Fox Cities P.A.C. Announces the 2012/13 Bemis Company Education Series

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center revealed its 2012/13 Bemis Company Education Series last night to a group of educators from throughout the Fox Cities and Northeast Wisconsin. The series of daytime performances is comprised of titles that connect with grades PreK-12 curriculum. Highlights of the upcoming 10th Anniversary Season’s Bemis Company Education Series include Virtually Me! A Cyber Musical, The True Story of The Three Little Pigs, The New Shanghai Circus and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For a full list of Bemis Company Education Series performances, please visit foxcitiespac.com/educators.

Maria Van Laanen, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s executive vice president, has witnessed the Center’s education program develop and grow to serve an average of 23,000 students each year. “This year,” Van Laanen said, “is really a continuation of the great work the Center has been doing to support our local schools and help educators incorporate the performing arts into their lesson plans. For nearly 10 years, students have experienced stage performances that breathe life into subjects they would otherwise only learn about in books.”

Amy Gosz, the Center’s director of programming and community engagement, pointed out that the impact of the Bemis Company Education Series is especially powerful with certain subjects such as history explaining, “With shows like Walk On: The Story of Rosa Parks students are able to grasp a piece of history. They witness the emotion of the moment, and they can empathize in a way that affects their understanding of history.” Gosz also reflected on the profound impact the arts have on younger audiences saying, “Titles like Seussical and ImaginOcean spur the imagination and help young students discover that learning is fun and exciting and can open up a world of possibilities.”

While the performing arts add an element of fun to learning, all of the Center’s education performances tie directly to Wisconsin Model Academic Standards and complement curriculum in English, social studies, science, music and theater. The Bemis Company Education Series continues to grow and expand, welcoming schools within the Fox Cities and as far away as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Campbellsport and Marshfield. In addition to the live performances, the Center provides study guide and resource materials for each performance and coordinates classroom workshops whenever possible. Ticket prices for a Bemis Company Education Series performance are subsidized to $5-$7, and scholarship tickets are available to students and classrooms that need financial assistance to attend a performance.

During the 2012/13 Season, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center will also expand its education program to include professional development opportunities for local teachers. The Center will be working with the Appleton Area School District in the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education Institute. The Center was honored to be selected as one of 12 new partnerships nationwide for a program aimed at incorporating the arts in all types of classroom learning.

Gosz will be the point person for the program at the Fox Cities P.A.C. and said, “Expanding the Bemis Company Education Series in this new direction is a natural next step. We have a strong performance series, and now, through professional development opportunities we can empower teachers to integrate the arts into daily classroom learning.”

Reservations for the 2012/13 Bemis Company Education Series are only available to educators at public and private schools and home schools. Reservations can be made by phone at (920) 730-3786 or online at foxcitiespac.com/educators.

The 2012/13 Bemis Company Education Series includes:

The Classical Theatre Project’s
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.
Price: $7
Suggested for grades 8-12
Community Partners: Michiels Fox Banquets Rivertyme Catering and Mrs. Robert Roloff

Virtually Me! A Cyber Musical
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Price: $5
Suggested for grades 4-9
Community Partners: The Post-Crescent and The Schneider National Foundation

John Tartaglia’s
ImaginOcean
Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Price: $5
Suggested for grades PreK-2

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