The Ferryman’s Toll Toolkit

Digital Engagement Toolkit

The Ferryman’s Toll

This toolkit accompanies The Ferryman’s Toll, a play shaped by questions of crossing, obligation, memory, and the cost of carrying the dead from one shore to another.

Use it to prepare for the production, deepen reflection, and explore how ritual, passage, grief, debt, and moral choice shape the story.

You can use this toolkit before viewing, during a classroom or community discussion, or afterward as part of writing, reflection, or group conversation.

Quick information

Who it is for: Educators, students, audiences, community groups, and facilitators.

What it supports: Viewing, discussion, reflection, and thematic engagement connected to The Ferryman’s Toll.

How to use it: Move in order or choose the sections that best fit your group, schedule, and setting.

Start here

Ways to use this toolkit

In a classroom: Use the guide’s questions and themes to discuss ritual, myth, mortality, and the meaning of obligation.

In a community setting: Use the toolkit to explore grief, remembrance, the ethics of care, and the symbolic meaning of passage from one state to another.

For individual use: Reflect on what the play suggests about what is owed, what is carried, and what must be released.

What you can do with this toolkit

  • Explore how the play uses crossing and toll-taking as symbols of duty, memory, and transition.
  • Reflect on grief, obligation, and the emotional labor of carrying others through difficult passages.
  • Consider how ritual and myth can help communities process death, loss, and change.
  • Discuss what it means to owe something to the dead, to the living, or to one’s own conscience.
  • Use the production as a way to think about thresholds, endings, and the price of moving forward.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need prior knowledge of mythology or ritual traditions to use this toolkit?

No. The study guide provides the context and themes needed to engage with the production.

Is this toolkit only for schools?

No. It is designed for students, educators, audiences, community groups, and facilitators.

What makes this production especially useful for discussion?

The play’s focus on passage, obligation, grief, and symbolic crossing makes it especially strong for conversations about mortality, ritual, and moral responsibility.

Need help?

If you encounter a barrier, please
contact Arizona Theatre Matters.