Help me give my students some amazing and authentic-looking time period women's costumes that we will put to great use in our all-school musical, "The Music Man", set in the year 1903.
I am blessed to work with students who take pride in what they do and are not afraid to venture into new opportunities and adventures. The student leaders in my group are always recruiting others to join our musical cast and crew each year. Some of the things they say they love about being a part of the "All-School Musical" is the opportunity to work together rather than competing with each other. Our school has less than 100 students in 9th-12 grades. We generally have anywhere from 55-65 students involved in our production every year. We have students who are great musicians, who also excel in math and science. We have students who are state champions in athletics, students who excel in designing drones and robotics. These students all come together and work hard to not just put on a great show, but they have a great time encouraging each other, supporting each other, creating scenes, sets and costumes. They create their own choreography and teach it to each other.
I absolutely love watching them work together, hold each other accountable and seeing their pride when they know they have pulled it all together and put on a great show!
My Project
These costumes will enable our students to help their characters truly come to life in the turn of the century musical, "The Music Man". As we begin working on our musical, the students research the time period of the storyline. We talk about the history that is taking place at the time and what types of things were popular as far as: music genres, reading/literary styles, clothing trends, etc. The students not only learn different aspects of the history of the time period, but they are then able to place themselves into that time period as a character and understand and relate to the storyline in a better way.
Sometimes, as I watch them put on a great costume, they completely transform right before my eyes into an entirely different person.
Their face and eyes light up and they speak with a different type of attitude and confidence. By having the right type of costumes at our disposal more, students can experience the life-changing wonder that can happen on the stage. Our meager budget could then be used to provide additional props and build some new set pieces. We could create an entirely new environment for our future thespians to enjoy and love. The favorite part of my job is seeing the pride the students have at the end of a great production and then watching them take that pride and confidence into other areas of their busy young lives.
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