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Adopt A School

Paper Mill Playhouse founded the Adopt-A-School Project in 1989 to fulfill that portion of its organizational mission that called for the enlightenment, enrichment and education of its audience.  In addition, the program was designed to develop future audiences by introducing New Jersey high school students to the performing arts, to stimulate partnerships between educators, artists and businesses and to encourage the permanent inclusion of arts programming as an integral part of New Jersey's educational system. 
The Adopt-A-School Project also addresses securing a viable place for the arts in the complicated educational system.  The program seeks to empower students and teachers alike through an enhanced delivery system for arts education, the focal point of which is direct access to the artist in the day-to-day environment of the classroom.  Through this program Paper Mill provides young people with choices and possibilities that are often denied because of economic constraint, geographic and/or social discrimination.  For many, Paper Mill provided their first live performance experience.

When the project began in 1989, one school, Arts High School in Newark, was adopted in a pilot program.  Today, the project embraces students at Arts High, as well as nine other New Jersey public high schools.  In addition to Arts High, three new schools are accepted into the program each year and the partnership with each school lasts for four years.
In 1992, the Adopt-A-School Project was selected by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a model arts-in-education program and was cited in the publication, Community Arts:  Partnerships for Education.  In 1998, Paper Mill Playhouse was cited by Stage Directions Magazine as “One of Ten Theatres Making a Difference” based on the success of the theatre’s educational outreach initiatives, specifically the Adopt-A-School Project.

Year One - "OurStage" (Observation Phase)

“OurStage” introduces the joys of live theatre from an audience perspective by treating "adopted" students as Paper Mill "subscribers" for one full season.  

Students attend four (4) matinee performances at Paper Mill Playhouse, experiencing a wide array of productions in varying theatrical styles.  An orientation session takes place in the school prior to the first trip to Paper Mill to prepare the students.  Audience deportment and the difference between theatrical and other media are also discussed.

  • Comprehensive Audience Guides, prepared by the Paper Mill staff and a professional dramaturge, support each production with background information geared toward providing a fuller understanding of the production’s context and content.  The Guides not only reinforce the performance experience for the student, but also provide valuable teaching tools for teachers.  
  • Pre-performance seminars prior to each performance focus on the process of creation of theatrical productions.  Typical seminars include:
  • History of Paper Mill Playhouse and it’s place as a leading regional theatre in the spectrum of American Theatre production
  • Directing and Staging Theatrical Productions – Music, Dance & Drama
  • Backstage & Design for Theatre including an exclusive Backstage Tour
  • Performer Insights on having a career onstage featuring exclusive guest seminars or post-show cast talk-backs.

Year Two - "YourStage" (Participation Phase)

“SkillStage” provides a sequential experience in the arts and gives students the opportunity to put what they have observed in year one into practice.  

  • Fall ArtsFest - A full day of up to four (4) workshops led by leading teaching artists in the performing arts are arranged in the adopted school.
  • Spring ArtsFest – Three (3) ‘master class’ level workshops led by prominent artists in the performing arts are held at Paper Mill Playhouse.  All ‘adopted’ schools in this phase converge and intermingle.  In the afternoon, a re-cap or sharing of the day is topped off by students become audience for YEAR THREE’s “YourStage” original theatre performances in the Paper Mill auditorium.    
  • ArtsFest Workshops can include creative drama, mime, Shakespeare, group singing, Broadway dance, stage combat, accent and dialect study, audition technique, etc.

Year Three - "YourStage" (Creation Phase)

The primary goals are to challenge imaginations and aesthetic understandings and develop decision making and collaborative skills.

  • A student theatre company is formed in each school to create an original theatre work, guided by professional artists in residency in the classroom.  In addition to performing, students have the opportunity to work in backstage capacities as producers, directors, writers, designers, and stage managers.  
  • The number of interactions with the artist is flexible and dependent upon the scheduling needs of each individual school district, but ten (10) ‘rehearsals’ is typical.
  • The final production is performed by the students on the Paper Mill Playhouse stage during Spring ArtsFest.  Schools may also choose to perform their work in a variety of other venues.

Year Four – “CriticStage” (Analysis Phase)

Students return to the Paper Mill’s mainstage – this time for evening performances – and watch shows with a critical eye.

  • Students receive tickets to evening performances for up to four (4) mainstage productions.  Roundtrip coach transportation is provided.
  • Pre-show seminars with leading critics and theatre writers guide the students in writing their own ‘review’ or critical analysis of their reactions to their artistic experiences.  Reviews are then submitted to Paper Mill Playhouse Education staff.
  • Student reviews are considered for possible publication on the Paper Mill Playhouse website and other publications.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Michael T. Mooney, Manager of Outreach & Access Programs
Paper Mill Playhouse Education Department
22 Brookside Drive
Millburn, NJ  07041
(973) 315-1668
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The Adopt-A-School Project is generously supported by Bank of America (CriticStage), JPMorgan Chase Foundation (Hoboken High School), C.R. Bard Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey (Phillipsburg High School), The Mall at Short Hills, The Edward W. and Stella C. Van Houten Memorial Fund, Nordstrom, The Provident Bank Foundation, PSE&G, and Victoria Foundation (North 13th Street Vocational Technical School). Additional major funding for Paper Mill Playhouse Education Outreach is provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and MetLife Foundation.
Education programs are supported in part through the generosity of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Shirley Aidekman-Kaye.