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Correspondent HOLYOKE The Enchanted Circle Theater recently received two grants that will bring needed creative education programs to the Holyoke Public Schools this fall. The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation awarded Enchanted Circle Theater (ECT) a $5,000 grant for its Living History Playwriting and Performance, an interdisciplinary, arts integration program that incorporates English Language Arts, Social Studies, Geography and the Performing Arts. The Davis Foundation will support the first year at the Peck Middle School and ECT will apply to the National Endowment for the Arts to fund the second and third years. "The program is designed to engage students in the creative process of learning, and give students the opportunity to find a personal connection to history, making the social studies curriculum compelling and relevant to their lives," Rachel Kuhn Daviau, ECT's managing director, said during an interview with Reminder Publications. The residency includes professional development for teachers, a series of artist-in-residence workshops for students, and multiple opportunities for middle school students within the district to showcase their achievements. "This program has been proven to enhance student's research and writing skills, improve their content retention, and bolster their self-confidence by developing communication and self-presentation skills," Kuhn Daviau added. Students will research, write and perform their own original dramatic narrative monologues, based on a time, place, and/or person in history. "Students and teachers are involved as writers, directors, actors and producers, giving them an entrepreneurial experience in learning," Kuhn Daviau said. "The program ends with a culminating performance which can be held in a classroom, on a stage, along a hallway, or on multiple landings in the school's stairwells." During the second and third years, if funding is secured, students will expand on the narrative monologue writings to include dialogue and scene work, historical reenactments, oral histories and in-depth storylines. Each classroom will create their own short play which will be directly aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The plays would be performed on the school's stage, involving simple sets, costumes and props borrowed from ECT and the Five College Community. "There have been many studies done in the past 10 years about the multiple benefits of arts education," Kuhn Daviau said. "Learning in and through the arts has been credited with increasing academic achievement, developing leadership skills, enhancing critical and creative thinking, and boosting self-confidence." Kuhn Daviau added that from ECT's perspective, "attendance records go up and behavior issues go down during ECT residencies." Due to the language issues of many of Holyoke's students, schools need to find a vehicle to enhance understanding and deepen response to literature in a meaningful manner, according to Kuhn Daviau. "The planned collaboration with ECT and the Holyoke Public Schools in the Living History model provides a vehicle that incorporates multiple intelligences and a deeper motivation for reading comprehension and analytic writing in a vibrant and engaging literacy model," she added. ECT also recently received a $10,000 grant from the United Bank Foundation in support of a new program with Holyoke Public Schools titled Experiential Arts Exploration. "Experiential Arts Exploration is specifically designed as a collaboration with the Holyoke Public Schools 21st Century CONNECTIONS After-School Program," Kuhn Daviau said, explaining the program gives participants an opportunity to experience four distinct arts disciplines through personal exploration and observation. The program, to begin in the fall, is divided into four eight-week units of study. In each unit, 20 students in the Kelly School CONNECTIONS After-School Program will work with a professional teaching artist from ECT to explore theater, dance, music and visual arts. Each eight-week unit includes six experiential workshops, one day of student sharing, and a chosen field trip in the corresponding arts discipline to one of the professional arts venues in Western Massachusetts. "The program will offer a unique opportunity in equitable access to the arts for Holyoke youth, the vast majority of whom have no other opportunity for enrichment or extracurricular studies," Kuhn Daviau said. The goal is to provide a vehicle which teaches to all learning styles, incorporates multiple intelligences, and deeper understanding of the creative process of learning for students in an engaging expeditionary learning model, according to Kuhn Daviau. "Including a family member or guardian on the field trip increases the opportunity to expand exposure for both the child and adult which will, in turn, build in a support structure for future arts experiences," she added. Field trip selections include the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts and the Wistariahurst Museum, both in Holyoke; City Stage in Springfield; Majestic Theater in West Springfield; Jacob's Pillow Dance in Becket; Meade Art Museum in Amherst; Fine Arts Center and the New World Theater, both at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Smith Art Museum and the Calvin Theater, both in Northampton; Mass MOCA in North Adams; the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and The Bushnell in Hartford, Conn. "Selections will be chosen according to the quality of the artistic discipline, the relevance of the subject, the potential inspiration and enjoyment for the students and their elders, and the opportunity to expand horizons for the Holyoke youth," she said. Kuhn Daviau noted the program has the potential to transform students' lives. "For a young person able to work closely with a professional artist is, in itself, a powerful learning experience," she said, adding, "personal standards get raised and aspirations change." Kuhn Daviau said that future programming for the CONNECTIONS program would need to be sustained through a combination of foundation support and state Department of Education funding, as administered by the Holyoke Public Schools CONNECTIONS Program. For more information on ECT's programs, call (413) 534-3789 or visit www.enchantedcircletheater.com. | ||||||
