Takoma Theatre Conservancy - Takoma Theatre Conservancy

[Dec 2011] The third school year of Takoma Theatre Conservancy's sponsorship of in-school productions began with a student favorite, Dovie Thomason, Native American storyteller, at the Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School. Told with elegance, wit and passion, her stories inspire delight in the spoken word and teach respect for values passed on through generations.  When Dovie tells stories from her own life and from her people's experience, the result is a contemporary vision of the rich cultures of the First Nations of North America. Through diverse voices and gestures she conjures up the wisdom of Native Americans from the time before rocks were hard. In partnership with Class Acts Arts. (more photos . . .)

[Apr, 2011] Through his show "Recycle Mania", Billy B. engaged Whittier's 7th & 8th grade students in song and dance about the world's "greatest recycling center" -- the Earth.  Students learned the many ways in which the earth's ecosystem recycles air, water and soil. Billy picks volunteers to dance with him as he sings "These Trees." Students act out the natural air, soil, and water recycling activities of every plant and explore the three reasons for recycling. "We recycle to save space, energy, and nature."

[Mar, 2011]The 1-hour opera specifically written for young DC audiences, Let Freedom Sing: The Story of Marian Anderson, engrossed 5th - 8th grade students. The composer Bruce Adolphe and librettist Carolivia Herron (a DC Ward 4 resident) interconnected African American and classical musical forms, and incorporated scenes and characters of Washington, DC. Dr. Herron introduced the performance, relating that characters Jo and Jack were based on her mother and uncle who traveled from NE DC to hear Marian Anderson at the 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Sponsored by the Takoma Theatre Conservancy in cooperation with the Washington National Opera, Washington Performing Arts Society and The Learning Maestros.

[Feb/Mar-2011] Shakespeare lives at Takoma EC! With dynamic live performances and workshops, Educational Theatre Company’s (ETC) professional actors share their love of theatre and Shakespeare with Takoma's students in grades 5-8. Following a lively and entertaining performance of scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, ETC actors conducted individual workshops with each class.  Students learn to explore the text’s vocal, physical, mental and emotional challenges in support of basic skills.  Workshops included physical and vocal characterization, analysis of script and improvisation, and stage combat. Sponsored by Takoma Theatre Conservancy in partnership with Class Acts Arts.

[February, 2011] This year's production of Lions of Industry, Mothers of Invention by the Smithsonian Discovery Theatre engaged students at Whittier EC to look at the lives and work of amazing African American entrepreneurs and inventors who overcame immense odds to succeed.  For Whittier, which is a DC Catalyst school emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the characters, including beauty innovator Madam C.J. Walker, agricultural chemist and painter George Washington Carver, and academic giant Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute, were particularly relevant. Also depicted are the "Father of Chicago", Haitian American Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and his Native American wife, Kittahawa, potato chip inventor George Crum, and John Murphy, a freed slave who started the newspaper The Afro-American, one of the most influential publications of the early twentieth century. In partnership with Class Acts Arts. (more photos . . .)

[Jan, 2011] The singing, dancing Junkyard Pirates puppets, made from recycled materials, enthralled early childhood students at Whittier and West. They sail the urban seas on the lookout for trash to feed the dreaded, smelly monster Landfill.  Landfill allows them to live on his land as long as they keep bringing him trash so he can grow larger and larger. The pirates sail into a recycling center, but the owner, Nellie, catches them and convinces them to work against Landfill. Nellie enlists the audience's help through song and story, and learning about the 4 Rrrrr's: Recycle - To process used or waste material so that it can be used again; Reduce the Use - To use less electricity, less paper products; Repair - To restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; Reuse - To use again, especially after salvaging or special treatment. In partnership with Class Acts Arts.

[December, 2010] The wise, boisterous teaching tales of her Lakota and Plains Apache relatives come alive in listeners' imaginations as Dovie Thomason shares her culture with understanding, sly humor and astonishing vocal transformations. Through diverse voices and gestures she conjures up the wisdom of Native Americans from the time before rocks were hard. In partnership with Class Acts Arts. [Shepherd ES 3rd-5th grades]

[May, 2010] Through its high energy performance and presentation, Urban Artistry introduced West EC students and parents at the annual Spring Fling to today's urban dance forms -- salsa, hip-hop, popping,locking, lacking, free-styling -- and their historical and african and latin cultural origins.

[February, 2010] Going the Distance is a story of heroics and unstoppable spirit, an entertaining and educational portrayal of African American heroes Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph. This January production was the second in the series performed by the Smithsonian Discovery Theater at Takoma Education Center and Shepherd ES). Through song, dance and narrative, the two great athletes race to tell their stories of rising from childhood illness and infirmity, poverty, and prejudice to the greatest height in athletics: the Olympic Gold Medal!

[January, 2010] "Lions of Industry, Mothers of Invention" looks at the lives and work of amazing African American entrepreneurs and inventors who overcame immense odds to succeed. This production was the third in the series performed by the Smithsonian Discovery Theater and arranged and sponsored by the Conservancy at two DCPS schools (Takoma Educational Center and Shepherd ES). The characters include beauty innovator Madam C.J. Walker, agricultural chemist and painter George Washington Carver, and academic giant Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute.

[October, 2009] This entertaining and educational Smithsonian Discovery Theater program engaged students at DC's Takoma Education Center and Shepherd ES.  Through drama, comedy, dance, music, and student participation, actors relate the experiences and histories of living in today's multicultural society.