Five Elementary Schools to Produce a Disney Musical
OMAHA, NEB. – (June 3, 2016) – Five Omaha public elementary schools have been selected to participate in the first year of Disney Musicals in Schools, a program presented by Omaha Performing Arts. The schools are: Crestridge International Studies and Dual Language Magnet School, Harrison Elementary, Kennedy Elementary, Liberty Elementary and Wilson Focus Schools. These schools will receive significant resources to produce and perform a Disney stage musical. Several schools that met the criteria applied to participate in the first year.
Omaha Performing Arts was awarded a $100,000 grant from Disney to help bring the Disney Musicals in Schools program to Omaha, Nebraska. The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. The grant funds two years of programming. Omaha Performing Arts was able to select five area public elementary schools to participate in the 2016/2017 school year and will select an additional five schools for the following school year.
Harrison Elementary School Principal Andrea Haynes said “Harrison gladly accepts this offer and we are thrilled to bring this amazing Disney production to our school community.”
According to Christine Pennington, Vocal Music Teacher at Crestridge Magnet School, everyone “is very excited to start our journey into lasting theater education.”
At no cost to them, Crestridge, Harrison, Kennedy, Liberty and Wilson will participate in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by Omaha Performing Arts and Disney Theatrical Group. Each school will receive performance rights, education support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program features a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partner with Omaha Performing 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, Omaha Performing Arts will host a Student Share Celebration in which each school performs one number from their show on Omaha Performing Arts’ Holland stage for an audience of students, teachers, family and community members.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began partnering with organizations in other communities across the United States.
Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, The Aristocats, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, and Winnie the Pooh.
The date for applications and other details for the 2017-2018 school year will be announced next spring. Contact DMIS@OmahaPerformingArts.org with questions.
###
OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the citizens of Omaha and surrounding communities. In its two venues: the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center, the organization presents the best of Broadway, jazz, blues, dance, comedy, family and popular entertainment. Omaha Performing Arts also offers a range of educational programs and free community events that support, enhance and expand appreciation for the arts. In addition, the organization provides comprehensive ticketing services through ticketomaha.com, the official ticket retailer for the Orpheum and Holland. Omaha Performing Arts’ performances are supported in part by the Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Omaha and the Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund, as well as corporate sponsors, private donors and foundations. For more information, visit www.omahaperformingarts.org.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world’s most successful commercial theatre enterprises, bringing live entertainment events to a global annual audience of more than 19 million people in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Productions banner, the group produces and licenses Broadway musicals around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, and Aladdin. Frozen, based on the Academy Award®-winning film, is slated to open on Broadway in 2018. Other successful stage musical ventures have included the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love, stage productions of Disney’s High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin, and King David in concert. DTP has collaborated with the country’s leading regional theatres to develop new stage titles including The Jungle Book and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Disney Theatrical Group also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney Live! For over 30 years, Disney on Ice and Disney Live! have brought beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide, through productions such as Marvel Universe Live! and Frozen, the best attended and highest grossing Disney on Ice production to date. In addition, DTG licenses musical titles for local, school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International, including The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program wherein accredited elementary and middle schools produce condensed, age-appropriate JR. and KIDS adaptations of The Lion King.
ABOUT MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer, Frank Loesser, and orchestrator, Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide. MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students. www.mtishows.com
###
Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl+B)Italic (Ctrl+I)Underline (Ctrl+U)Align LeftAlign CenterAlign RightRedo (Ctrl+Y)Undo (Ctrl+Z)Select Text Color▼Select Background Color▼Font FamilyFont Family▼Font SizeFont Size▼FormatFormat▼Insert/Remove Bulleted ListInsert/Remove Numbered ListDecrease IndentIncrease IndentSubscriptSuperscriptInsert/Edit LinkUnlinkInsert/Edit AnchorInsert/Edit TableTable Row PropertiesTable Cell PropertiesInsert Row BeforeInsert Row AfterDelete RowInsert Column BeforeInsert Column AfterDelete ColumnSplit Merged Table CellsMerge Table CellsCut (Ctrl+X)Copy (Ctrl+C)Paste (Ctrl+V)Paste as Plain TextPaste from WordFindFind/ReplaceInsert Special CharacterInsert/Edit ImageInsert imageEdit HTML SourceCleanup Messy CodeToggle Spell Checkershow/Hide Guidelines/Invisible ElementsPath: p.p1 » strong » em
>p class=”p1″ style=”text-align: center;”>>strong>>em>Five Elementary Schools to Produce a Disney Musical >/em>>/strong>>/p>
>p class=”p3″>>strong>OMAHA, NEB. – (June 3, 2016) – >/strong>Five Omaha public elementary schools have been selected to participate in the first year of >strong>Disney Musicals in Schools>/strong>, a program presented by Omaha Performing Arts. The schools are: Crestridge International Studies and Dual Language Magnet School, Harrison Elementary, Kennedy Elementary, Liberty Elementary and Wilson Focus Schools. These schools will receive significant resources to produce and perform a Disney stage musical. Several schools that met the criteria applied to participate in the first year. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>Omaha Performing Arts was awarded a $100,000 grant from Disney to help bring the >strong>Disney Musicals in Schools >/strong>program to Omaha, Nebraska. The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. The grant funds two years of programming. Omaha Performing Arts was able to select five area public elementary schools to participate in the 2016/2017 school year and will select an additional five schools for the following school year. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>Harrison Elementary School Principal Andrea Haynes said “Harrison gladly accepts this offer and we are thrilled to bring this amazing Disney production to our school community.” >/p>
>p class=”p3″>According to Christine Pennington, Vocal Music Teacher at Crestridge Magnet School, everyone “is very excited to start our journey into lasting theater education.” >/p>
>p class=”p3″>At no cost to them, Crestridge, Harrison, Kennedy, Liberty and Wilson will participate in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by Omaha Performing Arts and Disney Theatrical Group. Each school will receive performance rights, education support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program features a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partner with Omaha Performing 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, Omaha Performing Arts will host a Student Share Celebration in which each school performs one number from their show on Omaha Performing Arts’ Holland stage for an audience of students, teachers, family and community members. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>>strong>Disney Musicals in Schools >/strong>was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began partnering with organizations in other communities across the United States. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films >em>101 Dalmatians>/em>, >em>Aladdin>/em>, >em>The Aristocats>/em>, >em>Cinderella>/em>, >em>The Jungle Book>/em>, >em>The Lion King>/em>, >em>Sleeping Beauty>/em>, and >em>Winnie the Pooh>/em>. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>The date for applications and other details for the 2017-2018 school year will be announced next spring. Contact >a href=”mailto:DMIS@OmahaPerformingArts.org”>DMIS@OmahaPerformingArts.org>/a> with questions. >/p>
>p class=”p3″ style=”text-align: center;”>### >/p>
>p class=”p3″>>strong>OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS >/strong>is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the citizens of Omaha and surrounding communities. In its two venues: the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center, the organization presents the best of Broadway, jazz, blues, dance, comedy, family and popular entertainment. Omaha Performing Arts also offers a range of educational programs and free community events that support, enhance and expand appreciation for the arts. In addition, the organization provides comprehensive ticketing services through ticketomaha.com, the official ticket retailer for the Orpheum and Holland. Omaha Performing Arts’ performances are supported in part by the Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Omaha and the Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund, as well as corporate sponsors, private donors and foundations. For more information, visit www.omahaperformingarts.org. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>>strong>DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) >/strong>operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world’s most successful commercial theatre enterprises, bringing live entertainment events to a global annual audience of more than 19 million people in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Productions banner, the group produces and licenses Broadway musicals around the world, including >em>Beauty and the Beast>/em>, >em>The Lion King>/em>, Elton John & Tim Rice’s >em>Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins>/em>, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, >em>The Little Mermaid>/em>, >em>Peter and the Starcatcher>/em>, >em>Newsies>/em>, and >em>Aladdin>/em>. >em>Frozen>/em>, based on the Academy Award®-winning film, is slated to open on Broadway in 2018. Other successful stage musical ventures have included the Olivier-nominated London hit >em>Shakespeare in Love, >/em>stage productions of Disney’s >em>High School Musical>/em>, >em>Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame >/em>in Berlin, and >em>King David >/em>in concert. DTP has collaborated with the country’s leading regional theatres to develop new stage titles including >em>The Jungle Book >/em>and >em>The Hunchback of Notre Dame>/em>. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>Disney Theatrical Group also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of >em>Disney on Ice >/em>and >em>Disney Live! >/em>For over 30 years, >em>Disney on Ice >/em>and >em>Disney Live! >/em>have brought beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide, through productions such as >em>Marvel Universe Live! >/em>and >em>Frozen>/em>, the best attended and highest grossing >em>Disney on Ice >/em>production to date. In addition, DTG licenses musical titles for local, school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International, including >em>The Lion King Experience>/em>, a unique holistic arts education program wherein accredited elementary and middle schools produce condensed, age-appropriate JR. and KIDS adaptations of >em>The Lion King>/em>. >/p>
>p class=”p3″>>strong>ABOUT MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL >/strong>>/p>
>p class=”p3″>Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer, Frank Loesser, and orchestrator, Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide. MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students. www.mtishows.com >/p>
>p class=”p3″ style=”text-align: center;”>### >/p>