Spring 2011 Education Newsletter - Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Spotlight on EducationSpring 2011Written by Jenny KostrevaStudents getting ready to see a matinee ofThe 39 StepsLetter from the Education DirectorThe 2010/11 Season has been thrillingin the Education Department.Education is now central to the artisticvision of The Rep. One of our goals isto give students an opportunity toexperience live theater. We are doing14 student matinees this season alongwith our Education Touring Show thatwent to 28 Milwaukee schools thisyear. Artistic programming has been alarge part of why we were able tolaunch a full student matinee program,as many of our productions this seasonhave strong ties to the curriculum. Weare almost sold out for the remainderof our matinees and we are expectingover 13,000 students to attend ourproductions this season.We go beyond merely having studentsattend theater; we want them toexperience the art form on a muchdeeper level. We have new programsthis season that bring theater alive forstudents by providing a context forthem to not only see shows, but to givethem an inside view on how ourproductions are created.Rep Immersion Days provide a full dayexperience for students to meet actorsand production staff, socialize overlunch and see live theater with aninside perspective on how the showwas made. Our new Teen Councilopens our doors to teenagers todesign events and programming thatthey want to do. New residencyprograms are using theater to teachstudents reading, history and criticism.Our two person staff and our teachingartists have never been so busy. Weare in over 50 classrooms in residencyprogramming alone!Photos by Jenny Kostreva and Rebecca WittIn addition to implementing this newand exciting programming, we areplanning for next season. The successof this year’s education programminghas given us momentum to continue tomake Milwaukee Repertory Theater aplace that students and teachersWANT to be.Jenny KostrevaInside this Issue:Rep Immersion Days 2Teen Council 3In School Residency Programs 42011/12 Season Listing 5Discovering Our Destiny 5Summer Theater Conservatory 6Rep Platforms Late Nite Series 6In School Touring Show 7Announcing the2011/12 Season...As exciting as this season is in Education, next year promises to bring more opportunities forstudents to experience the magic of live theater. We will be doing more Rep Immersion Days,Teen Council events and continue our full student matinee program. Look inside for a peak intonext season. More information about next year’s education programming is coming soon!

2010/11 Fun Facts• Over 13,000 students will see ashow at The Rep this season.That’s almost 4,000 more thanthe 2009/10 Season.• There are 8 more studentmatinees this season than lastseason.• New programs this seasoninclude Rep Immersion Days,Teen Council and ReadingComprehension ThroughTheater Residencies.• 54 residencies were conductedthis season.• 1,048 students participated inan in-depth residency program.That’s 225 more students thanlast season.Resident Actor Lee E. Ernst does a makeupdemonstration during Cabaret Rep Immersion DayRep Immersion DaysNew this season is a full day program designed to give students an inside view on how productions come together. Students comefor a full morning of demonstrations led by artists from a production, have lunch and see the show. Our first Immersion Day was forCabaret. Artistic Director Mark Clements started off the morning with an introduction to the role of a Director. Students then metour Technical Director, who discussed the creation of the set. Our stage management team for Cabaret described how theycoordinate scene changes and what they do to call the cues for the show. They showed the students an example of the scenechange and then did it again with full tech. Our Props Director gave insight into the prop design; the Lighting and Sound Supervisorgave a demo on how microphones are used throughout the show; the Wig Artisan came out with the actress who played SallyBowles to show how a wig is created and put on the actor to make it appear like her real hair; and finally the actor who played theEmcee did an entertaining make-up demonstration, transforming himself into Hitler using just pencil. Students ate lunch in ourrehearsal halls and lobby areas, mingling with actors as they arrived for their call. After lunch, we gathered the students back intothe theater to see the show. During the opening number, they were on their feet cheering with their arms in the air as the Emceeintroduced the orchestra and the cabaret girls. It was similar to a rock concert. The students were engaged. Some even returned tothe theater with their friends for Teen Night four days later on their own time and money.We did a Mini-Immersion Day for The 39 Steps for 200 middle school students in February. After they participated in an hour ofdemonstrations and ate lunch in our rehearsal halls, we brought them to the theater to see the production. There was a full house of720 students at this matinee, which included a talkback. At intermission the students thatparticipated in the Immersion Day were so thrilled to be there, they asked when they could comeIt was interesting tohear from all of thepeople workingbehind the scenes tomake this play work…it was neat to see howmake-up and wigs aremade, how propswork, and how muchtechnology goes intosetting the properstage for each scene.”-Student from RepImmersion Dayback to the theater and grabbed information on being involved in the Teen Council. The talkbackwas very lively, lasting 30 minutes with endless questions. Over 50 hands shot up when we said itwas the final question.Our final Rep Immersion Day for this season will be May 4th for Death of a Salesman. We haveseen a lot of first time theater-goers get hooked this season, and many school groups come formore than one production partly due to their students’ request. There’s definitely something to thisidea of creating a more full experience for students beyond merely attending a show!

Teen Council hosted their first Teen Night for Cabaret.50 students came to The Rep for tacos and a show!Teen CouncilDo you know a teen thatwould like to be involved?Go online to download the TeenCouncil Applicationwww.milwaukeerep.com/education/outreach.htmLook for upcoming events to attendApril 23 - Props and Costume Sale*Teen Council will have a table.Volunteer to help or stop by to meetsome of the Teen Council members!April 26 - Teen Night*Reception at 6:30pm followed by aperformance of Bomb-itty of ErrorsTeen CouncilLast summer we approached some of the teenagers who participated in ourSummer Theater Conservatory about starting a Teen Council. During our firstmeeting, our five officers were assigned to take minutes at each meeting,create an agenda for forthcoming meetings, create recruitment andapplication materials and write a first draft of a mission statement. Given thatnone of them have served on a board before, we spent a portion of thatmeeting discussing how to do these tasks. We then brainstormed ideas onwhat we would like the Teen Council to do, what events were appealing andhow we are going to expand the council. The council planned their first eventas a Teen Night for Cabaret, our opening show of the season. They designedtheir own poster, created the pricing, prepared food for the event, marketedand recruited attendees. The event was very successful with 50 teenagers inattendance! Our next event was a Teen Night for The 39 Steps. After seeinga matinee performance, we gathered for dinner and a game of Live ActionClue in our rehearsal halls. We now have over ten active Teen Councilmembers and we are still recruiting more! In addition to Teen Nights, thecouncil continues to brainstorm ideas for future programming.May 6 - Teen Night*Dinner with special guests followedby a performance of Death of aSalesmanContact us to reserve tickets for eventsText or call: 414-502-TEEN (8336)Email: repeducation@gmail.comA Note from Hannah Barbeau, Teen Council Officer...“Ever since I was young, I have been in love with the theater. I believe that theater can influence the audience ina variety of ways, perhaps a life lesson or simply a new appreciation for the magic theater can create. I stronglybelieve that theater not only entertains us, it enriches us. I was thrilled when I heard about Teen Council, becauseI have always felt that teenagers do not get exposed to enough theater. Even though I plan to major in musicaltheater, I have not been to as many shows as I would like. With much exposure to sports events on television, orat school on a Friday night, teenagers can easily watch sports games. However, experiencing the magic oftheater is not so easily accessible to teenagers. Teen Council has also allowed me to appreciate the theater in anew way, instead of simply performing it. It has exposed me to skills that I will need for my future, such asbudgeting, creating agendas and writing minutes for board meetings, and the skills of communication. TeenCouncil at the Milwaukee Rep has been such a unique experience for me, and I cannot wait to see how itcontinues to grow and expand, making an impact on teenagers' lives!”

In School ResidenciesWe define a residency as four or more visits with the same group of students.Through our Reading Residencies, Live Theater and Life Skills, Scriptworks,Student Subscriptions, Context and Criticism and after-school theaterprogramming, we are in over 50 classrooms executing residency programsthis season. Through funding from Northwestern Mutual Foundation,Trowbridge, Manitoba and Bruce Guadalupe middle schools have had threeclassrooms each participate in Live Theater and Life Skills, the ReadingResidency and Rep Immersion Days. Morse Marshall Middle School is alsoparticipating in Live Theater and Life Skills through funding from GEHealthcare. MPS Partnership for the Arts is funding eight MPS high schools toparticipate in the Scriptworks program. For descriptions of these residencies,please see our website at www.milwaukeerep.com/education/outreach.htm.Context and Criticism is a new residency program funded by the MPSPartnership for the Humanities. It includes six visits and tickets to aproduction. In the residency, students learn the historical context of the play,how to view art with a critical eye and write a review of the production. Weare partnering with six MPS high school classrooms in our first year of thisprogram.Student Subscription programs are sponsored by the Einhorn Family andRichard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundations. Through their generosity, students atVeritas High School, Wings Academy, Community High School, RonaldReagan High School, Dominican High School and Carmen High School seefour shows and receive a pre- and post-show workshop for each show led byactors and acting interns. Community High School has expanded itsprogramming, creating a theater training program. In addition to the grantprogram they have a teaching artist visit their classroom every week. Thisresidency will culminate in a final performance at the end of the school year.“You and your staff have broughtso much to the lives of my studentsand me this year! You have alsoopened up my eyes to the valueof the performing arts as a toolfor learning. For the rest of myyears as an educator, I will lookforward to integrating these artsinto my classroom.”-Teacher participant of a ReadingResidency, Live Theater and LifeSkills and Rep Immersion Day.Students at Bruce Guadalupe Middle School work oncreating a scene using characters and vocabulary fromDeath of a Salesman.

2011/12StudentMatineesNext season has manyopportunities to bringtheater to yourclassroom! EducationPrograms will beoffered in your schoolsand at the theateraround theseproductions.YellowmanBy Dael OrlandersmithA Pulitzer Prize nominated play that explores whether prejudices of the past are destined to becomethe legacies of the future.Play TBAA new American play sure to be the talk of the town.A Christmas CarolBy Charles Dickens; Adapted by Joseph Hanreddy and Edward MorganWisconsin’s favorite holiday tradition returns for its 36th Anniversary.Musical TBA*An acclaimed American musical full of emotion, substance and terrific performances.To Kill a Mockingbird*By Harper Lee; Adapted by Christopher SergelA Pulitzer Prize-winning tale about innocence, tolerance, family and the courage to live what youbelieve.Go towww.milwaukeerep.com/education/studentmatinees.htmfor details on booking yourstudent group now!*Indicates Rep Immersion Dayavailable for that production!Discovering Our DestinyThe Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)By Jesse Borgeson, Adam Long and Daniel SingerThree guys, one dead playwright and thirty-seven plays, all in under two hours of over-the-top hilarity.Othello*By William ShakespeareShakespeare’s timeless tragedy in a stunning new light.An exciting new partnership was formed this year when we met DanielleDavis of Discovering Our Destiny. We are doing a year-long after-schoolresidency program with a group of girls from Young Leadership Academy,training them in acting and exploring the life skills that are necessary tosucceed in theater. Another partner for this program is the Milwaukee Ballet.We are working in tandem under the leadership of Ms. Davis to implement awell-rounded arts training program for these girls that will culminate in a finalperformance on June 11, 2011 at the Pfister Hotel.The objectives of Discovering Our Destiny are character and leadershipdevelopment, community and world leadership and etiquette training. Theyfocus programming on eight virtues, including: Courage, Responsibility, Self-Discipline, Work, Perseverance, Loyalty, Friendship and Honestly. We arethrilled to have this new partnership and have the opportunity to not onlysupport such a fantastic program for youth, but also to work with theMilwaukee Ballet’s Education Department. The students we work with arefantastic girls that are gaining life skills that will allow them to succeed in theirfutures in education, social life and in the workplace.“I really am grateful, I’m so lucky thisschool got this amazing opportunity.I think if more kids and schools takethis to heart, it will really changetheir lives, like it has mine.”-Student participant of ReadingResidency, Live Theater Life Skills andRep Immersion Day

Sign up for STC 2011 atwww.milwaukeerep.com/education/summer.htm.Summer Theater Conservatory 2010 studentsperforming an exercise designed to help embodythe text during the Showcase Performance.Applications and moreinformation can be foundon the website.Sign up by April 22nd toensure an audition!“This program is so differentfrom other programs becauseof the way they teach. Theyreally treat you withprofessionalism and we have alot of fun. I love this programand I love coming back everyyear.”-STC 2010 ParticipantSummer Theater Conservatory 2011We are once again offering our two-week intensive program this summer ledby Resident Acting Company members! Gerard Neugent and Laura Gordonwill be taking the lead this year focusing on professional actor training forhigh school students, college students and adults! Teenagers through adultswill work side by side learning from professional actors the craft of actingwith a focus on American Classics. They will learn voice, movement,auditioning and scene study as they explore the works of Arthur Miller,Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill and more. The program will culminate ina showcase performance of scenes and monologues in our Stiemke Studio.Milwaukee theater professionals will be invited to attend this showcase todiscover the talent of the participants.Auditions are required for acceptance in the program and will be scheduledupon receipt of the application. The first round of applications are due byFriday, April 22. The program runs July 11 - 23, 2011 with performances onFriday evening and Saturday afternoon. Prior students ranged from ages 14 -60 and came from all over Wisconsin as well as several other states.Rep Platforms Late Night SeriesWe are offering some fun late night entertainment in our StacknerCabaret to support our education programs! Come join us for musicand drinks, enjoying the talents of artists as we exploreunconventional ways to bring art to our community. Each season,national and local artists will present their talent through word, art,song and story live at The Rep. These events are all free and open tothe public. Donations benefit the Education Department. Join us atour final two late night events this season on Thursdays April 21 andMay 5.For more information, please call 414-290-5374 or go towww.milwaukeerep.com/support/events.htm.

In School Touring ShowWe visited 28 Milwaukee schools in January and February with this year’s In-School Touring Show sponsored by Harley Davidson Foundation. The goal ofour touring show is to bring theater to schools that may not have anopportunity to bring students to the theater. This show is also specificallydesigned to fit into a class period to not take much time out of the school day.While many of our productions at The Rep address issues students relate with,the touring show is written specifically for the middle and high school agegroups, illuminating issues these students deal with on a day-to-day basis.For the last five years, the touring show went only to Milwaukee PublicSchools as we had financial support from the district to specifically targetthese schools. This year we were able to open up our tour to any Milwaukeeschool, no longer limiting ourselves to Milwaukee Public Schools. We went to28 schools, presenting this season’s touring show to over 4,000 students.“I am a big fan of the way thatthis story was told frombeginning to end. I think thatthis play has lessons that we as6, 7, and 8th graders shouldtake on to high school and therest of our lives.”-Student from Trowbridge SchoolSeven Years at the Mayfair Mall, written by Penny Penniston, was this year’soriginal production dealing with cultural acceptance as we met an Indian girland Caucasian boy at a bus stop outside of Mayfair Mall in the 6th grade.We followed them through 12th grade as they navigated their culturaldifferences, parental expectations and the challenges of adolescence.The show was performed by two members of our Acting Intern Company.Students were fascinated by the production and during each talkback askedquestions about whether the actors themselves had faced the issuesaddressed in the play. Students were interested in how each performer cameto be an actor, some even interested in exploring that career themselves.Students enjoying a scenefrom this year’s Touring Show“I realized the importanceof theater and how it canaffect people in manyways. I believe thatMilwaukee RepertoryTheater can have thatlong lasting effect on theyounger children in ourcommunity. I’m sure thatonce a child sees a playthat really is amazing, itwill stay in their memoryforever.”-Student from AudubonHigh School

Rep Education Mission StatementTo enrich lives through vital theater experiences that offer lifelong learning opportunities for all.Visit our website at www.milwaukeerep.com/education/outreach.htmFor more information about any of our programs contact us at:Jenny Kostreva, Education Directorjkostreva@milwaukeerep.com or 414-290-5370Rebecca Witt, Education Coordinatorrwitt@milwaukeerep.com or 414-290-5370Get Involved in Rep EducationThere are a number of ways to volunteer with us in the EducationDepartment. As we continue to expand our programming, the opportunitiesto get involved also expand. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering!Here are some ways you can help:✴ Serve on the Teacher CommitteeThe Teacher Committee will gather several times a year to discuss upcomingprogramming, strategize on how we can best serve the students in Milwaukee,determine effective methods of communication with teachers and more. Thiscommittee of educators will serve as advocates for Rep Education in ourschools and the Milwaukee community.✴ Be a Backstage Tour GuideOur one hour tours bring groups of up to 30 through our backstage areas,detailing how the shops work in tandem to create the magic of live theater.Training is certainly provided as is a script for the tour. It is a fun way to getinvolved throughout the year!✴ Assist with eventsWe will be facilitating many events next season include Teen Nights, BookReads in the community around To Kill a Mockingbird, Rep Immersion Daysand more. We may need assistance at these events to guide groups tolocations in the theater, set up food, check-in guests or distribute materials.✴ Intern in the Education DepartmentOur Education Interns work 15 - 20 hours a week, learning the logistics ofoperating an Education Department. Duties include school communication,tabulating assessments, researching study guides, assisting with matinees andmore. This is an unpaid internship but does include tickets to all of ourproductions and access to opening night parties.Education SupportThe Einhorn Family FoundationGE HealthcareThe Harley-DavidsonFoundationHelen Bader FoundationThe Richard and Ethel HerzfeldFamily FoundationJohnson ControlsPark BankPettit FoundationMPS Partnership for the ArtsMPS Partnership for theHumanitiesNorthwestern MutualFoundationTargetWE EnergiesEducation StaffEducation DirectorJenny KostrevaEducation CoordinatorRebecca WittTeaching ArtistsTom BrunoBo JohnsonMarcy KearnsShannon Sloan-Spice