Theatre for Sustainability Takes the Schools
Bond Street Theatre presents a bi-lingual physical show to address water issues and teach sustainable water practice to young students.
About You
About You
First Name
Ilanna
Last Name
Saltzman
Twitter URL
http://twitter.com/#!/bond_st_theatre
Facebook URL
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bond-Street-Theatre/173939981636
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Bond Street Theatre
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, NY, New York City, New York County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, NY, New York City, New York County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization
Your role in Education
Teacher, Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for more than 5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
In many public schools, arts funding is being cut. Arts provide a wide range of skills and capacities that influence learning and relationships. The George Lucas Education Foundation has published statistics proving that students who are involved with the arts are more likely to excel at cognitive and verbal skills, concentration, and teamwork. It is, therefore, imperative that students remain exposed to the arts despite funding cuts. Students who are less familiar with English can benefit from theatre’s nonverbal nature. Water sustainability is an international issue that all students should be informed about, and theatre is an engaging way in.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We propose to create a bi-lingual (Spanish and English) physical production to introduce water-related environmental issues to young students and further educate older students on the complexities of the issue. We use theatre as a solution because audiences become personally invested in a conflict they witness unfold firsthand. Young students have a large capacity to relate to characters in stories, but need tools to put that empathy into action. We will address these tools for change in our production. As an NGO in association with the UN, Bond Street Theatre can provide arts education beyond public schools’ budget cuts. We will keep art in public schools, and use it to teach real world solutions.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
I will create a performance to address the issue of water sustainability and how everyone can contribute to a solution. The play, designed for New York City kindergarten through fourth grade students, primarily in Hispanic communities, will expand on lessons already in the curriculum. The play, performed in Bond Street Theatre’s signature cross-cultural physical style in both Spanish and English, will appeal to a varied audience. Students, regardless of their understanding of the English language, will relate to the characters onstage and comprehend the themes. Audiences can take inspiration from the solutions presented onstage and apply those solutions and others of their own creation to their daily lives. This makes them feel powerful. Empathy plays an inherent role in theatre; actors must empathize with the characters they are playing and audiences empathize with the characters’ plight. Storytelling engages audiences to draw parallels to their own lives more than statistics and facts that are presented in a science classroom. Rather than talking about issues that may only seem relevant halfway around the world, our production will put these issues immediately before the students. If the play is successful, we will translate it into other commonly spoken languages for wider exposure.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Many artists who work in schools and create performances for students rely on English to tell their stories most effectively. Bond Street Theatre has crafted our own style of storytelling that does not rely on language comprehension. This performance will be particularly geared to the Hispanic community. Water issues particularly affect some Hispanic countries; the performance will examine what some countries have done and make students feel connected to their heritage. Bond Street Theatre values fellow teaching artists—we can always learn from others’ techniques without feeling threatened by them.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Bond Street Theatre presents a bi-lingual physical show to address water issues and teach sustainable water practice to young students.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Using English, Spanish, & movement, we catapult often-distant water issues into students' consciences to engage them as problem-solvers.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Bond Street Theatre has created and produced many shows for kids around the world. These shows have been performed all around our home base of New York City and the surrounding suburbs, and across continents at refugee camps in the Balkans, schools in Afghanistan, and festivals in South America. Children have watched our shows and gone on to create change in their own communities, internalizing our messages and mobilizing the lessons through their own unique responses. Audiences have been urged to think creatively by our performances, and some have even responded by creating their own theatre groups. Bond Street Theatre has always created shows based on issues that we find most relevant, to help most specifically our targeted audience.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
At each school we perform at, we aim to reach at least 150 students. In our first year, that could be as many as 3,600 students. In three years, we have the opportunity to reach upwards of 10,800 students, especially if we continue translating the play into more languages and reaching more neighborhoods. After watching the show, these students will feel more empowered to make a difference in their communities and affect water-related change in their own lives. Enthused students will feel the need to share their newfound knowledge with others and will further disseminate these important messages.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
After six months, we will have a finished piece that has students take an active role in their education about the environment.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
We will research curriculums & talk to educators & students to determine age-appropriate information about water sustainability.
Task 2
Two actors will sort through the information obtained in Task 1 and create a physical performance based on the findings.
Task 3
We will preview the play at schools that cannot afford a performance for free, gaining feedback & adjusting the play accordingly
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
In twelve months, educators from schools we visited over the past six months will invite us back to perform for their next batch
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
We will advertise our show and book performance opportunities.
Task 2
We will perform high quality and meaningful material in schools across the city.
Task 3
We will follow up with educators through post performance discussion to determine how teachers and their students react.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
Bond Street Theatre is a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to creating innovative theatre works that are relevant and accessible to diverse audiences and can easily communicate across lingual and cultural borders. Although based in New York City, most of their socially-minded programming happens overseas. Until ten years ago, Bond Street ran a Young Adult Program in New York, creating and producing shows for students with curriculum-based content. I joined the company a year ago, and have been continually moved by their international projects. Recently, I performed in a revived YAP show and felt how earnestly the students responded to my stories of teamwork and cultural exchange. This experience opened my eyes to future school performance opportunities, especially regarding sustainability and the environment.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
Over the years, Bond Street Theatre has partnered with the New York Department of Education and both public and private schools. We have worked with the US Embassy in Afghanistan, Haiti, Burma, Kosovo, and elsewhere. We are a member of A.R.T./NY, and frequently partake in their method-sharing conferences. We have collaborated with theatre companies and teaching artists around the world. Creating and learning from partnerships forms a core part of the Bond Street methodology.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Bond Street Theatre collaborates with a web of artists--actors, musicians, stilt-walkers, and puppeteers--who have experience creating and performing this sort of work. In addition, we have a committed office staff to serve as directors, idea generators, stage designers, and outside eyes. Our Board of Directors contains educators in the field who will help ensure the performance is age-appropriate and relevant.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
Bond Street Theatre has formed partnerships around the world; our database is a wonderful resource for networking opportunities and creative innovation from a vast network of thinkers.
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| 62 weeks ago Ilanna Saltzman submitted this idea. |
