The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce the five schools that have been selected to participate in the 2019 Disney Musicals in Schools program. The program is an initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theatre programs in under- resourced elementary schools. The five schools are a part of Dallas Independent School District. The five schools include L.O. Donald Leadership Academy, Ronald E. McNair Elementary School, School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, K.B. Polk Center for Academically Talented and Gifted, and Solar Preparatory School for Girls.
The selected schools will begin a 17-week musical theatre residency in the spring. Each school will receive performance rights, education support materials and guidance from two teaching artists. The program features a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partner with AT&T Performing Arts Center teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at their school. As a capstone to the experience, AT&T Performing Arts Center will host a Student Share Celebration in which each school performs one number from their show on the Winspear Opera House stage for an audience of students, teachers,family, and community members.
Using the unique world of musical theatre, Disney Musicals in Schools helps foster positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents, and the community. Students and teachers work in teams, developing the wide spectrum of skills needed when producing a piece of musical theatre, including: critical thinking, problem solving, ensemble building, communication, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Production’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 Productions 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, and Winnie the Pooh.
AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is a nonprofit foundation that operates and programs a 10-acre campus comprised of three premier performance venues and a park in downtown Dallas. Opening in October 2009, the Center has helped complete the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District.
Audiences enjoy the best and most recent from Broadway; the finest dance companies from across the globe co-presented with TITAS Presents; top concerts and performers with Center Presents; and cutting-edge speakers from the #hearhere series. Thousands of students explore and more deeply experience the arts through the Center’s education program, Open Stages. Working with local service agencies, the Center provides free tickets to underserved individuals and families through Community Partners. These programs are made possible by the ongoing support of donors and members.
The Center’s five resident companies are among the city’s leading arts institutions: Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center and Texas Ballet Theater.
Designed by internationally acclaimed architects, the Center’s campus includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Square, and Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, which are some of the finest performance venues in the world.
The Center’s mission is to provide a public gathering place that strengthens community and fosters creativity through the presentation of performing arts. For more information about the AT&T Performing Arts Center and to purchase tickets, become a member, or make a donation, visit http://www.attpac.org.
DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS (DTP) 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 20 million people in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Productions banner, the group produces and licenses Broadway productions 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, Aladdin, and Frozen. 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, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Freaky Friday.
Disney Theatrical Productions also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Marvel Universe Live!, bringing beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide. In addition, DTP 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.
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 JuniorTM shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.
