Did your child love being in the elementary plays? Do you wish he or she could learn more about all aspects of the theater? Here is his or her chance…
We are excited to announce a new twist on the summer reading program in which students who will be third through eighth grade students are all invited to a new program called Page to the Stage. The summer reading/theater workshops begin on June 11th at 10 a.m. in the old gym with a lesson titled “Acting is Reacting.”
For many years, Mrs. Moninger and Mrs. Badgley have talked about creating a summer reading program geared especially for the upper elementary and middle level students. “We know that these students not only like to read, but they also are very social. Being able to participate in a lot of “hands-on” activities for the theater will let them have a lot of fun.”
We planned the entire program around the Crane River Theater’s presentations. The troupe will do selected scenes from “Tarzan” here in Arnold at the Community Center on June 18th and then we will see the entire musical in Kearney at Yanney Park on July 2nd.
To prepare for their visit, we will begin the Page to the Stage Program on June 11th. That day, we will read a condensed version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic Tarzan and learn about the basics of acting and reacting on stage.
Then each session kids will read with their book groups from a choice novel, participate in a theater workshop, and act out a scene from their book.
Some of the theatrical lessons will include stage makeup, costumes, props, accents and dialects, cutting the script, and more.
We are looking forward to some fun summer sessions and spending time with the kids. Not only will they be able to participate in the theater workshops, but the school library will be open each session for students to check out books to keep their summer reading going.
A complete list of dates and time was sent home with students. Students filled out forms to choose their books so we could get them into groups and to order supplies. All of this was made possible by generous donations from the Scott B. Cool Foundation and the Arnold Education Association. 
- June 11th: Acting is Reacting
- June 16th: The Face of a Survivor
- June 18th: 10:00 at the School – Making the Cut with Jan Custer (grades 3-8 only)
11:00 at the Community Center Tarzan visit with Crane River Theater (open to the public) - June 30th: Accents and Dialects
- July 2nd: Tarzan in Kearney (more information to follow)
- July 9th: Dressing for the Wild
- July 14th: Planning the Ultimate Design
- July 23rd: Light, Camera, Action
As a side note, the high school students will have a chance to see the Crane River Theater Production of “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” on July 31st and then theater workshops on August 1st. More to come on that later.