Kravis Center Announces Four New Schools For Disney Musicals In Schools Program

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is pleased to announce the four Palm Beach County public elementary schools that have been selected to participate in its 2018-2019 Disney Musicals in Schools program. The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. The four schools selected are Academy for Positive Learning in Lake Worth, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary in Riviera Beach, Meadow Park Elementary in West Palm Beach and Lincoln Elementary in Riviera Beach.

The schools will participate in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by the Kravis Center and Disney Theatrical Productions, at no cost to them. Each school will receive performance rights, education support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program features a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partner with Kravis Center teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph, and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at their school. As a capstone to the experience, the Kravis Center will host a Student Share Celebration, in which each school performs one number from its show in Dreyfoos Hall for an audience of students, teachers, family, and community members.

The four schools join four other elementary schools previously selected for the program during the 2017-2018 school year: Egret Lake Elementary School, Forest Park Elementary School, Glade View Elementary School and Starlight Cove Elementary School. The original four schools will continue in the program, and four additional schools will be selected for 2019-2020, bringing the total to 12.

Using the unique world of musical theater, Disney Musicals in Schools helps to foster positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents, and the community. Students and teachers work in teams, developing the wide spectrum of skills needed when producing a piece of musical theater, including: critical thinking, problem solving, ensemble building, communication, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills.

"As part of our ever-expanding arts education programming, the Kravis Center is excited to be announcing the second year of our partnership with Disney Musicals in Schools and and the participation of four new local elementary schools," said Judith A. Mitchell, CEO. "We are honored to receive this generous support from Disney, and we look forward to collaborating with educators to bring sustainable theater education programs to children in our community who might otherwise not have access to the performing arts."

Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Production's concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Productions began partnering with organizations in other communities across the United States.

Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, The Aristocats, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Winnie the Pooh.

ABOUT THE RAYMOND F. KRAVIS CENTER

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and International Artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. Please visit kravis.org.

Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world's most successful commercial theatre enterprises, bringing live entertainment events to a global annual audience of more than 20 million people in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Productions banner, the group produces and licenses Broadway productions around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida, TARZAN, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, and Frozen. Other successful stage musical ventures have included the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love, stage productions of Disney's High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin, and King David in concert. DTP has collaborated with the country's leading regional theatres to develop new stage titles including The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Freaky Friday.

Disney Theatrical Productions also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney Live! For over 30 years, Disney on Ice and Disney Live! have brought beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide, through productions such as Marvel Universe Live! and Frozen, the most well attended and highest grossing Disney on Ice production to date. In addition, DTP licenses musical titles for local, school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International, including The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program wherein accredited elementary and middle schools produce condensed, age-appropriate JR. and KIDS adaptations of The Lion King.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists, and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials, and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI's Broadway Junior shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI's School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.

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