Photo Credit: Paul Ruffolo / First Stage
Acclaimed children’s theater First Stage and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum have partnered to create Story Drama: Learning Letters, a series of virtual education programs for children ages 3 through 6 and their families.
Led by First Stage Teaching Artists and Museum educators meeting in different areas at the Museum, the 35-minute sessions will be held on virtual platform Zoom Tuesdays February 9 through 23 at 9:30 a.m. Each session will explore various topics, such as Learning Letters and Opposites, through drama and a tactile sensory experience. Each session cost $15--or $40 for all three sessions.
Although many Milwaukee institutions, including Betty Brinn, have decided to close their doors to visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual technology has allowed many museums and theater companies to safely offer programming to audiences. “We shifted opportunities to a virtual platform,” said First Stage director of programming Julia Magnasco. She noted that First Stage has gotten well-accustomed to working with virtual technology and delivering programming over the past year.
Magnasco said that Betty Brinn Museum staff reached out to first stage to inquire if they’d be interested in collaborating on an educational project. Thus, Story Drama: Learning Letters came to life.
“Betty Brinn and First Stage, we’ve always been dear friends,” she added. “This was an opportunity to say, ‘How do we find ways to engage families?’ We’re hopeful that this is the start of a much stronger partnership.” Magnasco noted that the spacious Betty Brinn Museum allows for plenty of social distancing for the artists and educators.
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While the virtual programming doesn’t allow for in-person student and family experiences at the Museum or First Stage, Magnasco said both organizations are fully committed to maintaining personal connections with students and their families. “That is still at the heart of what we are doing, just through a virtual lens,” she concluded.
The sessions will be held as follows:
Tuesday, February 9 at 9:30 a.m.—Learning Letters at the Sendik’s Food Market
Tuesday, February 16 at 9:30 a.m.—Exploring Opposites at the Super Service Center
Tuesday, February 23 at 9:30 a.m.—I Want More at the Pizza Factory and Café.
Materials are required for each session. To register, visit the First Stage website. For more information about the sessions, call 414-267-2970 or visit www.FirstStage.org/schoolyear.
