The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has announced that four local area elementary schools that have been selected to participate in the Disney Musicals in Schools program, now in its second year locally. New participants for the 2017 – 2018 school year are Kaley Lake Como Elementary (Orange County), OCPS Academic Center for Excellence (Orange County), Pleasant Hill Elementary (Osceola County) and Wicklow Elementary (Seminole County). Returning from last academic year for their second year in the three-year program are Bonneville Elementary (Orange County), Winegard Elementary (Orange County), Lake Orienta Elementary (Seminole County) and Kissimmee Elementary(Osceola County). At an orientation event in December 2017, these schools will select a Disney musical of their choice from the “KIDS” licensing collection. The rehearsals will officially start in January 2018, culminating with performances the following May.
At no cost to them, these selected schools will participate in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by the Dr. Phillips Center Florida Hospital School of the Arts and Disney Theatrical Productions. Each school will receive performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program features a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partner with Dr. Phillips Center Florida Hospital School of the Arts teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph, and music direct their first school show. The program will culminate in a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at each school site. As a capstone to the experience, the School of the Arts will host a Student Share Celebration in which each school performs one number from their show on the Walt Disney Theater stage for an audience of students, teachers, family and community members.
A seed grant from Disney was awarded to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in May 2016. The grant affords the outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. The initial gift funds two years of programming.
For more information, as well as an application for teaching artist positions, visit drphillipscenter.org/arts-education.