Houses On The Moon Theater Company Partners With The TRANSFORM Center To Promote Hope And Resilience For Youth Through The Arts

The University of Rochester's Mt. Hope Family Center and Susan B. Anthony Center has received a $8.5 million award, paid out over five years, which will allow the continuation of the work that began in 2018 when the transdisciplinary team received an initial $8.39 million grant from the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to create a Capstone Center on Child Abuse and Neglect as a national resource for child maltreatment research and training. 

HOTM will provide creative direction, consultation, and collaboration on a school-based theatre toolkit and curriculum that will promote hope and resilience while educating youth on how to address and unpack child abuse and neglect among themselves and their peers.

Led by the TRANSFORM Center's Community Engagement Core's director, Catherine Cerulli, JD, Ph.D. (recently honored at HOTM's 2023 AMPLIFY Gala), this collaboration is a unique transdisciplinary approach to fostering resilience to child abuse and neglect through the arts. As a company, HOTM leans into opportunities to use theater to discuss difficult topics with school-aged children. 

"Houses on the Moon is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a program that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of children. Our commitment to using the power of theater to explore our complex social climate aligns perfectly with the mission of this transdisciplinary collaboration. This unique opportunity brings together the best of both worlds, combining our artistic process of creation with the science of child maltreatment research through authentic partnership. We are thrilled to begin developing this important theater project and a school-based toolkit and curriculum that promotes hope and resilience, providing young people with the tools to address and unpack child abuse and neglect. Together, we aim to educate, inspire, and ultimately improve lives."  Emily Joy Weiner, Houses on the Moon Co-Founder/Artistic Director 

"The University of Rochester is partnering with Houses on The Moon on a very exciting play about child abuse and neglect prevention. The openness of the Houses' team and board, and the openness of the University of Rochester and our federal funder at the National Institute for Child and Maternal Health.... is an amazing synergy and will be one of the greatest joys of my work over the next five years. For Houses, there is no separation between art and life; they go boldly into the joys and sorrows of people's lives, walk into the tough spaces, and help us think differently about them."-- Dr. Catherine Cerulli, J.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester.

The TRANSFORM Center is one of three nationally funded centers dedicated to conducting research, disseminating discoveries, and building on best practices to help train the next generation of interdisciplinary professionals committed to preventing and addressing child abuse and neglect. 

DR. CATHERINE CERULLI is a passionate advocate for human rights and marginalized individuals. With extensive experience spanning over four decades, she has worked as a counselor, attorney, and researcher, specializing in supporting victims of violence. Dr. Cerulli holds multiple degrees, including a Juris Doctor from the University of Buffalo and a Master's and PhD from SUNY Albany. She has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles in addition to book chapters, law review articles, and published abstracts. She also hosts the Promoting Resiliency podcast. As a faculty member at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Dr. Cerulli teaches violence prevention courses, leads diverse research projects, and mentors students and junior faculty. The impactful work of Houses on the Moon has profoundly influenced her scientific endeavors, contributing to the improvement of social determinants of health for the community at large. 

Founded in 2001, HOUSES ON THE MOON THEATER COMPANY (HOTM) is a home for unheard stories. HOTM's projects begin with relationship building, collaboration, and partnership with grassroots community organizations to identify an urgent social need; a vital untold story that must be heard. Their creation process includes extensive research, first-person storytelling workshops, and interviews, and their work is presented Off Broadway as well as in non-traditional spaces throughout New York City, the US, and internationally. Whether they are LGBTQ asylum seekers, undocumented youth, families impacted by gun violence or grappling with mass incarceration, Houses on the Moon collaborates with communities to theatrically amplify their untold stories, create awareness, offer support, and foster a more empathetic world.