By Janine Twining | Development Associate
Thank you for your generous support of Oregon Children’s Theatre!
Best friends Frog and Toad have been delighting young readers for more than 25 years. Outgoing and optimistic, Frog brings out the best in the reserved and cautious Toad. A Year with Frog and Toad follows the friends as they adventure through the seasons: speeding down snowy hills in sleds, planting springtime flowers, splashing in summer swimming holes, and piling up autumn leaves. Together, they bring joy and exuberance to everyday moments, encouraging each other and enjoying each other’s company through thick and thin.
Just over 17,000 students from schools in Oregon and Southwest Washington attended a performance of A Year with Frog & Toad. OCT provided full or partial scholarships to 5,137 students. Teachers were offered a free professional development workshop in which they were able to preview the performance in advance of bringing their students and learn theater integration and skills from a classroom teacher and theater artist.
472 tickets were distributed to our social service partners; Big Brothers/Big Sisters, St. Mary's Home for Boys, Friends of the Children, Shriners Hospital, Children's Cancer Association, Starlight Foundation, and Boys and Girls Clubs, DHS. These groups were also given the opportunity to participate in a backstage tour.
Seeing live theater is always a powerful experience for young people, and for many school audience members, it’s the only live arts experience they’ll have all year. Fan mail from students emphasizes the impact: “it was super fantastical—my favorite part was the whole thing.” “I did not want to leave, it was a blast.” Feedback from teachers illustrates that live theater is not only fun and engaging—it strengthens students’ appreciation of reading and language arts: “my students could not stop talking about [the play]. They were comparing their favorite parts, talking about what was funniest, and comparing it to the book.”
One of OCT’s goals as an organization is to provide school audiences with curriculum connections and opportunities for learning beyond students’ trip to the theater. Providing teachers with free resources is one of the ways that OCT deepens student experiences. Teachers receive complimentary tickets to preview performances and also attend backstage tours with OCT’s technical director. Each production also has a free teacher resource guide filled with discussion starters, activities tied to educational standards and learning goals, and reading resources provided by the Multnomah County Library.
A Year with Frog & Toad was full of great sciences connections, appreciation of the natural world, and scientific curiosity. Science vocabulary & concepts and curriculum connections included:
In addition to the above, A Year with frog & Toad received high recognition from the theatre community and were honored with 7 Drammy awards including Best Production. Produced by the Portland Civic Theatre Guild, the Drammy Awards annually celebrates outstanding achievement in Portland Theatre. Oregon Children's Theatre was thrilled to be recognized with the highest number of awards given in 2013.
Please feel free to contact us if we can provide any additional information about A Year with Frog & Toad or Oregon Children's Theatre’s educational services for disadvantaged schools. Thank you again for your support!
Read the A Year with Frog & Toad teacher resource guide http://www.octc.org/pdf/guides/stinkycheeseman_rg.pdf
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