Dallas Children's Theater Blog

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Dallas Children’s Theater takes the magic of live theater to Dallas Public Libraries for summer fun

During summer 2018, Dallas Children’s Theater (DCT) is taking its love of stories on the road to Dallas Public Libraries (DPL) through the DCT STORYTIME initiative. At 25 different library locations, DCT-trained interns will lead an interactive drama workshop that merges reading and acting. Attendees will have the book How I Became a Pirate, on stage at DCT from June 15 – July 8, 2018, read to them and then act out a scene from the story. DCT STORYTIME events are best suited for children ages 5-12.

For over 16 years, Dallas Children’s Theater has been going to public libraries in the summer to present the DCT STORYTIME program. Graduate-level theater students who are interning at the theater give participants a chance to learn about the page-to-stage process. This summer, students will read from the How I Became a Pirate storybook and then have their own chance to act out the story. Costume pieces are provided and area librarians look forward to weaving this offering into their already-existing programming each summer.

This community program increases access to theatrical arts to a broader range of Dallas children and families, as they experience live theater in a joyful, dynamic way at a location easily accessible to them. “Participation in the arts is key to inspiring learning in all other areas of life. Through this outreach, we are doing our part to ensure children are introduced to the soft skills, like sharing emotions in different ways and being able to focus for long periods of time—skills that will ultimately predict their success in life,” said Robyn Flatt, Executive Artistic Director of DCT.

In the face of Dallas’ educational inequities and reports on the lack of middle-skills workers in Texas, DCT’s years of experience teaching social-emotional skills and use of teaching artists are essential tools to preparing children to be college- and career- ready. DCT programs instill such skills as cooperation, empathy, team building, decision-making and others, all skills that employers say are in the greatest demand. As research supports, children love interacting with professional actors who are both inspiring and knowledgeable about their craft.

“Working with Dallas Public Libraries and our other community partners is a natural pathway to extend our unique service during the summer,” said Flatt. “We want all young citizens of Dallas to have equitable access to experiences only DCT can provide, and this use of our unique and enriching theater experience really allows us to do that in a special way.” Rated one of the country’s top five children’s theaters by TIME magazine, Dallas Children’s Theater is the largest performing arts venue in the Southwest focused solely on productions, classes and other programming for children and families.

 

The following are the confirmed workshops. Regular updates to the schedule will be posted here.

Dates Time Location Address
Mon. June 11 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Skyline Library 6006 Everglade Rd.  75227
Tues. June 12 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Forest Green Library 9015 Forest Ln.  75243
Tues. June 12 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Audelia Road Library 10045 Audelia Rd.  75238
Wed. June 13 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Hampton-Illinois Library 2951 S. Hampton Rd.  75224
Wed. June 13 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Highland Hills Library 6200 Bonnie View Rd.  75241
Thurs. June 14 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Fretz Park Library 6990 Belt Line Rd.   75254
Thurs. June 14 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Polk-Wisdom Library 7151 Library Ln.  75232
Mon. June 18 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Skillman Southwestern Library 5707 Skillman St.   75206
Tues. June 19 1:00 pm  – 2:00pm Dallas West Library 2332 Singleton Blvd.   75212
Wed. June 20 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Lochwood Library 11221 Lochwood Blvd.   75218
Wed. June 20 1:30 pm  – 2:30 pm Mountain Creek Library 6102 Mountain Creek Pkwy 75249
Thurs. June 21 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Timberglen Library 18505 Midway Rd. 75287
Thurs. June 21 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Renner Frankford Library 6400 Frankford Rd.  75252
Fri. June 22 10:00 am – 11:00 pm Highland Park Library (in the park) 4500 Drexel Dr.   75205
Fri. June 22 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Prairie Creek Library 9609 Lake June Rd.  75217
Mon. June 25 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Timberglen Library 18505 Midway Rd. 75287
Tues. June 26 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Martin Luther King Library 2922 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Bldg C 75215
Tues. June 26 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Bachman Lake Library 9480 Webb Chapel Rd.  75220
Wed. June 27 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm University Park Library 8383 Preston Center Plaza, Ste 200 75225
Thurs. June 28 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Park Forest Library 3421 Forest Ln.   75234
Thurs. June 28 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm J.Erik Jonsson Central Library 2nd Floor, 1515 Young Street 75201
Mon. July 2 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Grauwyler Park Library 2146 Gilford St.   75235
Tues. July 3 10:30 am – 11:30 am White Rock Hills Library 9150 Ferguson Rd.  75228
Tues. July 3 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Arcadia Park Library 1402 N. Justin Ave.  75211
Thurs. July 5 11:00 am – 12:00 pm North Oak Cliff Library 302 W. 10th St.  75208
Thurs. July 5 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lakewood Library 6121 Worth St.   75214

 

 

Photo credits: Craig Lynch; Courtesy of Dallas Children’s Theater.

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