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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Charlotte, NC Permit No. 3036
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February 2020
Unify Inspire Celebrate Creativity Serve Others
OUR MISSION
Learn how an actor in the national tour of Broadway’s Once on This Island inspired Charlotte middle schoolers to dream big. Visits like this are one way Blumenthal Performing Arts lives its mission.
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Students from Bailey Middle School perform Once on This Island JR., after taking a master class from an actor with the national tour of the Broadway show.
130 N. Tryon St. | Charlotte, NC 28202-2100
IGNITING OPPORTUNITY
HOW TO INSPIRE KIDS? BRING A BROADWAY ARTIST TO THEIR CLASSROOM!
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by LIZ ROTHAUS BERTRAND
Put yourself in 13-year-old Ashley Horne’s shoes for a moment. She was in the midst of rehearsing for Bailey Middle School’s fall production of Once on This Island JR. – a condensed version of the show especially made for students – when she and her castmates heard they would get to participate in a master class with one of the actors currently performing in the Broadway national tour of Once on This Island. What’s more, they would go as a group to see the show performed live at Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. “When Ms. Klingman, our director, told us we were going to have an actual cast member come to us, and teach us about the musical, I did not believe her at first,” says Ashley, who is from Cornelius. “I was just in awe.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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A week before their own performances, Robert Zelaya, the national tour’s dance captain and a member of the ensemble, visited the students at their school. Zelaya helped them better understand the cultural context of Once on This Island, set in the French Antilles of the Caribbean. He also showed them how dance and movement could be used to magnify their emotions onstage. By incorporating big gestures with their arms and staying low to the ground, for example, students could evoke nature and gratitude for the earth – themes that resonate throughout this tale pitting an island’s mythical gods against one another. Ashley says the master class gave her and her castmates a deeper connection with the characters. Zelaya also took time to answer student questions about life as a professional performer. “Before, I wasn’t sure that theater was something that I really wanted to pursue in the future, something that I wanted to continue in college,” says Ashley. “He told us about the community that you form in theater … the magic that you can bring with it. It really meant something to me. When I perform, I feel like I am conveying this really magical story to the audience.” Speaking of magical, the school’s cast and crew – 35 kids in all – also got to see the next evening’s performance from an unbelievable vantage point. “We had the opportunity to sit on the stage while they performed,” says Ashley. “And there were times when some of the actors were right next to us. There were smoke machines across the stage, music from real instruments right next to us. It’s definitely an experience that I’m never going to forget.” “It was an amazing experience for them and us,” says Emily Klingman, Bailey Middle School’s theater director, noting that some students had never attended a professional performance before. “It touched the children so much that it actually brought tears to them at the end,” says Deanna Riley, the school’s dance educator. Blumenthal Performing Arts helps make experiences like this possible – not only by bringing the best in the performing arts to local audiences but by building connections and supporting young artists every day in our community through a variety of innovative programs. In March, the group from Bailey Middle School will have an opportunity to revisit their performance at the annual Junior Theater Celebration Charlotte, where they will share a
Students at Bailey Middle School participate in a master class with Once on This Island national tour dance captain and actor Robert Zelaya, right.
selection from Once on This Island JR. in front of a panel of distinguished theater professionals, for positive, instructive feedback. Just as important, they will meet hundreds of other kids their age with a passion for musical theater as they participate in voice, dance and acting workshops throughout this fun, all-day learning experience. Since 2007, Blumenthal has collaborated with iTheatrics, a premiere creative consultant in educational musical theater based in New York City, in association with Music Theatre International, the leading theatrical licensor, to bring this unique experience to local elementary and middle-school-aged students. ”The community support surrounding our students and teachers to put on a Junior show is amazing, and we are extremely lucky to live where we do, and to have teachers like Ms. Klingman, and myself who appreciate the arts and recognize its role in the lives of our students,” says Riley. “This experience is one that keeps children coming to school every day and helps them grow in so many ways.” T
HELP US INSPIRE MORE KIDS The Junior Theater Celebration Charlotte offers an enthusiastic, educational environment for students and teachers to interact with hundreds of others who share their passion for musical theater. During the celebration, each school group performs a selection from its school musical onstage in front of theater professionals who provide constructive feedback. The students also participate in interactive workshops while their teachers participate in professional development workshops with theater educators. The program is completely free to participants. Your support helps to provide kids the benefit of working as a team to create something they are proud of. Give now to help our schools start preparing for next year’s Junior Theater Celebration Charlotte!
A Bailey Middle School student performs Once on This Island JR.
blumenthalarts.org/junior-theater-celebration-charlotte
Serve Others
Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Charlotte, NC Permit No. 3036
130 N. Tryon St. | Charlotte, NC 28202-2100
SPARK
R
IE
S
by LIZ ROTHAUS BERTRAND
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
February 2020
Put yourself in 13-year-old Ashley Horne’s shoes for a moment. She was in the midst of rehearsing for Bailey Middle School’s fall production of Once on This Island JR. – a condensed version of the show especially made for students – when she and her castmates heard they would get to participate in a master class with one of the actors currently performing in the Broadway national tour of Once on This Island. What’s more, they would go as a group to see the show performed live at Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. “When Ms. Klingman, our director, told us we were going to have an actual cast member come to us, and teach us about the musical, I did not believe her at first,” says Ashley, who is from Cornelius. “I was just in awe.”
P
BRING A BROADWAY ARTIST TO THEIR CLASSROOM!
HOW TO INSPIRE KIDS?
IGNITING OPPORTUNITY
O
Learn how an actor in the national tour of Broadway’s Once on This Island inspired Charlotte middle schoolers to dream big. Visits like this are one way Blumenthal Performing Arts lives its mission.
T
S
E
I
R
O
T S
S
SPARK
OUR MISSION
Unify Inspire Celebrate Creativity Serve Others
Students from Bailey Middle School perform Once on This Island JR., after taking a master class from an actor with the national tour of the Broadway show.