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This winter, join us as the Kennedy Center proudly welcomes audiences to the Family Theater, the new home of Imagination Celebration. This 320-seat theater designed to house performances for young people and their families will open December 9, 2005, with a stage adaptation of "Alice," a children's book by actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg.
Since 1973, The Kennedy Center’s Youth and Family Programs (YFP) has presented performances for young people from preschool through high school, in both school and family audiences. Tens of millions of children, teachers, and families have enjoyed Imagination Celebration performances over these first three decades—both here at the Center and as part of Imagination Celebration on Tour, which visits more than 69 cities annually.
A program of the Center’s Education Department, YFP holds unique position in the field of performing arts for young people as a program that not only presents but also develops, commissions, produces, and tours productions in the traditional genres of theater, music, and dance as well as puppetry, musical theater, storytelling, and opera.
ARTSEDGE supports these Center-produced works with lessons, interactives, print and other integrated media resources that help students gain a richer understanding of live performance and the world of the arts. In celebration of our newest performance space—and the next 30 years of bringing the performing arts to young audiences—we have gathered some of our favorites for this month’s Spotlight.
Lessons:
Nifty Disguises
In the YFP production of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Lilly loves to wear nifty disquises. Students help Lilly decide which nifty disguise she will wear, through problem solving and by using a chart.
Freeze Frame
Designed to extend the experience of the opera The Emperor’s New Clothes, this lesson uses specific references to various Hans Christian Andersen resources to frame student-created tableaus.
A Character Lifebox
Students create a "life box" for a character in the play Shakespeare Stealer, based on the book (and Kennedy Center play) of the same name.
Music as a Storyteller
Students learn about music's ability to convey elements of storytelling, such as plot, tone, and characterization, in the Kennedy Center's production of The Nightingale.
Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
This lesson focuses on the content and style of development in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
A Lens into the Past
This lesson which supports the YFP Production of Dreams In The Golden Country uses photographs to visually describe the transition from old world to New World experienced by immigrants to the United States.
Boys Can Dance
This lesson looks at the male dancer and reinforces that dancing is beneficial for men and women.
Acting Up, Backstage
In this lesson, the students read the melodrama written into the play Little Women aloud, interpreting the scene and designing a set to accompany it.
Children of War
Based on the Scholastic Book The Journal Of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, students explore the realities and effects of war by examining children's diaries, journals, and letters.
King Arthur: Man or Legend?
The Kennedy Center Production of Excalibur leads students to further study about the legend of King Arthur as depicted in stories, poems, and artwork.
Designing a Shoe Box Set for Willy Wonka
Students identify settings in the play, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, creatively use their bodies to create a setting, and then plan a set for a scene in the play.
Lewis and Clark: Artful Recordings
Influenced by the production Lewis and Clark: West for America, students research, study and draw, plant and animal species discovered and recorded during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
How-To's:
Coaching Youth Storytellers
Storyteller and educator Kevin Cordi gives tips for coaching students in storytelling.
Bringing the Classroom to Life with Role-Play
Use role-play to activate your students' imaginations.
Advocacy Essentials:
Why Arts Education Matters
Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center and former senior vice president for the Kennedy Center, discusses the place of the arts in a comprehensive education.
Exercise Your Influence for the Arts
A call to action for teachers to take a proactive role in advocating for arts education.
Look·Listen·Learn:
Listen to The Nightingale
Using audio clips from the Kennedy Center's production of The Nightingale, students explore how music can communicate a story.
Celebrating Sondheim
Enter the complex and lyrical world of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated composers of the American musical theater.
Faces Tell Stories
In this activity, we explore how Kala Jojo, a master storyteller, makes a story come alive with his facial expressions. See if you can discover what emotion or mood he is conveying with his face !
Bodies Tell Stories
Learn how master storyteller Kala Jojo uses gesture and movement to create vivid pictures for his listeners. See if you can determine what emotion or mood he is conveying with his body!
Playing with Shadows
Discover the secrets behind the art of shadow puppetry in this multimedia exploration, designed for grades 5-8, which explores this age-old art form through animations, videos, interactive activities, and more.
Meet the Artist:
Judith Viorst, on the Art and Practice of Writing
Author and playwright of Alexander, Who's Not, Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move talks about her experience and habits as a writer.
Barbara Field, on Becoming a Playwright
The playwright for Dreams in a Golden Country talks about her beginnings and her creative process as a playwright.
Tim McDonald, on the Practice of Writing
The playwright for the Kennedy Center production Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka speaks about his experiences and challenges as a writer.
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