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Education
EDUCATION & OUTREACH - CATCO IN THE
COMMUNITY
Become
a part of it!
We’ve
set the stage for you and your students to create, experience,
and learn THEATRE.
EDUCATION MISSION
The
Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO) recognizes that
as the largest professional theatre company in Central Ohio it
has a responsibility to serve as a resource to its
community, enhancing the quality of life for area residents of all
ages, races, religions, sexes and sexual
orientations.
CATCO's Education Programs are esigned to:
1.Creat e a forum
where diverse cultures and
multiple
generations learn to understand and appreciate each
other,
2.Engineer
participatory theatre experiences; experiences that inspire
and support students, teachers, families and the
community to reach their full
potential,
3.Cultivat e safe
and accepting artistic environments in classrooms and in the
community where individuals of any age can explore and
identify with diverse worlds, cultures, and ideas.
4.Nurtur e the next
generation of theatergoers and theatre
professionals.
David
Hilliard, Principal, Maryland Avenue Elementary
School –
Committee Chair
William
R. Childs, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The Ohio State
University
Todd
Decker, Theatre Directos,
Bexley City Schools
G. Hannah
Dillard, Director, Mayor's Office of Education,
City of Columbus
Chuck
Gurney,
Meteorologist/Television Personality, WBNS-TV, Inc.
Annette Jefferson, Ph.D., Director of Development, The J.
Ashburn Junior Youth Center
Victor
Johnson, Career Pathways Coordinator, Columbus
Public Schools
Pam
Kallner, International/Multicultural Education
Coordinator, Bexley City Schools
Patricia
Lemley, Ph.D., Educator, Consultant
Tracy
Mahoney, Director of Community Relations,
Children's Hospital
Maria
Mone,
Executive Director, Ohio Commission on Conflict Resolution
Diana Evans
Vance,
Educator, Hilliard Davidson High School
Beth
Varcho,
Corporate Communications Administrator, Grange Insurance,
Inc.
Staff
Representative: Thomas L. Stephens, Director of
Education, CATCO
Questions about
CATCO’s Educational Advisory Committee and its education
mission can be e-mailed to tstephens@catco.org
THEATRE IN THE
SCHOOLS
Adopt – A – Class
Due to
the demand on existing school budget and increased student
numbers, many young people still have never experienced a live
theatre production, visited a professional theatre or met a
professional actor. CATCO’s Adopt – A – Class Program matches sponsors with schools in the hope that all students
in Central Ohio will have access to CATCO’s professional
presentations and education programs. Contact the
Education Department if you or your business would like to
underwrite the costs for a class, an entire grade or school to
attend the theatre, or to be further enriched by in-school
residency.
Artist Residencies
Short and
long-term artist residencies are made available to area
schools and community centers for nominal fees.
Conducted by members of CATCO’s artistic and education teams,
residencies are offered in many theatrical areas to help
students develop their critical thinking, writing and
presentation skills and can range from ½ day to weeklong
experiences. CATCO’s In-school Residency Program is
adapted to each school’s need.
Columbus Young Playwrights
Festival For grades 7 – 12.
CATCO wants
to help you unleash the budding young playwrights in your
classroom by involving them in Columbus’ premier theatre
education program, The
Columbus Young
Playwrights Festival.
The Festival will challenge students to become actively involved
in the art of theatre by writing original plays. As
a vital component of the Theatre In the Schools Program,
The Festival is one in a logical, progressive series
of activities designed to assist YOU, the teacher, to integrate
theatre and playwriting into your classroom. Participating
schools will receive FREE teaching materials and guides, FREE in-class playwriting workshops, and FREE
written evaluations of each student play submitted.
Each
submission to The Festival must
explore CATCO’s season theme. For the 2002-03 season,
the theme will be identity, diversity
and tolerance. Students will be asked
to:
Write a
short play in which the main character must choose between
respecting his or her identity and being accepted by
society.
Following a judging process, the winning plays will be staged
in the Studio Two Theatre at the Vern Riffe Center for Government
and the Arts in May. CATCO’s education
staff will also assist all winning playwrights to prepare
their scripts for submission to the National Young Playwrights’
Festival, sponsored by the Dramatists Guild in New York City.
If you are an educator in Central Ohio your first step toward
student participation is downloading, completing and returning
by fax or mail a copy of the YPF Registration Form.
Community Touring
Productions
CATCO’s history of educational touring
dates back to the Company’s 1989-90 season. Each season
CATCO commissions or selects an artistic work which lends
itself by content and scale for touring to school and community
venues where students and/or residents face travel or financial
challenges preventing them from taking part in CATCO’s resident
programs. Like CATCO’s resident productions, each touring
production is packaged with a
study guide for classroom use.
CATCO is currently accepting bookings for
local touring. Performances run 45 minutes
with a post-performance 15-minute question and answer.
Fees range. Contact the Education Department for fee schedules and information.
Educators’
Workshop
Each season, in the third week in August, CATCO kicks off its Theatre In the Schools Program with a daylong
Educators’
Workshop. Through lectures, discussions, and
hands-on activities conducted by CATCO staff and noted academic experts,
teachers are provided with
 Tips
for integrating live theatre experiences into
existing
classroom
activities
Techniques and exercises for
teaching playwriting
Tools and resources to help
individual students or entire classes
become active participants in the
Columbus Young Playwrights Festival
Contextual
information on the historical period, socio-economic
influences, and cultural milieu for the play(s) supporting the season
theme
Information about performance and workshop
opportunities throughout the
year
Each participating teacher is given a registration kit
with source materials, sample activities, and dramaturgical
articles that can be used in the classroom.
The Workshop is offered FREE to the
public and lunch is provided for a nominal fee. CATCO is
seeking approval from the Columbus region’s Local Professional
Development Committee to award credit (LPDC) to participating
educators. If approved, this credit will appear in each
educator’s employee portfolio.
Special
Discounts
Students
receive discounted tickets, with a valid student id, to all
non-matinee performances except Saturday evenings.
Discounted student subscriptions are also made available for
each season’s main stage productions. Student subscriptions to CATCO’s 2002 –
03 season cost only $77.
Student/Senior
Morning Matinee Series
Each season, CATCO offers Student/Senior matinee
performances for select productions. Tickets for these special morning performances
are $8 per student or $12 per senior citizen. As a bonus, school groups are given 1 FREE chaperone
ticket for every 20 student tickets purchased, a complimentary
classroom workshop, and a detailed study guide.
The following
productions have been selected for academic year 2002-03. For reservation information,
send your inquiry to tstephens@catco.org
or call (614)
461-1382 extension 130.
Study guides are available for convenient
download from this site, 6 weeks prior to each production’s
opening by clicking on the “Study Guide”
links.
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The Laramie
Project by Moisés
Kaufman and the members of Tectonic
Theater Project |
| Date(s) and time(s): |
October 2, 16, and at 10:30
a.m. |
October 9 at 10 a.m. |
| Appropriate for grades 9 -
12 |
Study
Guide |
|
| A Tuna Christmas,by Joe Sears, Jaston Williams, and Ed Howard |
| Date(s) and time(s): |
December 10 and 11 at 10:30
a.m. |
|
| Appropriate for grades 5 -
12 |
Study
Guide |
|
| Kindertransport by Diane
Samuels |
| Date(s) and time(s): |
March 5, and 20 at 10:30 a.m.
|
March 12 at 10 a.m. |
| Appropriate for grades 7 -
12 |
Study
Guide |
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| Proof by David Auburn |
| Date(s) and time(s): |
April 2, 9, 15, and 23 at 10:30
a.m. |
|
| Appropriate for grades 7 -
12 |
Study Guide |
|
For Theatre In the Schools and other
school-based program information contact CATCO’s Education
Department at
(614) 461-1382 extension 130
or by e-mail at tstephens@catco.org
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