Newfield elementary has successfully completed Round One of Project 4, and we are eager to move into Round Two! Starting our project during the early part of the school year gave us the opportunity to explore topics important to the classroom and school-wide community, and on November 9th, we will present four outstanding student devised plays featuring: Responsibility, Equality, Cooperation, Empathy and Citizenship! Congratulations to Newfield for taking on such extraordinary topics!

- Tessa K. Bry, Teaching Artist

One of the ways that I facilitate a brainstorming session is to remind the students of the big "W" questions. In other words, who is important to have in our play? Who do we need to include so that we can tell our story well?  

I asked this question of a student group whose focus is "Taking Care of Ourselves, Body, Mind, and Spirit". Amongst the more obvious choices were two answers that the whole class agreed on: Pirates and a Musician -- because sometimes you need to be "pirate-y" to speak up on behalf of yourself and others, and because EVERYONE needs music to feel happy.

- Holly Adams, Teaching Artist

Project 4

Hangar Theatre Project 4 | Artists in the School from Sublime Videography on Vimeo.

Since 1995, the Hangar’s Project 4 has been bringing teaching artists into fourth grade classrooms all over Tompkins County in order to use theatre as an educational tool. These residencies currently serve the entire community and are provided for every elementary school in the Ithaca, Trumansburg, Newfield, and Lansing school districts.

Hangar artists collaborate with each classroom teacher to decide upon a topic from the curriculum on which to focus the residency. The students themselves then take on the mantel of playwright and songwriter working with our theatre and music professionals to craft an original play with music inspired by that topic.

The resulting creations cover the entire range of the fourth grade experience with such titles as “Fraction Action”, “So Psyched About Science”, “Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution” and “How To Create a Compliment”. The plays are then rehearsed and performed both at the student’s school and the Hangar Theatre itself!

2012 Hangar Theatre Project 4 Performances:

November 9, 12pm: Newfield Elementary

November 14, 12pm: Lansing Elementary

November 15, 12pm: Fall Creek and Enfield Elementary

November 16, 12pm: Cayuga Heights Elementary

December 11, 12:30pm: Trumansburg Elementary

December 12, 11:30am: Northeast and Beverly J. Martin Elementary

December 13, 11:30am: Belle Sherman and Caroline Elementary

December 14, 12pm: South Hill Elementary

Project 7

Lab Company Theatre Designers Julia Noulin-Merat and Doss Freel returned to Ithaca in December to head up the Hangar's Project 7 at Boynton Middle School. They worked with all seventh graders to explore the process of design by taking short stories and envisioning them for the stage. By the end of the intensive week, each English class hosted elaborate presentations of the costume and scenic design plans that the students had created.

THE HANGAR & ITHACA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (ICSD): TRUE PARTNERS IN EDUCATION 

In the fall of 2010 the Hangar Theatre and the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) formalized their long-term partnership with a new agreement. The Hangar will manage technical needs and rentals of the newly renovated Ithaca High School Performing Arts Center on a year-round basis and will continue to provide artist-in-the-school residencies and theatre experiences like Project 4, Project 7 and School Tours. In addition, the Hangar will work with the district to develop new theatrical education opportunities in exchange for the use of the Performing Arts Center for rehearsals and changeover space during the summer. New Public Speaking courses and Master Classes in Musical Theatre and Theatre Production were offered to students before the end of 2010, with a Family Theatre Workshop and other initiatives to follow in 2011. The Hangar also presented a special performance of My Brother Martin to all 1000+ ICSD teachers on Nov 5th at Kulp Auditorium for the ICSD superintendent's conference day. This win-win partnership will benefit students, teachers, and theatre professionals for years to come! 

Thanks to our sponsor!