New York City public school students on the autism spectrum to perform at National Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, January 17-19, 2014

New York City public school students on the autism spectrum to perform at National Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, January 17-19, 2014

FOR PRESS ONLY: Invitation to rehearsal in preparation for this national showcase

To culminate a program which uses instruction in musical theater as a way of motivating and teaching children on the autism spectrum, a group of students from P94M in lower Manhattan will participate in the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, GA on January 17, 18 and 19 along with 4,000 other young participants from across the country. This program is a partnership between ArtsConnection, a 35 year old not-for-profit organization that provides arts education programs in the NYC public schools and P94M (The Spectrum School) which serves elementary and middle school students on the autism spectrum. The festival, produced by iTheatrics and Theater of the Stars, celebrates the incorporation of musical theater in the education life of schools and communities.

This is a two month long press opportunity: starting currently with rehearsals at their school; seeing the children and their parents off to the airport; the arrival in Atlanta and coverage of their participation in the Festival.

The inclusion of children from P94M will mark the first time in the festival's 10 year history that children on the autism spectrum will participate and perform. Their participation in this event will change their lives - and it will forever change the life of every participant with whom these students interact.

The children at P94M are not alone: one in 88 children in the United States falls within the autism spectrum. Generally, children on the autism spectrum are socially impaired and have difficulties in communicating. Yet something extraordinary has happened to the P94M children in the five years since they have begun working on musical theater productions with ArtsConnection. They have created an ensemble - learning to work cooperatively, follow instructions, and understand character, motivation and emotion. Children who couldn't communicate are establishing eye contact, speaking directly to one another, and reaching out to help a classmate who forgets a line or a movement onstage.

The program has helped them academically, from understanding the narrative arc of a song or story, enhancing reading skills through learning lines and lyrics, to counting tempo and sequence in music and choreography. The outcomes have astonished their teachers and given their parents a new awareness of their children's capabilities as they watch them perform. These children are now ready to share their new gifts with the wider world.

Media attendance at rehearsals is available by appointment only. Interviews can be scheduled with ArtsConnection Executive Director Steven Tennen, P94M Principal Ronnie Shuster, ArtsConnection Teaching Artist Scott Davis and Arts Coach Tessa Derfner.

This project is made possible through the generous support of Freddie and Myrna Gershon with additional funding from the Gilder Foundation.

About ArtsConnection
Since 1979, ArtsConnection has brought the arts to New York City's public schools, serving more than 3.5 million young people during that time. Its signature approach leverages the arts across all arts disciplines, tailored uniquely for each school community, to enhance children's learning and literacy. A faculty of 165 professional teaching artists provides over 12,000 hours of instruction in music, dance, theater, media and visual arts in over 100 schools and in afterschool programs for teens annually. ArtsConnection has a strong history of bringing outstanding, award-winning programs to NYC's youth: its work has proven that engagement with the arts can create success for young people both in and out of the classroom.

For more information, please visit us at: www.ArtsConnection.org

Contact: Rina Ortega 212.302.7433 ext. 492

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Dec. 4, 2013/


SOURCE ArtsConnection

ArtsConnection


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