The Touch Film Project

If you had the chance to make a difference in a young person’s life, would you do it? How about thousands of young people? Sexual abuse happens to millions of young people every year, and it can stay with them for the rest of their lives. We would like you to make a difference with us. We are the Illusion Theater. We have been putting on a play called “Touch”, teaching young people about personal body safety, for over 25 years. We want to make it into a film and bring it’s message to young people across the country. But we need your help. We have gathered an incredible production team responsible for producing Target Market, a teen anti-tobacco campaign, as well as national commercials and music videos to bring “Touch” to life. All we need is your support, and we can all make a difference in millions of young peoples lives. View our video!

Theater for change

Illusion Theater's philosophy of learning is rooted in theater's potential to be a compelling educational tool. The Outreach and Education Program has been successful at breaking through and transforming the fear that often surrounds difficult and controversial social issues. Since its inception in 1977, the program has presented workshops and performances to over one million children and adults in all 50 states and the Virgin Islands. Central to our mission is the creation of timely and thought-provoking work for youth and families. The Theater's nationally acclaimed sexual abuse prevention play, TOUCH, was created in 1978 in collaboration with the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Project of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. TOUCH pioneered the concept of education/prevention plays and led to the development of Illusion's Education & Outreach program.

The Education & Prevention program is rooted in the recognition of theater's potential as a compelling educational tool and has been successful at breaking through and transforming the fear that often surrounds difficult and controversial social issues. The program offers plays, residencies and a Peer Education Program for schools and communities dealing with sexual abuse, sexual harassment, violence prevention, mental health and diversity issues. Illusion Theater's innovative Peer Education Program gives agencies, schools and other groups the rights to perform Illusion's educational plays for their own communities. The most popular peer education model is TRUST: Teaching Reaching Using Students and Theater. At TRUST sites, high school students perform Illusion's educational plays for the elementary, middle and high schools in their communities. Illusion Peer Education sites receive scripts, training, performance direction, evaluation and on-going technical assistance from the Theater's staff of trained professionals. Plays addressing sexual abuse prevention, violence prevention and mental health awareness are currently available.

In 1990, Illusion's Outreach program began to focus its resources and experience on a new community - the workplace. Through the Corporate and Community Outreach program, Illusion has worked with a variety of corporations, schools and nonprofit organizations to help employees and students better deal with a spectrum of issues. These topics have included sexual harassment, racism, diversity, HIV/AIDS in the workplace, work and family issues and the prevention of interpersonal violence. Currently there are three areas of services available: performance of one of our repertory productions; customization of a repertory production; or the creation of a production based on issues specific to a given organization. For those seeking customized and dramatically different training vehicles, Illusion Theater is the premiere partner. Since 1978, the Education & Outreach programs have presented workshops and performances to over one million children and adults in all 50 states and the Virgin Islands. Through videos and commercial television presentations such as Project Abuse, the 1984 collaboration with WCCO-TV and the airing of NO EASY ANSWERS on PBS, regional tours of AMAZING GRACE and FOR OUR DAUGHTERS, and the collaboration with the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH) on LIKE WATERS ROLLING DOWN, the educational messages of Illusion Theater have reached more than 3 million people worldwide.