Maine Inside Out

LEWISTON LANDING PAD PROJECT:Artists participated in peer based groups and received support through MIO's advocacy and support programs which are held by the Lewiston Landing Pad Project. Advocacy and Support involves helping navigate system involvement and personal and family crises by offering support with: fines, fees, and restitution; emergency funds; monthly support for emergency food and basic resources (diapers, formula); shelter; and transportation. MIO Connected 34 young people to resources for emergency food and basic resources in 2023. The landing pad project also holds community program projects including community lunches where artists are invited to prepare for upcoming performances and MIO also invites community resources to connect artists to and other live performances including open mic nights and a Juneteenth celebration in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. In 2023 there were 6 community lunches. There were 4 open mic nights: MIO Open Mic Night "Remembering Bobby Payzant aka Paco" on February 9, 2023; Maine Inside Out Presents "The System" on April 6, 2023; October 2023 Open Mic Night "Transformations" on October 19, 2023; December Open Mic Night "Lewiston Strong Art for Healing" on December 14, 2023. There was one Juneteenth Celebration: "Juneteenth: A Change We're Waiting For" on June 16, 2023

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP-Maine Inside Out supports mission-aligned independent artists, organizations, and groups without 501(c)(3) tax status to apply for grant funding through formal fiscal sponsorship.Through fiscal sponsorship, MIO supports visionary artists and community organizers in the practical process of resourcing their ideas, reducing the administrative burden on emerging artists and projects and amplifying the collective community impact on social change. We meet with fiscal sponsor participants regularly to ensure alignment with the project and review expense reports.

LEWISTON SCHOOLS PROJECT -MIO started a pilot program in Lewiston Middle School in March of 2022. In 2023, the work with Lewiston Middle School students continued.The theater program at LMS had MIO staff engaging with students in our arts-based model for youth leadership, community support, and crisis intervention. Students were placed in groups to create and perform original theater in an 8-12 week process with three distinct phases. In the first phase, groups create agreements for values and conduct and engage in ice-breakers, collaborative problem solving, personal story sharing, and basic theater skill-building exercises. In the second phase, the groups synthesize personal stories and artistic content into a cohesive original play. In the third phase, the groups rehearse and perform in front of an invited audience such as staff and administrators, students, community members, and families. Performances are followed by a facilitated dialogue about the content of the performance. The performances offer students a productive strategy for sharing their experiences and engaging the community in improving policies that directly impact their well being. The performances offer staff, teachers, and school leadership the opportunity to witness "at risk" students as leaders and artists. Overall, the process strengthens community culture and relationships through artistic expression and connected dialogue. The students successfully completed one phase of the theater making process and the two groups performed plays in front of their families, school administration and peers. Live performances for Lewiston Middle School Students: May 15 & May 18

MOUNTAINVIEW PROJECT -In March MIO continued theater programming with incarcerated artists at Mountain View Correctional Facility. In 2023, MIO was able to hold 2 sessions at the facility. The first group met over a 16 week period, and the second group met over a 15 week period to create and share an original piece of theater. At the beginning of the program, groups created agreements for values and conduct and engaged in ice-breakers, brainstorming, collaborative problem solving, writing exercises and basic theater skill-building exercises. The groups created and rehearsed an original theater piece and then performed the pieces they created. The first session performed on June 22 and the second session performed on November 3 in front of audiences of invited guests which included staff, administration, incarcerated individuals and those connected to the artists support systems such as their families, lawyers, probation officers and other service providers. Performances were followed by a facilitated dialogue about the content of the performance. Upon completion, successful participants engage in a culminating ceremony and receive a Letter of Completion and Certificate of Completion. Participants in the program are invited to join MIO's community programming upon release. MIO supported 20 incarcerated artists with regular phone calls for support and art sharing, re-entry support and planning, along with stipends for art creation and virtual event attendance.

THEATER LAB PROJECT - The MIO Theater Lab is the overall container that holds any theater related work / activities. This includes: Lewiston School Projects, Portland School Projects, Mountain View Projects, and training / developing theater facilitators. The theater lab employs part-time employees and is responsible for growing their skills in theater facilitation so that they can become future facilitative leads of MIO.

PORTLAND SCHOOLS PROJECT -MIO started a pilot program in King Middle School (Portland) in February 2023. The theater program at KMS had MIO staff engaging with students in our arts-based model for youth leadership, community support, and crisis intervention. Students were placed in groups to create and perform original theater in an 8-12 week process with three distinct phases. In the first phase, groups create agreements for values and conduct and engage in ice-breakers, collaborative problem solving, personal story sharing, and basic theater skill-building exercises. In the second phase, the groups synthesize personal stories and artistic content into a cohesive original play. In the third phase, the groups rehearse and perform in front of an invited audience such as staff and administrators, students, community members, and families. Performances are followed by a facilitated dialogue about the content of the performance. The performances offer students a productive strategy for sharing their experiences and engaging the community in improving policies that directly impact their wellbeing. The performances offer staff, teachers, and school leadership the opportunity to witness "at risk" students as leaders and artists. Overall, the process strengthens community culture and relationships through artistic expression and connected dialogue. The students successfully completed one phase of the theater making process and the two groups performed plays in front of their families, school administration and peers. Live performances for King Middle School Students: May 23 & May 24