How many kids can say they were hired for a REAL job in third grade?

After learning about the responsibilities and tasks of each job in the company, members of Lightning Strike Kids Opera Company completed preference sheets, carefully selecting three jobs for which they would want to be hired.

Then, began the process and art of persuasion. Convincing the directors that he or she is the best one for the job was expected of each person.

The students delivered. The directors were not disappointed. The decisions will be difficult.

[Read more…] about A Real Job…The Application and Interview Process (Videos)

While listening to Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofé, opera company members drew pictures, stories and varied images that entered their minds. Some had entire narratives taking shape on the page. Others created descriptive sensory images through pictures and words. We extended the imaginative session as an introduction to lighting design.

Using flashlights, hand made footlights from previous opera companies and an assortment of lamps, students designed and executed a lighting plan to accompany the music. With no adult direction, twenty-five students collaborated in silence to illuminate a composition they had heard only once. Many discovered a new interest or talent that day. I observed a heightened awareness of interdependence. What do you see?

[Read more…] about An Authentic Intro…Ferde Grofé Lights Up (Video)

Lightning Strike Kids Opera Company sparked an amazing conversation. We were discussing why our work is challenging, thought provoking, and encourages us to question and seek answers to make sense of our world.

“It’s not supposed to be easy,” I tell the students. “Were it easy, one would learn nothing.” But the truth is . . . kids don’t get this. They think they are supposed to know the answers, understand immediately all that is asked of them on an assignment and finish a task in a single session. And if they don’t, they feel something is wrong with them. They don’t know what they are missing. How could they? It is our responsibility to show them, guide them to the water, motivate them to move beyond the known. Then and only then will they begin to experience learning in a new way, learning that will take them to a different level of knowing and being.

[Read more…] about Swimming on the Surface or Diving Deep?

A critical component of all great project work, threading its way through the authentic year-long process is field experience. Students must observe first hand the work of their professional counterparts in the real world. Then, they will know that what they are doing is significant, that what they are doing can and will make a difference, and that what they are doing extends beyond the walls of their school.

Last week, Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland graciously opened its doors to us, inviting us to take a closer look behind the scenes. Our generous hostess, Associate Producer Danisha Crosby, led us on a back stage tour, showed us how the unique revolving set functioned and gave us insight into the intricate, magical workings of theater that inspire and enlighten us from the audience.

[Read more…] about Making it Real…Round House Theatre

Critically acclaimed children’s book author James Stevenson created a character years ago who has become a great source for inspiration and instruction in our third grade class. As you might imagine, The Worst Person in the World possesses those negative qualities most would choose to reject in a human being, but in the end, after experiencing a cathartic metamorphosis, The Worst endears himself to us, and we find ourselves “a little changed” too.

[Read more…] about Learning From The Worst Person in the World

What is REALLY important to us? About what do we REALLY care?

Oftentimes, we find what is dearest to us at the intersection of joy and pain. These two emotional paths accompany us as we journey through life, twisting, turning and intertwining.

A primary goal of the opera is to deliver a powerful message that kids feel a strong desire to share with the public. This message emerges from exploring the opera theme in-depth and determining a point of view, or thesis. To arrive at a theme, one that resonates with every company member, we discuss that which “brings us great joy” and that which “hurts our hearts.”

As a homework assignment I asked the students to bring in a special object that represents something meaningful to them, something about which they care deeply. The conversation that ensued as we sat in a circle clutching our precious commodities was emotional and enlightening. Little people think and feel profoundly. [Read more…] about Digging Deep, Uncovering Theme (Photos & Video)