The goal of this Hangar Theatre program is to bring professional artists into classrooms and institutional settings in order to broaden and enhance the students' educational, social, and creative experience. While in many projects a final product is created as part of the residency, that is not the primary goal. The process of using theatre arts to learn information, develop creativity and renewed sense of discovery is at the core of the program. Further, the collaborative skills necessary to produce theatre are utilized to foster a sense of community and cooperation among students.
The Artists-in-the-Schools programs include:
Funded through a New York State Council for the Arts ESP grant, The Hangar Theatre's Project 4 program has been in existence for thirteen years. It is now district-wide in three school systems, Ithaca City, Trumansburg and Lansing School Districts.
The Hangar works with teachers in every fourth grade classroom (29 classes total) to identify the educational goals for each project, as related to the NYS Learning Standards and school curriculum. During a three-week residency in each classroom, a professional theatre director and musician/songwriter work with the students to create original plays with music, inspired by their topic. The students, teacher, and artists all work together to produce a final show, which is performed for their school and families.
Teachers also participate in staff development workshops with Hangar artists to learn more about integrating learning through the arts. A professional CD of all the songs is created, and several classes have designed web sites to document what they have learned by working with professional artists (visit web site at www.icsd.k12.ny.us/esp).
