A female student stands center stage performing spoken word as her peers watch on in support in the background.

Photo by Gabby Allen.

Oratory Residency and Festival Application Form

This program is a collaborative effort between classroom teachers and Ford’s Theatre Teaching Artists. After classrooms have been selected for the program, we will circulate an orientation video for educators outlining the program structure and goals. Teaching Artists will then be paired with educators to schedule classroom visits. The program culminates in a two-day festival on February 2 and 3, 2027. Classrooms will be notified about their performance date before winter break.

For schools planning to participate with multiple classrooms, please submit separate application forms for each class.

Name(Required)

First Last

Phone Number(Required)

Best time to call(Required)

Email(Required)

Preferred communication(Required)

School Name(Required)

School Address(Required)

Street Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

School Phone Number(Required)

School Title One Status or Percent of Student’s Receiving Free/Reduced Lunch(Required)

Principal Name(Required)

First Last

Principal Email(Required)

Principal Phone Number(Required)

Grade Level (check all that apply):(Required)

Number of Students in your Classroom(Required)

What content area do you teach?(Required)

This program requires classroom educators to teach historical context outside the teaching artists visits. How does teaching the speeches historical and biographical content fit into your curriculum?(Required)

What are you hoping your students will take away from participating in this program?(Required)

What more do we need to know about your school or classroom for the visits to be successful?(Required)

Please review the following speeches and rank the top three texts you would like your class to perform for the Oratory Festival.

Oratory Residency and Festival Speech Selections

First Choice(Required)

Second Choice(Required)

Third Choice(Required)

Ford’s Theatre provides complimentary transportation for participating classrooms on their scheduled Oratory Festival day:(Required)

Yes, I will be utilizing transportation organized by Ford’s Theatre

No, my school wil coordinate our own transportation to and from the festival

Please read each statement below carefully and check the box to confirm your understanding.

Acknowledge 1(Required)

I acknowledge that if my classroom is chosen to participate, we are committing to completing the five classroom residency and taking part in the final performance taking place at Ford’s Theatre on either February 2 or February 3, 2027.

Acknowledge 2(Required)

I acknowledge that the festival performances are filmed and that media releases must be submitted for students appearing on the video recording. Classes with incomplete media releases may not be included in the completed video.

Acknowledge 3(Required)

I understand that program capacity is limited and, as such, not all classrooms that apply may be able to participate.