PROS: Performances to Reduce Online Scams

School of Performing Arts faculty member Patty Raun celebrates successfully thwarting a phone scam in a scene from ‘This Is Not a Scam!!’ Photo by Mary Crawford for Virginia Tech.

About PROS

The goal of the "Performances to Reduce Online Scams (PROS)" project is to collect data directly from older adults and offer them targeted assistance in the form of an interactive theater play in order to prevent online scams.

Led by Katalin Parti, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, co-PI, Pamela Teaster, professor and director of the Center for Gerontology, Susanna Rinehart, associate professor of Performance at the School of Performing Arts, Mason Rosenthal, instructor, post-MFA fellow, School of Performing Arts, and Charles Dye, associate professor of Cinema Production at the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech.

Learn More About PROS

Members

Mason Rosenthal(playwright and director)

Samridhi Roshan (website manager, Spring 2022)

Dr. Pamela Teaster | Virginia Tech — Dr. Pamela Teaster (co-PI, gerontology)

Faika Tahir (PhD student, sociology) — Faika Tahir (Ph.D. student, sociology)

Kirpa Kaur (website manager, video editor, 2022/23)

Susanna Rinehart | Virginia Tech — Susanna Rinehart (playwright and director)

Victoria Bechtold (Grad student, sociology)

Charles Dye | Virginia Tech — Charles Dye (Member)

Additional members: Patrick McElligott, Elizabeth Harrell, Amanda Ljuba, Anushree Sengupta, and Berkeley Oglesby

Interview Videos

Interview with Dr. Katalin Parti, PI

Interview with Mason Rosenthal (playwright and director)

Interview with Dr. Pamela Teaster (co-PI, gerontology)

Interview with Faika Tahir (Ph.D. student in Sociology)

Previous Important Dates

Shows were held in Spring 2023:

Blacksburg Library	Thursday Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
Warm Hearth Village	Friday Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
English Meadows	Saturday Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.
Christiansburg Library	Monday Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
Theatre 101	Tuesday Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.