Higher EDUCATION

is your campus ready to join the movement?

***NOW ONLINE!***

The POOP Project pushes the envelope with honest, hilarious and fascinating programming that engages audiences in critical issues of social justice, sustainability, inclusivity, global health and self-love. From casual afternoon sessions to full-week residencies, The POOP Project offers a range of dynamic programs to fit your community's needs--and budget.

All programming offered at suggested rates!

Scroll down to learn more about:

Mainstage Program

How The Potty Trained Us

Complementary Programming

Flush: The Documentary

Workshops & Master Classes

Campus Assessment & Action

How The potty trained us

Part lecture, part stand-up, part character shifting solo play, this is the performance that started it all. You'll find out:

• why we have such negative feelings about poop

• how it's been different in the past

• the problems our current system creates

• and how you can be part of the poo revo-loo-tion!

Low tech! Requires only a projector, screen, amplification and audio playback. Performance followed by a talk back.

Click here for more information.

“My ecoart seniors did not quite know what to expect from Shawn Shafner’s visit. However after his informative, fun and occasionally challenging presentation, they were all very excited and inspired. Shawn’s work is important; it is critical to discuss our bodies and how we are connected to larger systems of production, consumption and waste.”

-Elizabeth Stephens, Professor of Art, University of California, Santa Cruz

How the Potty… is based on2015’s An Inconvenient Poop. This solo show with music was named a Critic's Pick in Time Out New York, and took home the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Overall Excellence in Solo Performance. Watch the trailer here, and learn more about the show at www.AnInconvenientPoop.com.

"I can say with the utmost respect that the show was the perfect combination of gross, intelligent, funny and serious to keep the students engaged. Students especially appreciated the discussion during the talkback of how individuals’ actions can make meaningful differences.”

-Pieranna Pieroni, Brooklyn College

Flush: The Documentary

Flush is a feature documentary that follows the incredible true story of what happens after we flush, exploring how our "out of sight, out of mind" mentality about human bodily waste affects the health and wealth of our nation. Purchase a copy for your library, screen the film, and enjoy a conversation with Executive Producer Shawn Shafner and Director Karina Mangu-Ward (pending availability). Learn more about the film and whet your appetite with excerpts at www.thepoopproject.org/FLUSH.

Workshops & Masterclasses

Shawn has been teaching theater, facilitating workshops and creating curricula for almost 20 years. The following workshops expand on themes uncovered in any mainstage presentation:

• Building for the Body: Smart Toilet Spaces for Every Environment

• Coming Out of the Water Closet: Female, Queer and Marginalized Bodies in the Bathroom

• Below the Bible Belt: World Religions and Poop

• Beyond the Beit Ha-Kisei: Jewish Perspectives on Poop

• Potty Re-Training: Creating Body-Positive Toilet Habits in Early Childhood

• A Mouthful of Culture: Fermentation, Digestion and the Microbiome

The following workshops focus on arts-based practices that can be applied outside the context of The POOP Project:

• Communicate the Facts, Tell the Story: Transform Personal, Historical and Scientific Narratives into Compelling Narratives

• Everyday Mindful, Everyday Artful

• Body Scripting: Alignment and Free Movement from the Outside In

• Sociometry and Cultural Mapping

• The Walk as Art

• Crafting Stories that Serve Your Curricula

• Systems Thinking Through Theater

• Stories for One: Tools for Developing Your Solo Show

• Making Theater to Delight Young Audiences

Click here to read full descriptions of these workshops, and arts-based classes we can offer during a visit from The Puru.

Need more? Want something you don’t see here? Contact us for further information about any of these offerings, or to create a custom plan for your community.

"Thank you for spending time with my class. They absolutely loved talking with you and were glowing afterwards."

-Dr. Daniel Gerling, Assistant Professor, English, Augustana University

Campus Assessment & action

Ready to take the movement to the next level? The Puru will work with your students and faculty to assess and creatively address campus concerns regarding restroom access, sustainability, social justice, self-love and more. The POOP Project is here to help! Contact us and tell us what you need. 

Create a Custom Program to Suit Your Community!