ARTS IN SCHOOL SERIES BEGINS NEW SEASON

The 2003-04 season of the Arts in School Series is now in full swing. The educational program, which is coordinated by Polly Huff, Assistant Director of the Abraham Baldwin Arts Connection at Abraham Baldwin College, serves between 19 and 25 schools in Tift, Turner, and Irwin counties. The Series provides quality visual and performing arts programs for students, their parents, and teachers at no cost.

“The Arts in School Series provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about and experience the arts,” Huff said. “Not only is the Series educational, but it is also entertaining. It’s a great way to broaden students’ horizons and expose them to many different types of arts, including theatre, opera, storytelling, music, and much more.”

For more information about the Arts in School Series, or for a list of programs, contact Huff at (229) 386-3558, or email her at phuff@abac.edu.

The exciting line-up of events for the current school year includes California actor and Broadway star Ed Metzger, known for his appearances in NYPD Blue, Law and Order, ER, Murphy Brown, and numerous Broadway shows, as well as radio and television talk shows. Metzger will present his “Close Encounters with Einstein” in October.

Tift County High School students already previewed this year’s Arts in School Series during the September residency and performances of nationally-acclaimed history teller William Wilder. Students in the Tift County primary schools learned about teamwork and discussed the consequences of cheating during the upbeat “Ron Jon Juggling Show,” presented by jugglers and motivational trainers Ron Anglin and Jonathan Perry.

To commemorate the upcoming Lewis and Clark bicentennial, storyteller and actress Cathy Kaemmerlin will portray Sacajawea, a Shoshone woman from the Lewis and Clark expedition. Fourth and fifth graders will have the opportunity to sit on Sacajawea’s talking blankets and listen to her stories during Kaemmerlin’s residency, which begins in October in all elementary schools in Tift County.

November will be an exciting month for theatre productions. Birmingham Children’s Theatre, the nation’s second largest children’s theatre, will entertain and educate students in kindergarten through third grade in Tift and Turner counties with its production of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Singer and storyteller Wendy Bennet will entertain all pre-kindergarten students with her production, “Alphabet Soup,” at the Tift County Performing Arts Center.

Some exciting musical performances are planned for the month of January. FBN Productions of South Carolina will perform “Three Little Pigs--The Opera” for students in Turner County. Peachtree Brass, a group composed of several musicians from the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera, will present their comprehensive program “Jazzing Down Peachtree.” “Life Lessons from the Divas,” a musical program presented by Joanna Maddox, will be dedicated to Black History month.

The Arts in School Series will wrap up in May with a performance by Joe Jennings and his Life Force Jazz Quintet.

Local foundations, private donors, local Boards of Education, and the Abraham Baldwin Arts Connection sponsor the Arts in School Series each year. Due to the collaboration of these agencies, students in the Tiftarea and surrounding counties are able to enjoy over 175 residencies, workshops, theatre productions, opera performances, and visual arts classes each school year. Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the events and to talk to their children about the importance of arts as a part of their education and a part of their lives.

“Arts in Education programs of such magnitude, funding, and structure are rare in Georgia, and our students are fortunate to have an opportunity to be a part of the Arts in School Series,” Huff said. “A few of our neighboring counties have similar programs, but their students have to purchase tickets to attend the programs. Many other counties have been forced to cut their Arts in Education programs due to tremendous budget cuts, lack of private donors, and lack of agencies willing to make the programs a reality.”

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