Help me give my students consistent exposure to professional theatre makers through an 11 week playwriting residency! Together, with a teaching artist and professional actors, we will make plays written by 87 fourth graders come to life.
Don DeLillo wrote "I think a playwright realizes after he finishes working on the script that this is only the beginning. What will happen when it moves into three dimensions?" This project is all about helping our diverse array of 4th-grade playwrights work alongside professionals to see what happens when their very own plays move into three dimensions.
My students come from all walks of life, many of them are first-generation Americans, immigrants from around the globe, students with IEPs, or students whose lives are transitory due to their parents serving in the army.
They all share one incredible thing in common, stories. Every child has a story, every child has an imagination, every child has ideas! Our children, who have already experienced so much due to their circumstances of immigration, their speaking English as a second language, or their moving every few years, are empowered by expressing their voices through writing. The Theatre for a New Audience's New Voices Project will allow their stories to be shaped, developed, and performed for a live audience, all the while developing incredible writing and ELA skills.
My Project
When young people are learning something new, learning from someone who is an expert at their craft is not only empowering, it can also be life-changing. Having students hear from professional theatre-makers how they make their work, can inspire them to become the entertainment voices of tomorrow.
Through the Theatre for a New Audience's New Voices Project, not only will we bring professional theatre-makers into the classroom, these theatre-makers will develop personal relationships with our students by helping them hone their playwriting voices through an 11-week residency.
In addition to the students working to develop their own play, professional actors will visit them halfway through the residency to workshop the first drafts of their plays. This workshop will help the students see their work on its feet in order to make the necessary changes for their final drafts. To culminate the experience, the professional actors return to perform their final plays for the students, their families, peers, teachers, and administrators.
Having their words performed out loud by professional actors will be a life-changing, confidence boosting and inspiring experience for these young people. Please help bring Theatre for a New Audience to our school!
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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 Ms. McAdams and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
{"pmaHash":"","showProjectRecommendations":true,"leadGenEnabled":true,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"NY","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":2,"name":"Elementary School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/empower-new-voices-by-bringing-them-to-t/3828829/","mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":87,"isEquityFocusV1":false,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. McAdams","isEquityFocus":true,"proposalHash":"528152909","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"shouldTrackEquityFocusV2":true,"schoolCity":"New York City","teachersOnPage":[2173260],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"minimizedLeadGenEnabled":true,"proposalId":3828829,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"schoolId":101162,"schoolName":"PS 264 Bay Ridge Elementary School - the Arts","authorIds":{"2173260":{"owner":"Ms. McAdams","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[3828829],"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2173260_orig.jpg?crop=3024,3024,x967,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1619287765595","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":355615,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["NjMyMDIwMg==","NjM1MTY0OA==","NjMyNDM4MQ==","NjM1NjU4Nw==","MjgyMTkzMA==","NjQwNDA1Ng==","NjI2NzIzOQ==","NjM1NTYxMw==","MjMyMzgwNg==","NjM1NTMxNA==","NjM1NzE4MQ==","NjI2NTYyNA==","NjM1NzM3NA==","NTU4NDc4Ng==","MjM3NjA4Nw==","NTU1MDUxMw==","MjE4MDAxNg==","NjI2NjMwOA==","NjQzMDI0Ng==","NjI2Njg1Nw==","NjM1NDY2MQ==","MzA0MzIwNw==","MTk0NzA5MQ==","MzIyOTY3NA==","NjM5MTQ3Mg==","NjQyMzgxMg==","NjQxOTY5MA==","MjE3MzI2MA==","NjE5MTI3NA==","NDg2Mjg1","NjI2NjQyMw==","NjQwNzk1NA==","NjQyMjAwMQ==","NjMyMzk4Nw==","NjQyNzI3NA==","MjYxMDU5MQ==","MjMyNDQwNw==","NjM1NjQ1MA==","NjMyMjU0OA==","NjM1NDc2Mw==","NjI0MTI3OQ==","NjI2NjU1MQ==","NjMyOTM3MQ==","NjM3NzcwOA==","NjMyNDI0OA==","NjQzODMyMA==","MzI5NjY2NA==","NjQyMjMzMg=="],"teacherId":2173260,"schoolCounty":"Kings (Brooklyn)","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"NY","name":"New York"}}
