JumpStart Theatre Update 54: An Early Christmas Gift

By Ginny Butsch posted 12-30-2019 00:00

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A program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools that currently have none.

This is a series of monthly updates about the JumpStart Theatre pilot program launched in Cincinnati, Ohio.
If you'd like to receive JumpStart Theatre updates by email, contact JumpStartTheatre@schooltheatre.org. To view previous updates, click here.

An Early Christmas Gift for Cincinnati

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati offered their JumpStart Theatre teachers and students complimentary tickets to see their production of A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Taft Theatre earlier this month. One of the students who attended from Clark Montessori has a disability and has been joining the cast for rehearsals because he loves to dance and sing. He is incredibly enthusiastic and was mesmerized by the professional production, his mother expressed her thankfulness that he has found an activity that is so engaging.

Clark Montessori students attend A Charlie Brown Christmas

Set Construction Basics With STAGES

STAGES St. Louis, a regional theatre partner, held their second bootcamp of the year in December and decided to show their teachers how to build a basic and versatile piece: rehearsal cubes. Rehearsal cubes are wooden boxes that can be easily moved and stacked to form all kinds of set pieces. They are a creative and essential staple in any school theatre program. Want to build your own set? You’ll find a tutorial here.

L: JumpStart Theatre student with rehearsal cube

Atlanta Serving Theatre Games for Lunch

JumpStart Theatre Mentor, Robert, shared an anecdote about a school in the Atlanta region that had recently held auditions for their production of Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. During auditions, Robert taught them a popular theatre game, Zip Zap Zop. The students loved it and he could immediately see them building confidence as they played. When he returned to the school a few days later, he discovered that the students enjoyed the game so much that they had taught it to their classmates and were playing it at lunch!

JumpStart Theatre students playing theatre games

Graduates Explore a "Whole New World"

Felicity-Franklin Middle School in Cincinnati recently concluded auditions and cast 46 students in their production of Aladdin JR. Felicity-Franklin graduated from JumpStart Theatre last spring, so this is their first musical on their own and it’s off to a soaring start. Director, Bizzy Robertson, shared, “We have students trying out that have never been in a play of any kind before. It's fun to watch our older students as they give pointers about how to project their voices or how to breathe to not be so nervous. It is surely the talk of the middle school!”

Felicity-Franklin students during an audition workshop

Become a JumpStart Theatre School!

Three regions are now accepting applications for their 2020-2021 classes of JumpStart Theatre schools. If there’s a middle school in your region without a theatre program, encourage them to apply so they can see what a dramatic difference theatre can make in the lives of their students.

Alliance Theatre

Atlanta, Georgia

Deadline to apply: January 17, 2020

Mountain City Center for the Arts

Frostburg, Maryland

Deadline to apply: January 31, 2020

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Deadline to apply: February 15, 2020

Contact us if you have any questions about applying.

ETF, in collaboration with New York City-based companies iTheatrics and Music Theatre International (MTI) has created JumpStart Theatre, a three-year scalable program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved schools that previously had none.

ETF operates JumpStart Theatre through a national network of regional theatre company partners who are selected based on their track-record of success in running educational programs for children. JumpStart Theatre partners are: Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Ga.; La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, Calif.; Mountain City Center for the Arts, Frostburg, Md.; Stages St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo.; The Children’s Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio.

JumpStart Theatre aims to:

be sustainable and implemented in underserved middle schools nationwide, engaging as many students as possible in all aspects of theatre,
prepare students for high school, college, and the workforce by instilling the 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and creativity.

JumpStart Theatre is entirely supported by gifts and grants. Your donation provides access to musical theatre for underserved students and under-resourced schools. Help shape lives with your support!

Thanks to all the JumpStart Theatre Partners and Supporters

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