Connections Program

The Connections Program is an invitation-only program that provides school students and educators with training, workshops and materials that will help them use attendance at a First Stage production as a centerpiece for an integrated learning experience.

The Connections Program is...
An opportunity for students to learn about and participate in high-quality arts programming with one of Milwaukee’s major arts organizations.

An opportunity for educators to use our innovative programs to enhance their existing curricula and empower them to create new curricula that incorporate the arts to help students acquire their district’s proficiencies, meet the Milwaukee Public Schools Learning Targets as well as fulfill the Wisconsin State Education Standards and the National Standards for Theater Education.

First Stage Children’s Theater remains committed to serving as a leader in arts-in-education training and implementation in area schools. The Connections Program is the next step in showcasing First Stage as one of the top theater education resources in the country.

Eleven Connections between Your School and First Stage:

Connection III :
Transportation
The cost of the bus to take students to First Stage to see the chosen production is included in the cost of the Connections Program.

Connection IV :
Teacher's Guide to the Production
Each Enrichment Guide is tailored to address each of our productions and includes information on the production as well as discussion and activity suggestions to aid in preparing for and reflecting upon the production.

Connection V:
Special Art and Music Projects
First Stage Children’s Theater’s Education Director will work with your school’s Art and Music teachers to incorporate dramatic themes and music from First Stage’s productions into existing curriculum. Student artwork relating to the productions may be displayed in the Todd Wehr Theater lobby so that when students come to see the play, they will also see their artwork, therefore becoming a part of the theater-going experience.

Connection VI :
Setting The Stage Pre-Performance Workshops
Taught by professional teaching artists in the classroom, these 45-minute unified lessons combine discussion of production elements with active participation in theater exercises related thematically to the play.

Connection VII :
Curtain Call Post-Performance Workshops
A unique benefit available to only our Partnership and Connections schools, these participatory workshops continue to focus on the central themes of the production. Students will be challenged to think beyond what they saw on stage by creating new scenes: scenes from the future of the play's characters, scenes from the past or a scenes or a scene that happened in the time frame of the play that we didn't see.

Connection VIII:
Teaching Through Theater Program
These innovative, weeklong programs use drama as an educational tool within the classroom by developing dramatic situations on pre-selected curriculum-based topics and guiding students and teachers using elements of theater

Connection IX:
Educator Visits and Mentorship
Utilize the resources of the First Stage Education staff in the experimentation and implementation of drama in the classroom. These three one-hour face-to-face visits are intended to help the classroom teacher discover ways of using drama as a means to embellish their existing curriculum.

Connection X:
Using Drama as a Teaching Tool
This two-hour end of the year participatory workshop for teachers is an opportunity for educators to reflect on their experience with First Stage, and to receive additional training on drama as a teaching tool.

Connection XI:
An opportunity to identify students for scholarships to the First Stage Theater Academy. Help identify students in your school who might benefit from more intensive training in the arts at the new Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.

Program Fee
The cost of the Connections Program has been underwritten by the generous support of the Trinity Foundation. This funding allows us to offer the program at a substantial discount to schools in need with funding limitations.

Signing Up
As the Connections Program is a program with limited funding, there is limited space available. Inclusion in the Connections Program is, therefore, by invitation only. If you are interested in having your school considered for the Connections Program, please contact Julia Magnasco at (414) 267-2971 or jmagnasco@firststage.org for more information.