A 'Beauty and the Beast' residency provides the opportunity for a segment of a school population to experience an in-depth exposure to storytelling as an art form. Mitch and Martha spend an extended period of time sharing stories as well as their expertise in "how to" workshops for participants. Their goals as artists-in-residence include:
to demonstrate the art of storytelling to teachers, students, administrators, and community members in the district.
to teach a target group of students how to tell a story. These students then become the "ambassadors" for storytelling as they tell their stories in other classrooms throughout the school and in the community. At many schools where Mitch and Martha work every year, the focus is on the same grade level each time so that every child has the experience of learning storytelling from them at some point.
to encourage teachers to make storytelling an integral part of their curriculum, and to establish storytelling as an ongoing activity in the school.