Chicago Opera Theater - Education: Opera for All

Linden Christ, Manager of Education and Outreach, Chicago Opera Theater

The Opera For All students (330 students from five Chicago Public Schools) had the dance experience of a life-time while working with Choreographer, Devery McCoy. Devery taught two dances at each school: "I'm Holding Out for A Hero" and a baroque concerto by Albinoni mixed with a hip-hip version of Tik Tok (Kid-Friendly Version). The amazing part of this week was that each class had 40 minutes to learn the entire dance and all succeeded! Sure we'll have to review and clean-up some moves, but really overall the kids impressed all of us! We had a big laugh when one student from McKinley Park yelled out "This Hero's tired" while finishing up the dance, "I'm Holding Out For A Hero". Even the McKinley Park Principal Garcia, joined in on learning the dance!

Clinton Student, Harun Alihadric admitted:
"The Dancing was challenging because you had to keep on twirling, which makes you dizzy and you loose control on what supposed to do next. When we finished dancing I felt very tired because we had to do so many moves. I liked it because there were some funny moves that made me tired after the dancing which was good. I also liked it because we could loose some calories. That is my funny and dizzy experience for Opera."

Here's Devery McCoy teaching the Dance class!

Here's a fun picture of the Clinton Students dancing away to "I'm Holding Out for A Hero"

Here's a picture of Sonja Henderson from CAPE (Chicago Arts Partners in Education) with the McKinley Park students making Fish!

Linden Christ, Teaching Artist at McKinley Park Elementary School

The McKinley Park students were thrilled to get their hands gooped up in paper mache and their art shirts out of the closets to create artful props for the opera, Jason and the Golden Fleece. In two class sessions with CAPE artist, Sonja Henderson, the students created the head of the Fire-breathing bull, fire sticks, foam wave boards they are painted a lovely array of blues and greens with the white foam cap. Other students were working on painting the boat, The ARGO, while still others worked on paper mache fish. Even more students created wings for cupid and the evil harpies, as well as a mask for Hera, in disguise as an old hag. Every student was active working on their special project and all of these essential props will be transported to the other four schools for their performances of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Sonja Henderson was incredible, in teaching the ways of art through practice and with so many projects happening at once it was important that team teaching artist, Danielle McCormick-Knox and I were helping in this fun adventure.

Here is a picture of the students working on the beginning steps to paper-mache the bull's head. And another picture of Sonja with the students working on fish!

Lisa Golda, Teaching Artist at Von Humboldt Elementary

This week, students at Von Humboldt had a special treat: CAPE (Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education) artist Ashley Winston came to finish staging two scenes of our upcoming opera, Il Giasone/Jason and the Argonauts! This year, CAPE artists are working with students at each of our partner schools to create various elements for our production; including sound effects, props/special costume pieces, visual projections, and staging! Their creative participation is bringing incredible artistic depth and a sense of unlimited possibility to our process.
Ashley's energy and relentless enthusiasm got even normally reticent students up and on their feet during fast-paced warm-up exercises. Her staging of the scene in which Jason gallantly carries a disguised and ever-heavier goddess Hera across a river incorporates fabric "waves". Students LOVE moving the fabric to create the illusion of water! Students seem to relish their roles, playing the hero Jason's jilted girlfriends Medea and Hypsipyle with appropriate angst. At the end of two jam-packed (and, thanks to Ashley's focused leadership and "stage management" provided by three COT Teaching Artists), productive classes, students were confidently running scenes filled with thoughtful dramatic details. Thanks, Ashley! COT TAs (myself and Kim) will now finish blocking the show and incorporate Ashley's staging into the productions at our other COT schools.

Chicago Arts Partners in Education (CAPE) at Hampton Elementary

Robert Possehl was great. The students had a wonderful time learning
more about art and how to include that in the staging effects. In the
first session, Robert had the students draw pictures and silhouettes
with a white pencil on black paper. He had the students think of the
most memorable scene that they can picture in their minds. Then he had
them find the strongest smell, feel, taste, or sight in the scene.
With all these senses in mind, he encouraged them to portray on paper
what they imagined. The students did a great job. In the next
session, He cut out some of the shadowed projected images that the
students drew and showed it to the class. The students were amazed at
their work. In this session, one class worked on the color to put in
the background of these shadowed images using paint and using the
brushes in different stroking and fading techniques. The other class
worked on using the Target and X-box symbols within other images in
the play. For example, one student used the Target symbol within a sun
and another student used the X-box symbol on the argonauts shield.
Robert did an excellent job in encouraging the students imagination.

Opera 4 All at Von Humboldt

Video: Teaching Artist, Kim Chin is warming up Von Humboldt students with a song.

Lisa Golda, Teaching Artist

   Opera for All is off to a wonderful start at Von Humboldt School! Our students in Mrs. Tate and Mr. Grunstad's classes have been excited, attentive, and full of enthusiasm. We took the advice of last year's partner teachers and made building a rapport with our students a top priority for the first few weeks. That may sound like a given--and it should be--but last year our curriculum goals were so ambitious, and the school so comparatively chaotic, that time for "get-to-know you" games seemed an impossible luxury. This year, thanks in part to VHB's new principal and our superstar partner teachers, the atmosphere in class has been much calmer. We also changed our COT curriculum to address fewer themes, but in greater depth. Those variables combined made it possible for us to take time to get things off to a collegial start.

      We started the first two sessions in each class with name game-ice breakers like "hot seat". Each student had about 20 seconds in which to introduce themselves, then answer questions posed by the class, such as "If you could take anything to a desert island, what would it be?" Teachers also participated!  This helped us to learn students' names and also a little bit about them, and vice versa. In order to integrate singing and opera in that activity, we also sang personal introductions in the form of a repeated simple group song. Braver souls could volunteer to sing a solo "recitative."  Next came acting, singing, and rhythm-based activities that helped to establish students' expectations for the fun and novel arts-integrated curriculum Opera for All offers, and question-and-answer sessions focused on opera/music in general, or themes from this year's opera. 

      Taking the time to make a personal and fun connection with our most important partners--the students---has made a huge difference in the classroom atmosphere and level of participation, making our subsequent lessons much more focused and fun!. The students are cooperative, attentive, and positive. It is also helpful that we do know some of the students from last year's classes at Von Humboldt; they are eager to share the knowledge they already have about opera with their classmates!  Students also seem very intrigued by the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, which is the thematic material upon which our featured opera, Cavalli's Giasone, was based. The fire-breathing bulls, WWF-style heroes like Hercules, romantic intrigue, magic, and marvelous globe-trotting journeys of the myth have captured the students' imaginations. It's going to be---dare I say, in the spirit of the Argonauts---an epic year!

First class at McKinley Park, Opera 4 All

Danielle McCormick-Knox, Teaching Artist


    Teaching Artists Linden and Danielle started the year off at McKinley with a bang! There are always feelings of excitement and nervousness before the first class at any school. We don't know what to expect from the students, whether they will be open to the idea of singing opera or even know what it is for that matter.  How will they react to our partner teaching style? Will they want to sing their name in the name game? All these questions seemed to float away after 5 minutes of being in Mrs. Vidro's 5th grade class and Ms. Rodarte's 4th grade class at McKinley Elementary. 
    Linden and Danielle were happy to see that Mrs. Vidro's class was the same fourth grade class from last year's Opera for All production of La Clemenza di Mozart.  We remembered how excited they were last year to be a part of the production. When asked this year at the first class,"What is Opera?," the classroom was flooded with raised hands and students squirming in their seats to answer.  One student said " Opera is a play set to music with lots of loud singing," another student answered, "Opera is about drama and emotions and feelings and stuff."  "Opera is when you sing dance, act, and wear costumes from history."  The answers kept coming and it was a race to write them all down on the board.  Linden and Danielle were thrilled to see how much the students had retained from last year. Many of the students wanted to share words that they remembered from last year such as: conductor, librettist, and composer. All the excitement and eagerness to learn about opera made Mrs. Vidro's first class a huge success.
    Ms. Rodarte's 4th grade class was next on the agenda.  This program is new to the fourth graders so we were expecting a little less enthusiasm.  Lesson one for the teachers....the students always prove you wrong. Ms. Rodarte's class was filled with enthusiasm, open-mindedness and most of all a thirst to learn about this colorful world of opera. Ms. Rodarte read the myth, "Jason and the Golden Fleece," to the students prior to our first class.  The opera we are studying this year is, Il Giasone by Cavalli which is based on the myth of "Jason and the Golden Fleece".  This myth is filled with gods, monsters, heroes, witches, and many twists and turns. At times it can be confusing to keep track of all the trials that Jason endures, but for Ms. Rodarte's class it was a walk in the park.  One student proceeded to explain the entire story of Jason and the Golden Fleece.  When he forgot one detail about the moving rocks, another student chimed in with "don't forget about the moving rocks and the dove."  Ms. Rodarte did a fabulous job in preparing the students for the first class.  They proved that they have a tremendous grasp on the myth and that is half the battle.  What a thrilling start to our year!  Linden and Danielle are so excited to take the students deeper in the world of opera, singing, and of course the mythological world of Il Giasone. 

After School Matters Fall of 2009

AJ Wester, ASM teacher

This is our 4^th year with Maggie Daley’s highly successful After-School-Matters program.  This year we have 26 talented teens as part of our Chicago Opera Theater for Teens program.  It is a very new group with most of our group last year moving on to college.  Last year, our students were accepted into some of the more prestigious undergraduate programs in voice and theater.

 

But it is a new year and an exciting new group.  The students come from all over the city of Chicago.  In this present group the following high schools are represented: Michelle Clark High School, John Hope College Prep, Lincoln Park High School, Jones College Prep, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Whitney Young High School, Kenwood Academy, Hubbard High School, Lane Tech High School, Von Steuben, North Grand High School and Northside College Prep.

 

The first semester we focus on the basics: Breathing, Diction, posture, Basic vocal technique, movement, improv exercises for acting, etc.  Our second focus is applying for college.  We spend a lot of time practicing auditioning techniques.  We do this mainly because the techniques used in auditions are transferable to interviewing for jobs or for colleges.  The skills learned in these workshops have translated well into ‘soft skills’ that prepare for a challenging job market.  The question of marketing yourself – what is too much and what is simply not enough.  Multiple guest artists will visit this semester including: Ashley Hargrave, Assistant Director of Admission, CCPA; Dr. Cheryl Frazier Hill, Director of Choral Programs CCPA; Karen Bauer, Head of the Voice Department North Park University; and Sasha Gerritson from Northeastern University. 

 

We are also busy preparing our scenes concert which will be December 8, 2009 at 6:30 pm at Gallery 37.  We are planning scenes from: The Mikado, West Side Story, Hansel and Gretel, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Dido and Aeneas.  There’s a strong group of guys this year…we might be taking a ‘trip east’ for our final show next year…but that is not official yet…but should still be interesting.  We’ll keep you all posted!!!

 

So there is a lot going on at Chicago Opera Theater for Teens…Keep up with us on FACEBOOK…I should get pictures up there soon!!!!!

Reilly Elementary, the action begins!

New Teaching Artist, Matthew Newlin reports:

In only a few weeks, Linden and I have seen some positive changes happening in our 4th and 5th grade students at Reilly Elementary.  4th graders in Mr. Laz's class are becoming more outgoing and confident.  They're becoming more comfortable making sounds and singing especially with a call and response song called "Yonder come day."  Introduced by Linden, this song is being asked for by name, rapidly becoming more popular than my scales and warm-ups!  This song is helping them learn to keep a beat and match pitch.  In the coming weeks, Linden and I will add clapping, foot stomps, and possibly some harmony to the little tune.  We're anxious to see how far this song will go.

The 5th graders of Mr. Beck's class are quite conscientious and detail-oriented.  Their recounting of the story of Jason and the Argonauts was amazingly event specific and filled with an unexpected amount of subtext.  Most of the class sings without much fear, and almost everyone readily participates.  The willingness and excitedness to learn is astounding.

Our goals for the first few weeks were simple:  Get to know the stuents through ice-breaking games, get them singing, and get them thinking about opera and the story of Jason.  Now, we're ready to start tacking more specific lesson plans, like rhythm, mapping, and learning and singing the songs that will most likely be used in the end of the year performance.  Based on the creativeness of their journals and the excitedness in the classroom, I'm sure the next few weeks will be full of great fun and great learning.