Vandercook Lake Middle School/High School: Jackson, MI
Vandercook Lake Middle School/High School: Jackson, MI
Vandercook Lake Middle School/High School
Jackson, MI
Reported by: Cynthia Ripley, iTheatrics Senior Education Associate, Resident Master Teacher
September 28, 2012
I love watching students articulate their feelings about artistic experiences. After our “NBC’s ‘Smash’: Make a Musical” workshop at Vandercook Lake Middle School/High School in Jackson, Michigan, I had the pleasure of listening to student interviews, led by a reporter from news station WILX, the local NBC affiliate. When a student named Tricia was asked what being involved in musical theater meant to her, Tricia replied, "I love it because it is a place where you can just be yourself. It’s a group that will love you and take care of you." Meanwhile, another Vandercook student named Chad told the reporter that through theater, “I have become more open to people. It is much easier to be friendly and nice.” I marvel at the honesty kids are able to reveal with a microphone and a stranger. Finally, another student named Nate summed up the importance of the arts by adding, “When the school day is tough and I need to escape, I go to rehearsal with this big family and my day is immediately 100 times better."
There is nothing new about this phenomenon; a musical theater community allows kids a place to be accepted for their own uniqueness. I’ve heard this truth from students, who represent the range of socioeconomic backgrounds and languages spoken all across this great country. And every time I hear a kid say how theater has given them a place on their own “team,” it refuels my urgency for preserving and creating programs like “NBC’s ‘Smash’: Make a Musical."
“NBC’s ‘Smash’: Make A Musical” program is administered by iTheatrics under the supervision of Timothy Allen McDonald. For more information, or to apply to become a part of the program, logon to www.MAKEAMUSICAL.ORG.
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