Marie Pauls
Disney Musicals in Schools: Local students grow and shine by way of musical theater
May 9, 2023
The impact on our students, families and the greater school community is immeasurable. There is really nothing similar offered at the elementary level that is open to all kids.
On Tuesday, May 23, approximately 200 elementary and middle school students will have a moment in the limelight on Overture’s Capitol Theater stage. Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share is a special event that brings together local schools that participated in the nationwide program dedicated to equitable performing arts education access for students in grades 3-8. This year, Overture is pleased to welcome young performers representing six Madison area schools:
- Akira Toki Middle School
- Hawthorne Elementary Schools
- Henderson Elementary School
- Leopold Community School
- Nuestro Mundo Community School
- Mendota Elementary School
Overture is one of 18 arts organizations worldwide to offer Disney Musicals in Schools, and after a three-year pause, we are thrilled to have it up and running in the Madison community once again.
“Due to the pandemic, none of the students involved had ever been in a musical at their school,” says Karra Beach, Overture’s director of Broadway engagement programs.
The program equips school faculty with the training and tools necessary to support student performance and production, empowering and enabling them to create sustainable musical theater programs within their schools. In their first year of participation, over the course of 17 weeks, schools rehearse twice a week in preparation for a performance of a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical, for which performance licensing is provided at no cost. This residency includes one in-school rehearsal guided by Overture’s trained team of teaching artists, and a second rehearsal is led by a committed team of three to five teachers from the school, one of whom must be an arts specialist. The schools can choose from a list of eight musical productions, all stories from classic Disney movies which have been adapted for young performers on stage. Second- and third-year schools receive follow-up support in the form of refresher courses, licensing and materials.
From singing and acting to dancing and stage management, this art form is a medium through which students can engage in critical thinking and problem solving, developing self-confidence and proficiency in interpersonal communication.
“Most of these kids have never done theater before in their life…they have never seen a play in their life…they’ve never read a script in their life, so this is all really new information that they are taking in,” says Tamara Moschea, a teacher at Mendota Elementary School. “Collaboration, learning together, memorizing, performing in front of people - these are skills they’ll be able to take with them for the rest of their lives, to wherever they go and whatever they happen to do.”
It’s not only the students who are learning new things.
“Most of the teacher teams are new to the experience and (this year) have directed, choreographed, music directed or stage managed their first musical,” according to Beach.
While developing appreciation of the arts within the schools, this program utilizes and acknowledges the individual learning styles and strengths of each student.
“Every year we see kids who struggle for various reasons in other parts of the day, shine as members of the cast or crew for the musical,” says Sara Milewski, a K-5 STEAM makerspace teacher at Henderson Elementary.
She believes the musicals are the most meaningful part of her work, and this year she is directing Aladdin KIDS, her fourth show since 2017.
“The impact on our students, families and the greater school community is immeasurable. There is really nothing similar offered at the elementary level that is open to all kids,” says Milewski. “We try our very best to include all interested students, which means we end up with a cast and crew of nearly 75 students!”
Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share provides the opportunity for the school communities to perform for one another in addition to their individual productions. Students are transported to Overture for a school-day performance at Capitol Theater, to present selections from the show they prepared and get a taste of professional stage life. Unique to this year, the students will have the distinct honor to meet the cast from Disney’s The Lion King, which will be running at Overture May 11-28, and interact in a 30-min Q&A session with the touring performers.
Funding for Disney Musicals in the Schools has been generously provided by The Cap Times Kids Fund and Starion Bank.
