Grant Helps Elm Street Arts Bring Student Creativity To Life

WOODSTOCK, GA -- Woodstock's Elm Street Cultural Arts Village is putting a $5,000 Vibrant Communities Grant awarded to the organization to good use.

The grant, awarded in October by the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Council for the Arts, is being used to support education and literature through the arts with students in the Cherokee County School District.

Specifically, the funding supports Elm Street's RepTour, a program that allows the organization's members to travel to local elementary schools to provide students "with a positive experience of interactive theatre where we bring their own stories and ideas to life, express educational literature in creative ways, and present them with an experience of the theatrical arts in their community," said Siobhan Brumbelow, education manager and RepTour coordinator at Elm Street.

Elm Street was one of two Cherokee County organizations to win a grant from the Council. The other was Canton-based Malon D. Mimms Boys and Girls Club. A total of 85 entities received more than $297,963 in funding.

The response from local schools has been positive, Elm Street adds. Ann Litrel, board chair of Elm Street Arts, shares the story of a child named Maria.

The student lived with her mother and siblings and was withdrawn at school. One day, the student saw a live performance by RepTour at her school and she was "captivated." Litrel said.

She was eventually awarded a scholarship to attend an Elm Street summer theater camp where she created her dream role of Elsa from "Frozen." She sang and danced with her fellow actors, presenting their work with pride. The summer camp experience was one that changed the student for the better.

"When she returned to school that fall, the once shy Maria had become more self-confident," Litrel said. "She spoke up more in class. She gained new friends. Her grades improved. And something that started as an experience of a RepTour performance became the cornerstone for her to start achieving academically, socially and in her life.”

Photo: Members of the RepTour School Tour Troupe. Bottom Left to Right: Teundras Oaks, Amy Farrar and Caity Johnson. Top Left to Right: Siobhan Brumbelow, Joshua Robinson and Jillian Melko. Credit: Elm Street Arts