The IDS Theatre Arts Program
	"The world is our stage" is more than an expression at IDS. Each year, beginning in Kindergarten, all students are involved in acting and producing age-appropriate dramatic productions. We act, we sing, we dance, we design and build sets, and no matter how small or large the role, students are engaged in working together to bring the theater to life. At IDS we highly value the benefits of theater for children. Dramatic performance allows children to explore by pretending and discover a little more about themselves. Children are provided with the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with their peers while improving their communication skills, thinking critically, and fostering peer acceptance and self-worth in a safe and welcoming environment. Early Childhood and Lower School Students in grades one through five present their plays to the entire school, their families, and invited guests. Most often the theme of each classroom production is woven into the classroom’s academic curriculum. Our youngest students in Kindergarten and First Grade perform in the intimate theater setting of the Maurice Schwarz All Purpose Room. Beginning in second grade, the children have the opportunity to perform on the professional stage in our Galluzzo Theater. The class play is certainly one of the highlights of each child’s year! The skills they gain, both socially and academically, provide them with a solid base for the experiences they will encounter in Middle School. 2011/12 Laurel Brook Productions Schedule Curtain is 9:30AM                               October 28            Grade 3 presents, "The Headless Horseman"                               November 18        Grade 4 presents, "Red, Ripe and Round"                               January 20             Grade 5                                      February 17           Grade 2                                      March 23               Grade 1                                  March 30 and 31   Middle School Musical                               April 13                 Kindergarten

	Middle School In the Middle School, IDS students take a Theatre Survey course, which offers them a basic understanding of performance, production, theatre history, and dramatic literature. Students explore the various facets of theatre production and focus on how to clearly communicate ideas, how to improvise and collaborate as an ensemble, how to analyze text and critique performances. Students also enjoy a unit on theatre history at this time, by which they trace the origins of modern theatre. In Sixth Grade, students have the rare opportunity to integrate and apply all they have learned in Playwriting, where they try their own hand at creating characters, plot and narrative and so experience the joys, challenges, and complexities of the theatre from a different vantage point. To supplement their weekly classes with direct experience, students can participate in a Broadway-style musical production, involving up to fifty cast and crew members. Some students assume leadership positions in stage and house management or lighting and sound design. All the members benefit from working under the tutelage of professional choreographers, and musical and artistic guest directors. Additionally, the Broadway Bound Booster Club supports our cast and crew, while offering parents an outlet to express their inner thespian.