Transcript Podcast Episode 3: Nurturing Creative Minds – How Organizations Incorporate the Arts into Education

00:00:04:16 - 00:00:35:15

BRIANA JACKSON

Hi. Welcome to the Arts Axis Florida podcast. I'm your host, Brianna Jackson. Arts Axis Florida is a comprehensive initiative designed to shine a spotlight on your neighborhood's diverse arts organizations. Each episode will highlight their programs and more importantly, amplify the voices of the people they impact conversations community and connections. That is a value in engaging with your local arts organizations.


00:00:36:09 - 00:00:45:22

BRIANA JACKSON

Arts Axis equals Arts Access


00:00:45:22 - 00:01:00:18

SPONSOR

Support for Arts AXIS Florida comes from the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, championing philanthropy, encouraging and connecting givers to bring lasting good investing in education and economic mobility. Learn more at C F Tampa Bay dot org.


00:01:09:23 - 00:01:38:15

BRIANA JACKSON

In this episode of the Arts Axis Florida podcast, we speak with three organizations that are working to incorporate the arts and to education through many different forms. Each of these organizations provide students with a safe space to learn and develop their skills. All while participating in theatrical and choreographed productions. First, we are joined by three guests from the Florida Studio Theater, Caroline Saldivar, Adam Ratner and Josh Ford.


00:01:39:02 - 00:02:22:02

BRIANA JACKSON

The Florida Studio Theater helps children and young adults nurture their creative minds through participating in both performances and playwriting. Next, I spoke with Leymis Bolanos from the Sarasota Contemporary Dance, who provides children K-through-12 with educational programs and works directly with local schools in Manatee County. And wrapping up this episode. Katie Welch and Amanda Schapiro from Broadway, Everyday Star Theater joins us to discuss how their organization works with students of all ages to create an inclusive experience that allows them to dove into many different aspects of theater production


00:02:22:02 - 00:02:26:14

BRIANA JACKSON

All right. Welcome, Caroline and Adam to the Arts Axis Florida podcast. How are you?


00:02:27:07 - 00:02:28:04

ADAM RATNER

Very well. Thank you.


00:02:29:02 - 00:02:30:13

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

Both. Doing great. Thanks for having us.


00:02:30:14 - 00:02:34:02

BRIANA JACKSON

We're excited to learn about write-a-play with the Florida Studio Theater.


00:02:34:11 - 00:02:38:00

ADAM RATNER

It is a wonderful program and we're so glad that we get to share it with you.


00:02:38:05 - 00:02:44:09

BRIANA JACKSON

Tell us about the history of the Florida Studio Theater's write-a-play and how it became to be.


00:02:44:17 - 00:03:07:03

ADAM RATNER

This is actually kind of be a watershed year. It is our 30th anniversary for the write-a-play program. It was launched in 1991 and it was actually started by Kate Alexander, who is our associate director at large as well as Richard Hopkins, our producing artistic director, because they were looking for a new perspective on how young people see the world.


00:03:07:23 - 00:03:30:23

ADAM RATNER

And there was a lot of plays that were that were coming out that were a little more stilted, and they wanted to see what are young people interested in, what are they writing about? And they took the, the I guess I'd say the path of treating these young playwrights just like they would treat any professional playwright. So we had a little saying here, and for a while it's just shorter plays by shorter playwrights.


00:03:31:13 - 00:04:04:16

ADAM RATNER

And it was an amazing, amazing. It's been an amazing, amazing experience. We start with a three part program where students, they first see a full production of a children's play. Normally it would be here on our campus, but Caroline has done some amazing stuff to adjust for the times we're living in. And then the second part is our Playmaker's program, which is partially scripted and partially improv, where the students get to see, again, some winning plays that have won in the past of our program.


00:04:04:22 - 00:04:29:21

ADAM RATNER

And then the actors work with them both on stage and in classrooms to create plays on their own. They learn the four ingredients that we need for play, which are character, conflict setting and dialog. It's kind of like making a cake. You've got the right ingredients. You can make a play after that. Those plays are submitted to us, and one of my fantastic jobs that I've been doing for many, many years is I get to go through all of these fantastic little works.


00:04:30:20 - 00:04:48:20

ADAM RATNER

And last year we received over 7600 playwrights submitted, which was an incredible, incredible And in the 30 years that we have done the program, we've seen over a million children and we impact about 47,000 students the year, which is, it's just it's, it's amazing.


00:04:49:21 - 00:04:55:16

BRIANA JACKSON

Wow. I'm so taken aback by the numbers. You said 7600 playwrights were submitted.


00:04:56:07 - 00:04:56:12

ADAM RATNER

Yeah.


00:04:57:09 - 00:05:00:10

BRIANA JACKSON

Wow. And reached over a million students.


00:05:00:21 - 00:05:20:17

ADAM RATNER

And in the history of the program, yes, we have reached over 1 million students since then starting in 1991. I think one of the great things about the program is when the students see the works written by their peers is there's a real connectivity of seeing, they're feeling the same things that these other students that are getting to display their plays on stage.


00:05:21:04 - 00:05:32:13

ADAM RATNER

There's, there's a sense of wow, someone understands something that I'm going through or I feel that same way so it's a real, it's real kind of empathetic response from young people, which is, you know, is amazing.


00:05:33:10 - 00:05:40:13

BRIANA JACKSON

It sounds as though you're, you're allowing them to use their voice and in return they're able to have someone listen.


00:05:41:08 - 00:05:57:07

ADAM RATNER

Absolutely. That is one of the most important things is we do not want to restrict them from creating whatever they want to put on, put on paper and share with us, it takes a lot of courage, we say, to create it's we each we actually award each and every student who submitted to play gets their own personal and certificate.


00:05:57:15 - 00:06:19:00

ADAM RATNER

And there's a quote on there saying that, you know, the ancient Greeks used to award their great warriors in battles and they also awarded their great poets and playwrights because it takes just as much courage to put your ideas and feelings out there, but just to go out there and risk your life. So really, we really want to congratulate them for the great work.


00:06:19:18 - 00:06:31:17

BRIANA JACKSON

And with the 7600 that were submitted, how do you what do you do if those do you make do you select a certain amount to bring these yes to life? Tell us more about that.


00:06:31:17 - 00:06:52:04

ADAM RATNER

Yeah, there's a there's a great selection process and Caroline can definitely jump in on this as well because she is in the trenches with us. When we were selecting these plays, each and every play is read at least twice by members of our staff here at Studio Theater. And then pre-COVID, we also would have a certain day where there were donors and VIP's would come in and read the plays written by the students.


00:06:52:15 - 00:07:20:00

ADAM RATNER

And it's it's a it's a shuffling process where, you know, the wheat from the chaff [inaudible] they say and we whittle it down. We look for plays that that have, as we were talking about before, have very unique voice and our fun to put up on stage and everything from silly things about pencils that are free to be sharpened to children that are afraid that that they're that their parents are getting a divorce. So it runs the whole, whole gamut.


00:07:20:03 - 00:07:43:23

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

Now, I just want to chime in on that, too, Adam. We are selecting a place for both kindergarten through sixth grade, and then we also select plays for seventh grade through 12th grade. So we're looking for about a dozen plays in each category. That are varied. We want to make sure that we're sharing as many different viewpoints and experiences and imaginations as possible.


00:07:45:03 - 00:08:10:18

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

And when you read the plays, all of them, I would say more than 90% have all the ingredients that we've set forth of character setting, conflict and dialog. But, you know, a winning play, when it just set something inside of you on fire, you like see that little spark of creativity jump off of the page and everybody can feel it when they read it.


00:08:11:00 - 00:08:35:07

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

It's something that just brings about like the wonder and truth of childhood. And some of them are long and complex, and by long I mean five to eight pages, and some of them are very short one page, but are able to tell a concise important story just in one page. So there is no magic formula, but there is an emotional reaction to a piece of art that was created even though it's created by a young person.


00:08:35:15 - 00:08:43:19

BRIANA JACKSON

And in your experience watching these these plays come to life. What type of reactions do you see from the students themselves that created this play?


00:08:43:23 - 00:08:54:17

ADAM RATNER

You know, it's almost that in that they wander and are like, Oh my goodness, they saw they put this on stage. This was just living inside of my head before, and now I'm seeing it right here in front of me. All these people are going to share it.


00:08:54:21 - 00:09:19:07

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

And it doesn't just make an impact on the child. One of the biggest days and most exciting days here are when we bring their classes, we bring their parents, we bring their teachers, their brothers, their sisters, and they get to see the performances as well. And as proud as the child is the the parents or aunts, uncles or cousins or whoever is there with them, the way that they now look at that child is different.


00:09:19:14 - 00:09:32:02

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

And getting to watch them, watch the child, watch the play is such a fantastic experience because they're now seeing either their classmate or student or child in a whole different way.


00:09:33:01 - 00:09:55:03

BRIANA JACKSON

And what's amazing about this is you're really encouraging just the power of using your imagination. And typically when we're in school, you know, it's very structured. You do your homework, you take your tests, you study for state exams. But at times, maybe we learn, we forget how to use our imagination. But your program is really igniting that in your students.


00:09:55:15 - 00:10:18:13

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

All of the education programing here is going to highlight that. That's what we celebrate. And want to grow in a child, right? Is that that sense of wonder and imagination. And we kind of operate with the Virginia Woolf quote "writing is an act of the imagination, but the hand records". So first and foremost, it comes from your imagination.


00:10:18:13 - 00:10:21:08

CAROLINE SALDIVAR

And then we take it on a page.


00:10:21:19 - 00:10:32:14

BRIANA JACKSON

Along with Caroline and Adam. I also spoke to Josh Ford from the Florida Studio Theater. Josh went into a little bit more depth of how he goes about teaching theater to students.


00:10:32:16 - 00:10:57:17

JOSH FORD

The I run the Education Department here at FLorida Studio Theater, and there are still preconceptions, even in the Education Department, that that we like to challenge. I think primarily because I work with a lot of youth, you know, we like to challenge the idea that that children don't make art or aren't artists or are haven't grown into being artists yet.


00:10:57:19 - 00:11:17:22

JOSH FORD

Our artistic director, Richard Hopkins, said to us don't think of them as pre adults. You know, think of them as having their own culture. Think of them as like Shakespeare from Mars. And that's I thought that it was such a great idea and it has been it is formed my personal one of my personal bedrocks about working with young people.


00:11:17:22 - 00:11:31:06

JOSH FORD

And it is also obviously one of Florida studio theaters bedrocks where we talk about that. That's a preconception that we can really challenge and we can really make real art with young people or people who don't have artistic experience.


00:11:32:06 - 00:11:35:17

BRIANA JACKSON

Wow. I love I love that phrase. Shakespeare on Mars.


00:11:35:17 - 00:11:59:00

JOSH FORD

Yeah. Shakespeare from Mars is. Yeah, like imagine that there's this whole other culture that exists and we just don't understand it yet. And I have found that to be true. Every time that I work with young people. Like every every year it comes up, there's a whole new set of language and symbology that they have with each other that I don't know anything about.


00:11:59:00 - 00:12:09:12

JOSH FORD

It has nothing to do with me, right? And so they have to teach me, you know, their language this and they have a culture of their own. And I'm a I'm a visitor in that culture, you know.


00:12:10:06 - 00:12:16:08

BRIANA JACKSON

Do you have a favorite play that you remember that you'd want to share and what it was about?


00:12:16:14 - 00:12:39:19

JOSH FORD

We did a play. It was written by a third grader. And third graders are perfect as writers. They are. They're really amazing because they they understand structure. You know, they've seen enough stories. They've watched enough TV that they get it. They understand how it plays work, beginning, middle and end. But it's still like anything can happen. Know. So this particular play was about it's called The Dog and the Alien.


00:12:40:03 - 00:12:59:18

JOSH FORD

And there's a dog in Central Park. And he said because no one will play with him. And this alien lands in the middle of Central Park and he comes out of his spaceship and he says, tells the dog, take me to your leader, and the dog just wants to play. So he just barks. And this happens a few times until finally the alien says, these earthlings must be stupid.


00:12:59:23 - 00:13:14:04

ADAM RATNER

And he gets in as gets in his flying saucer and he flies away. And the dog is sad because no one's playing with him. And I just thought it was it's just a perfect play. It's like 4 minutes long and it's sad and it's funny and it's it's just beautiful.


00:13:42:08 - 00:14:16:06

BRIANA JACKSON

Florida Studio Theater not only educates young artists to better understand what theater is, but encourages students to really engage with the sense of wonder and imagination that helps them further expand their creative ideas. More information on the Florida Studio Theater can be found in our shownotes


00:14:16:06 - 00:14:22:01

BRIANA JACKSON

Hi, ladies. Welcome to the Arts Axis Florida podcast. Thank you so much for being here. How are you today?


00:14:22:22 - 00:14:24:21

LEYMIS BOLANOS

I am good. Thank you for having me.


00:14:24:23 - 00:14:29:12

BRIANA JACKSON

Can you tell us a little bit about your role at the Sarasota Contemporary Dance?


00:14:30:15 - 00:15:02:03

LEYMIS BOLANOS

Yes, I am the proud founder and artistic director of Sarasota Contemporary Dance. So I you know, I've been part of helping it grow. I, I work, I wear many hats. I am a director, I am a choreographer. I perform every now and then I also teach and I help just with the artistic aspect of organization. And we now have our home in the Rosemary District which has been really exciting.


00:15:02:03 - 00:15:14:05

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And we've been able to really just expand our programing and offering classes from children to through adults to seniors. So that's been really exciting.


00:15:15:10 - 00:15:31:04

BRIANA JACKSON

Awesome. And speaking of school, I see that the Sarasota Contemporary Dance has done so much for the local communities with your programs for K through 12. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your program is?


00:15:31:20 - 00:15:54:10

LEYMIS BOLANOS

Yes. I mean, one of the things I love about Sarasota and Manatee, it's the arts in the schools and really supporting that. So we've been able to build curriculum that allows us to go into the schools. There's one that's a popular one called the Triangle where we go in and we even did this actually through Zoom during this whole pandemic.


00:15:54:10 - 00:16:20:13

LEYMIS BOLANOS

But we, we introduced it's almost like a sampler or like if you're going through the cafeteria and you pick and choose. We did this kind of with dance. So each student would participate in like 20 minutes of contemporary dance, 20 minutes of creative dance, 20 minutes of jazz or Afro modern or Afro-Cuban. And it's like a wheel. And they get like 20 minutes with each teaching artist and get a little embodied work.


00:16:20:13 - 00:16:39:18

LEYMIS BOLANOS

So they get to experience it. The teacher is presenting the, the dance style and that maybe some of the students have never been, you know, exposed to. And then at the very end, we do like a show and tell. So there's been phrase work that they learned in all those three 20 minute segments and then we show it.


00:16:39:18 - 00:17:19:04

LEYMIS BOLANOS

So this idea of experiencing a dance style and then being able to share with each other also being an audience and also being the dancer, there's something about that that we can teach about respecting and supporting and witnessing and watching someone else do something. Encourage. So these all these social skills and and the great thing about it is like if you feel, Oh, Afro modern is what I feel most comfortable in doing and maybe like, you know, creative dance, I'm not as confident you have an opportunity to try each one to really shine in the style or the approach that you really feel comfortable in.


00:17:19:20 - 00:17:48:15

LEYMIS BOLANOS

So we've done that. That has been like the most popular, the triangle. But we also have SCDE, which is Sarasota Contemporary Dance Ensemble, and that is our training dance company for aspiring dancers, and that's for 12 and up. And that has really taken off and that is something that's not necessarily in the schools, but we do get information out to the schools primarily the high school schools in the area.


00:17:48:22 - 00:18:26:00

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And we've had, you know, Booker students, Northport Heights High School students, magnet school for the Arts and come through and train with our professional dancers. And that's really been exciting to see because there's now this legacy that we're leaving, you know, it's not just the professional dance company, but we're being able to be a place where people come to train for contemporary dance and we also have our summer program that we've had four kids vacate Cape York, five as well, and that we're able to bring back this summer, which is wonderful.


00:18:27:07 - 00:18:32:13

BRIANA JACKSON

That is. And tell us more about how the pandemic had affected this program.


00:18:33:14 - 00:19:03:07

LEYMIS BOLANOS

Well, the pandemic with the K through 12 program and even like I teach at New College as well, everything went through Zoom. And I think people were surprised how dance can translate through like a Zoom process and how it can still be interactive. We I think we had to shut down like first or second week of March. And I would say the week after we already had started transitioning to virtual classes.


00:19:03:07 - 00:19:27:10

LEYMIS BOLANOS

So as far as our studio programing, that that was a quick turnaround. And I think that's the beautiful thing of contemporary artists. We're used to having to think in the spot and be innovative. And so like that was a real fast process for us. The schools, we getting the information out. I know that there was teachers having to navigate this whole new world that they had never experienced before.


00:19:28:11 - 00:20:14:18

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And what we did is we recorded this series The Triangle, so there's a recorded that teachers can actually go to our website and purchase the triangle. And we did two different ones. We did one that we can actually come in on Zoom and be interactive. And we have another one that's prerecorded that if teachers only wanted to do like a 15 minute segment of, let's say, jazz and then take a break and then do another day, do another 15 minute segment of Afro modern, they can do that So we have those resources on our website and that was something that came out of the pandemic, was creating these resources that were good quality and, and get


00:20:14:18 - 00:20:39:04

LEYMIS BOLANOS

it to the hands of the teachers. So that's on our website. And we, we tried it out with a class from University of Florida in Gainesville. Obviously, those were college students, but it was really fun to, to try it out with them, to make sure that it was you know, the number of students on Zoom and those kind of logistics. And so I appreciate them partnering up with us for that.


00:20:39:23 - 00:20:56:09

BRIANA JACKSON

Well, congrats to you and your organization for thriving using Zoom. I love the idea that you're able to provide prerecorded sessions and live sessions because that just shows you're you're making it accessible to everyone, which was so important in 2020.


00:20:57:13 - 00:21:25:17

LEYMIS BOLANOS

Yes. And I think moving forward, you know, there is that conversation about accessibility and our our organization, we've worked with professional dancers that are considered disabled dancers and that was that is a conversation that we've had of how to maintain our masterclasses and other programing accessible to someone that maybe is in a wheelchair or someone that is not able to get to the studio.


00:21:26:09 - 00:21:31:23

LEYMIS BOLANOS

How do we continue to stay connected to the those people in our community?


00:21:33:08 - 00:21:36:09

BRIANA JACKSON

Tell me more about dancers that are considered disabled.


00:21:36:14 - 00:22:03:15

LEYMIS BOLANOS

One of my best friends in high school lost her leg and so I was part of seeing her come back to dance and dance with a prosthetic leg and without. And we and actually she's presenting, we're bringing her in in December and she'll be showing work. So I've been it's been something that I've experienced, something that I've been it's been a close experience for me.


00:22:04:15 - 00:22:26:11

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And so Stephanie has I've worked with Stephanie and we've choreograph together and then Dywane Scheuneman, which is the director of Revolution Dance Company and has a youth company in Tampa called Rev Youth. And we've presented them actually now during the pandemic. They they had they had not done anything this whole year. And we had them come to our studio.


00:22:26:17 - 00:22:50:11

LEYMIS BOLANOS

It was a closed event just with their parents, and we were able to get funding. So our studio now has these multi cameras and we have a whole broadcasting system, and we recorded their performance so they could livestream it and share it with their friends and family. So that was really awesome. So so we have this relationship with Duane.


00:22:50:11 - 00:23:27:07

LEYMIS BOLANOS

We also have had a longstanding relationship with Parkinson's Place. So we teach Dance for Parkinson's on Thursday mornings. And that's been a program that we've been involved for eight years now. So making dance accessible has been something that we've been doing for a long time, probably since that since the start of the company I've set works on dancers, disabled dancers, as an artist, as an independent artist, but also with the company, we've had invited guests that these are professional dancers. They just have a physical disability.


00:23:27:10 - 00:23:32:05

BRIANA JACKSON

You mentioned the Dance for Parkinson's program. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?


00:23:32:20 - 00:24:05:00

LEYMIS BOLANOS

Yes, that's on Thursdays at 10 a.m. it's at Parkinson's Place. It's a program that I helped start. When Parkinson's Place approached me over eight years ago, I had just lost my mother in law to to to part well, not necessarily the Parkinson's, but the challenges that happen when you have Parkinson's disease. The result of it. And it was I felt like it was totally a God thing, like to give back.


00:24:05:23 - 00:24:22:10

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And I and I did it for five years or four years and absolutely loved it. And then it became an integral part of the company. So we rotate through company members right now. Shenyang Dance Singers leads the class.


00:24:22:10 - 00:24:47:15

LEYMIS BOLANOS

It has an assistant and a live drummer I was really I felt like music and dance was an integral part for this class. Like, I didn't want just the movement. I really wanted the musical component as well and an assistance of someone that's going around and actually doing tactile work. So actually physically touching the bodies of the people participating.


00:24:47:15 - 00:25:19:05

LEYMIS BOLANOS

And obviously with the pandemic, we haven't done that, but we are resuming to in-person classes, we hope in September and that program has been just wonderful to see evolve and see how different company members come in and out and and get to experience and being part of that community. And I've also been able to connect New College of Florida and students that I teach to partner and do different events.


00:25:19:05 - 00:25:56:12

LEYMIS BOLANOS

So we've had performances with Parkinson's, with our friends from Parkinson's place, and also students from New College of Florida together performing as well as with the company performing on stage. So it's been a real fruitful experience. And and and I love this also multigenerational aspect of it, which I think we don't realize when it's happening. But what I like to share is that the Parkinson's, people living with Parkinson's and the ones that I have come into contact with are usually my parents or my or grandparents.


00:25:56:20 - 00:26:24:04

LEYMIS BOLANOS

They they have grandchildren that don't live here or they're far away from their children in their families. So being able to integrate the new college community which these these kids have are away from home and an hour away from their grandparents and stuff. So to integrate these two communities together and kind of fill that that void has been really beautiful. To see those relationships that have evolved from those connections.


00:26:39:17 - 00:27:07:03

BRIANA JACKSON

It's great to learn that there are organizations catering to both school children and adults. Sarasota Contemporary Dances K through 12 programs allows students to engage with the fundamentals of dance, both in and out of the classroom setting. Also, their Dancer Parkinson's program provides those living with this disease an opportunity to expand their physical capabilities. To learn more on how you or someone you know can get involved, please visit our show notes.


00:27:08:23 - 00:27:14:14

BRIANA JACKSON

Hi, Katie and Amanda. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Arts Axis Florida podcast. How are you both?


00:27:15:14 - 00:27:18:01

KATIE WELCH

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for inviting us.


00:27:18:11 - 00:27:28:13

BRIANA JACKSON

What I love about your program is you've made it possible for teens, kids and young, young adults to participate in theater productions. Tell me more about that, Katie.


00:27:29:13 - 00:27:47:22

KATIE WELCH

Well, the one thing that I love, but the one thing that definitely has problems with actors including older and young, is that either in the show or you're not. It's know you all this in your end. And so great. A lot of you have been so or thank you think you but try again next time.


00:27:47:22 - 00:28:17:11

KATIE WELCH

I want a world or community that allows kids, teens, and adults to be a part of something that their [inaudible] show no matter what. So yeah we we don't we don't reject anyone no way we do start there. The one thing that I know a lot of actors and thespians, they hate rejection. And that's the one thing that I've seen theater we don't like rejection at all, so we try not to implement it.


00:28:17:17 - 00:28:32:20

BRIANA JACKSON

And what I also love about your program is that you offer your students an option to participate front and center in the theater, but also behind the scenes for those who are not comfortable. So, Amanda, tell us more about that


00:28:32:20 - 00:29:04:01

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

Well, [inaudible] people who want to perform up on stage, but then there's some people who feel a bit more comfortable working backstage or they're pretty good with editing. So we do offer other opportunities at such as they might work tech backstage or they might run music with us. And recently we had we offered opportunities to edit some of our videos since the pandemic kind of hit us.


00:29:04:09 - 00:29:04:17

BRIANA JACKSON

Right.


00:29:05:08 - 00:29:35:03

KATIE WELCH

And we also like there's some people who want to learn like, say, "Hey Ms Katie, Ms. Amanda, I'm interested in directing because can I direct?". So we always allow all of our actors, if they want, be on stage manager that you learn how to do lights and sound board. We even have one student who was not comfortable onstage at all, so he was in charge of backstage the whole entire time. And he loved it. And now he's in college right now and studying being a stage manager.


00:29:35:23 - 00:29:49:00

BRIANA JACKSON

That is an amazing full circle experience. I love that so it's good you you let them you let them choose where their comfort level is and if it's something sticks, it sticks. And if not, they can always choose something else.


00:29:49:08 - 00:30:18:12

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

To play it. They are like, we've had like one student who wants to learn about media. So one thing about our community theater is that we also do like the videography And if one of our actors wants to learn about how to do videos, we allow them to help us record our trailers to our show, our behind the scenes features. And it's it's a really good opportunity for them.


00:30:19:13 - 00:30:28:14

BRIANA JACKSON

Yeah and you not only offer, you know, the theater production aspect, but it's more of an education for them to learn these new skills.


00:30:29:06 - 00:30:51:08

KATIE WELCH

Yes, that's Amanda and I are both teachers, so we got the feel of that. And it's really amazing to see how much growth our actors are young to old. They continue to grow, and they love it so much that we want to come back and be part of a Broadway. [inaudible].


00:30:51:08 - 00:31:22:12

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

Our performers learn something. Kate and I have been learning a lot as we been working with best sense of how Pandemic started. Katy started doing music videos for like she started off with, I think Tomorrow from Annie that we started getting into like this big virtual cabaret this past spring. And we yeah, we definitely saw some growth with our editing skills and even more with our recent video we just did for Eurovision, too.


00:31:24:00 - 00:31:54:18

KATIE WELCH

Amanda was the one who found them, and they started doing like some musical collaborations online. Then we were in the contest called Eurovision Usable Contest Number two, and we got so [inaudible] registered, we got picked for one of the 13 contestants we got. They randomly drew out a European country for us and we got to come to Denmark.


00:31:57:02 - 00:32:24:18

KATIE WELCH

So the only two musicals that we knew that represent Denmark was Once Upon A Mattress and A Little Mermaid. So we had all our face, we was on Facebook opposing each musical Do you want Broadway Everyday Star Theater to represent and 95% That Little Mermaid. So we did a mash up The Little Mermaid and we found out on Saturday on the 19th, we came in third place out of,


00:32:24:18 - 00:32:26:06

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

14, Right Katie?


00:32:26:08 - 00:32:52:12

KATIE WELCH

Yeah, 14 countries and we were the only United States representing team to run in that. And it was all of like we had people like who collaborated with us to be part of the music video with the Philippines and Ireland and Canada but yeah, we were completely in shock that we came in third place. We thought we would not even get that close. So it was amazing.


00:32:52:17 - 00:32:55:09

BRIANA JACKSON

That is amazing. And congratulations. That's really big.


00:32:55:14 - 00:32:56:12

KATIE WELCH

Thank you. Thank you.


00:32:56:12 - 00:32:58:21

BRIANA JACKSON

And I'm not surprised that Little Mermaid was the top pick.


00:33:01:16 - 00:33:06:17

KATIE WELCH

Yeah. A lot of people love that. We did a mash up of part of your world and the sea.


00:33:06:17 - 00:33:17:22

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

Yeah, we did like a little pool to see what song we wanted to do. And a lot of them said Under the sea. However, we all came in a close second, and I just like, you know, what these are very popular. Let's do a mash up of those two.


00:33:17:22 - 00:33:28:17

KATIE WELCH

Amanda is really good [inaudible] karaoke soundtrack to coexist, and it sounded perfectly


00:33:28:17 - 00:33:45:16

KATIE WELCH

Perfect. And Katie this questions for you. So in the past with other organizations that I've been interviewing a lot of their focuses have been on positively impacting mental health. So how has mental health tied in with your organization? And what you do?


00:33:46:10 - 00:34:16:15

KATIE WELCH

Like I said before, we don't reject anyone, so we're all in inclusive theater. So anyone routine, kids, adults, who have disabilities like my cousin, she is Down syndrome, but she is like the dancing captain of our shows because she's an amazing dancer. We don't reject anyone. And instead of focusing on the negativity of like, Oh, this person can't sing or this person can't dance, we focus on the positive, like, what are they good act?


00:34:16:15 - 00:34:48:02

KATIE WELCH

And like I said, my cousin, she's amazing dancer. I'm Halsey Down Syndrome. We focus on her dancing skills. We really we just love it. And and it's sad to see that some people can't like they are pushed away because of disability. And it's disappointing to see that because of that barrier, we know that they can't push through. And that's why I'm glad that community theater, the arts program, are allowing that to happen, including our community here.


00:34:48:19 - 00:34:54:23

BRIANA JACKSON

So Amanda, what are some different ways you've witnesses, performers and participants benefit from these experiences?


00:34:56:01 - 00:35:27:10

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

Like anything in the arts, it definitely shows some self expression and definitely a lot of confidence. We had one participant who started off in the virtual cabaret this past spring, and he has never done anything theater related before. And he thought he would give it a try. And his confidence are growing like he's getting when we had our music rehearsal and support, get more confident with the music and he even turned up again during our Eurovision competition.


00:35:27:12 - 00:36:00:10

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

And he definitely has. He definitely found this appreciation and his love for theater that he even like looks up some things about Broadway saying, Oh, Jeremy Jordan has been is coming back [inaudible], so he's definitely turned into a theater fan. So, so stuff like that where if you see people just grown appreciation and a passion for theater and just developing this confidence in itself to perform,


00:36:00:10 - 00:36:25:10

KATIE WELCH

But also just to see like our imagination and their characteristics. I remember there was this one girl in our murder mystery, Our Town, from which I wrote, I write plays, I write novels, I write me in schools, I write plays, and we use when write murder mystery plays for one of our very first shows. She was struggling at first. Is she can not? She says you cannot connect with the character that she was playing.


00:36:25:11 - 00:36:48:09

KATIE WELCH

So we did a like a little like a little characterization game. See that see how the next one played was questioning the character. So we had her sit in a chair and some other character, but we had to ask more questions. And one question I asked was, Why do you think your character is in this position right now?


00:36:48:16 - 00:37:14:01

KATIE WELCH

And her character, she spoiler alert, she was the murderer. She said, I believe my character did best is because she wants to be noticed. And that once upon doubting her, thinking like she can't solve, she can't solve any reason, can't be true to herself. So she she accidentally killed the person because she wanted attention. And after that, she started this.


00:37:14:01 - 00:37:36:20

KATIE WELCH

She started growing into a character. And she even texted me two weeks ago to say that she just got a lead and I'll Kill a Mockingbird. She got the lead in To Kill a Mockingbird. And she said it's because of the characterization questionnaire we gave us more knowledgeable of how to portray her character well.


00:37:36:22 - 00:37:48:23

BRIANA JACKSON

And that's a skill she can take in her acting career as well. Kind of like a role reversal and figuring out why the character is where they are. That was a really cool scenario. You put her in yeah.


00:37:49:00 - 00:38:05:00

KATIE WELCH

Like like I said, if what if we don't play like a lot of improv games or just to get to know your actors? That's the one thing directors need to do instead of just going to do this might be that you need to get to know your actors, like how they like what or how they feel about the character.


00:38:05:06 - 00:38:14:04

KATIE WELCH

Maybe they can't connect and connect or they just don't know what to do. So that's the one thing we do have as one big family.


00:38:14:09 - 00:38:31:13

BRIANA JACKSON

Yes. And you and Amanda are giving them key essential skills. Katie and Amanda, thank you so much for joining us today. And just thank you for what you're doing for these students and our community and enriching them with the the love of theater. It really is impactful. And thank you for your time today.


00:38:32:02 - 00:38:36:05

AMANDA SCHAPIRO

Yeah. And our motto is Broadway Everyday Star Theater, where everyone is a star.


00:38:39:17 - 00:39:05:05

BRIANA JACKSON

Arts organizations like Broadway, Everyday Star Theater are truly making a difference when it comes to community participation. In allowing children from all walks of life to find their place within the theater really helps their creativity and gives them a sense of belonging Be sure to check out our show notes for more information, including one of the most recent videos that was submitted to the Eurovision Music Contest this year.


00:39:07:02 - 00:39:36:17

BRIANA JACKSON

It's so exciting to see so many local programs that are right in our backyard teaching people the value of getting involved with the arts these organizations are truly paving the way for our next generation of artists. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode, and we look forward to having more inspiring conversations next time I'm Briana Jackson and you have been listening to the Arts Axis Florida podcast.


00:39:37:03 - 00:40:02:19

BRIANA JACKSON

This show is a product of WUSF Public Media with the help of our founding sponsor, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. Our show is produced by Aalyiah Moffitt, Chandler Balkcom and Leslie Laney. A special thanks to our editor Scott Walker and our entire engineering team. You can find out more information, performances and other content that our local arts groups are creating by following us on Facebook or Instagram and visiting our website.


00:40:03:11 - 00:40:13:22

BRIANA JACKSON

Arts Axis Fl dot org That's ARTS A X I S FL DOT ORG Copyright 2021 WUSF Public Media.



Subscribe to these Podcasts

Share by: