COT for Teens attend Duke Ellington's Jazz Opera!

Dr. Jennifer D'Agostino - COT for Teens, Director at Solorio Academy High School

I have been lucky to have the opportunity to watch the students in Chicago Opera Theater for Teens at Solorio Academy experience new things. Recently, we attended Chicago Opera Theater's Thursday evening dress rehearsal of Duke Ellington's "Queenie Pie."

For many students, it was their first opera. For some, it was their first time downtown. The excitement was evident from the first seconds of our time together. We ordered some pizzas, and took a bus to the event. We had our COT for Teens from 3:30-10pm! As soon as the students came to our program they were buzzing with questions about the day. They all wanted to change from their regular school uniforms into their purple After School Matters t-shirts. It was really fun to see some of them make their t-shirt outfit fancy by curling or straightening their hair, wearing nice pants or skirts, and adding other items of personal style. Our games, song rehearsals, and acting exercises for the day were over-the-top, as all students participated and were having fun, leaving their inhibitions at the door. Mr. Roemer and I had a lot of fun too, because we remembered what it was like to have a new experience, and since we had already seen the first act of "Queenie Pie," we knew they would like it.

We had already discussed and acted out the plot, so the students knew a little of what to expect. We showed them a couple videos that COT was using to advertise the event and we went over concert etiquette. One boy asked me "If I introduce myself to someone, do I shake their hand?" This event was great for them because they had the opportunity to take ownership of their roles as ambassadors of Solorio, Chicago Opera Theater for Teens, and After School Matters. I was so pleased to see them introducing themselves, shaking hands with new people, laughing at funny parts, and reacting to some of the uncomfortable moments.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay to the end of the performance, but we did sneak out in enough time to take a couple fancy pictures on the steps of the Harris Theater. Since Mr. Roemer had to take off for a rehearsal for another gig, we were accompanied by our ASM liaison/Solorio teacher: Laura Vaca, Solorio's choir teacher: Andrew Sons, and Solorio's band teacher: Madeleine Mollinedo. I can't wait for our next field trip to Autumn Green Retirement Center on Monday, March 31st, where the kids will put on their own performance! 

350 Opera for All students attended Queenie Pie Opera!

Sara Litchfield - Assistant Teaching Artist

On Tuesday, February 11^th, all six CPS schools participating in the Opera for All program hopped on 12 busses and came to the Harris Theater to watch a dress rehearsal of COT’s production of Duke Ellington’s jazz opera Queenie Pie.  For many, if not most students present, it was their first experience going to the opera and I was thrilled to see that some students even came dressed up.  Before entering the theater, our classes set up camp on the various levels of the lobby for an indoor picnic and played acting games with the teaching artists.  Many of them were mesmerized by the neon lights and massive production posters displayed throughout the lobby.  Upon seeing a particular picture of an elaborately costumed ballerina, a young lady from Armstrong Elementary asked me, “Is that Queenie Pie?”

Once everyone found their seats in the balcony, Linden Christ, talked a bit about the composer, the plot and reviewed proper audience etiquette.   Due to the CPS school day release time, we were only able to see Act I.  I personally felt that the music, the dancing, the costumes, set and in particular the fantastic singing of this incredible cast perfectly embodied jazz and the vibrant life of the Harlem Renaissance.  This was a very unique operatic experience for me because there was spoken dialogue throughout and the usual coloratura or soaring legato phrases were replaced with scat and crooning.  It might have been a perfect introduction to the art form for our students because the operas they are writing also include dialogue and songs that are much more reminiscent of popular music than traditional opera. As is the case in many operatic tales, Queenie Pie dealt with some mature subject matter, especially dealing with race.  One particular character advocated the use of skin whitening or bleaching products so that African American girls would not have to be so “dark”, which I could see made a few girls in my area of the balcony uncomfortable.  I was pretty relieved that this character was then quickly established as the antagonist.  There were also a few, as the kids described them, “gross, mushy scenes” with kissing and light sexual innuendo.  But to be perfectly honest, the raciest material in the opera is mundane next to certain ads during the Super Bowl or subject matter of many network TV shows that air after 7pm.  We encouraged our partner teachers to have the students write about the opera in their journals and the class period following their visit to the theater, we prompted a class wide discussion about the opera where kids were encouraged to share their opinions in a safe, artistic environment.  I found that overall the students came away with really broad perspectives of the opera both appreciating the talented performances and exciting music while still intelligently considering any content that prompted emotional responses, whether good or bad.  Isn’t that what art is truly about?  Something that makes you think, that takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to consider the world from a different perspective.  I can only hope that this experience will inspire our students to continue to seek out art with open ears, eyes and minds.

COT for Teens at Gallery 37

Caryn Ott Hillman - COT for Teens, Director at Gallery 37

I don’t know how this happens, but every semester I feel we have THEE BEST TEENS EVER!!!  Once again, this new collection of teens from different schools, backgrounds and talent levels come together and create an amazing ensemble. 

I was a bit apprehensive about not doing a full show like Guys and Dolls which we did last semester.  It’s true, the teens usually like knowing the show in advance so they can dream up which character they want to audition for.   However, this semester we chose songs from a wide range of musicals and operas so we could offer more variety of styles, genres, and solos to out teens.  This can be a hit or miss because they do not typically recognize the pieces and this can deter some teens from returning or even joining our class.  Thankfully, we once again acquired some fun loving, hard working individuals. 

We started off with Sondheim’s “Weekend in the Country” from A Little Night Music which is extremely fast and extremely wordy.  And like most challenges, the teens love how tricky it is!

Next, we came at them with a surprising twist – “Cell Black Tango” from Chicago.  Yes, a risqué dance number to show our audiences that we are not just a stand-and-sing type of group.  As you can imagine, they love this number the best.  It allows them to be their rebellious selves on stage.  I incorporated the Fosse dance style which was a bit strange at first for the teens to grasp but they are now totally owning it!

The Finale to Act One of Into the Woods is the big animated group number that we wanted to show off if we are chosen to perform at the After School Matters’ City Wide performance.  Again, Sondheim offers up a mouthful of descriptive words in an up tempo piece that is just so much fun to perform.  They learned all the music and choreography in 3 classes! Astounding!!!

This is a diagram of movement formations that the students had to learn in "Into the Woods".   The teens love the choreography!  (Looks a bit like a football play)

We just recently introduced a beautiful ballad that has become our “anthem” for the semester – “Love me As I Am” from Side Show.  This is a musical about Siamese twins that are a part of a circus side show.  Along with their other fellow performers, they want to be accepted for their uniqueness, not shunned.  Isn’t this true for ALL teenagers?!

And last but not least, “Va Pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco.  Yep, they are singing in Italian again.  How could they not fall in love with the richness and the heart & soul of this piece?  Not gonna lie, it is a challenge for them with words they cannot understand and sounds they are not use to making.  Never the less, they really get into the musicality of it all.

All in all, these teens are soaking up all this knowledge like sponges!  We are only half way through our 10 weeks and we have accomplished so much already.  Mr. Richard and I have one more show stopping number to throw at them if they are up for it…

Opera for All at Armstrong Elementary School

Sara Litchfield - COT Teaching Artist

Teaching Artist, Justin Callis and myself have had the privilege of working with two exceptional classes (Ms. Kolb’s 4^th grade class and Mrs. Dayer’s 3^rd grade class) at George B. Armstrong International Studies Elementary School.  For having started almost a month later than the other schools participating in OFA, we have been able to cover quite a bit of material with them to lay the groundwork for the creation of our spring operas.  


For our Winter Showcase, the students began by teaching their parents one of our favorite theater games, Zip Zap Zop.  We then performed the following jazz songs for our audience of students and parents: I’ve Got Rhythm by Gershwin, Moon River by Henry Mancini, It Don’t Mean A Thing and Take the A Train, both written by Duke Ellington.   Each song was introduced by a pair of students who were also asked to include an interesting fact about the piece or composer that they had researched on their own.   Justin and I even learned a few things from these informative introductions, in particular that Duke Ellington’s last words were, “Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered.”  

In between songs, the students shared poems they had written in preparation for the songs we will be writing this semester.  We had poems ranging in topic from Duke Ellington, who was described as a “Swellington” to Justin Bieber, who tends to pop up a lot, much to my chagrin.  Justin Bieber aside, these students are always eager to participate, share and learn and very often approach Justin and I with really thoughtful questions or facts about jazz or opera that they have discovered on their own time. 

In one of our final classes, a young man asked me if he could use some free time to sketch set and costumes ideas in his opera journal and then explained how his mom recently bought him his very own opera journal so that he could start composing his own opera at home.  Talk about a, “cup runneth over” moment.  From the creativity and originality that I have already seen from these two classes, I could not be more excited to observe the opera creation that will unfold in the months ahead. 

Opera for All at Sabin

Michael Orlinsky - COT Teaching Artist             

               We have been having a wonderful time at Sabin this semester.  I started the semester in Mrs. Loerzel’s class assisting Bryna Berezowska.  The students were very energetic and excited.  We had been putting together some music to be performed with Chicago Opera Playhouse’s production of Hansel and Gretel and for our Winter Showcase.  There are many standouts in this class with good voices and an interest in performing.  Before I transferred to another class I had a conversation with one of the students about magic tricks.  He showed me some of the tricks that he could do, and I came back for the last class to show him some of the card tricks that I had learned when I was younger. 

                The field trip was a ton of fun as well!  We started the trip with a visit to the park, and we spent some time playing at the Lincoln Statue behind the museum while another school was finishing their introduction to the museum.  We received our introduction from the director of the tour.  I ended up leading the classes, and organizing the field trip so we could efficiently fulfill our goals for the day.  Much thanks to our parents and chaperones that lead some of the groups that day.  Once the day was organized we split up in to small groups and toured the museum.  We had lots of fun in the Jazz and Blues section, and especially so pretending to be a hot dog in the kids section of the museum.  We had also spent a good portion of time enjoying the train and the Chicago Fire exhibit.

                After the museum trip I moved over to Mr. Cerda’s class.  We started right in to our projects for the Winter Showcase.  There were a couple of different exercises we started for our Winter Showcase including the “Tableau”.  This was a series of physicalizations of a storyline in which we froze and formed a stage picture together of the moment.  We came up with a scenario together in which we fled the Chicago Fire.  We stopped for Chicago Dogs, but they were so hot we kept dropping them!  Then we all got on a boat and successfully fled from the Chicago Fire!  It was a very energetic portrayal of this story done at the Winter Showcase. 

                Following our tableau game we read the lyrics that we had come up with together that we will be using in our opera next semester.  Some of the students read the lyrics out loud for the showcase, and some of the kids even shared some of the character bios that they came up with for their roles in the opera.  After these exercises we sang through our Jazz song that we have been practicing in our classrooms “I Got Rhythm”.  In preparation for the holidays we had a sing-a-long of “Jingle Bells” as well.

                Our last class of the semester I came in and took over the classes for the students to do Evaluations.  We got through our evaluations, and moved on to some games.  I showed the kids some magic tricks and we played some games incorporating the cards.  We all seemed to be enjoying ourselves very much.  I’m very much looking forward to next semester when we start seriously delving in to the creation of this opera!

COT for Teens a Hit at Solorio!

We could create an entire new blog about the wonderful first semester we had at Solorio Academy High School, but instead we think it sounds better coming from our very own Jennifer D'Agostino, Teaching Artist for both COT for Teens and Opera For All.  Enjoy her blog entry:

http://soloriocot4t.blogspot.com/2013/12/guys-dolls-solorio-academy.html

Ready for the Show

Jessica Weber, Education Assistant

Our COT for Teens are dressed and ready for their shows this weekend and next!  Through an amazing partnership with ASM's Hats, Headbands, and Beyond, our Hot Box Girls have an addition to their costumes that we could not be happier with.

Hot Box Girls from Gallery 37

All of the boys look so dapper in their suits.  We just cannot wait to see them perform!

COT for Teens with Andy Sons (center), music teacher at Solorio Academy HS

The Performances take place in two locations:

Fine Arts Building
COT for Teens at Gallery 37
410 S. Michigan Ave, Room 833
7pm on December 7th

Solorio Academy High School
5400 S. St. Louis Street
Chicago, IL 60632
7pm on December 13
1:30pm on December 14

Video Blog from Solorio Teens

Jennifer D'Agostino, COT for Teens Stage Director

Aside from the excitement of being part of Chicago Opera Theater’s “Opera for All” program, I have the honor of stage directing the After-School Matters/Chicago Opera Theater for Teens program and Solorio Academy. It has been great fun to work with the teens at Solorio who many, if you read Michael Roemer’s blog post, are experiencing the world of opera and music theater for the first time. Together, Mr. Roemer, our school liaison Laura Vaca and I, work hard to figure out what will create the best experience for our teens. The program is 2 1/2 hours, three times a week, and we have many dedicated participants and a supportive staff! The best part of working with the teens is being able to tap into their skills and use their gifts to make the program as strong as possible. We are surrounded by fantastic young dancers, artists, actors, and writers! I can’t wait to see what next semester brings and how we will continue to grow.

Mr. Michael Roemer and I make sure to check in with the kids once and a while to see what they like best about the program. I’m happy to see that (without prompting) these teens mention so many positive aspects of working in the arts and arts integration! I hope you enjoy the mini video blog I put together highlighting some of our wonderful students!

New Program! COT for Teens at Solorio

Michael Roemer, COT for Teens Teaching Artist

 

My name is Michael Roemer, and I’m new to Chicagoland and Chicago Opera Theater for Teens. My collaborator, Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino and I are leading a new branch of COT for Teens at the Eric Solorio Academy High School. The school is new and fresh, but as the semester has progressed, new artwork and student activity has embellished the halls. We take our activities to the choir room where we’re putting together Guys and Dolls. Both Dr. D’Agostino and I are thrilled to help the Solorio students explore acting and singing!

Each day before we start our sessions, we usually wait outside the band and choir rooms. The sounds heard are certainly not similar to my high school band experience where most students had been playing their instruments since grade 5. No, here, some of these students are encountering these instruments for the very first time. As we selected our teens for the program, we found they were also encountering opera and musical theater for the very first time. We’re fortunate to have the support from Solorio’s choral instructor, Andrew Sons, and band instructor, Madeline Molinedo. They have provided us with great insight in the recruitment and interview process.

 

It has been a challenge and pleasure to work with these students who are afraid to make noise at times, but that doesn’t mean they lack enthusiasm. We have a few stand-out stars who show considerable dedication, talent, and energy even after a full day of school. One of the teachers, Leah Velez, leads a ballroom dance club, and we’re excited to collaborate with her for our “Havana” scene. In addition, we’re bringing Whitney Hershberger for a stage combat session in a couple weeks.

 

COT for Teens got to experience a rehearsal of Orpheus and Euridice

Another highlight of our program was the field trip to the Eckhart Park Natatorium for a dress rehearsal of Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice. The students loved this trip, and only complained about not seeing the entire production! It was a great way to expose them to what opera can be in contrast to the stereotypes they may have floating around in their heads. One student commented on a particular scene being “so beautiful, I cried.” The students met with Jerry Tietz and Andreas Mitisek for an introduction and Q&A session after the dress rehearsal. 

Teens at the pool

 

We’re excited to see how the students progress towards the end of the semester and performance, and we can’t wait to see them put on a show for the first time!

Reilly and Hampton's Lyrical Success

Justin Callis, OFA Teaching Artist

The past few weeks, our students had a special guest artist from Young Chicago Authors, Ms. Essie Linzy.  She worked with the students on lyric writing and poetry.  All of the students loved listening to her share her own poetry, and were very inspired by the video they had watched from Louder Than a Bomb.  When Ms. Linzy asked the students about the Chicago Fire, it was very clear all of the students really took advantage of their trip to the Chicago History Museum; they were filled with facts  and ideas, and really put their knowledge to good use.  Watching her work with the students, it was really clear she had a passion for both rhyme and imagination, and she coaxed and encouraged both out of all of our students.  

At Reilly, their teacher Ms. Drakulich was really impressed.  She told me how obvious it was that the students were really getting it, and that they were clearly having a ton of fun learning about writing.  In fact, that class was so enthusiastic about Ms. Linzy and her poem, they requested an encore performance of it at the end of class!  I know all of the students are so enthusiastic about continuing the writing process, and I am sure we will have a pile of wonderfully creative, imaginative operas about Chicago History and Jazz by the end of the school year.  I can't wait!

Chicago Opera Playhouse at OFA

Michael Orlinsky, Opera for All Teaching Artist

This year with Chicago Opera Playhouse we have been performing Hansel and Gretel for schools, and we (Students and Performers) are all having a great time!  The production is done in English and is adapted to fit the general assembly time. 

 

Throughout the semester we have been teaching the students in the “Opera For All” program the Gingerbread Chorus at the end of Hansel and Gretel.  In performance, the students are generally watching, but toward the end they get to stand up and sing with professional operatic singers.  This is an incredibly enriching process for both the performers and students.  The students get a taste of culture and music, and from a performers perspective; I get to explore the fresh uninhibited reactions within the audience.  It is a very telling experience and can be rather frightening as a performer because the kids will be sincere in their reactions for better or worse.  If you’re not working up to their standard you’ll see that in their reactions!

Chicago Opera Playhouse Cast

 

                As a Teaching Artist and performer I am able to associate much more with my students.  Last year I sang “The Wolf” in Jonathan Stinson’s The Knightly News with Chicago Opera Playhouse, but I wasn’t a Teaching Artist yet.  The difference between being a one time presence for the students and performing for them as someone they know and can associate with is tremendous.  I think it’s important for them to understand that the arts are within their reach and important.  If they see someone whom they associate with often as a teacher and then see another facet of their profession they can understand what they may be capable as well.  Through history, young people have learned through storytelling and the tradition of storytelling is less and less prevalent in our society.  This program opens their mind to the learning process in new ways.

 

COT Teaching Artists, Michael Orlinsky (Center) and Jennifer D'Agostino (Right)

 

                Our performances with Chase Elementary were very fun.  The students were well prepared and were engaged in the performance.  During the morning performance they were very attentive and the classes joining in the chorus did a superb job of singing.  The encore evening performance was well attended by parents and students alike.  The parents seemed to be enjoying themselves as well.  The students during the evening performance were excitable and chattered a bit throughout the performance.  Regardless, they were certainly appreciating the show.  They also sang very well for their parents.  This program is immensely important and effective in the schools.  It really opens up the eyes of these young people to opera and how approachable it can be.  The wall between them and this enriching art form is torn down with this show.

Chase OFA students after the performance

 

 

 

Opera for All at Hampton

Justin Callis, Opera for All Teaching Artist

Class at Hampton has been an exciting adventure. I’ve loved getting to work with the fifth graders; they have so much energy and enthusiasm. Every class, we try and hit on our major themes and ideas—singing, acting, listening, reading, and writing. I’ve shared some of my favorite jazz standards with the students, including Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald singing “Summertime” and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra playing “Take the ‘A’ Train.” We read Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” and learned about the Harlem

Renaissance. And the students learned the Gingerbread Chorus from Hansel and Gretel and sang it in a performance for the school. We’ve had a few weeks now with

them, and they’ve proven such imaginative students. Watching them come up with ideas about how the Chicago Fire happened in an alternate universe with our guest writer Ms. Linzy was so much fun! The students were so inspired by their trip to the Chicago History Museum. While there have been some challenging moments, mostly it has been because of too much enthusiasm for opera; students spend a lot of time jumping over each other to answer a question. Now that the students have some practice writing song lyrics, we will begin crafting a story and writing their opera. I can’t wait!

GUYS & DOLLS rockin’ the boat

Caryn Ott Hillman - COT for Teens Stage Director, Gallery 37

 

This fall semester we were blessed with many new students.  Was it due to the show GUYS AND DOLLS that we chose to do or has word gotten around that we are such a fun and creative class?  For whatever reason, we are over enrolled and Mr. Richard and I are elated!  I was thrilled to piece together a shorter script including even more cutesy 1940’s slang, like Sugar Lips, Doll Face and Cotton Tail.  It’s so over the top – it’s great fun!

     We are into our third week and we have already taught the music and choreography for three of the big chorus numbers – “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and “Oldest Established.”  This is a feat!  These teens are really buckling down and putting their all into their work.  Doing a triple-threat show is really challenging especially when most of these teens signed up because they simply love music and singing…but now I am expecting them to be leaping, sashay-ing and knee popping at the same time.  I’ve got to say, after I teach the movement and then see them execute it on all the correct beats and add character to it – I literally HOOT and jump up and down! (They all laugh at me).  That feeling is why I LOVE teaching so much!!!!!

     Now, that being said, we have TONS to still accomplish.  Tristin Hall, one of our loyal seniors, has been chosen to be our intern.  She has stepped up by selecting and running theater games in class, artistically creating the backdrop for our set and found some fantastic examples of the style of the era. 

 

In addition to all of this, she is playing one of the lead gamblers, Nicely Nicely Johnson.  With her guidance, we are building and painting our own set and piecing together costumes from everyone’s closet. 

 

     Speaking of costumes, one of the greatest opportunities is working with Angela Morano– the hat design teacher for After School Matters.  I inquired if she and her group of teens could design the Hot Box headbands for our show girl number “Take Back Your Mink.”   This is an exciting collaboration of two ASM classes that utilizes each other’s talents.  With their totally one-of-a-kind headbands designed specifically for our six dancers, we will showcase their work on stage in full lights and glory.  I couldn’t be prouder of this example of how different groups can complement one another!

     What can I say?  This is going to be a great production with the hearts and souls of our teens portraying 1950 Rat Pack-type gamblers.  Until the final day of rehearsal, I am praying that “Luck Be A Lady” for us!

Chase goes to the Chicago History Museum

Dr. Jennifer D'Agostino, COT Teaching Artist

I am so excited to be joining the team at Chase Elementary in their second year of Opera for All! We are lucky to have two returning partner teachers, Mr. Dzija and Ms. Martinez, and to introduce the program to a new partner teacher, Mr. Borges. We are already in our 4th week of OFA at Chase! Mr. Michael Orlinsky joins us in Mr. Dzija's morning session and I can tell, he is having a lot of fun! (I love the picture of Mr. Michael Orlinsky as a Chicago Style Hot Dog!)

 

This week, we took our field trip to the Chicago History Museum. The kids were enthusiastic to learn more about Chicago. I took a lot of pictures to help paint the story of our day.

When I arrived at Chase, I walked to some of the classrooms, to see how everyone was doing. I settled upon Mr. Borges class, because we decided I would help chaperone his group. The kids had their folders out, and asked tons of questions about the scavenger hunt and what they could expect.

When we got to the museum, we were instructed to put our backpacks & lunches in big bins, so that we didn't have to walk them around the exhibits. Some of the kids couldn't even reach inside, so Mr. Dzija and Mr. Borges helped!

 

After waiting patiently in a cafeteria, and listening to the museum rules, we were ready to take off!

 

The first room I got to experience was a hands-on exhibit about the sights, sounds and SMELLS of Chicago! There were a lot of really cool things to do in this room! Some kids danced in their own movie, some even tried out being their OWN Chicago hot dog!

 

There was even a place where you could experience what Chicago smelled like during the time of the early settlers. I won't post a picture of that, but I will tell you that cows highly influenced this smell! It got a really funny response from the students!

A main attraction that we used for our scavenger hunt was in the exhibit labeled "Chicago - Crossroads of America." Upon entering this room, we were greeted by a huge, OLD Chicago train! Everyone got a chance to walk through and experience the train. It was really cool!

 

 

The kids really loved looking for the pictures in their hunt, running around, figuring out the name of the artifact and learning more about Chicago history! Some students worked together and many really took their time looking around. There were people throughout the museum set up, to help us experience some hands-on elements. Ms. Martinez' group had about 15 minutes with a museum worker who had them experience the differences in historical Chicago skyscrapers!

 

We all got to hear live jazz in the Jazz & Blues club, and there were jazz instruments set up for us to see.

 

Many of my favorite parts of the field trip involved learning more about the Chicago Fire. There was a piece of glass that had melted and the description explained that it had to get up to 1200 degrees in the fire! When I saw the map of Chicago and how much the fire wiped out, I couldn't believe the devastation this left on the city of Chicago. The most impressive part, Mr. Borges explained to his students, is that Chicago rebuilt the city in 20 years in order to host the World's Fair!

 

After taking our time in the museum, we all walked through the park to find a fun place to eat outside. Mr. Borges' and Mr. Dzija's classes even raced on the soccer field a bit to burn off extra energy!

 

The next day, I got to go back to Chase to talk to the students about their experiences at the Museum and each class made a Mind Map, centered around "Chicago." While I was impressed with all the classes, Ms. Martinez' class was incredibly insightful, as they remembered stories and details about the things they learned. I felt like I was back in the museum!

 

I can't wait to hear what stories we make up, revolving around Chicago history for our Opera for All opera plots! I've already heard some cool ideas about incorporating things that we know, or museum elements that interested us most. Will there be a Taki prohibition that creates a race riot in a jazz club? Or perhaps Abe Lincoln comes back to life to fight Al Capone to figure out who started the Chicago Fire? The crazier the better, in my opinion, because I'm excited to hear these creative kids give modern opera librettists a run for their money!

 

 

A Summer Desk Job, Creating a Better Program

Jessica Weber, Education Assistant

This summer has been one of learning, working on program improvements, and establishing new processes to our programs.  Its mostly boring desk work, but there have been some pretty exciting outcomes of all of this work staring at a computer and trying to read childrens’ handwriting. 

We have found that our students learned to work more creatively and cooperatively because of our program.  They are finding that writing is fun and that school, in turn, can be a creative and exciting experience.  Every school presented it’s unique challenges, but the 2012-2013 school year was a very successful one.  See the shows below for an overview of our school year and the data results of our evaluation tools. 

Sutterfly book of Opera for All schools:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Presentation of summary of evaluation findings: