A Challenge To Change :

our grant award winning workshop-style

performance for Downtown St. Paul

Be part of the conversation: Book it now!

Contact zAmya’s Operation Manager, Deb Ervin, to schedule.

We’ll provide a 60-90 minute event filled with stories and skits performed by our artists, most of whom have experienced homelessness. Also included: small group conversations, community building activities and more!

• Performances can be in person, online, or hybrid

• Sliding scale fee, $0 - 5,000, based on budget size

• Your organization provides the venue

• Performances can be open to the public or private for your staff, team, or board

More Information

Designed to inspire conversations, challenge biases and change perceptions towards people experiencing homelessness, “A Challenge to Change” is 60-90 minute workshop-style performance. Through a partnership with Catholic Charities - Twin Cities, zAmya Theater Project has created a moving and bold experience for diverse audiences.  

zAmya Theater Project is now able to again present “A Challenge to Change” to various businesses and organizations in the downtown St. Paul community, thanks to the generosity of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. These workshop-style performances can be presented in-person live, online or a hybrid of both.

This important partnership began in 2021, with a shared goal to generate understanding and empathy between housed community members and community members experiencing homelessness. This partnership resulted in “A Challenge to Change” and was first performed at The Ordway in 2022.

 zAmya Theater Project’s “A Challenge to Change” presents a unique and meaningful opportunity for your organization to engage in a constructive dialogue about homelessness and how our culture is addressing the issue. 

The first part of the workshop is an entertaining and illuminating “shareformance” of imagined and true stories. The shareformance is followed by guided conversation based on the experience of seeing and hearing these stories. Expect to laugh, to move, to learn, to be inspired. 

Why book this experience now?

Homelessness is a serious issue in our state. One that we can solve if we work together. From research, we know: 

• Minnesotans want a community where families and future generations can live and thrive in safe and stable housing that everyone can afford. 

• Minnesota will be stronger when everyone can afford a safe, stable home. And we need everyone engaged in the conversation.

This unique programming is designed to start a dialogue not just about, but with those that are unable to afford housing due to high inflation, low wages, and lack of quality healthcare.

From Participants

“The workshop is a straightforward depiction of the challenges people who are unhoused face each day. It humanizes those who often go unseen by sharing their struggles, hopes and dreams - experiences we all have. A definite must for anyone hoping to increase their understanding of homelessness (and humanity) from those who have lived it firsthand.” - Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless participant

"zAmya created a space where I could learn about homelessness in a way that was more impactful and personal than the usual stats and talking points." - Pohlad Companies team member

Partnership Backstory 

Downtown St. Paul is home to numerous cultural and economic institutions; the Science Museum of MN, the Ordway, Xcel Energy Center and more. Additionally, several large corporations and other businesses call downtown their home, as well as a growing residential population. Our state capital is within view. All of this is overshadowed by concerns of the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness that have taken shelter throughout downtown St. Paul.

The number of unsheltered people living outside in St. Paul grew from 26 in Oct. 2019 to 380 in Sept. 2020. Over the past decade, St. Paul’s downtown population more than doubled. Along with this boom comes another increase: conversions of aging commercial buildings to high-end residential buildings. While this is great economic development, affordable housing has become a pressing issue.

The increase in homelessness, population, and affluence of stably housed residents is increasing concerns in downtown St. Paul. Narratives about those experiencing homelessness are often one-sided, focusing on individual circumstances and casting people as criminals or needy. “A Challenge to Change” is striving to not only address these narratives, but to evolve them into a discussion where understanding and compassion are found and judgment is left behind.

From our partner

Mike Rios-Keating, Social Justice Education Manager says:

“Among many gifts, one of the clear benefits this process brought is an opportunity for clients and residents to have agency and ownership in telling their stories. They’ve been invited to share themselves in creative ways and learned from each other in the process. Catholic Charities staff witnessed their residents engage in a unique community project and shared with me how much they looked forward to it every week. 

After seeing the process unfold, the final product was inspiring. I was inspired to challenge my own biases and baggage that still exists when it comes to housing insecurity, poverty, and mental health. There is an intentional involvement of the audience that makes it more than a theater show that one simply observes. Rarely have I seen the kind of bridging between housing secure and housing insecure communities that this show offers. The Downtown St. Paul community could benefit deeply from this project as we strive to break down barriers, dispel myths, and challenge stereotypes of homelessness and housing insecurity. A Challenge to Change is part of that work.”