Professional Development for SY 22-23
BPS Arts Annual PD Day
"Disciplinary Literacy in the Arts"
Jan 3rd, 2023 | 8:00 AM-2:30 PM
O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science | Roland Hayes Music Building
"Disciplinary Literacy in the Arts"
Jan 3rd, 2023 | 8:00 AM-2:30 PM
O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science | Roland Hayes Music Building
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Keynote Speaker
James Wells | Innovative Teaching and Learning Manager | Crayola James Wells is the Innovative Teaching and Learning Manager at Crayola. He has been dedicated to supporting arts in schools, working closely with students, teachers and administrators in Tennessee and across the US. Prior to Crayola, James was the Fine Art Advisor for Shelby County Schools District in Memphis, Tennessee and the Art Education Coordinator for the Tennessee Arts Commission in Nashville, Tennessee. He has participated in leading numerous initiatives that kept art at the forefront of education including revising art standards for the state of Tennessee. In addition to his work at Crayola, James continues to be involved in art education as a leader of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with Tennessee Art Education Association as well as within the National Art Educators Association as a member of the School for Art Leaders Program. |
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Breakout Sessions
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Steel Pan Intensive
Becky Bass | Steel Pannist New-England treasure Becky Bass is known for her “euphoric steel pan playing, soulful voice, and powerful stage presence, on and off camera. A native of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, Bass utilizes her talent to highlight Caribbean music’s evolution through human necessity and resilience, and share the complex history of Caribbean music and its influence on the U.S.” A 2013 graduate of Brown University in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies, Becky received Brown’s Weston Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, is now a two-time New England Urban Music Award winner & RI Motif Award winner, and can be heard while performing her Caribbean Soul music solo as well as with several bands all over the New England area, such as Zili Misik, Natural Element, and Sidy Maiga & Afrimanding. She also lends her musical talents to Rhode Island’s RPM Voices, a cross-cultural, multi-generational gospel choir led by Dr. Clarice Thompson and Delbert Collins, as a soloist, musician, and youth choir director. Since the start of her career, she has performed in many professional theaters across New England as well as in a few films, TV shows, and commercials, including a national commercial with Kohl’s & Hulu, a regional commercial for AAA, and most recently, a speaking role in the show Julia on HBOMax. Favorite Regional Credits: Ain’t Misbehavin (Armelia McQueen); A Night with Lady Day (Billie Holiday); Hairspray (Motormouth Maybelle); RENT (Mrs. Jefferson/Blanket Lady); Aida (Nehebka). Becky has had the opportunity to open for and perform with many international artists, including Grammy Award-winning vocalist Oumou Sangare and violinist Damien Escobar, Emmy Award-winning composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain, Yellowman, Warrior King, and Wyclef Jean. She also has performed at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), New York City’s Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Underground Wonder Bar, and Off-Broadway theater LaMaMa. During her free time, she teaches music & theatre to students every chance she gets because she believes giving back and mentoring youth are extremely important aspects of being an artist in the community. She’s very thankful to her family and friends for their continued love and support. www.beckybass.com; IG: @beckybassmusic |
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Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches
Sharrell D Luckett, PhD | Founding Director | Black Acting Methods Studio Dr. Sharrell D. Luckett is the co-editor of the book, BLACK ACTING METHODS: CRITICAL APPROACHES, and she is the founder of the Black Acting Methods Studio, a "mobile and online training institute where actors of all heritages can gain in-depth knowledge about acting processes, methodologies, and philosophical underpinnings rooted in Black American culture and tradition." Dr. Luckett first encountered what would become known as "black acting methods" while a student at Tri-Cities High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in East Point, Georgia under the tutelage of Freddie Hendricks, "an African American theatre director and teacher who created full-length musicals and dramas with youth and young adults, often without a script." Dr. Luckett and another alumnus of Tri-Cities High School, Dr. Tia M. Shaffer, spent years of doctoral research studying, identifying, and understanding the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy in theatre education. Please watch this video prior to our PD: Anti-Racism and Black Acting Methods Dr. Luckett will lead us in a workshop based on The Luckett Paradigm, the methodology that she utilizes in her Studio. |
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Jazz Is Elementary
Darla S. Hanley, PhD | Dean of Professional Education Division | Berklee College of Music Calling all music teachers, future teachers, parents, and caregivers! This hands-on session is designed to share innovative jazz-based teaching strategies from “Jazz Is Elementary: Creativity Development Music Activities, Movement Games, and Dances for K-5” that promote creativity development for young children. Participants will experience original music activities, movement games, and dances that engage children to Respond, Create, and Perform. All examples are connected to iconic jazz recordings of yesterday and today (accessible via streaming audio platforms). Come join us to sing, play, move and create. Playlist provided. Darla Hanley holds a Ph.D. and M.M. in music education research from Temple University and a B.M. in music education and vocal performance from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. She is an experienced arts leader who specializes in educational administration, vocal jazz, popular music education, music for children, and creative movement. Hanley has previously worked as a Pre-K-12 music educator, and, as an author, clinician, and consultant, she has extensive experience working with teachers and students all over the world. She is an active member of numerous professional organizations and associations. Hanley enjoys leading Berklee’s Professional Education Division and facilitating students’ education. |
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Bringing SEL into Focus in the Dance Classroom
Bethany Lynch | Dance Instructor | Mather Elementary Bethany Lynch’s love of dance emerged at a young age and has developed to encompass not only skill proficiency, performance and choreography but also dance education and the ways in which movement can be a means of growth, communication and improved stability in an often-unstable world. Her impenetrable enthusiasm inspired her to pursue higher education in the field, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Arizona. It was there that she discovered her passion for teaching and her ability to connect with students and illuminate their potential through means of movement. In addition to directing the dance program at a public Fine Arts Magnet Middle school, Bethany continued to perform as a principal dancer and founding member of the Esperanza Dance Project, a community-based collaboration that continues to educate about the issue of childhood sexual violence and deliver a message of hope, strength, and empowerment through in-school multimedia dance performances. Since completing her master’s degree studies in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Dance Movement Therapy from Lesley University, the context of Ms. Lynch’s classroom has evolved from a performing arts class with an emphasis on content integration and skill development to a collective environment where students discover their cognitive and physical capacities, investigate dance in a social context and have opportunities to share and celebrate their successes. Bethany loves being the Dance Specialist at the Mather Elementary School in Dorchester and is honored to be a presenter at this year’s BPSArts PD Day! |
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Ceramics Handbuilding
Althea Bennett | Studio Art Teacher |English High School and Artward Bound- Mass College of Art and Design As an arts educator, my teaching is hip hop, with that I mean it is a pastiche of history, culture, art, respect, representation, expression, and experimentation. My classroom is tranquil yet active, a sculpture classroom open to all mediums. Through my lesson plans and experiences, I give my students opportunities to uncover their personal histories to understand their futures. My students discover new connections with materials and techniques, being innovative and resourceful. I was born and raised in Boston, the urban environments I was raised in have shaped my visual aesthetics, the hood being my life’s backdrop has provided me with many inspirations and a particular perspective. Hood politics, the process of gentrification, my own biracial identity, and how the “other” race identity is defined by projected categorization. My work is autobiographical, I cut, rip, glue, tape, fold, sculpt, and mold, to make skin and walls, creating city scrapes and portraits inspired by my community. https://www.daughterofcontrast.com Althea will be sharing tips and techniques for hand building through hands-on demonstrations. |
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Introduction to Orff Schulwerk
Jenn Dennett | Elementary Music and Movement Specialist | Great Oak Elementary (Danvers, MA) Play and possibilities are at the heart of the Schulwerk. In this workshop, we will sing, say, dance, and play our way through the multitude of possibilities contained within a single piece of music. Participants in this workshop will gain an understanding of the principles of the Orff approach—imitation, exploration, improvisation, and creation—using a variety of media. Come prepared to sing, move, and PLAY! Jenn Dennett is an elementary music and movement specialist in Danvers, Massachusetts. She has completed all three levels of Orff-Schulwerk teacher training, and is an American Orff-Schulwerk Association approved teacher educator. Recipient of the 2018 Donna Nagle Award for Excellence in General Music, Jenn combines music, movement, and storytelling in workshops and classes for music educators throughout the United States. |
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Ceramics Wheelwork
Nancy Zimbalist | Visual Art Teacher | Charlestown High School Nancy is a Boston Public Schools High School Art Teacher. She earned her BFA at Washington University in St. Louis, and MAT in Ceramics and Visual Art at Bridgewater State. She is also a graduate of the Perrone-Sizer Institute. For the last two years, Nancy has been focused on the integration of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) across curriculum. Through her work with the Perrone-Sizer Institute, ILT member, and chair of the SEL committee, she worked to design and implement a new, community wide SEL curriculum for a school of 500 students. She has also worked with Berklee College of Music to train arts teachers on how to bridge many different learning needs, especially in the inclusion classroom model. Training educators on video modeling, visual cuing, and well structured lessons and graphics to reach SPED and MLs students. She is also an active mentor, working through coaching and observation to help teachers increase their skills using UDL, DBAE, SEL, UBD, and SPED accommodations for both IEP and 504. Nancy will be sharing tips and techniques for wheel throwing, through hands-on demonstrations. Participation is limited to 12. A PM session will also be offered to accommodate interest. |
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Procreate on the iPad
Tori DelValle | Visual Arts Teaching Artist | Institute of Contemporary Art Tori is a Puerto Rican designer & visual artist based in Boston, MA and a graduate of Boston Public Schools! She also currently works as a Teaching Artist at the ICA and as a Visual Design Assistant Mentor at Artists for Humanity. She received her BFA from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, CO'22. Her expertise includes Illustration, Digital & Apparel Design, Canvas & Mural Painting, Brand Conceptualization, and Project Management. She is currently open for freelance projects. See her body of work on her site at Thirteenvic.com. Tori will lead us through the basics of using an Apple Pencil, and Procreate to create original artwork on an the iPad. |
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Bomba Music and Movement
Eli Pabon | Founder | BOMBAntillana Dance Teacher | Ellison/Parks Early Education School Eli Pabon, Founder of BOMBAntillana and Dance Teacher at Ellison/Parks Early Ed, will lead a fun, educational and participatory workshop of Bomba, an AfroIndigenous music and dance genre created over 400 years ago in Boriken (island known as Puerto Rico). Having originated on sugar cane plantations and kept alive through oral history and secret gatherings, Bomba was, and continues to be, a powerful means of creative expression, healing, resistance, community building and celebration. Participants will have the opportunity to:
Eli Pabon is a multi-talented Dancer, Singer, Lyricist, Percussionist, Educator and Events Producer born and raised in Boston to a Puerto Rican family of performers and educators. She grew up learning the importance of music and dance in health, education, healing, resistance and community building. Today, she shares her experiences and love through teaching dance, percussion and song to others, as well as performing and producing arts programming and events locally, nationally and internationally. At present she is the founder of BOMBAntillana, a Dance Teacher for Boston Public Schools and an Artist Collective member of MetaMovements and Imaginal, LLC. |
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Band Reading Session: Diversifying Your Repertoire
Bring your band instrument! This past year, the BPS Arts Department has made a large investment in expanding our central music library with repertoire from diverse composers. We invite BPS instrumental ensemble educators to bring their instruments and explore some of these exciting new additions available for borrowing! |
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Teaching Playwriting to Students
Fabiola Decius | New Play Exchange Local Playwright | Theatre Teacher at Josiah Quincy Upper School This workshop is for theatre teachers who wish to teach a playwriting unit in their classrooms. Ms. Decius will introduce participants to playwriting fundamentals, including guidelines and exercises for leading students through the process of writing their own ten-minute plays. Elements include: brainstorming ideas and the first page; story archetypes—7 basic plot points; strategies and suggestions for writing and revising a strong script; a ten minute play rubric; and much, much more. Fabiola R. Decius’ plays include “When I Grow Up”, “Black Jesus”, “Ladies’ Night”, “Final Verdict”, “Free Before Eleven”, “Consent”, “RX 3162020”, MAN OF THE HOUSE, MR. AND MISS AFTER-SCHOOL, and FIGHTING FORGIVENESS. Her plays have been produced and developed within the Greater Boston area and beyond, including Our Voices Festival, the Fade to Black Festival, the Boston Theater Marathon, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Wheelock Family Theatre, the Boston Neighborhood Network channel, and the Long Island Theatre Collective. Fabiola was a Creative City grant recipient through the New England Foundation for the Arts in 2018, and founded Teens WRITE (Writing, Reading, and Investigating Theater Everywhere), which is a program for teenagers to write, revise, cast, direct, and produce original plays culminating in a Ten-Minute Play Festival. She is a playwright within Company One Theatre’s Season 24 Volt Lab as well as an inaugural playwright for the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) Playwright Residency program. Fabiola received her BA from Bryn Mawr College and her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. |
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Teatro SEA’s Bilingual Books: A Classroom Exploration of Theatre for Elementary School and Middle School
Manuel D Moran - bio | Author, Founder | Teatro SEA Manuel and company will present eight plays from the Teatro SEA Theater Books collection. Through multimedia and live actor presentations, participants will experience first-hand what Teatro SEA does and why they do it. The live demonstration will consist of two performers in costume manipulating puppets to enhance a sample performance from one of the plays. They will also incorporate audience participation, encouraging participants to wear costumes and work with the performers to enact the stories. Participants will receive copies of the plays! Manuel Moran is the Founder and Artistic Director of SEA, Society of the Educational Arts, Inc. (www.teatrosea.org), with offices in Puerto Rico, Florida and New York City. Celebrating 35 years in 2020, SEA’s objective is to offer a real entertainment alternative, with cultural value and educational quality, for kids, youth and adults through bilingual educational programs like workshops, seminars, theater and other cultural artistic expressions. Offices in Boston opening this year! |
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More than Routine: Warmups that Build, Shape, and Matter!
Kenneth Griffith, Associate Director of Choirs Emily Howe, Conductor Boston Children’s Chorus BCC conductors, Kenneth Griffith and Emily Howe, share key pillars of planning effective and meaningful choral warmups for choirs of all ages. Join them as they demonstrate how BCC's distinct approach to choral music education uplifts student artistry and critical inquiry, not only in the context of performance, but in every aspect of musical preparation. You will leave this session with frameworks for impactful warmups, strategies for intentional voice building, and several examples to add to your toolkit. Ohio native Kenneth E. Griffith II is an accomplished conductor, vocalist, collaborative pianist, and music director. He holds a B.M. from the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Vocal Performance and an M.M. in Conducting from the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Kenneth studied conducting with Grammy award-winning conductor William Boggs, and in 2010, he won the top prize in Capital University's Student Concerto Competition in Conducting. In 2013, he received an award for Excellence in Music Direction from the Theatre Roundtable in Columbus for his work on Chess: In Concert with the Senior Repertory of Ohio. In July 2014, Kenneth was the Assistant Conductor with the Collegiate Chorale for four concerts during the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland and with the Concert Chorale of New York during the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Lincoln Center. In 2014, Kenneth came to Massachusetts to become the Director of Choral and Chamber Music at Brooks School in North Andover. In 2017, he started as Director of Music at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn in Swampscott. He music directs theatrical productions in the Greater Boston area. Recent works include Sister Act, She Loves Me, and On the Town. Emily Howe is a versatile conductor, educator, and ethnomusicologist whose passion for community-building through music has taken her into concert halls, schools, prisons, and places of worship throughout Boston and around the world. Working with the Boston Children’s Chorus in various capacities since 2009, Emily has conducted ensembles at all levels of the organization, and is excited to work with Concert Choir during the 2022-2023 season. Outside of BCC, Emily is Assistant Professor of Music at Curry College, where she leads the choral program and teaches courses in Musicology and Ethnomusicology. Emily has authored publications, given presentations, and taught university courses on topics related to music education, choral music, and world music cultures, and she continues to explore issues related to global repertoires, performance, and identity in her scholarly and creative practice. Emily holds an undergraduate degree in Music and English from Davidson College and a master's degree in Choral Conducting from Boston University, where she also earned her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology. |
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Inclusion In Art
Chris Hall | Visual Art Teacher | Joseph Lee K-8 Chris is a BPS special education art teacher specializing in adapting arts-based curriculum and modifying his classroom pedagogy to create the environment where all of his students can be successful. His teaching philosophy is grounded in the tenets of Disability Studies in Education, which views students through an asset-based perspective, focusing on their strengths rather than their perceived differences. For the past eleven years he has gained extensive experience working with, and learning from, autistic students ages three through sixteen, inside and outside of the classroom. Through his informative and entertaining hands-on workshops, Chris exposes his participants to a positive look at disability and encourages them to see disability as difference rather than deficit and provides practical strategies that can be implemented in the art room immediately. Chris has presented his work on neurodiversity, disability as difference, and creating an “individualized artist success plan” at the state, national, and international level, and was the recipient of the 2021 Massachusetts Art Education Association’s Special Needs Educator of the Year Award. He is currently a part-time lecturer in the Department of Education at Tufts University, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and Bunker Hill Community College. Education: Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston; M.Ed., Bridgewater State University; BFA, Massachusetts College of Art and Design |
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BPS/ TAB Book Study
Carla Bolden, Kathy Douglas, Clark Fralick, Clyde Gaw and Susan Weinman
February-March 2023
Carla Bolden, Kathy Douglas, Clark Fralick, Clyde Gaw and Susan Weinman
February-March 2023
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The TAB Board of Directors welcome you to this special PD opportunity!
Since 2001 TAB Inc. has been dedicated to serving colleagues with ongoing professional development experience. Our mission is to provide you with the best information and cutting-edge pedagogical content related to choice-based and learner-directed art education content available in our field today. After the kickoff meeting teachers divide into two cohort groups: an Elementary Cohort and Middle/High School Cohort. Meetings are centered on discussions from the “Engaging Learners Through Artmaking, Second Edition” and from observations done in BPS art classrooms. Participants have the unique opportunity to learn from and directly with the book's co-author, Kathy Douglas. This course consists of 8 weeks of reading, reflection and application of new learning to current practice, with weekly meetings in small group cohorts for in depth discussion, community building and individualized feedback. Participants also complete action research and create and present a product, such as a center, lesson or unit, that can be used in the classroom to share with this and future cohort groups. This course is in it's second year running and feedback from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive. |
The High Impact Elementary Music Classroom:
Energizing Learners through Multi-Modal Music Lessons
Sharon Hamel, Boston Area Kodály Educators
Feb 6th, 2023 | 5-7 PM | Campbell Resource Center
Energizing Learners through Multi-Modal Music Lessons
Sharon Hamel, Boston Area Kodály Educators
Feb 6th, 2023 | 5-7 PM | Campbell Resource Center
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Dear Boston Public Schools Music Teachers,
I hope you are able to join me for a special workshop designed specifically for you and the BPS team. Having taught in the Boston Public Schools from 1995 until 2012, I have a heart for the teachers and students in the BPS School system and desire to share ways I have found to make teaching and learning music effective and a joy. Ultimately, the aim is for students to feel they belong and to develop confidence and connection with each other and the music we sing. I have found the Kodály approach to music education suited for moving students into a sense of wonder and successful learning through active, authentic singing games and simple, practical instruction. The Kodály approach to teaching music is a way of teaching and learning music that inherently emphasizes joy based on the music pedagogy of Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, and pedagogue Zoltan Kodaly. It is a holistic, sequential approach to music education founded on social learning and cultural responsivity. Using the Kodály approach, the workshop will encompass approximately 5-6 songs and singing games per grade level especially enjoyed by my students over time. During the workshop, we will sing, move, read, write, analyze, and explore the concepts of rhythm, melody, beat, harmony, and form within the preparation-present-practice phases and the sequential, multi-layered activities of the Kodaly approach. Workshop Highlights:
Biography Since 1991, Sharon Hamel has worked as a Pre-K-8th grade music educator in public and private school settings, including the Greater Boston Academy and in Chelsea, and for seventeen years in the Boston Public Schools. Since 2012, she has taught at the Amigos Dual-Language Immersion School in Cambridge, MA. She holds a Master's in Music Education from Gordon College and a Masters's in Creative Arts in Learning from Lesley University. Currently, Sharon is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Leadership at Andrews University, researching Joyful Learning in the Kodály Music Classroom: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice. Sharon is passionate about developing innovative, multi-arts curricula for her students and bringing generations and peoples together through festivals, ceremonies, and other celebration events. |
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Equitable Literacy in the Arts
2022-2023 School Year
2022-2023 School Year
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This self-paced course will begin with a foundation of the five areas of equitable literacy. Arts educators will then read articles along with a selected book tied to culturally and linguistically sustaining practices and standards-aligned content. This will be followed by participating in two one-hour modules focused on disciplinary literacy. Lastly, educators will create a lesson unit linking enabling texts with disciplinary literacy. The unit and examples of student work will be displayed on a Google Slideshow. This course is only open to visual and performing arts educators in order to meet the capacity of the central arts department who will be interacting with the arts educators via Google Classroom.
Vector Description: In this course, participants will learn about the five areas of Equitable Literacy and deepen knowledge of enabling texts and disciplinary literacy in order to:
This course is most relevant to visual and performing arts educators in PreK-12. The maximum enrollment in this course is 50 participants. Educators will complete a google slideshow presentation with examples of student work as a course deliverable. Disciplinary Module Authors Include: Fabiola Decius, Josiah Quincy Upper School Jarritt Sheel, Berklee College of Music Lovely Hoffman, Edison K8 School Dr. Louisa Penfold, Co-Chair of Arts Learning at Harvard University Dr. Suzanne Hall, Temple University |
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Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches Book Club
Dr. Sharrell D. Luckett, Founder of The Black Acting Methods Studio Oct-Nov 2022 We will meet via Zoom twice. The second Zoom session will be with Sharrell Luckett:
Sharrell Luckett is the co-editor of the book, BLACK ACTING METHODS: CRITICAL APPROACHES, and she is the founder of The Black Acting Methods Studio, a “mobile and online training institute where actors of all heritages can gain in-depth knowledge about acting processes, methodologies, and philosophical underpinnings rooted in Black American culture and tradition.” She first encountered what would become known as Black Acting Methods while a student at Tri-Cities High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in East Point, Georgia under the tutelage of Freddie Hendricks, “an African American theatre director and teacher who created full-length musicals and dramas with youth and young adults, often without a script.” Ms. Luckett and another alumnus of the Hendricks Method, Tia M. Shaffer, spent years of doctoral research studying, identifying and understanding “…how a large number of young and mid-adult Black actors and designers who trained with Hendricks found unanimous success in an industry that is often marginalizing.” The Black Acting Methods book club will consist of reading the book, reflecting by writing responses to written prompts, and with a live discussion with the author. |
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Steel Pan Introduction
Becky Bass, Steel Pannist
Oct 26th, 2022 | 7-8 PM via Zoom
Becky Bass, Steel Pannist
Oct 26th, 2022 | 7-8 PM via Zoom
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New-England treasure Becky Bass is known for her “euphoric steel pan playing, soulful voice, and powerful stage presence, on and off camera. A native of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, Bass utilizes her talent to highlight Caribbean music’s evolution through human necessity and resilience, and share the complex history of Caribbean music and its influence on the U.S.” A 2013 graduate of Brown University in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies, Becky received Brown’s Weston Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, is now a two-time New England Urban Music Award winner & RI Motif Award winner, and can be heard while performing her Caribbean Soul music solo as well as with several bands all over the New England area, such as Zili Misik, Natural Element, and Sidy Maiga & Afrimanding. She also lends her musical talents to Rhode Island’s RPM Voices, a cross-cultural, multi-generational gospel choir led by Dr. Clarice Thompson and Delbert Collins, as a soloist, musician, and youth choir director. Since the start of her career, she has performed in many professional theaters across New England as well as in a few films, TV shows, and commercials, including a national commercial with Kohl’s & Hulu, a regional commercial for AAA, and most recently, a speaking role in the show Julia on HBOMax. Favorite Regional Credits: Ain’t Misbehavin (Armelia McQueen); A Night with Lady Day (Billie Holiday); Hairspray (Motormouth Maybelle); RENT (Mrs. Jefferson/Blanket Lady); Aida (Nehebka). Becky has had the opportunity to open for and perform with many international artists, including Grammy Award-winning vocalist Oumou Sangare and violinist Damien Escobar, Emmy Award-winning composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain, Yellowman, Warrior King, and Wyclef Jean. She also has performed at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), New York City’s Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Underground Wonder Bar, and Off-Broadway theater LaMaMa. During her free time, she teaches music & theatre to students every chance she gets because she believes giving back and mentoring youth are extremely important aspects of being an artist in the community. She’s very thankful to her family and friends for their continued love and support. www.beckybass.com; IG: @beckybassmusic
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Strategies and Tactics for Teaching Drama in an Inclusive Classroom
Shea Schatell, Dept. Head of the Multi Arts and Mvt. Dept. at The Carroll School
Oct-Nov, 2022 | Campbell Resource Center
Shea Schatell, Dept. Head of the Multi Arts and Mvt. Dept. at The Carroll School
Oct-Nov, 2022 | Campbell Resource Center
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This creative arts workshop will introduce innovative pedagogical concepts for instructing drama activities with a variety of learning styles within a drama classroom. Participants will explore enhanced hands-on activities that incorporate best practices for how to give directions, and how to sequence activities, through a multi sensory approach. Teaching methods are customized to give each student what they need in order to run a successful teaching environment, with minimal behavioral intervention. Participants will engage in reflective discussions combined with hands-on activities to support the current challenges of teaching theater within one's unique school culture. Shea Schatell is the Theater Teacher and Director, and Department Head of the Multi Arts and Movement Department at The Carroll School.
Dates and times: K-6 Session 1: October 27, 2022, 4:30-6:30pm K-6 Session 2: November 3, 2022, 4:30-6:30pm 7-12 Session 1: November 9, 2022, 4:30-6:30pm 7-12 Session 2: November 16, 2022, 4:30-6:30pm Location: Campbell Resource Center |
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High School Improv Games
Nov 2022 - Mar 2023
Site-Based at Schools
Nov 2022 - Mar 2023
Site-Based at Schools
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In this partnership with Improv Asylum, BPS theatre teachers will receive training for how to introduce improvisation to their theatre students. Guest artists will visit your classroom to check in; and the training will culminate with performances and improv games at Improv Asylum.
All you need to participate is to be a dedicated theatre teacher, hold an hour of rehearsal minimum per week from late November until March (excluding holidays), and have a team of at least 8 students. Teacher training will be in early November. Training dates and school visits will be negotiated on a school-by school basis. Boston Citywide Competition will be in April East Coast Finals will be in May |
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BrainDance Fundamentals
Dionne Kamara, Director of Movement at Union Square Play
Nov 16th, 2022 | 6-8 PM via Zoom
Dionne Kamara, Director of Movement at Union Square Play
Nov 16th, 2022 | 6-8 PM via Zoom
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The BrainDance, developed by Anne Green Gilbert, is a sequential and holistic exercise based on developmental movement patterns healthy human beings naturally move through in the first year of life. The BrainDance integrates mind and body and may be adapted for all ages and abilities. Through theory, reflection, discussion, and movement this workshop offers a foundational and science based understanding of each BrainDance pattern. With the use of props, music, dance concepts, folk dances, and relationships we will explore a variety of ways and strategies to teach and perform this holistic exercise for preschool age children through adults. Teachers will come away with lots of creative ways to teach and keep the BrainDance fun and engaging for their students.
Dionne Kamara (she/her), a former member of Urban Bush Women performance company, is currently a resident teaching artist in New York City and is the Director of Movement at Union Square Play, a center for holistic development for children 0-5 years old. Dionne teaches creative dance integrating academic curriculum to children in public schools, enabling them to express their thoughts and ideas through the art of dance. Her work in Brain-Compatible Dance Education has enabled her to work with people of all ages from infants through adults nationally and internationally. Dionne has been a faculty member of the Creative Dance Center!s Summer Dance Institute for Teachers since 2003 along side her mentor and teacher Anne Green Gilbert. |
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CLSP in the Arts Book Club: Cohort 6
Self-Paced, Fall 2022
Self-Paced, Fall 2022
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Course Description: BPS Arts educators will identify a problem of practice and implement an action plan connected to culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in the arts and creating an anti-racist classroom. Educator growth will be documented through reflections of book readings, podcasts, online conferences with book authors, and an inventory of curriculum materials for instructional bias. Educators will present evidence of their growth through a Google slide deck. This course will be taught on Zoom and managed through Google Classroom.
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BPS Arts Annual PD Day
John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science | Roland Hayes Music Building
Jan 3rd, 2022 | 8 AM-2:30 PM
John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science | Roland Hayes Music Building
Jan 3rd, 2022 | 8 AM-2:30 PM
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We are in the planning stages for our annual PD for BPS Arts educators across the district. Stay tuned for updates regarding date, time, location, keynote speaker, and our workshop/clinician lineup for the day!
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Opera Creation Through Arts Integration
Collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera
Jan 2023 - Mar 2023
Location TBD
Collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera
Jan 2023 - Mar 2023
Location TBD
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This workshop is a collaboration between BPS Arts and Boston Lyric Opera’s education department. Based in the nationally-recognized Music! Words! Opera! Curriculum, this project-based learning model prepares educators (with or without an arts background) to lead students through the process of creating their own opera, or theatre piece with song. This 8-week intensive is open to K-12 teachers. PDPs available!
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Wednesday, January 25, 2023 Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Wednesday, February 8, 2023 Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Wednesday, March 1, 2023 Wednesday, March 8, 2023 |
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Teaching Playwriting to Students
Fabiola R. Decius, Theatre Teacher at Josiah Quincy Upper School
Date and location TBD
Fabiola R. Decius, Theatre Teacher at Josiah Quincy Upper School
Date and location TBD
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This professional development opportunity is for theatre teachers who wish to teach a playwriting unit in their classrooms. Focusing on the 10-minute play, Ms. Decius will introduce participants to playwriting fundamentals, including guidelines and exercises for leading students through the process of writing their own plays. Elements include: brainstorming ideas and the first page; story archetypes—7 basic plot points; strategies and suggestions for writing a strong script; a ten minute play rubric; and much, much more.
Fabiola R. Decius’ plays include “Haiti Chérie”, “Final Verdict”, “In Sync”, “Ice Cream Bucket List,” “Date Night Surprise”, “Chicksmas”, “Draped in History”, “Free Before Eleven”, “Consent”, "Black Jesus", “Bus Stop (Birthday)”, “RX 3162020”, “The Test”, URGENT CARE, MAN OF THE HOUSE, and FIGHTING FORGIVENESS, which have been produced and/or developed at Bryn Mawr College, Lesley University, the Boston Public Library, Our Voices Festival, Fade to Black Festival, the Boston Theater Marathon, South Shore Playwrights Showcase, Roxbury Repertory Theater, Controlled Kaos Productions, Hibernian Hall, the Office of War Information (Bureau of Theater), Company One Theatre, the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatres, the Boston Neighborhood Network channel, and the Long Island Theatre Collective. Fabiola was a Creative City grant recipient through the New England Foundation for the Arts in 2018, and founded Teens WRITE (Writing, Reading, and Investigating Theater Everywhere), which is a program for teenagers to write, revise, cast, direct, and produce original plays culminating in a Ten-Minute Play Festival. |
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Let There Be Light: ETC Ion Lighting Board Training
Deb Sullivan, Production Manager at Actor's Shakespeare Project
Dates and times contingent upon receipt of lighting boards currently on order
Location TBD
Deb Sullivan, Production Manager at Actor's Shakespeare Project
Dates and times contingent upon receipt of lighting boards currently on order
Location TBD
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This professional development will train teachers to become competent programmers on the ETC ION lighting board console. Teachers will learn to create dynamic lighting for any given performance. The ETC lexicon will be explained and integrated so the manual will become a valuable tool as more and more features are discovered and utilized. From the basics of getting the lights on and writing a simple cue stack to programming multiple intelligent fixtures into sophisticated sequences, teachers will learn the tools to give their students the guidance to light up the worlds they create on stage. Ample board time will be allotted in all sessions so teachers get hands-on experience programming the ION console.
Deb Sullivan is a veteran production manager (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), theatre manager (Boston Center for the Arts), and lighting designer (more than 20 years in and around Boston). |
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All About Jazz
Fall 2022 Music Education Symposium
Berklee College of Music | David Friend Recital Hall
Oct 18th, 2022 | 9:30 AM-4:30 PM
Keynote speaker — Victor Wooten, Berklee Visiting Scholar in Performance Studies
Fall 2022 Music Education Symposium
Berklee College of Music | David Friend Recital Hall
Oct 18th, 2022 | 9:30 AM-4:30 PM
Keynote speaker — Victor Wooten, Berklee Visiting Scholar in Performance Studies
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Symposium Schedule
9:30 - 10 AM Welcome and Live Music (Boston Latin School) Dr. Cecil Adderley, Chair, Music Education Dr. Rhoda Bernard, Assistant Chair, Music Education Libby Allison, Professor, Music Education 10 - 10:45 AM “Take a Solo : Improvisation in Jazz Education” Allison Kipp, Music Specialist Legacy Elementary School Loudoun County, VA Break 11 - 12:00 PM “The Spirit of Music: My Family, My Story” Victor L. Wooten Grammy Award Winning Artist, Educator, and Author Berklee Visiting Scholar in Performance Studies Break 12:15 - 1 PM “Riffs in Jazz Education” Including Moderated Q&A with Victor Wooten Dr. Darla S. Hanley, Dean, Professional Education Division Berklee College of Music 1 PM Lunch: Boxed lunches in The Loft (3rd Floor, 921 Boylston St.) 1:50 PM Welcome, Afternoon Session: Live Music by Music Education Majors at Berklee College of Music 2 - 2:45 PM “Jazz Education of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” Panel Discussion Libby Allison, Professor of Music Education, Moderator Lisa Linde, Jazz Ensemble Director Newton South High School Spencer Parrish, Band Director Needham High School Stefano Marchese, Assistant Professor Voice and Professional Music Departments Berklee College of Music & Music Teacher Eliot K-8 Innovation School Ann Marie Tremblay, Choral Director Medfield High School Break 3 - 4:30 PM “Everybody Wants to be a Cat” Calling all music teachers, future teachers, parents, and caregivers! This hands-on session is designed to share innovative jazz-based teaching strategies from “Jazz Is Elementary: Creativity Development Music Activities, Movement Games, and Dances for K-5” that promote creativity development for young children. Participants will experience original music activities, movement games, and dances that engage children to Respond, Create, and Perform. All examples are connected to iconic jazz recordings of yesterday and today (accessible via streaming audio platforms). Come join us to sing, play, move and create. Playlist provided. Dr. Darla S. Hanley, Dean, Professional Education Division Berklee College of Music Allison Kipp, Music Specialist Legacy Elementary School |
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Boston University Global Music Festival
Sept 17th, 2022
Sept 17th, 2022
Enjoy a celebration of international music from traditional sounds to eclectic fusion and high-energy party jams, as well as a Global Bazaar featuring artisans and local cultural organizations. Please invite colleagues, friends, and students to join as well! Free & Open to the Public of all ages!
Location: BU Beach (735 Commonwealth Ave - Rear)
1:00 PM-4:00 PM – Global Bazaar
Location: BU Beach (735 Commonwealth Ave - Rear)
1:00 PM-4:00 PM – Global Bazaar
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PERFORMANCES
1:15 PM - Kingfisher Singers & Dancers 2:00 PM - Yamma Ensemble 3:05 PM - Puuluup 4:10 PM - Qwanqwa 5:15 PM - Madalitso 6:20 PM - Son Rompe Pera 7:25 PM - Saung Budaya 8:30 PM- Bazurto All Stars |
WORKSHOPS
Location: Barristers Hall (1st floor of School of Law) 765 Commonwealth Avenue Check out these hands-on opportunities to engage with artists! 12:00 PM - Madalitso 1:45 PM - Qwanqwa 3:00 PM- Yamma Ensemble 4:45 PM- Puuluup |