2007 Education

Cowboy Versus Samurai

Cowboy In the Schools

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company is proud to continue our partnership with Young Audiences of San Diego with our Cowboy Versus Samurai High School Outreach Program.

This arts education program includes special matinee performances and workshops for high school classes from across San Diego County. Our innovative workshops are aligned with the required California Department of Education High School History-Social Science, Language Arts, and Visual & Performing Arts Content Standards and Analysis Skills. The workshops expand the students experience of the performances and their understanding of the complex issues in the plays by providing arts and language based tools for exploration and learning; and they also offer vital support for educators, providing them with unique tools for meeting Content Standards.

By working with community partners and sponsors, Mo`olelo keeps this program financially accessible to underserved student populations in our community. For only $5.50 per person, students receive a unique three-part program that includes: Pre-Show Preparation Workshop, a special Student Matinee performance, and a follow up In-class Workshop in playwriting, acting, English-language arts, or history.

Teachers who have experienced Mo`olelos past outreach programs have remarked that our unique, 3-part approach deepens the impact of their curriculum and ensures that true learning can take place. In particular, no other San Diego theater company facilitates both a pre-show preparation component as well as post-show workshops aligned with content standards. Our strategy creates a structure in which students have time to process and more fully engage with the concepts and issues they encounter in the play, which increases opportunity for deeper learning. Further, Mo`olelo’s approach is unique in that the show our students see is exactly the same show our adult audiences see. We don’t trim, “dumb-down the material,” nor switch out the cast for them. Finally, Mo`olelo’s pre-show prep and post-show workshops are facilitated by the actual Director of the play or one of the cast members. This breaks down the traditional barrier that exists between artists and student audiences, which is important for both the integrity of the workshop curriculum and the integrity of the art itself. Often, professional theater companies send their “tier 2″ or “education department actors” to perform for schools or lead workshops. These actors often experience a glass ceiling when auditioning for the mainstage productions at these very same companies. In other words, these companies have identified their educational program actors as “inferior” and yet send them out to do the important work of engaging students in the art. By contrast, Mo`olelo hires top-notch professionals for every aspect of the production, and then ensures that the high school students are provided access to them.

Click here to download the Study Guide for Cowboy Versus Samurai >

For more information about bringing Mo`olelos Outreach Program to your school, please contact Natasha Nace at Young Audiences of San Diego.

natasha_yasd@sbcglobal.net
Phone: (619) 282-7599, Ext. 112
Young Audiences of San Diego
4007 Camino del Rio s., Ste. 212
San Diego, CA 92108
Phone: (619) 282-7599, Ext. 112
Fax: (619) 282-7598

The Adoption Project: Triad

Post-Show Discussions for The Adoption Project: Triad

Spring 2007

Wednesday, March 21 2007 – Kimber Lee, playwright of The Adoption Project: Triad

Thursday, March 22 2007 – Kimber Lee, playwright of The Adoption Project: Triad

Saturday, March 24 2007 – Karen Vedder, MSW, Therapist, Writer and Past President of Concerned United Birthparents

Wednesday, March 28 2007 – Kimber Lee, playwright of The Adoption Project: Triad

Thursday, March 29 2007 – Kimber Lee, playwright of The Adoption Project: Triad

Saturday, March 31 2007 – Marlou Russell, PhD, psychologist, marriage/family therapist and author of Adoption Wisdom: A Guide to the Issues and Feelings of Adoption. As an adoptee who searched and found her birth family, Dr. Russell has 20 years of counsleing experience with all members of the adoption triad. You can learn about her at http://www.marlourussellphd.com/

Acting and Playwriting Classes

Your Mo`olelo Playwriting Class
Instructor: Seema Sueko, Artistic Director

Audition Strategies
Instructor: Seema Sueko, Artistic Director

Movement Intensive for the Working Actor
Instructor: Kimber Lee, Mo`olelo Associate Director, John Hazlewood (MFA University of Washington, Narrative Improvisational Theatre Specialist)