Ready, Set, P.L.A.Y.
A partnership with LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program. Kids adapt a picture book into a play and design, construct and perform their creation.
Ready, Set, P.L.A.Y. is an after-school creative dramatics program that introduces students to basic theatre making skills including acting, movement, voice, improvisation, storytelling and design. Students adapt a book from the Open Court Literacy Program into a play and design, construct and perform their creation.
The program incorporates the California Content Standards for Public Schools and uses theatre processes and games to help students achieve the following goals:
- Improve collaborative skills
- Increase literacy and understanding of story structure: beginning, middle, and end
- Inspire ideas in design and story-telling by attending a professional performance
- Encourage self-expression and creative thinking through story-boarding, design, and rehearsal
- Deepen understanding and appreciation of theatre arts by creating and performing a play
Center Theatre Group operates Ready, Set, P.L.A.Y. in partnership with the L.A.'s Best After School Enrichment Program.
Ready, Set, P.L.A.Y. is organized into nine units, taught in 22 sessions. Two teaching artists and one L.A.'s Best staff person work with two clusters of no more than 25 students. The clusters are divided according to grade level: K – 2 and 3 – 5.
2008 - 2009 Partners
Cahuenga Elementary
Principal: Lloyd Houske
Asst Principal: Susan Kim
Esperanza Elementary
Principal: Felicia Michell
Asst Principal: Paula Kurilich
Leo Politi Elementary
Principal: Brad Rumble
Asst Principal: Lynn Vineyard
Teaching Artists
Levi Brewster (set designer)
Francisco Garcia
Julieta Garza
Megan Hanna (costume assistant)
Risha Hill
Jairlyn Mason (costume designer)
Misty Monroe
Marcos Najera
Steve Neumann
LA’s BEST Site Coordinators
Diane Juarez
Lourdes Manriquez
Elizabeth Parra
Major support for Ready, Set, P.L.A.Y. is provided by the Weingart Foundation.
Photo by Steve Cohn.
