On Tuesday, May 23, nearly 100 elementary students from Pittsburgh will have the extraordinary opportunity to sing and dance on the Byham Theater (located at 101 6th Street) stage as the result of a grant awarded to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s education department by Disney Theatrical Group (DTG).
The grant from Disney enabled the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to offer the Disney Musicals in Schools program to three schools in Pittsburgh. The program is designed to create sustainable theater programs in elementary schools. Through the program, participating schools produce a Disney KIDS musical in their school and join in a culminating performance at the Byham Theater. The participating schools are Pittsburgh Dilworth and Pittsburgh Faison located in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district in addition to Turner Intermediate School of the Wilkinsburg School District.
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s education department is proud to have partnered with Disney for the Disney Musical in Schools program”, says Tracy Edmunds, Vice President, Arts Education, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “We are super excited to be able to host our first in-person Student Share Celebration live at the Byham Theater.”
The selected schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Disney Theatrical Group, at no cost. Each school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program featured a professional development focus, through which participating educators partnered with Pittsburgh Cultural Trust teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at their school. Students will perform songs from Disney’s Aladdin KIDS, The Jungle Book KIDS, and The Lion King KIDS. The Student Share Celebration on May 23rd is the culmination of this year’s program.
For more information regarding press tickets for the Student Share Celebration contact Becca Hansborough at hansborough@trustarts.org. Please be advised that taking photo and video are prohibited during the performance, assets will be shared with media members after the performance is complete.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began collaborating with organizations in other communities across the United States.
Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Frozen, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Winnie the Pooh.
