Residencies & Partnerships

Through a variety of options, students in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota can participate in performing arts workshops or use theatre, improvisation, playwriting, or dance to explore non-theatre curriculum in a dramatic way. Our teaching artists, working professionals from in and around the Metro area, collaborate with teachers to "break open" curriculum for students with different styles of learning. They challenge students to reach new levels of curricular understanding through use of arts integrated lessons. Students participating in Stages Theatre Company artist-teacher's collaborations have shown improved test scores as well as stronger social skills such as leadership and cooperation.

Theatre Arts Residency

Our residencies provide opportunities for K-12 students and teachers to work closely with skilled theatre artists. These high-quality, creative drama programs assist schools in expanding your own arts curriculum. Students are challenged in a positive, supportive and constructive atmosphere that culminates in a final demonstration of skills. Each program is customized to the needs of your particular school and age group. Take a look at some of these past topics designed to ignite imagination and further education.

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Past Residency Topics Have Included:

Introduction to Acting Reader's Theatre

Creative Dramatics Folk Tales & Fairy Tales

Creative Movement Play Making

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Page to Stage: Building Literacy Through Theatre

Story drama and storytelling are effective tools to help students of all ages with their reading and writing skills. Students learn a language arts curriculum that includes comprehension, interpretation, story structure and evaluation. Story drama and retelling are making a clear difference in areas such as reading, history and science.

Positive Goal Setting

Students are constantly confronted with challenging choices. It's critical that students learn how to set realistic and positive goals. Using theatre techniques, students discover how to make healthy choices and how to positively meet the challenges of everyday life.

Playwriting and Introduction to Shakespeare

Designed for students in grades 5-12, these residencies are an introduction to Shakespeare and/or the basics of playwriting. By focusing on classic literature or the fundamentals of creating stage dialogue, students engage themselves in topics such as character and story development.

Curriculum Connections: Introducing Students to Live Theatre

Our Curriculum Connection program offers teachers and their classes the opportunity to experience and participate in the production of a play. Through an artist-in-residence visit and a hands-on curriculum, students follow a Stages Theatre Company production as it develops in the weeks before opening. After watching a live performance of the production, students complete various follow-up activities related to the show. This project is intended to support and enhance an existing language arts, history and/or humanities curriculum while allowing students a look inside the artistry of live theatre production.

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Project Components:

• Free study guides developed by the Stages Theatre Company for use by classroom teachers.
• Free copy of "Make a Scene: K-6 Theatre Curriculum": a handbook of over 50 warm-ups and learning activities supporting student work towards theatre standards.
• Three hours of classroom visits from artists associated with the appropriate production.
• Up to 30 tickets to a Stages Theatre Company production.

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Theatre Arts Partnership

Teachers & Students Learning Together

Stages Theatre Company's teaching artists have more than 20 years experience "breaking open" curriculum in classrooms from kindergarten through high school. Our arts integrated programs apply creative dramatics activities to any curricular topic in a way that allows students to get the lesson "into their bones." We find these methods especially suited to the non-traditional learner. Students participating in Stages Theatre Company artist-teacher's collaborations have shown improved test scores as well as stronger social skills such as leadership and cooperation.

We specialize in custom-tailored programs designed to suit the needs of both you and your students. Our teaching artists work closely with you, the classroom teacher, to create a collaborative partnership that provides an opportunity for you to observe and practice research-based arts strategies at work in your classroom. Design curriculum together with your artist partner and then observe as the teaching artist models lessons with your students.

As you implement the lessons, our teaching artists observe and give you immediate feedback – allowing for opportunities to reflect and refine lessons throughout the partnership. Stages Theatre Company has found great success for both teachers and students with this collaborative process that promotes reflective learning as well as provides hands-on experience for you and your students.

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Past Topics Have Included:

Science: Balance and Motion Terrestrial Food Chain Solids and Liquids The Human Body Sound

Social Studies: Multicultural Tales Cultural Dance Styles Egypt, Land of the Pharoahs Asia, Life on the River American History

Language Arts: Literacy Skills: Tableaux Literacy Skills: Reader's Theatre Playwriting Poetry

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Meet Our Teaching Artists

Stages Theatre Company calls upon the richness of the Twin Cities professional theatre community by utilizing some of the finest teaching artists in the metro area. As experienced professionals working in their field, our teaching artists bring their artistic excellence as well as their respect for and love of children to our classroom and yours.

Free Curriculum

MAKE A SCENE: K-6 THEATRE CURRICULUM

Purpose of the Theatre Curriculum

With "Make a Scene: K-6 Theatre Curriculum", we share our expertise in introducing children to the world of theatre. The more than 50 warm-ups and learning activities included, all written in accessible language and format, focus on specific skills of acting, dramatizing stories and making meaning through theatre. Activities may be used with students in a variety of different grade and ability levels and within multiple content areas. Sample units demonstrate how teachers and curriculum leaders may strategically pull activities from the K-6 Theatre Curriculum to support a specific classroom drama project and/or the Minnesota theatre arts content standards.

Who could use the curriculum?

"Make a Scene: K-6 Theatre Curriculum" is designed for multiple uses. Teachers new to using theatre and drama in the classroom will find the activities to be an accessible starting point; teachers with more experience will be able to extend and adapt the activities to support their existing curriculum. Many activities may be used over and over again, with a variety of different age levels and within the context of different curricular areas. Teachers responsible for teaching and assessing the theatre content standards will find concrete and focused learning activities to support student work in the standards.

Contents

Warm-ups: voice, body, imagination and teamwork
Acting: movement, voice, characterization, props and costumes
Storydrama: plot and theme, environment and characters
Making Meaning: personal, cultural and historical

How was our curriculum developed? "Make a Scene: K-6 Theatre Curriculum" was written by theatre educators and edited by a graduation standards specialist. It was piloted and reviewed by classroom teachers from Hopkins and Minneapolis school districts and pre-service education students from Minnesota State University, Mankato. It was reviewed by a team of experienced theatre and classroom educators and developed with the assistance of a grant from the Department of Children, Families and Learning.

In My Own Voice:

Responding to Life and Literature Through Playwriting for Grades 6 - 12

Words, gesture and actions are the tools of daily communication. In My Own Voice is a curriculum guide for Secondary English and Language Arts teachers intended to foster writing that expresses ideas and concepts in a way that can be engaging and fun. The activities range in complexity from simple monologue and dialogue writing to more advanced scenes. Some basic exercises can be accomplished in a single classroom period. Others have numerous extensions that can last for several sessions. All are adaptable to various curricular themes and content, and they have been tested with students in a wide variety of age groups and settings.

Although the main focus on these strategies is to link student writing with literature, they can also be used to develop original written material that can be presented by groups of students in an informal public presentation. It is our hope that teachers will adapt the activities in this guide to best suit the needs of their particular classrooms.

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Your School Play

Stages Theatre Company has a full staff of theater arts professionals experience in all areas of production. We can direct your school play using our directors, choreographers, sets, properties, costumes and your students!

Funding FAQ