WHAT IS R2P?
Mission Statement:
Running to Places (R2P) is a youth development organization that seeks to foster a safe and supportive community where any interested youth has the opportunity to learn important life skills through theatre.
Running to Places (or R2P, as it’s usually known) brings middle and high school students together from across Tompkins County and beyond to make friends and develop critical life skills through the art of theatre. Since R2P began in 2007, we have seen hundreds of young people from across the region forge deep, life-long friendships with people they might not otherwise have ever met — friendships that transcend the barriers that so often divide them. Participation for our students and attendance at shows for our audience is 100% FREE! This is only possible with the support of folks like you.
R2P is in the business of youth development, helping raise our community’s children and making excellent theatre in the process. We provide opportunities for personal growth and the development of valuable life-skills, such as:
Working under pressure with a deadline you cannot move,
Assimilating direction quickly and gracefully,
Improvising when things don’t go as planned,
Working collaboratively with a diverse group of people who may be outside your everyday experience,
Successfully managing your time and preparing independently,
Strengthening your body, mind, and spirit,
Excelling as an individual while being part of a ensemble that is greater than the sum of its parts,
And so much more!
“R2P has shaped me in more ways then I can express. Because of the community I had in R2P, I never felt that I had to hide who I was to be “cool” in middle or high school – so instead I had those 7 years to work on becoming the best version of myself possible. I am confident in who I am as a person. I have learned how to work hard and take notes, something that employers and professors respect. I learned how to make big and bold choices. I learned how to succeed and more importantly, how to fail. And I found some of the best friends and mentors I could have ever asked for.” ~ Ilana, R2P Alumna
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
Participation is 100% FREE! Students are given instruction by committed professionals who see this work as a powerful tool for youth development, as well as an important art form. Young people from every school district in the area (including homeschoolers) are encouraged to participate.
There was a brief period in our history where we charged tuition to help us meet our bottom line. We saw how this led to students being excluded, even while we advertised scholarships of up to 100% with no application process other than a simple request. The fact is that for many teens, the stigma of requesting financial assistance – even if only perceived by the student – kept some from joining in. Instead, we rewrote our budget from the ground up with the principle of free participation as the guiding star. We rely on our community to support this idea – effectively crowdsourcing tuition. We hope that you will help sustain our work with a one-time gift or with a monthly commitment as an R2Patron.
“R2P was my lifeline for high school. I made friends through it who I know I will keep beyond R2P. It created an environment where I felt safe and loved in a world where that always isn’t the case. R2P encouraged me to be myself and to learn to love myself, and I am forever thankful.” ~ Maddi, R2P Alumna
ACCEPTING OF ALL
Our auditions are welcoming, and no student who shows up is ever cut, regardless of experience or ability – we find a place in a show for every interested young person.
While many of our students go on to pursue higher education and careers in theatre, our real purpose is to give them the tools to become the best versions of themselves – all while being part of a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive community of peers and supportive adults.
On the first day of rehearsals, we dare them to be the “weirdest kid in the room” – because frankly it simply can’t be done. We’re ALL residents of the Island of Misfit Toys, after all! We go beyond tolerating each others’ quirks and differences; we actively celebrate them with respect and love.
“Running to Places provided a warm, nurturing, and supportive environment at just the perfect time in my daughter's development. R2P gave her a life beyond the petty antics and peer pressures of middle and high school. Not only did she develop strong bonds with her R2P peers, but R2P provided strong multi-generational bonds, with younger students, college students, and adult professionals. And the confidence and public presentation skills she developed will be invaluable in whatever her future brings.” ~ Paula, parent of an R2P alum
R2P Leadership
Joey Steinhagen, R2P Founder & Artistic Director
Joey grew up doing community theatre in a company that was the spiritual ancestor of Running to Places. He founded R2P in 2007 as a way to bring together the many passionate and talented young people of this area so they could create theatre, develop life skills, and make some of the best friendships of their lives – much as he did when he was young. He received his BFA in Acting from Ithaca College in 1996 and has been teaching, acting in, and directing theatre for young people throughout Tompkins County since 1993.
In addition to his 70+ shows for R2P, Joey has directed at Dryden, Boynton, and DeWitt Middle Schools, the Northern Lights Learning Center, the Hangar Theatre’s Kiddstuff series, and at both Dryden and Ithaca High Schools – including a life-changing production of Hairspray at IHS in 2018. Joey has taught acting at Ithaca College, Cornell, SUNY Cortland, Hangar Theatre’s Next Generation program, and the Ithaca Youth Bureau. As an actor, he has appeared in many productions with the Kitchen Theatre Company (and once or twice with R2P). He is grateful to be part of a community that has allowed him to create his dream job by supporting the work that he loves so dearly.
Tucker Davis (R2P Managing Director & Resident Choreographer)
Tucker is originally from Idaho but has lived and trained all over the map including California, London, Madrid, Berlin and NYC. Tucker danced professionally with several ballet and contemporary complies in NYC, as well he toured the country with Broadway productions of both Cats and The Music Man, and has performed in some of the country’s most reputable theatre companies. Locally, Tucker has choreographed and directed shows at The Kitchen, Cider Mill Playhouse, Running to Places, The Hangar, Ithaca Ballet, Ithaca College, Cornell University, Opera Ithaca, and Wells College.