Theatre

Pennsylvania Youth Theatre
Theatre/Directors
25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, PA 18015
610-332-1400
development@123pyt.org

We conduct residencies which utilize the arts of drama, dance, and music to help children learn across the curriculum. Using literature as a base, we create rich, multi-layered learning experiences in which children respond to reading through movement, music, and improvisation.

Three main goals we have for all residencies are:

1. The student will develop confidence and self-awareness
2. The student will use his or her voice and body expressively
3. The student will develop a greater sense of empathy

Depending on the theme and age group, residency activities may include:

1. A Readers' Theatre Production (5th grade and up): We will select a story and work as a class to rewrite that story as a script. Students will work on a simple props and costume pieces. The residency will culminate in a performance Main goal: Build fluency.
2. Role Drama (3rd grade and up): Artists will work closely to develop role dramas related to a subject or text. This NOT a dramatization of the text but an exploration of conflicts, time period, and themes present in text.
3. Creative Drama Residency (Kindergarten through 5th grade): Using picture books chosen by the artist and classroom teacher, the artist will lead students through creative drama activities, read the book, and dramatize the book through improvisational techniques.
4. The World of Theatre (6th grade and up): Artist teacher will teach lessons on acting, directing, stage management, technical theatre, and theatre history.
5. Devising Theatre ( 7th grade and up): Artist teacher will work with students to write and perform a theatrical presentation exploring a theme chosen by the classroom teacher.

Students benefit from our residencies because:

1. Readers' Theatre builds fluency and motivates the reticent reader to read often
2. Students become accustomed to speaking in front of their peers and adults, building confidence and presentation skills
3. Devising Theatrical productions encourage students to write in expressive and creative ways, helping them build communication skills
4. Taking on different roles helps students to understand perspectives other than their own, building empathy
5. Drama is a group effort and builds a sense of ensemble and cooperative skills

Example topics for our residencies include:

1. "E Pluribus Unum" (from Many, One) a Creative Drama and/or Readers' Theatre presentation exploring stories about immigration or an immigrant's experience in the US
2. " Maniac Magee:" a Role Drama lessons used to explore issues and themes in the book "Jerry Spinelli"
3. "I Come From . .:" a Devising Theatre residency exploring the cultural, biological, and familial influences that shape our identities
4. "The Way it Was:" a Role Drama lesson based on events in history

Touchstone Theatre
Theatre/Actors
321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem, PA 18015
610-867-1689
vicki@touchstone.org

Touchstone Theatre's ensemble creates original theatre works and teaches and builds community relationships. Through residencies of one to four weeks in a neighborhood, community center, or classroom, we unleash the creativity and imagination of the people with whom we work, as they learn about themselves, their projects, and the art of theatre. Our teaching demonstrates and promotes inclusiveness, responsibility, curiosity, and craft. We work closely with teachers and/or community leaders to identify learning objectives for thematic territories. Then we lead a sequence of exploration that utilized the principles of making theatre to gain new understanding and skill in the given project area. For twenty years we have tied into all levels and most areas of school curricula. We help design and implement intergenerational and cross-cultural community projects.

Keith Herrmann
Music/Musical Theatre/Composer
P.O. Box 237, 801 Fox Run, Buck Hill Falls, PA 18323
570-595-9236
jolly12345@aol.com

Musical theatre is my passion, and gratefully I have had the opportunity to pursue it at the Broadway level. I received a Tony nomination for creating the musical score to ROMANCE/ROMANCE, which played on Broadway for over 300 performances and enjoyed over 500 subsequent productions around the world, including London's West End. The same year I was a Tony nominee, the other competitors in my category (Best Score of a Musical) included Andrew Lloyd Webber (for Phantom of the Opera) and Stephen Sondheim (for Into the Woods). I have also had the opportunity to perform as a pianist and/or synthesist on numerous Broadway shows and recorded their cast albums, including the Grammy Award-winning Cats, for which I also served as musical conductor at the Winter Garden Theatre. I have also had the privilege of working with young singers and musical instrumentalists, both as private students and as performers in musical theatre pieces I have developed. In my residencies, I examine with the students what makes a song work: how does this lyric make us feel and why did the composer choose to write it that way. The time spent together builds to a live "cabaret-style" presentation of musical theatre pieces studied in class, as well as original offerings crafted in collaboration with the students themselves.

Depending on the theme and age group, residency activities may include:

1. To enable students, with or without a specific musical inclination, to experience the joy of the creative process
2. To foster a heightened awareness of music's often-unexplained effects on each of us
3. To vitalize the students' appreciation of the indigenous American art form we call musical theatre

Students benefit from my residencies because:

1. They receive a working theatre professional's insight and experience in an up-close and personal setting
2. They build self-esteem in the process of creating a successful song which reflects their personal creative expression
3. Those who perform in front of others hone their vocal/acting presentation skills under the watchful eye of a Broadway veteran composer and conductor
4. Those who are not necessarily musical by nature develop courage and confidence through music, much as they would in a public speaking class, as they are called upon to share their personal experiences with others in a relaxed environment

Example topics for my residencies include:

1. Musical theatre collaboration on Broadway: The Role of the Composer
2. Crafting a musical theatre song
3. Audition techniques: For the student actor, the amateur, and at the Broadway level
4. Musical theatre repertoire and its preparation for performance
5. History of the American musical and its influence on and reflection of the times