INTRODUCTION Im here on behalf of the many students and community - PDF document

INTRODUCTION I’m here on behalf of the many students and community members who want to Bring Back RB Theatre. The students feel so strongly that they wore campaign t-shirts and marched in the 4 th of July parade. The community cheered them on and gave them the thumbs up. We share the passion and will express why a strong theatre arts program belongs at RBHS. While other programs, such as athletics, are retained at RB, the quality and quantity of theatre arts programming has diminished. Fortunately, musical productions have been reinstated and we thank the Board for that. However, we still have no Fall Play. To provide students with a well-rounded education and the co-curricular opportunities they deserve, RB should – at the minimum -- produce published plays, Improv shows and full-fledged Broadway musicals every year, led by educators with theatre training. We’ d like to see our curricular program built up with coursework and theatre education leadership as well. When comparing our theatre performance program with that of other high schools in the area, we found that that RB falls at the very bottom of the heap. Meanwhile, we have a lot of evidence about how high school theatre leads to academic achievement, student engagement and a diverse range of careers. RB had a rich theatre history before the cuts of 2011, with productions we were proud of. Let’s get it back. We’d like the shows to have larger budgets, experienced directors and the addition of a Technical Director, and we ask that you bring back Drama. Otherwise, this year’s class of 2015 will be the first to graduate without ever having experienced one single, solitary high school play. RBHS THEATRE THEN AND NOW In 1976, RB (Cary Libkin) and Niles East High School initiated the Illinois High School Theatre Festival (illinoistheatrefest.org) which has become the oldest and largest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the world. It offers professional development and clinics for students and teachers, and seniors get the chance to audition or present their technical portfolios for scholarships. Over 40 colleges are represented and last year, 171 Illinois high schools sent over 4,000 students and sponsors. But not RB. This is a missed opportunity for our kids! In 2008 and 2009, RB hosted a college fair called “Passion for the Arts” with sessions on Theater, Theatre Tech, Music and more. Our kids need opportunities like this again.

In recent history, RB had over 150 kids involved in this co-curricular activity including performers, tech crew and orchestra. They rehearsed and prepared for the musicals for 3 months and performed to capacity audiences, including the middle schools. During the Fall Play, students learned stage direction and stagecraft along with literary themes. Studen ts want this back again and we don’t blame them. Our neighboring schools offer multiple productions every year. For example: High School Theatre productions per year Enrollment Carl Sandburg, Orland Park 4+ 3758 Downers Grove North 4 2266 Fenton, Bensenville 2 1500 Glenbard South, Glen Ellyn 4 1367 Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale 5 2781 J. Sterling Morton West, Berwyn 2+ 3,200 Lyons Township 9+ 3981 Oak Park River Forest 12+ 3200 Reavis, Burbank 5 1764 Riverside Brookfield 1 1450 Victor Andrew, Tinley Park 3+ 2223 Wm Fremd, Palatine 4 2859 In addition, LTHS has a Playwriting course in the English department where teens produce an evening of student written, directed and acted short plays. Several schools do One-Act plays in addition to traditional 3-act plays. Stevenson dedicates two entire days every other year to shutting down all classes for a Fine Arts event called "Odyssey". These are just a few of the many theatre activities other schools offer. Even after equalizing the data based on school sizes, there is an enormous disparity here. Considering our stature as a high performing school, it is shocking to see all our neighboring schools offering more full productions each year and with enriching corresponding curriculum. RB built a strong theatre culture but lately, that program, its budget and its quality has decreased and we are concerned about the adverse effects on our students. We believe that out of all areas of study, Theatre Arts offers some of the most valuable lessons that a person can learn -- about life, about culture, about being human. It’s interdisciplinary, offers a tremendous range of learning opportunities, and has been proven to increase student test scores significantly. THE IMPORTANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE High school theatre education is important because it leads to 1) academic achievement 2) student engagement and 3) careers and jobs. Academic achievement Evidence shows that high school theatre education improves test scores, reading comprehension, language skills, problem solving, decision making, social skills, collaboration and more. 1 2 3 Theatre studies are beneficial for students because they naturally integrate the language arts, math and science, physical education, social sciences, history, dance, music and the visual arts. 4 What other area of study covers all these bases? In addition, theatre education leads to significantly higher SAT scores : The College Board reports that consistently, from 2001-2005, students with experience in acting and play production scored 65 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 34 points higher on math . 5 1 The Value of Theatre Education http://ow.ly/yn8cp 2 The Effects of Theatre Education, http://www.aate.com/?page=effects 3 The Washington Post , January 22, 2013 4 The Value of Theatre Education http://ow.ly/yn8cp 5 Source: The College Board , Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report for 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.