Higher EDUCATION
is your campus ready to join the movement?
***NOW ONLINE!***
Introducing the puru at UC Santa Cruz
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.
Don’t take our word for it.
Scroll down to learn more about:
*Suggested $600-$1,250
Mainstage Program
How The Potty Trained Us
Assume The throne
*Suggested $250-$1,000
Complementary Programming
Flush: The Documentary
Workshops & Master Classes
Campus Assessment & Action
*All programming offered at sliding scale. We strive towards creating accessible opportunities for all. Seriously. Shawn once did a show for a dozen donuts. Email us! Let’s figure it out :)
Mainstage Programs
"How the Potty Trained Us" as featured on American Hipster.
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.
“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
"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
How the Potty… is based on 2015’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.
Assume the throne
The Puru spills the beans on “Tao of Poo,” a time-tested recipe to transform our personal and collective crap into nourishment worthy of our inherent Royalty. Anyone can master “The Four Noble Poops” through this intimate blend of storytelling, ritual and razzle-dazzle, combining nature’s template for compost with wisdom from world religions, lessons learned from ten years of preaching POOP-positivity worldwide, and a hearty dose of audience participation. A heart- and colon-warming experience unlike anything you ever thought necessary, the time has come to ASSUME THE THRONE.
ASSUME THE THRONE was created by Shawn Shafner, and directed by Alex Beck. It has been performed in real life living rooms, black boxes and zoom screens across America (and once in India!) since 2018.
“Shawn brilliantly combines humor and history, lore and logic, and sh** and stagecraft to engage new audiences in unique ways. He had an entire room of otherwise reserved folk singing at the end of his show.”
- Ed Brands, Environmental Studies, University of Minnesota, Morris
Complementary Programming
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.
Students at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
"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
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.
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
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!
Campus Assessment & action
These distinguished institutions scoop POOP. Is yours ready to make a splash?
Arizona State University
Augustana University
Brooklyn College
California State University at Chico
Clarkson University
Columbia University
The Cooper Union
Hamline University
Hanover College
Long Island University
MIT
Oakton Community College
Plymouth State University
Pratt Institute
Seattle University
Tufts University (School of the Museum of Fine Arts)
University of Alabama
University of California Santa Cruz
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Morris
University of New Mexico
University of Vermont
University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point
University of Washington