WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and More Round Out VTA's Freedom Schools Program Today

Victoria Theatre Association's Education & Engagement department is collaborating with the Children's Defense Fund's Freedom Schools Summer Enrichment Program to present "Page-to-Stage" productions.

The final performance for friends and family, today, July 24 at Westwood Elementary at 1 p.m., will consist of 30 3rd-5th grade students performing scenes from three popular children's books: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, A Lot of Otters by Barbara Helen Berger and Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott, followed by a performance taught by a Dayton Contemporary Dance Company teaching artist.. There is no cost to attend this event.

Once a week, from June 15 to July 23, teaching artists and VTA Education & Engagement staff (Gary Minyard- VP of Education and Engagement; Justina Crawford-Williams- Assistant Director of Education and Engagement; and, Elaine Stoughton, Education and Engagement Coordinator), visit the Freedom Schools site at Dayton Public Schools Westwood Elementary to work with various students participating in the program.

"Our Page-to-Stage program is providing these students with opportunities to increase their reading comprehension and participation in the arts. The kids have developed sets, costumes, scripts, choreography and other elements that connect to the focus of the Freedom School program," says Crawford-Williams. "Our team has enjoyed working with these students and can't wait for the final performance."

"We don't have a traditional school setting," says Kylee Baker, Westwood Elementary Freedom School's site director. "The kids have been in school for nine months. Summer is the time to have some fun!"

Students have been practicing very hard throughout the past few weeks preparing for their performances. However, along with this hard work, they have not forgotten to have fun. "We each got to create our own flags for our Where the Wild Things Are play," says one local elementary school student. "That means I get to show off my graffiti artwork!" Just like this child, all of the students seem to be showing great enthusiasm for what they are creating.

Members of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) also collaborated with the Freedom Schools program, teaching the children a routine that will be performed directly after the "Page-to-Stage" productions. For the past six weeks, a DCDC teaching artist teaches kindergarten to 2nd grade students about movement. The children get to know their bodies through head movement, stretching, dancing and partner skills. These movements are then incorporated with poetry, music and word associations. Along with this movement, the students learn about discipline, social injustices and leadership.

"I have a great time. It's nice to sit and talk with the kids," says Alexis Britford, DCDC teaching artist. "We get to share stories and experiences with each other. I get to see how they are feeling and then we use those emotions and turn them into movement."

About Freedom Schools - The Freedom Schools program stems from the "Mississippi Freedom Summer Project" of 1964, organized by Civil Rights organizations, in which college students were dedicated to overturning segregation in the South. This political action program was designed to engage students in a variety of activities to ensure basic citizenship rights, specifically the right to vote. The Freedom Summer Project included Freedom Schools, a summer education program to provide children and adults with a rich educational experience.

The Freedom Schools movement was reborn under the leadership of Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, who has long been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans. The first two official CDF Freedom Schools sites, serving kindergarten to 8th grade students, in South Carolina and Missouri, opened in 1995. Since then, sites have opened throughout the country, with 16 sites in Ohio alone. This will be the third year for the Freedom Schools site at Westwood Elementary.

The Children's Defense Fund's mission is to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life and a successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF Freedom Schools attempts to accomplish this mission by focusing on literacy, parent involvement, conflict resolution and social action, as well as helping every child understand that they can make a difference through one's self, family, community, country and world.

Victoria Theatre Association is one of Dayton's premier arts organizations, presenting the Premier Health Broadway Series, the PNC Family Series, the Cool Films series, Projects Unlimited Star Attractions, Fifth Third Bank National Geographic Live, and The Frank M. Tait Foundation Discovery Series, which features curriculum-enhanced live theatre productions for school children. In addition to the performances it presents, Victoria Theatre Association also manages the historic Victoria Theatre, the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, and the Metropolitan Arts Center, which houses The Loft Theatre. Victoria Theatre Association receives funding from a variety of diverse public, corporate, individual and private sources, including the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts helped fund this program or organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

Victoria Theatre Association is one of Dayton's premier arts organizations, presenting the Premier Health Broadway Series, the PNC Family Series, the Cool Films series, Projects Unlimited Star Attractions, Fifth Third Bank National Geographic Live, and The Frank M. Tait Foundation Discovery Series, which features curriculum-enhanced live theatre productions for school children. In addition to the performances it presents, Victoria Theatre Association also manages the historic Victoria Theatre, the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, and the Metropolitan Arts Center, which houses The Loft Theatre. Victoria Theatre Association receives funding from a variety of diverse public, corporate, individual and private sources, including the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts helped fund this program or organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

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