"Act well your part, there all the honor lies..." Alexander Pope offered these words and they've been borrowed and re-purposed as the motto of the International Thespian Society—the honor society for student actors, designers and directors in high school theaters across the country, including mine.
We are a high-poverty school in a part of our state that is not generally perceived as being in trouble.
That perception exacerbates the problem because help is rarely directed our way. Since I arrived in '05, theater grew from 7 thespians and 35 total students to 75+ thespians and 150+ participants in four acting classes, one basic stagecraft class, and a production and rehearsal period, as well as staff (3) and student (2+) directed shows most years. DonorsChoose.org donors have been very good to us of late, funding three projects during my tenure, but district woes have continued. I've been reassigned to other 'required' classes and while participation and emotional investment remain high for theater, my numbers are beginning to wane. Sustained support remains a struggle. The school is willing to provide some up-front dollars to get productions off the ground, but staffing is not in the budget and what money we do see must be recovered and repaid from box office receipts.
My Project
This project is part of a larger Guest Artist program launched last year to bring professionals into the district theater programs, providing workshops at two schools and supporting a production at one school. Two local foundations provided the initial funds and will continue to some degree, but only if we make an effort to support and grow the endeavor by other means. This is where DonorsChoose.org comes in, supporting one guest artist for the year for each school. Each artist will teach sessions at both schools, reaching nearly 120 students in workshop settings, seeing several groups more than once, and providing a tremendous supplement to the day to day content provided by the theater teachers. Additionally, the guest will work on a production for one school, reaching anywhere from 25-60 additional participating students and audiences in excess of 1000. This campaign is for one such artist. Searching the same local area should allow you to find the other, if you'd like to support both.
Classroom visits from professionals—actors, designers, directors—fuel elevated levels of inspiration and drive from students hoping to walk the same path in their professional lives.
Seeing those who started in a similar circumstance and have achieved is a powerful thing to share with students. Our Guest Artist program has already seen students have wonderful experiences and made lasting connections in the classroom and in rehearsal. We hope to keep those experiences going for years to come!
Kayla Garrett
(Provide movement workshops related to musical theater choreography and auditioning to the theater classes at two local high schools while also providing choreography for the spring musical at one of those same schools.)
$1,000.00
Visitor cost
$1,000.00
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$15.00
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$1,045.00
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$184.41
Total project goal
$1,229.41
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$1,229.41
16 Donors
-$910.59
Donations toward project cost
-$794.25
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$116.34
Matching donations from our partners
-$295.00
Match offers toward project cost
-$250.75
Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Doty and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
