local lake groups could bring the show to their area and how they could foster partnerships between their local community theater groups and environmental centers.

Balance and Swing was written with community theatre in mind. The production was created through the partnership of Theatre in the Woods, Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary, the Washburn County Lakes and Rivers Association and UW-Extension. It can be duplicated and adapted for other areas of the state and beyond.

For more information contact Beverly Stencel, beverly.stencel@ces.uwex.edu.