Director’s View: Informances provide
students with a living laboratory
Their eyes—filled with wide-eyed amazement—tell it all. For many students, the entry into Eisenhower Auditorium for a Center for the Performing Arts Informances for Schools program marks their introduction to a large performance space.
When the lights go down and the curtain rises, the “oohs and aahs” begin. After the performance students buzz with excitement at what they’ve just seen—a live performance by a first-class company of artists. For many of our young visitors it is their first opportunity to see a live performing arts presentation, and we are thrilled to have the chance to introduce them to the magical world of live theatre.
I like to use this column from time to time to highlight Center for the Performing Arts programs not well known by the general public. The Informances for Schools program—promoted directly to educators—fits that bill. We offer four to six presentations each season geared to various age ranges from kindergarten through high school. Participation comes from schools in twelve central Pennsylvania counties. We have attracted students from as far away as Hershey, Tidioute, and Athens, to name a few of the far-flung Pennsylvania towns that have sent their children to our venue. During the most recently completed season, more than 4,000 students were registered to attend informances.
We encourage teachers to view the series as a living laboratory and incorporate the upcoming performances into their curriculums. One month before each informance, a comprehensive educator preparation packet is sent to registered participants. New this season, the teacher guide is interactive online, with links to appropriate podcasts and the artist Web site.
The Informances for Schools series is presented in partnership with Galaxy, the Arts-in-Education program of Central Intermediate Unit 10. Cultural Learning Initiative with McQuaide Blasko (CLIMB) generously supports the series.
Finding the funds to pay for bus transportation is instrumental to making it possible for students to come on a field trip. Fortunately, we can provide busing subsidies through an endowment funded by caring Center for the Performing Arts patrons Bill and Honey Jaffe.
We want to make our programs accessible and affordable to students and educators. We appreciate support for the informances program, one of many ways our loyal and visionary donors assist us in bringing the arts to people throughout central Pennsylvania. The children tell us, both by their reactions in the auditorium and in the letters we receive from them, that these programs make an impact in their lives.
Visit informances for more information about the program.
And now, here are some observations about our upcoming presentations.
Early February brings lots of great singing and dancing, along with a fabulous chamber music collaboration, to the Center for the Performing Arts.
If you like Broadway shows, the music of Billy Joel, or great dancing and singing, then MOVIN’ OUT, with three performances on Friday and Saturday, February 1 and 2, is for you. I saw this dynamic show, which brings twenty-four Joel hits to electrifying life, on Broadway. With a live band on stage, the cast dances roles drawn from the song lyrics to tell the story of five friends during the 1960s and 1970s. Legendary director and choreographer Twyla Tharp has created a Tony-award winning rock ballet that draws raves for its originality.
The classic book Anne of Green Gables comes to the stage in a captivating TheatreworksUSA production on Sunday, February 10. This irrepressible family musical about love, family, and home offers something for everyone. We’re thrilled to be bringing back America’s largest family-theatre touring company to present this production for the first time on our stage. Come an hour early for a free-to-ticket-holders Kidz Connections program of child-friendly activities related to the show.
Tuesday, February 12, features a stellar collaboration when the renowned Guarneri String Quartet joins forces with acclaimed newcomers, the Johannes String Quartet. Music lovers will have a special treat as the program includes a work—created by noted American composer William Bolcom and co-commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts—for combined quartets. Each quartet will also perform separately before reuniting at the end of the program for one of the most exciting of all chamber music works, Mendelssohn’s string octet. It will be the last time we’ll have Guarneri Quartet in Schwab Auditorium; the members have announced their retirement following the 2008–2009 season.
George Trudeau
Center for the Performing Arts director
