Sunday, January 14, 2018

Theatre Lab


It's been a busy time with some fantastic, unexpected developments sprouting from Broadway Books First Class.

The latest news is that Ali Stroker (Spring Awakening, Glee) is leading a Theatre Lab for the children in third, fourth and fifth grades. We met with all of them on Friday to explain the program and gauge student interest.

Ali shared her idea for the 6-week workshop and sang/signed The Song of Purple Summer from Spring Awakening, which hooked them.

Ali's decision to sign was a conscious one, designed to honor the background of the students (most are Children of Deaf Adults) and show respect for Deaf culture. The mission of Theatre Lab incorporates those aims while providing a professional atmosphere for the children to explore emotions, learn about theater and have fun.

It's an incredible opportunity and before we left almost all of the students signed up to participate.

We begin Tuesday.

Language Arts Journal


An article I cowrote with Dr. Molly Ness for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) journal Language Arts is now available!

The article, entitled PERSPECTIVES ON PRACTICE: Books and Theater Arts Take Center Stage for Deaf and Hearing Children in the Early Grades, describes my program Broadway Books First Class.

It also highlights and includes input from guest artists Gregory Jbara, Charles Busch, Alison Fraser, Hollie Wright, Eden Duncan Smith, Devlin Elliott, Julianne Moore, Stockard Channing and Nathan Lane.

It is exciting to spread the word about the program and hopefully inspire other educators to use their available resources to promote things they are passionate about, which for me is literacy development, children's books and theater.

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