{"id":765,"date":"2015-09-16T13:42:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebzbproductions.ebzb.org\/bringing-performing-artists-into-chatham-county-elementary-schools\/"},"modified":"2015-09-16T13:42:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T13:42:00","slug":"bringing-performing-artists-into-chatham-county-elementary-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebzb.org\/WPress\/2015\/09\/16\/bringing-performing-artists-into-chatham-county-elementary-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Performing Artists into Chatham County Elementary Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nSeptember 15, 201<\/span><\/div>\n
\nBringing Performing Artists into <\/span><\/b>Chatham County Elementary Schools<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
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\nPITTSBORO, NC — Imagine if Jackie Robinson, the all-star African-American baseball player, were still alive and able to share his first-hand account of how he pushed the color barrier in America. Would we see the courage in his gait? Hear the lilt of frustration in his voice?  <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nSome Chatham County students will have the opportunity to experience what life might have been like for the record-setting player when acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley springs to life as Jackie Robinson at North Chatham Elementary School in his one-man production of Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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\n\u201cMy work finds its heart in the stories that have shaped American history and cultures,\u201d said Wiley, also a Chatham County resident. \u201cI\u2019m proud to play, live and finally work here where my roots can take hold and make a difference.\u201d <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nThis performance is part of two artist-in-residence pilot programs at Chatham County Schools in partnership with the Chatham Arts Council. Wiley will also provide active hands-on introduction to the world of creative writing, storytelling, and dramatic interpretation that directly tie to academic goals. He will offer<\/span> a professional development teacher workshop, two matinee student performances, and four days of student workshops.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nThe second residency will occur at Virginia Cross Elementary School this Fall when professional performing artists Serena Ebhardt and David zum Brunnen, also Chatham County residents, lead a program with fifth graders that bolsters core curriculum. Through journalistic interviews, students will create a script they will produce into a school-wide theatrical production complete with music, art and technology.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\n\u201cAs Chatham County citizens for over twenty years, David and I are thrilled to be contributing to Chatham Arts Council\u2019s Pilot Year Artists-in-Schools Initiative,\u201d Ebhardt said. \u201cWe hope that the work we do with students reaches beyond the classroom and creates connections between younger and older generations. It is not just about Arts-In-Education. It is about promoting integrity, self-discovery and the positive transformation of communities through our schools.\u201d<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nThe two artist-in-residence programs were funded by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council with matching funds provided by the Chatham County Commissioners, and managed by the Chatham Arts Council. Chatham County School teachers and administration collaborated with the Chatham Arts Council on the grant proposals to apply for the NCAC school residencies. The intent is to extend residencies like these to different Chatham County Schools each year.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\n\u201cChatham County Schools are incredibly fortunate to have such a resource in Chatham Arts Council,\u201d said Lori Carlin, Chatham County Schools Public Information Officer and Arts Coordinator. \u201cHaving a community partner organization that lists \u2018educating kids through the arts\u2019 as a guiding principle serves to enrich our students and community alike. The artist-in-residence opportunities will support and enhance instruction in a new and exciting way for the teachers and students involved.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nThese residencies buttress teachers and curricula across Chatham County. The initiative is designed to assist with the arts integration and arts exposure components of North Carolina\u2019s Comprehensive Arts Education Plan which includes three parts: (1) Arts Education where the arts are taught as  core, academic subjects. (2) Arts Integration where the arts are used as a catalyst for learning across the curriculum. (3) Arts Exposure where arts experiences are presented by professional artists.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nVirginia Cross Elementary School Artist-In-Residence Program with Performing Artists Serena Ebhardt and David zum Brunnen.<\/o:p><\/b><\/div>\n
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\nEbzB Productions\u2019 Serena Ebhardt and David zum Brunnen\u2019s <\/span>mission is to develop theatrical works that promote integrity, self-discovery and positive transformation of individuals, artists, audiences and communities.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nThe <\/span>residency with 5th graders at Virginia Cross Elementary School begins by teaching students journalistic interview skills where students will interview an adult two generations older. The primary interview question is determined by school faculty to integrate with core curriculum lesson plans. Responses to this interview will be transcribed by students and edited into a script. Students will then rehearse and produce a theatrical performance using the script they created. Music, art, and technology will be integrated into a school-wide community performance, with the assistance of the Virginia Cross Elementary School faculty. <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nActor, producer, director, David zum Brunnen has appeared in roles on stage, in films, commercials and videos\u2014coast to coast\u2014in the US and Canada.  His portrayal of Charles Dickens in <\/span>The Night Before Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> has now been seen by millions on public television. Additionally, public television audiences have seen him in the national broadcast of EbzB\u2019s <\/span>War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of WWII<\/span><\/i>, and as a frequent spokesperson with UNC-TV in North Carolina. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nSerena Ebhardt is an award-winning actress, director, playwright and teaching artist. She holds her B.A. in Dramatic Art from the University of North Carolina and received training as a teaching artist from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Lincoln Center Institute, and The National Center for Creative Aging. Ebhardt\u2019s direction includes world premieres and national tours including Nnenna Freelon\u2019s <\/span>The Clothesline Muse<\/span><\/i>, Tim Tyson\u2019s <\/span>Blood Done Sign My Name<\/span><\/i>, EbzB Productions\u2019 <\/span>Brown v. Board of Education<\/span><\/i>; <\/span>Life Is So Good<\/span><\/i> by George Dawson, and Mike Wiley Productions\u2019 <\/span>Dar He: The Lynching of Emmet Till<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nNorth Chatham Elementary School Artist-In-Residence Program with Acclaimed Actor and Playwright Mike Wiley.<\/o:p><\/b><\/div>\n
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\nMike Wiley has spent more than a decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational, documentary theater to young audiences and communities across the country. Through his work, countless students have been introduced to the stories and legacies of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Henry \u201cBox\u201d Brown, The Freedom Riders and more. As part of NC Art Council\u2019s \u201ccARTwheels\u201d program, Mike Wiley will present his acclaimed one-man production of Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart<\/i> at North Chatham Elementary School. This residency is an active hands-on introduction to the world of creative writing, storytelling, and dramatic interpretation. The residency features a <\/span>teachers\u2019 professional development workshop, two matinee student performances and four days of student workshops.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nBeginning with Mr. Wiley\u2019s live performance of the play Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart<\/i>, audiences will experience a powerful lesson of courage through the dedication and leadership of African-American athletes who pushed the color barrier to its breaking point. The play provides a glimpse of Robinson\u2019s life during a bygone era of separate and unequal locker rooms, of whites-only hotels, and of restaurants with only a back door for \u201ccolored\u201d athletes to enter. Students witness the hopeless humiliation of a star player who was showered with adulation on the field and became a second-hand citizen when he walked off the the diamond. They meet Jackie\u2019s compatriots fighting the same battles between the end zones, inside the ring and around the track. Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart<\/i> is a powerful lesson of courage through dedication, perseverance and leadership. The play intrigues, educates and sets one\u2019s thirst for success on fire. Robinson: A Game Apart<\/i> is a powerful lesson of courage through dedication, perseverance and leadership. The play intrigues, educates and sets one\u2019s thirst for success on fire. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nDuring the residency following the performance, Mr. Wiley will guide students through various aspects of creative writing, storytelling and poetry. Film footage, oral histories, newspapers, diaries, letters and other archival sources will furnish raw materials for writing that speaks to histories larger than ourselves. The goal is to give students the tools to improve their writing skills, engage audiences with social commentary, rich civil rights history and diversity awareness. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nMike Wiley is the 2010\/2014 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University\u2019s Center for Documentary Studies and UNC-Chapel Hill. Wiley has been named the News and Observer\u2019s<\/i> \u201cTar Heel of the Week,\u201d profiled in Our State<\/i> magazine, spotlighted on UNC-TV\u2019s \u201cNorth Carolina Now\u201d and North Carolina Public Radio\u2019s \u201cThe State of Things.\u201d He was named the 2012 Indie Artist of the Year by the Independent Weekly.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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\nContact: Cheryl Chamblee, Executive Director of the Chatham Arts Council, cheryl@chathamartscouncil.org<\/span><\/a>, www.chathamartscouncil.org<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>919.542.0394<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
EbzB Productions – Your World Is Our Stage!
\nhttp:\/\/www.ebzb.org<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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