Lincoln Elementary Performs Original Musicals on the Arthur Laurents Mainstage at George Street Playhouse

Lincoln Elementary School in New

Brunswick, NJ has been working in partnership with George Street Playhouse’s

Education Department since October on The

Ensemble Project—an in-depth, long term theatre arts residency designed to

increase literacy as students develop original musicals about the American

Revolution.  This is the fourth year that

George Street Playhouse has been working with Lincoln Elementary School and New

Brunswick Public Schools – which is reflective of a coordinated, district-wide

approach by George Street Playhouse and New Brunswick Public Schools to

increase student literacy and academic development through the arts.

This theatre arts and literacy residency brings two

George Street Playhouse teaching artists into five fourth-grade social studies

classrooms  for 30 sessions to develop

original musicals about the American Revolution.  Each class has focused on specific events

that helped to provoke the revolution, such as The Boston Massacre—and feature

key battles that took place in New Jersey, including the Battle of

Monmouth.  To develop these musicals, the

students work with teaching artists Dustin Ballard and Greg Scalera, along with

their classroom teachers to research the history of the revolution, incorporate

primary documents, sources, and music, and learn performance skills.  All of the music and dialogue, except for

short pieces of period colonial music, was created by the students.

The performance takes place on June 12th on

The Arthur Laurents Stage of George Street Playhouse at 11am and 1:15 pm.  Each classroom will present a fifteen minute

musical—and the entire production runs 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The performance is free and open to the

public, but reservations must be made in advance.  Please contact Christa Cillaroto at ccillaroto@georgestplayhouse.org for tickets.