The Revelstoke Arts Council is once again excited to bring what Miriam Manley of the council admits to being one of her favorite projects on behalf of the Arts Council.
The program is called ArtsStarts in Schools and, for the sixth year running, the Arts Council will partner with the school division to bring arts based experiences and learning into the City’s schools for the education and enjoyment of the students.
“It’s an absolutely brilliant program that brings professional artists into the school to interact with the kids and activate the artist that lives in all of them,” said Manley.
An great example of that sort of program, she said, happened last year when a group called CreaSon came to some Revelstoke schools. Sylvain Grenier, a musician with a boundless imagination had the children fashion their own musical instruments out of everything from broken hockey sticks (that became a “xylo-hockey-phone”) to old golf equipment to cans, pans and car wheels. When they were done, the students performed in a unique concert of concussive instruments.
“We’ve also brought in puppetry, more serious theatre, dance… the mix is pretty amazing. It (the program) takes them out of their every day experience and can be the highlight of their school term,” said Manley.
Another aspect of the program is that some of the classes will have the opportunity to take their shows out of the schools for performances at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre.
“We do a lot of the shows at the centre where the children have the benefit of theatrical lighting and sound effects,” explained Manley.
“For example, we did a take on Alice in Wonderland in which about 20 students performed for the rest of the school at the centre. It’s the kind of experience that could potentially inspire children to become performing artists themselves.”
And even if most of the children never become performers, the odds are that they will learn to love the theatre experience in a new way and increase the chance that they become the audience members of the future for those who do.
The program also has the potential to show children how the arts can be used to address social issues, said Manley.
“We had a group called Green Thumb Theatre in who worked with the kids to put an artistic slant to a message against cyber-bullying.
In another case a group called Red Sky came in and did a piece called Mistatim, in which the issues of reconciliation and residential schools were addressed.
The programs for the 2017-2018 series of ArtsStarts programs is currently being finalized but Manley is certain the program will continue to be a success.