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• Students will use music to express emotions and convictions, to cooperate with others, and to think creatively.
• When building and operating puppets, students learn to make artistic (design) choices and be resourceful with everyday materials.
• Students learn to use storytelling and folklore enhance their appreciation of history and empathy for people in different times, places and circumstances.
• Students will gain the confidence in their bodies, voices and cognitive flexibility necessary for performance.
• When students are exposed to several art forms at once—like music, puppetry and storytelling—they learn that arts disciplines are connected to each other, to academic subjects, and to everyday life.

As a teaching artist, I collaborate with teachers to integrate music, puppetry and folklore into children’s educational experiences. With multidisciplinary programs connected to classroom study, I break boundaries between subject areas and engage all types of learners in the creative process. I create a joyful atmosphere where students can experience the excitement of creating art, the camaraderie of group performance, and the humor in our folk heritage. Serious learning takes place as I encourage persistence, risk-taking, communication and reflection.

Young Audiences teaching artists are committed to inspiring the imaginations of young people and have strategies for working with the complexities of school environments. Through a variety of ongoing professional development opportunities and a multi-faceted evaluation system, as well as through their experience with students and educators, Young Audiences teaching artists are continually growing as teachers and as artists.

Music,

K-2,3-5,

English, 

Fluent, 

The central elements of my residencies and performances are music, puppetry and storytelling. What makes my work unique is the creative combination of all three. Students learn a folksong, make puppets of its characters, and put on a musical puppet show. By translating a piece of folklore into a visual/sculptural medium (elaborate sock puppets) and then into embodied performance, they interpret the text in several ways, deepening their comprehension. They learn skills like singing, rhythm, crafting with fabric, paper and recycled materials, public speaking and performance. Collaborating teachers can choose which song the class learns, connecting the residency to almost any course of study. To extend the project, students can write new stories or songs about their puppet characters or explore related folklore and historical events. Through active participation, teachers learn new strategies for helping students creatively interpret texts.

I can lead residencies exploring the following big ideas: how the use of recycled materials impacts our relationship to the environment; political or social causes- using music and large-scale puppets as activism; using instrument skills and song-writing as a means of personal expression.

Literacy skills are essential to my arts disciplines. Whether students are learning songs and tales, penning rhymes and lyrics, interpreting or reflecting, they frequently write and read in my residencies.

My focus on folklore forges a connection to social studies, as students explore the historical contexts of stories and songs.

I incorporate life sciences through use of animal characters.

Music and math are linked as students count beats, subdivide rhythms, and discern patterns song structure.

Breaks longer than an hour will be charged.