Originally published August 31, 2015.
A program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools that currently have none.
-Back to school! As the 2015-16 school year gets started, our JumpStart schools have been sharing information at orientations and “meet the teacher” nights about the exciting new opportunity for their students. EdTA composed a letter to share the details with parents, and students were asked to fill out a short contact form in order to gauge initial interest and help establish control groups for the program research.
Students from Holmes Middle School sign up to show their interest in JumpStart.
Mentor Dee Anne Bryll has been joining each school for these events to help build excitement and answer questions. Since the majority of the students at our JumpStart schools have never seen a musical, Dee Anne has enlisted a few local student performers to sing a piece from a show in order to demonstrate live theatre and inspire them to get involved.
-One month ‘til Bootcamp! The first JumpStart Teacher Training Bootcamp will take place a little over a month from now on Friday, October 2, 2015, from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts. The workshop will cover the basics of establishing a middle school musical theatre program in a lively and interactive style. It will be led by Marty Johnson from iTheatrics in NYC, an experienced director, teacher and playwright in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences. A few spaces for the workshop are still available. Future JumpStart applicants, local theatre professionals and educators are welcome to attend. If interested, contact Ginny Butsch at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org to secure your spot!
-Gearing up for Year Two. As we continue to move forward with the first year of this pilot program, we are beginning our search for prospective schools in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for the 2016-2017 year. Details about applying will be shared as soon as they become available. EdTA representatives would be happy to meet with prospective applicants in advance to share information and answer questions about JumpStart. If you have a suggestion for a potential JumpStart school, please submit their information to Ginny Butsch at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org.
Grant Updates:
The JumpStart Team is proud to announce three recent grants in support of the Cincinnati-area pilot project:
- A two-year grant totaling $25,000 from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation,
- A two-year grant from The Daniel & Susan Pfau Foundation of Cincinnati totaling $15,000,
- An Arts Partnership Program grant of $13,704 from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), renewable for a second year!
We deeply appreciate the commitment of these two foundations’ trustees and staff and the OAC’s board and staff to positive educational and social outcomes for children through musical theatre education. JumpStart is benefiting from the enhanced FY2016 funding for the arts approved by Governor Kasich and Ohio legislators.
Research Updates:
-EdTA and the Centers for Research on Creativity have been working together to recruit local Research Assistants from various colleges and universities. To apply for the position, please send an email to Kim Zanti at kimzanti1@gmail.com with a brief Cover Letter highlighting your related experience and interest in the project along with a CV/Resume in PDF. The deadline for application is Tuesday, September 15th.
JumpStart Theatre Press Coverage:
Thanks to all of our partners and supporters on JumpStart Theatre:
- iTheatrics
- Music Theatre International
- ArtsWave
- Ohio Arts Council
- The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
- The Daniel and Susan Pfau Foundation
- Anonymous donation in collaboration with Community Arts Initiatives
- All of the individual donors
Coming up in the next issue…
Bootcamp details!
Please feel free to share this link with anyone interested in learning more about the JumpStart Theatre program, we’d love to keep them up-to-date on our exciting progress! If you'd like to receive updates by email, contact Ginny Butsch at gbutch@schooltheatre.org to be added to our mailing list.