Welcome to the EdTA Advocacy Update
December 19, 2017
The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.
EdTA NEWS
Thespian Democracyworks Essay Competition Open until February 1
The Educational Theatre Association’s tenth annual Democracyworks essay competition will accept entries until February 1. The winner will receive $1,500 toward expenses to attend Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., March 12-13, 2018, plus $250 cash.
NATIONAL NEWS
The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University Present the Excellence in Theatre Education Award
The Tony Awards® and Carnegie Mellon University are looking for the teachers who create the next generation of theatre artists. These dedicated professionals discover talented students, nurture them, inspire them and set them off on a lifelong journey as theatre supporters and professionals. (Tonyawards.com)
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Shea: shaney@schooltheatre.org
Alabama: Pike County Arts Organizations Win Grants (Troy Messenger)
Arizona: Avondale Offers Grant Funding for Art Programs (Arizona Business Daily)
California: Center Theatre Group Selects Five Schools for Inaugural Disney Musicals in School Program (Broadway World)
Colorado: Hot Night Snowball (KDVR)
12 Colorado Businesses to be Honored at Annual Arts Awards (Denver Business Journal)
$170 in Arts Grants Available from City of Boulder (Boulder Patch)
Connecticut: Middle School Students Write, Direct and Perform Show at Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven Register)
D.C.: Spotlight on Arts Education: A DC Commission on the ARTS and Humanities Program (The Georgetown Dish)
Florida: Cultural Council of Palm Beach County Announces 2018 Muse Awards Recipients (In Jupiter)
Delray Beach Ups the Arts Game as a Means to Bolster the Economy (Sun Sentinel)
YOUNG TALENT BIG DREAMS Competition Returns to Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre (Broadway World)
Illinois: Google’s Charitable Arm Donates $1.5M to CPS, Chance the Rapper’s Foundation (Chicago Tribune)
Duane Foster Receives Maritz Arts & Education Fund Teachers Grant (St. Louis American)
Iowa: Annual Arts Advocacy Day January 17th, 2018 (Iowa Alliance for Arts Education)
Dancing Away the Stigma Receives Award, Helps Others (Marion Times)
Kansas: Hart Recognized for Support of Music and Fine Arts (The Emporia Gazette)
Kentucky: Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 Funds 24 Original Arts and Culture Projects (Insider Louisville)
Massachusetts: Sammy Hagar Receiving Arts Education Honor (WROR)
Mass Cultural Council Fetes Lawmakers, Arts Leaders at Holyoke Celebration (MassLive)
Missouri: Jeff Sandquist is Honored by Missouri Arts Council (The Rolla Daily News)
New Jersey: Northfield Bank Foundation Funds Two Playwriting Residencies in Rahway School District (Broadway World)
New York: PS21Receives NYSCA Grant Supporting Arts Education Programs (Hudson Valley 360)
New Performing Arts Center Planned for Old Seneca Falls Church (Finger Lake Times)
5th Grade RCSD Teacher Given Theatre Education Award (WHAM)
Ohio: Proposals for Funding Cuyahoga County Artists Unveiled (Idea Stream)
Oregon: Turner Elementary Puts a New Spin on Education (Statesman Journal)
Pennsylvania: Students at William Bodine High Complete ‘Takes the Lead’ Dance Project (CBS Philly)
South Carolina: Clemson Introduces the First STEAM Education Endorsement in the US (The Newsstand)
Aiken Civiv Ballet Performs ‘The Nutcracker’ at Leavelle McCampbell (Aiken Standard)
CFHS Theatre Group to Represent State in Alabama Competition (My Horry News)
Tennessee: Valeria Sinyavskaya Never Fashioned Herself a Teacher (Times News)
Eastside Nails Fourth Straight State Drama Title (Times News)
Texas: Four El Paso ISD Teachers Awarded Grants to Develop, Support Music Education (El Paso Herald Post)
DFW Theatre Community Begins Conversation About Sexual Harassment and Misconduct (NBCDFW)
Utah: UVU Offering Sensory-Friendly Performances of Children’s Theatre (Daily Herald)
Arts Give Inmates, Offenders ‘Redemption and Second Chances’ (Deseret News)
Virginia: Libby Spainhour, a Champion of Arts and Education, Named Citizen of the Year by Kiwanis Club (Work It, SOVA)
West Virginia: Changes Could Allow Show Choir, Dance to Count as PE in WV (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
Oak Hill Middle School Students Use STEAM Initiatives to Act Out Scenes from Classic Story (Register-Herald)
Wisconsin: Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts President and CEO Lynn Sprangers Announces Retirement (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: NAISDA: The Birthplace of Contemporary Indigenous Dance (Arts Hub)
Thailand: Studying Drama Stimulates Creativity and Builds Confidence (The Phuket News)
WORTH READING
How Arts Education Teaches Kids to Learn from Failure
Schools are beginning to recognize that arts education is not merely a nice addition to the learning experience, but rather an important vehicle for kids to learn skills that can also be applied to their other academic studies. (KQ ED News)
The School Play is About WHAT!? Controversy on Stage and Why it Matters
In the fall, Benzie Central High School in Michigan was planning to do a theater production of a play about love and loss titled “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani, which contains mature content. When the school board got wind of it, the play was put on hold, according to WPBN/WGTU, its content apparently too controversial for a student stage. (Washington Post)