Palace Hosts Professional Development Workshop
10/10/2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Sheree Marcucci
Office: (203) 755-8483 x 133
Cell: (203) 206-8286
marcucci@palacetheaterct.org
Palace Hosts Teacher Professional Development Workshop
WATERBURY- The Palace Theater is hosting a Theater Journalism, CAPT/CMT non-fictional writing prompt Professional Development Workshop for educators and school administrators, on Wednesday, October 29, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm in the venue’s Poli Club. Registration is currently open to public.
Best for grades first through six, but applicable for all grades up to twelfth, the workshop, facilitated by Connecticut Commission on the Arts Master Teaching Artist Doe Boyle, will provide attendees with lesson plans that introduce students to theater journalism, with the aim of developing expository writing skills under the umbrella of theater arts and stage culture. Participants will discover creative ways to engage students in non-fiction writing, encourage the growth of observation skills, and develop sensory awareness. Educators will also learn how to cultivate students’ processing of theatrical cues as a tool for decoding plot and character development in other works of art.
A Fairfield University graduate, Doe Boyle has worked in many areas of magazine, book and newspaper publishing. She is a Master Teaching Artist selected by the CT Commission on the Arts with a specialty in teaching elementary school children to write from the heart of their own experiences.
Teachers who participate in the workshop will also have the first opportunity to register their students for Palatial News, a theater journalism program, in which students, grades four and up, have the opportunity to serve as members of the Press during a Palace Theater performance. Students receive complimentary tickets to a pre-selected show, for which they are given media badges and when possible, backstage access to interview the performers, crew and audience members. All student reviews and articles are submitted to a local newspaper for possible publication and are published on the Palace Theater website, as well as printed in a Palace Theater Journal at the end of the year.
Teachers and administrators interested in participating in this workshop can call 203-755-8483 ext.134 to register. Registration is $25 per participant, but free for all teachers whose schools have booked tickets to any performance featured in the Palace’s 2008-2009 ShopRite Education Series. For more information on the ShopRite Education Series, visit www.palacetheaterct.org or contact the Education Department at 203-755-8483 x132.
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About the Palace Theater
The Palace's primary purpose is to revitalize the Greater Waterbury community through the presentation of the performing arts and educational initiatives in collaboration with area cultural and educational institutions. Its mission is to build a strong sense of community and an appreciation for the arts by operating, maintaining and sustaining itself as a financially viable not-for-profit performing arts center that generates a positive artistic, educational, social and financial impact on the Greater Waterbury area. For more information, visit: www.palacetheaterct.org.
The Palace Theater gratefully acknowledges support by: Bank of America, City of Waterbury, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Naugatuck Savings Bank, Republican-American, Saint Mary's Hospital, ShopRite, Waterbury Hospital, Webster Bank, and WTNH/WCTX.