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Parent Workshops & Literacy Events InterAct Story Theatre's Parent-Child workshops and Family Literacy events offers parents and caregivers ideas they can use at home to build literacy and language skills through the arts. Parents observe teaching artists work with their children, and then learn how they can play, sing, and act with their children at home. A fun and educational experience for all! ​ We are currently developing and piloting several new family programs rooted in drama, music, dance, and puppetry, so please check back! REQUEST MORE INFO Parent-Child Workshops & Family Literacy Events PARENT-CHILD WORKSHOP FOR GRADES PREK-1 Available Online Story Can Theater Parents and children participate in a delightful workshop in which a story is told through miniatures and toys (see Story Can Theatre Workshop description above). The children dramatize part of the story and the parents make several effective storytelling activities that they can use at home to promote literacy and thinking skills. This popular program is being used in schools nationwide. AN INTER-GENERATIONAL STORY SHARING EXPERIENCE FOR CHILDREN GRADES 3 AND UP AND ADULTS ​ Building Dialogue and Community One Story At a Time Telling stories is a meaningful way to transmit history, values and cultures in families, schools and communities. In this workshop, participants tell, listen, and retell stories in a process designed to celebrate our stories and build community across the generational divide. This workshop enhances oral language, listening skills, prewriting skills, and builds bridges between storytellers from ages 8 to 108. PARENT-CHILD WORKSHOP FOR GRADES PREK-K ​ Songbuilding Parents and children share in a rich music experience as they sing songs and learn about various musical instruments (See Songbuilding Workshop description above). The parents then create their own personal lullaby for their children. The lullaby focuses on their wishes, dreams and hopes for their family. A CD of both the songs sung in the workshop and the melody of the lullaby is given to each family. A warm, rich and meaningful family event. A LITERACY WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN Available Online Literacy Fiesta! Bringing Read-Alouds to Life Research shows that reading aloud with our children is one of the most important things we can do to help build strong readers. But how can we make read-alouds fun and engaging for you and your children? And what if we’re not so comfortable reading for ourselves? In this workshop, parents participate with children in fun arts-based activities with a book, then learn tips and techniques for engaging children in lively and fun read-alouds at home—even if you don’t love reading for yourself! Different workshops are available for early childhood, primary, and elementary school-age children and their families. < Back to InterAct in Schools

EARLY CHILDHOOD These are just a sampling of the many workshops we do for early childhood populations each year. All of these workshops can be expanded into a 2-, 3- or 4-day classroom residency . Providing children repeated exposure to arts-integrated learning experiences can help build and reinforce literacy skills and a host of developmental skills. Stick with one art form to create a deeper, sequentially structured learning experience or mix and match workshops to give your students a variety of arts experiences. The choice is yours! REQUEST MORE INFO Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops We are constantly designing new workshops! In fact, most of the workshops you see here were originally designed because someone asked us, "Hey, InterAct...can you do a workshop on ___________ to address __________ objective?" WE LOVE THIS. It's really our favorite thing to do. The answer is almost always, "Sure. Let's put our heads together and see what we can create!" ​ So, if you would like an arts integration experience for your students that you don't see here, please contact us or request more info so we can design something for you! Music & Creative Opera Grades PreK-1 ​ SONGBUILDING Students sing songs and even create an original song together as they are introduced to various musical instruments and musical styles. This workshop is led by veteran InterActor Nancy Krebs. Maximum 50 students (2 classes) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-1 ​ LET'S SING A STORY Students explore a book or folktale through music, drama and movement. This workshop is led by InterAct's General Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger or a staff artist trained in creative opera techniques. With advance notice, we can tailor a workshop to meet your specific theme, content area or curricular objective. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-2 ​ A MUSICAL JOURNEY TO WEST AFRICA A taste of West African culture is explored thorough games, dances and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Dance Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DANCING OUR WAY THROUGH BOOKS An InterAct dance artist leads students in a movement experience rooted in age-appropriate children's literature or multicultural folk tales. This dynamic approach to reading comprehension and emerging literacy also gives students a chance to practice locomotor and non-locomotor movement, personal space, and gross-motor skills. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DANCING THROUGH THE CURRICULUM Let us design a workshop to fit your theme, content area, or curricular topic! Drama Grades PreK-1 Available Online! STORY CAN THEATRE Students are mesmerized as they observe a story brought to life with miniatures and toys. The students then dramatize scenes from the story. The workshop stresses oral language and emergent literacy skills. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! BOOKS ALIVE Books come to life as students explore an age-appropriate children's book or folktale in this literature-based creative drama experience designed to promote literacy skills, comprehension, and oral language skills. Note: Books Alive workshops can be developed to connect with almost any theme or curriculum area, with advance notice and planning time. Please contact us for more information! Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! BOOKS + MATH = DRAMA Students learn fundamental math skills through this literature-based creative drama workshop. With advance notice, workshops can be designed to meet a specific math indicator or benchmark. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DRAMA BY DESIGN: CURRICULUM-BASED DRAMA WORKSHOPS Let us design a workshop to fit your theme, content area, or curricular topic! Early Childhood Elementary School Middle & High School Students < Back to InterAct in Schools

Donate to InterAct Story Theatre Arts are for everyone ... and everyone learns through the arts! Every year InterAct is able to bring quality arts programs and arts-based learning experiences to more and more children, youth, and families, thanks to the generosity of donors just like you! With your one-time or recurring donation, you not only get the satisfaction of knowing you put a smile on a child's face and helped empower learning through the arts, you may also qualify for a tax deduction! InterAct Story Theatre Education Association, Inc. is a Section 501(c)3 nonprofit and your contribution may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes ​ We hope you'll consider supporting our work by making a donation to InterAct Story Theatre. You can make a one-time donation or recurring gift by credit card through the webform on this page. If you're interested in making a donation by check or making an in-kind donation of goods or pro-bono services, please contact us ! Every little bit helps! We will put your donation to work right away bringing fantastic arts and education programs to children, families, educators and community members throughout our area. Thank you! Make-a-Donation-Top-Page Thank you to our Funders, Donors and Supporters! InterAct Story Theatre Education Association’s arts-in-education programming is made possible due to the generous support of our funders, donors, supporters, and volunteers. Thank you so much to these caring communitarians, and to those who choose to support our work anonymously. You help us bring our vision to life, and make sure arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts! Visionaries Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County Citrix Podio Greater Washington Community Foundation & The Arts Forward Fund Adriana Hernandez Ali Oliver-Krueger Peter Oliver-Krueger Maryland Humanities Maryland State Arts Council Suzanne Milton (in honor of Anabel Milton and the teaching artists who keep InterAct going!) Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Nora Roberts Foundation Matthew Williams Champions The Biosophical Institute John Carlock (in honor of Anabel Milton) Shoshana, Izi and Eric Colchamiro Mirza Donegan Karen Donelan (in honor of the Milton Family) Blair Eig Julie Fitzgerald Cynthia Hallberlin Rozann Hassell The Henry D. Kahn and the Laura Primakoff Charitable Fund (in honor of Anabel Milton) Adriana P. Hernandez Craig & Eileen Hollander ​ John Jeffries Lenore Blank Kelner Jerry Kickenson The Milton Family (in memory of Jeff Hassell) Kathy and Randy Pherson (“Ali, you Rock!”) Maureen Roult Emily Townsend Rick Westerkamp The Westerkamp Family Adam Wise Steven Wolf Denise Young Advocates Mary Beth Bauernschub Valerie Baugh-Schlossberg Nora Benitez Eowyn Ellison Nancy C. Grant (in honor of Suzanne Milton) Terri Grant Susan Hutner Catherine Huntress-Reeve Vickey Kirkpatrick Marianna Martindale Laura Marvel Anabel Milton Sheri Moreen Mia Bell Porter Matthew Poti Nell Quinn-Gibney Hydeliza Revilla Maureen Roult Danielle Sultan Charles Vilade Kiersten Whitehead (in memory of Susan H. Drumm) Jenny Windstrup (in honor of Emily Townsend, "because she's a rockstar") Kent Woods Donate If you would like to support our mission by making a donation, you can make a one-time donation or recurring gift by credit card through the webform at the top of this page . InterAct Story Theatre Education Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your financial contribution is deductible to the fullest extent permissible by law. Thank you!

Arts Education & Arts Integration: Artist-in-Residence Programs Artist-in-Residence programs, or residencies, combine a series of workshops and a performance to create an in-depth arts-based learning experience for students and teachers. ​ As arts integration specialists, InterAct Story Theatre conducts many residencies each school year, connecting the arts with learning objectives in a variety of subjects in preK-12. The following pages list just a few sample residencies that we have conducted in the past. A number of these residencies were designed or adapted especially to suit the needs of the partner school. REQUEST MORE INFO Artist-in-Residence programs for students of all ages and their teachers Artist-in-Residence programs, or residencies, combine a series of workshops and a performance to create an in-depth arts-based learning experience for students and teachers ​ As arts integration specialists, InterAct Story Theatre conducts many residencies each school year, connecting the arts with learning objectives in a variety of subjects in preK-12. The following pages list just a few sample residencies that we have conducted in the past. A number of these residencies were designed or adapted especially to suit the needs of the partner school. Interested in how an InterAct residency can infuse the arts into your learning objectives? Please contact us or request more info ! Sample Residencies Most of the residencies InterAct Story Theatre leads in schools and learning spaces are individually designed or adaptive residencies: We partner with teachers and schools to talk about what your goals are, and then design a residency to meet those needs. Here are just a few of the residencies InterAct has led recently connecting drama, dance, music and creative opera with content curricula. For more information, please contact us or fill out our response form ! Sample Early Childhood Residencies These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs, or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! ​ Available Online! Books Alive! - a creative drama approach to foster language and emerging literacy skills. ​ Available Online! Responsive Playmaking: Creating Curriculum-Based Theatre in the Classroom - In this project-based residency, students explore a curriculum topic, a text or set of texts, a theme, or an event as actors and theatre-makers, and then work together to devise or create an original scene, drama, play, or story inspired by what they’ve learned. All stories, plays, scenes, and dramas created in this residency are submitted for consideration in InterAct Story Theatre’s KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written for kids by kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors in the annual Festival! ​ Available Online! Books + Math = Drama! - students explore selected math concepts through age-appropriate literature and creative drama. Available Online! Penny's Puppets - students build literacy skills and gain hands-on experience with different types of puppetry. Available Online! Creative Arts for Early Childhood - Mix and match among our many early childhood workshops to create a multidisciplinary arts residency for your students ​ Available Online! Sing it! Dance it! Act it! - an exploration of a text through music, dance and drama. Available Online! Dancing Through the Rainforest - exploring the flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest through dance and creative movement. ​ Available Online! OPERAtunities for Reading - a creative opera residency designed for early childhood populations ​ And more! Please contact us or fill out our response form for more details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. Sample Residencies for Elementary School These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs , or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! ​ Available Online! Responsive Playmaking: Creating Curriculum-Based Theatre in the Classroom - In this project-based residency, students explore a curriculum topic, a text or set of texts, a theme, or an event as actors and theatre-makers, and then work together to devise or create an original scene, drama, play, or story inspired by what they’ve learned. All stories, plays, scenes, and dramas created in this residency are submitted for consideration in InterAct Story Theatre’s KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written for kids by kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors in the annual Festival! Available Online! The Play's The Thing - This classic InterAct residency is based on one of our featured assembly programs. Students attend a performance of one of InterAct's featured plays, and then participate in creative drama workshops in which they explore the themes of the play. This residency connects with curriculum standards in Reading Literature, Writing, and Speaking & Listening as well as fine arts standards in Theatre. Available Online! Books Alive! - Students explore text through creative drama, and develop original scenes extending the themes/plot of the text. This residency can be adapted to connect with curriculum standards in Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text, as well as standards in Speaking & Listening, Writing, and Theatre. Available Online! The Folktales Project - Students explore select folkloric traditions, and develop their own folktale incorporating both elements of good story structure and conventions of folklore. Available Online! History Alive! - Students explore historical events through creative drama, in a process that enables students to develop more understanding for the human factor behind key historical events, people, movements and eras. Requires advance notice of topic and planning. Available Online! Reader's Theatre - A creative drama approach in which students develop and perform a readers' theatre script. Available Online! OPERAtunities for Writing - A creative opera residency designed to promote writing skills. Available Online! Playbuilding - An extended residency project in which students devise original performance pieces. Available Online! Creating a Colonial Village - Students examine appropriate text and data sources to explore colonial occupations, and then use acting tools and skills, technical theatre and design ideas, and simple craft materials to transform their classroom into a colonial village. ​ And more! Please contact us or fill out our response form for more details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. Sample Residencies for Middle and High School These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs , or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! ​ Available Online! Exploring Shakespeare's Themes - expanded from the single workshop to offer a more in-depth exploration of a select Shakespearean play. ​ Available Online! The Underground Railroad and the Civil War - Students explore issues surrounding the Underground Railroad and Civil War through the creative drama strategy of tableaux. Available Online! The City Dionysia/Greek and Roman Mythology - Students explore Greek mythology and theatre through creative drama, tableaux, and theatrical design. Available Online! Novel OPERAtunities - students explore key thematic issues of a select novel and create original operatic arias or scenes in this residency designed to foster text-to-self connection and an understanding of character traits and motivations. Available Online! OPERAtunities to Make History - students explore key events and eras of history through creative opera. Available Online! Devising Original Theatre - an extended artist-in-residence program in which a teaching artist works with a group of students to develop and perform a short original piece. ​ And more! Please contact us or request more info for details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. < Back to InterAct in Schools

Staff Workshops & Trainings As experts in arts integration and linking the arts with classroom learning, InterAct Story Theatre provides professional development opportunities for teachers, artists, and child care providers. For information about professional development residencies, intensives and institutes, please click here . If you'd like to know about our 60-minute, 90-minute, 3 hour or full professional development workshops, please scroll down! ​ InterAct Story Theatre is an approved provider of Core of Knowledge training through the Maryland Office of Child Care; if you are a Maryland provider or center interested in hosting a training, please contact us or request more info about which trainings are eligible for Core of Knowledge clock hours. ​ New training workshops are being added. Please check back soon, or contact us or request more info ! REQUEST MORE INFO Professional Development for Teachers, Artists, and Care Providers Books Alive for Little Ones: Building Language and Literacy Skills through Drama and Music Grades preK-1 and early childhood care providers ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger Early Childhood teachers, Head Start teachers, and child care providers are asked not only prepare children for school readiness to provide expert care, but also to implement a wide variety of classroom curricula. In this workshop, participants will explore how imaginative exploration of books and stories through drama and music can help build language and literacy skills, and will learn techniques they can use to lead children in acting out stories in their own words. (OCC 3 curriculum clock hours) Creating Casual Opera in the Classroom: Building Reading Comprehension and Writing Skills through Music & Drama Grades K-5 and 6-8 ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger In this workshop emphasizing character traits and motivations, mood, emotions, and interior monologue (for older students), teachers learn techniques through which they can lead students in examining text, making inferences, and then applying those inferences to create casual classroom operatic scenes. This work is especially strong for Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies, and has been implemented successfully with students from ages 4 and up. Drama Games for the Student Brain Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12 Available Online! With Ali Oliver-Krueger In this training, participants learn simple yet engaging strategies that can be implemented in the classroom and adapted or expanded to address a plethora of goals and objectives. Particular emphasis is placed on articulating the rationale for drama gaming in the classroom and on providing participants with concrete strategies they can use right away to promote learning and help develop a wide range of skills. (OCC 3 curriculum clock hours) Picture This: Creating Effective Classroom Tableaux Grades 4 & up ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger A hallmark among strong readers is the ability to visualize and develop mental images of the actions and events described in texts. The creative drama strategy of tableaux fosters visualization skills and encourages students to develop and present strong sensory images, thereby strengthening understanding of text and allowing students to gain a deeper connection to the text. This strategy can be adapted to a variety of content areas, and is especially valuable in working with informational text. This workshop is also available as part of a professional development arts coaching residency. Reader's Theatre for Young Readers: A Creative Drama Approach Grades PreK-2 Available Online! With Ali Oliver-Krueger Readers Theatre offers students opportunities to interact with text and build oral fluency. It provides repeated reading practice, which is a key factor in building fluency. Repeated reading practice also improves students’ and enthusiasm for reading and confidence in themselves as good readers. But how to implement Readers' Theatre with young readers whose skills are just developing? In this training, Ms. Oliver-Krueger leads participants through a creative drama-based process in which teachers develop and perform engaging readers' theatre scripts with their students. In this workshop, teachers discover how to create and host an imaginary talk show, "Books Alive!", in their classrooms. Students portray characters from a book and answer questions in role. The questions encourage the students to make predictions, draw inferences and examine the theme of the text. An amazingly fun way to achieve and assess reading comprehension! Jump Start Creative Writing Through Creative Drama Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12, adult education Available Online! With Ali Oliver-Krueger Sometimes the hardest part of writing is just getting started! In this professional development workshop led by InterAct Story Theatre’s Executive & Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger, participants learn by playing and creating stories on the spot, exploring strategies that spark creativity and address prewriting skills, oral composition and discourse, speaking and listening skills. We'll engage in warm-up activities for getting brains moving quickly and flexibly, and strategies for facilitating brainstorming and collaborative composition, and tips for dramatizing stories as a way to review and identify points of revision. These include concrete, easy-to-apply "bite sized strategies" that teachers can apply quickly in a few minutes, expand into full arts-integrated lessons and units, or even use to springboard students into creative projects and deeper exploration of content. Music Detectives: Practicing Inferencing Skills through Music and Active Listening Grades K-5 and 6-8 ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger The ability to look beyond what is explicitly stated in order to make inferences is one of the key characteristics of strong readers, and is consistently one of the biggest challenges faced by struggling and reluctant readers today. This powerful strategy combines active listening, movement, and music to give students valuable practice in making inferences. Participants will learn the process of a Music Detectives lesson: learning and applying basic elements of music to examine musical samples, searching for clues, reading between the lines to make inferences, and then citing specific evidence from the "text" to support their theories. By giving students a chance to practice making inferences away from written text, we help students gain skills in predicting, drawing conclusions, and hazarding educated guesses, so that they can bring those skills to written text with greater confidence. Reading Between the Lines: Building Inferencing Skills through Music and Drama Grades K-5 and 6-8 ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger This workshop combines the strategies of Music Detectives and Creating Casual Opera, offering teachers a comprehensive approach to building reading comprehension and writing skills through drama. Teachers learn techniques to prompt inferences through active listening, acting, and simple composition. These strategies can be learned and applied by non-musicians and music enthusiasts alike! Black Belt Tableaux: Advanced Tableaux Skills for Assessment and the Common Core Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger Tableaux and Living Statues are among the first creative drama strategies that many teachers learn for integrating drama with classroom curriculum. But are you and your students getting the most you can out of this powerful and endlessly adaptable strategy?Designed primarily for teachers who have had some exposure to Tableaux, Living Statues, and/or Artful Thinking routines, this workshop explores advanced adaptations and extensions such as Conflict Webs and Statues, Internal/External Conflict, The Human Video Feed, Tableaux games, and effective uses of Tableaux as Assessment. In the half-day and full day workshops, teachers also have an opportunity to discuss and workshop ongoing work with this strategy, to brainstorm with Ms. Oliver-Krueger and their peers for ways to fine-tune and freshen up existing plans. This workshop is also available as part of a professional development arts coaching residency. A Creative Drama Approach to Reader's Theatre Grades K-8 Available Online! With Ali Oliver-Krueger This workshop introduces simple creative-drama based techniques through which teachers can lead students in developing, planning and performing Readers' Theatre presentations rooted in literary text or content curricula. Readers' Theatre offers students opportunities to interact with text and build oral fluency. It provides repeated reading practice, which is a key factor in building fluency. Repeated reading practice also improves students’ and enthusiasm for reading and confidence in themselves as good readers. The process of developing and performing original Readers' Theatre scripts also gives students a fun, creative way to not only build their understanding of a text or topic but also demonstrate their understanding to others. Informational OPERAtunities: Exploring Informational Text through Music and Drama ​ ​ With Ali Oliver-Krueger Informational text can sometimes feel dry, and motivating students to dive in can seem like a daunting task. How can we inspire students to embrace informational text with the curiosity and zeal of artists? Many of the best composers, playwrights and performers dive into informational text and research to create artistic work by reading between the lines to imagine the actions, emotions, motivations and conversations. In this workshop, teachers learn techniques through which they can lead students in approaching informational texts like artists: examining sources, building knowledge, making inferences, and then applying those inferences to create casual classroom operatic scenes that breathe life into the topic through music and drama. A portion of the workshop is dedicated to brainstorming and planning practical applications for the classroom; teachers are encouraged to bring an example of informational text or curriculum planning materials they might like to explore with their students. < Back to InterAct in Schools

Featured Plays for School Audiences InterAct Story Theatre is proud to offer a variety of performances tailored to children and young adults of all ages. Please scroll down to check out our featured plays. Also, visit our storytelling and story theatre programs ! ​ ​ For more information, please request more info or contact us ! Our Spring 2024 Production: Availability of productions are subject to change The Monsters of Seahorse Island World Premiere of a Brand New Play by InterAct Story Theatre! Grades K–5 The people of Seahorse Island and the people of the Kingdom under the ocean have been at odds for longer than anyone can remember, but why? And what happens when worlds collide? This thoughtful and funny play includes lots of audie nce participation. 50 minutes with audience interaction, K-5 audiences ​​Contact us to schedule your performance today! . ​ ADD A TALKBACK SESSION AFTER THE SHOW! One of the best ways to fully appreciate a play is to talk with the actors who bring the play to life. Adding a Talkback session with the actors after a performance gives your students a wonderful opportunity to ask questions, explore the themes and lessons of the play, and learn more about the actor's craft. As part of the talkback, the actors will also demonstrate a little of what happens "behind the scenes", showing students how the set works and how the actors manage the split-second costume and character changes our plays require. An entertaining and educational arts experience! A typical Talkback is approximately 20 minutes in length. ADD A FOLLOW-UP CLASSROOM WORKSHOP! The fun and learning continues with a follow-up classroom workshop. After a performance, students participate in an engaging creative drama workshop with an actor from the play. Students explore the characters and themes of the play, and work together to compose and act out their own original scene extending the story of the play. This exciting workshop connects with curriculum content standards in English/Language Arts and Theatre. ​ Contact us to schedule your program today! Featured Plays Stories on Stage World Music Family Programs < Back to InterAct in Schools

Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 1: October, 2015 through February, 2016 The Hero of Everything October 2015 Kids and adults become superheroes for a day in this play about the importance of teamwork and the problems of trying to be The Captain of EVERYTHING. Diane Macklin November 2015 Have a hoppin’ good time with Master Storyteller Diane Macklin, sharing legendary tales of America’s folk heroes through this interactive, storytelling program for all ages. Drumming Through Time and Across Cultures December 2015 Join award-winning composer and percussionist Tom Teasley on a unique musical journey around the world, following the Silk Road from Italy to China and the Sugar Trade Route from Africa to the Americas in one unforgettable performance! Story Tapestries January 2016 Get ready to dance, sing, wiggle and giggle with the Giggling Wiggling Bookworm, Arianna Ross. Eat your fill of stories as the bookworm in you finds a new, exciting story to share. One Gold Coin - Una moneda de oro February 2016 An interactive, bilingual play for kids and families inspired by a Latin American story about the power of kindness and giving. One Gold Coin — Una moneda de oro tells the story of a great healer who comes to a village in El Salvador with a magical gold coin. Audience members "get into the act" right from their seats, singing, acting, and becoming the villagers of Regalo who see the coin pass through many hands as it works its magic. Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 3 Season 2 Season 10 To keep up on the latest news about InterAct’s Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 10 and get reminders about our next program dates, join our mailing list . We also invite you to check out our past seasons by clicking on any of the season buttons! < Back to Community Page Season 7 Season 8 Season 1 Season 9

Scroll Down Community InterActions Welcome to Community InterActions, a four-part podcast series exploring the impact of Covid-19 on the Wheaton area. Our Wheaton community is full of stories to tell, and we're telling just a few of them in this series. Community InterActions collects some of those stories and shares them through the words and voices of the people who are living them. This limited audio series launched in 2021 takes a look at who we are in Wheaton, and focuses on some specific people in Wheaton who want to share their stories about the impact of the pandemic on their lives and livelihoods. To access our podcast episodes, click on an episode square below or click on this link . For more information about any of our guests and contributors, click on the images in the virtual gallery below! ​ We'd love to hear what you thought of our podcasts. Please fill-out this short survey to let us know! This project was made possible by a grant from Maryland Humanities, with funding received from the Maryland Historical Trust in the Maryland Department of Planning. Maryland Humanities’ Grants Program is also supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and private funders. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Maryland Humanities, Maryland Historical Trust, Maryland Department of Planning, or National Endowment for the Humanities.

Online Workshop Submission for MSAC review: Mr. Brown Can Moo! (for PREK SPED/PEP) Thank you for reviewing this online performance for addition to InterAct Story Theatre’s AiE Roster listing! InterAct Story Theatre has visiting performances for a wide range of educational and family audiences. About this workshop The first version of this workshop was originally designed for an summer school class with MCPS PEP preschool education program, for students age 4; the majority of students were largely nonverbal but who were engaged by song, simple puppets, and animals. This program was loosely inspired by the book “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” While a video was taken of the workshop in the classroom as it occurred, only one family came to school on that day…we had a wonderful, fun session, but so that you can see workshop design more clearly, we have recreated the workshop with a mock audience. ​ A technical rider outlining the program coordination and tech rehearsal process is uploaded here; in addition to this tech packet, partner organizations also receive an electronic parent-educator resource/study guide and a link to a feedback form. Our website is currently being updated so this information will be easily accessible online. CLICK HERE FOR TECHNICAL RIDER CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO RECREATION WITH MOCK AUDIENCE CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF THE ONE CHILD WHO CAME TO SCHOOL ON WORKSHOP DAY

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL These are just a sampling of the many arts-integrated workshops we do each year. All of these workshops can be expanded into a 2-, 3- or 4-day classroom residency in which the students explore the content area in depth through the arts. This allows us to provide a sequentially structured arts learning experience so we can really maximize student learning and create a deeper, more meaningful arts experience. REQUEST MORE INFO Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops We are constantly designing new workshops! In fact, most of the workshops you see here were originally designed because someone asked us, "Hey, InterAct...can you do a workshop on ___________ to address __________ objective?" WE LOVE THIS. It's really our favorite thing to do. The answer is almost always, "Sure. Let's put our heads together and see what we can create!" ​ So, if you would like an arts integration experience for your students that you don't see here, please contact us or request more info so we can design something for you! Drama Grades PreK-5 Available Online! BOOKS ALIVE Books come to life as students explore age-appropriate text from children's literature or folklore through creative drama, and dramatize the text in their own words. Books Alive workshops can be designed to fit a variety of themes, topics, world cultures or curricular goals. Please contact us with your questions and ideas! Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades K-5 Available Online! RESPONSIVE PLAYMAKING & PLAYBUILDING Through a variety of creative drama and short-form devising techniques, participants investigate a text, theme or curriculum topic as artists, and then collaborate in devising a short story, drama, or theatre piece in the classroom (or virtual classroom!). This is a great way to foster collaboration, social emotional skills and 21st century skills through theatre while building content knowledge. Responsive Playmaking can also be booked as a residency with multiple sessions with or without a sharing or informal performance. All stories are submitted for InterAct’s annual KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written by kids for kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors at our festival in May!. The workshops are modified for varying grade levels. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 4-5 Available Online! A VISIT TO A COLONIAL VILLAGE The classroom is transformed into a colonial village as students take on their roles as colonists, each with a colonial occupation. Students learn and share information in-role about their occupations and display their wares in this fun and informative creative drama experience. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 60-minute session. Grades 4-8 Available Online! GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY Students explore mythology, the gods of Olympus, and the some of the cultural influences behind Greek and Roman mythology. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 60-minute session. Grades 3-6 Available Online! TALL TALES: STORIES OF WESTWARD EXPANSION Tall Tales are exaggerated stories about the taming of America's West. Students dramatize key moments of a Tall Tale and explore its relationship to our nation’s growth. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. ​ ​ DRAMA GAMES FOR THE SCIENTIFIC BRAIN Students build content knowledge and vocabulary through experimentation and drama gaming. The workshops are designed to meet specific benchmarks and indicators. Please contact us so we can design a workshop for you! Recent workshops have dealt with such topics as Motion and Force; Tectonic Plates and Earthquakes; The Digestive System; Atoms and Elements. Music & Creative Opera Grades 2-6 ​ OPERABUILDING Students learn the basic elements of opera and explore how opera uses music and drama to tell a story. InterAct's General Director Ali Oliver leads students through this lyrical adventure. Maximum 25 students (1 class) per 60-minute session. Note: This innovative and exciting workshop can be expanded into OPERAtunities for Writing, a 3-5 day residency linking creative opera with Writing and Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text. Grades 3-8 ​ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF WEST AFRICA Students are introduced to the instruments and sounds of West African music. Students play instruments and learn chants and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 3-8 ​ DRUM CIRCLE Students are given a hands-on multicultural experience by teaching them the basics of African palm drumming. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Dance Grades 2-6 ​ OPERABUILDING Students learn the basic elements of opera and explore how opera uses music and drama to tell a story. InterAct's General Director Ali Oliver leads students through this lyrical adventure. Maximum 25 students (1 class) per 60-minute session. Note: This innovative and exciting workshop can be expanded into OPERAtunities for Writing, a 3-5 day residency linking creative opera with Writing and Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text. Grades 3-8 ​ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF WEST AFRICA Students are introduced to the instruments and sounds of West African music. Students play instruments and learn chants and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 3-8 ​ DRUM CIRCLE Students are given a hands-on multicultural experience by teaching them the basics of African palm drumming. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Early Childhood Elementary School Middle & High School Students < Back to InterAct in Schools

About these residency sessions/videos: This virtual residency is a recreation of an in-person residency conducted with kindergarten students in Spring 2020. The residency was designed to integrate creative drama (story dramatization and responsive playmaking) with Math (Counting & Cardinality; Operations), Speaking & Listening, and Reading Literature. Like our other programs, our residency design process applies principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and best practices in working with students who are ELL/ESOL to create programming that is flexible and allows students to participate meaningfully in the least restrictive, most supportive environment possible. ​ The original residency was 4 30-minute sessions long; virtual sessions were adapted and piloted with a planned structure of six 15- to 20-minute sessions in mind, based on the needs and scheduling constraints shared by our school partners. For the purpose of these review videos, each video fuses together what would be two 15-20 minute sessions into one 30-minute session, so reviewers can see the entire story or story-building process if they so choose. ​ The six sessions of this residency are planned as follows: ​ Session 1: What is acting? Warm-up; use voice, body, imagination to become a character in today's story; share first 1/2 of story; reflect, closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 2: Warm up; assess recall of the first half of the story, and reinforce recall as needed; share 2nd half of story; sequence the main events of the story; reflect; closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 3: Warm-up, introduce acting tools and skills chart (Imagination, Voice, Body, Imagination, Cooperation, Concentration), review story as actors; dramatize story using Group Role Drama or Simultaneous Drama as appropriate to needs, progress and skills of students; reflect, closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 4 and Session 5: After warming up and reviewing acting tools and skills, the teaching artist leads students in students working together to create a new, original story based on the story we learned and acted out in sessions 1 - 3. In this residency, students create a sequel for "Rooster's Off to See the World", in which Rooster goes on a trip to a new setting. We create the first half of the story in session 4, the second half in session 5. Sessions close with reflection, closing ritual and transition. Session 6: Following the same basic procedure as Session 3, students dramatize the sequel they created. The residency closes with final reflection, ritual closing, and transition. Online Residency Submission for MSAC review: Rooster’s Off to See the World (K-2) Thank you for reviewing this online performance for addition to InterAct Story Theatre’s AiE Roster listing! InterAct Story Theatre has visiting performances for a wide range of educational and family audiences. This program was designed for students in grades PreK-1, some of whom are with a teacher in a classroom, and some of whom are at home with a family member. Advance Planning and Technical Preparation A Technical Rider outlining the program coordination and tech rehearsal process is uploaded below. In addition to this tech packet, partner organizations also receive access to asynchronous learning materials on InterAct’s web portal and/or Google Classroom for the workshop/residency, and links to feedback forms. CLICK HERE FOR TECHNICAL RIDER CLICK HERE TO WATCH "DAY 1-2" VIDEO: INTRODUCING THE STORY/DRAMA + MATH! CLICK HERE TO WATCH "DAY 4-5" VIDEO: CREATING A SEQUEL

Out of School Time Programs Many of our residency programs are available not only during the school day, but after school as well. InterAct artists conduct arts-based workshops for child care providers and extended learning programs throughout our Maryland, Virignia, and Washington, DC. Please contact us for more information! ​ We also frequently design workshops by request to fit the theme, content area, or skillsets being taught at an event. If you'd like us to design a unique experience for your family learning event, please contact us or request more info ! REQUEST MORE INFO Sample Programs Grades PREK-K, GRADES 1-2, GRADES 3-5 Available Online! Books Alive Students have fun diving into an array of children’s books and folk tales—acting, moving, dancing, singing, and playing their way through books! Students build language and literacy skills as they have fun learning to use their acting tools and skills and sharing stories. Grades 6-8 Available Online! Improv for Actors In this exciting and fun-filled residency, one or more InterAct teaching artists lead students in a variety of increasingly challenging improvisation and activities over the course of the session. The program can include an optional culminating event showcasing original scenes developing from our improvisational work. Students explore character and scene work as they engage in a program designed to promote concentration, collaboration and teamwork, cooperative learning, critical thinking and creative problem solving. GRADES 3-5, GRADES 6-8 Available Online! Devising and Playbuilding After School In this drama-based writing residency, students use creative drama techniques and group writing strategies to write and perform original stories and scenes. In doing so, students learn and apply basic acting tools and elements of story structure as they practice collaboration and appropriate peer review. This process builds prewriting skills, oral language and presentation skills, problem solving skills, and teamwork. Themes can be drawn a variety of character education topics or curriculum content. GRADES PREK-K, GRADES 3-5, GRADES 7-8 ​ Creative OPERAtunities Students learn how opera combines music and drama to tell stories by transforming stories and events into original musical scenes of their own! By using acting tools and skills along with the basic elements of music, students create their own original operas. Students explore a preselected topic, story, or book and transform their ideas into musical scenes, from solos to ensemble songs for the whole group. See how much fun storytelling with music can be! < Back to InterAct in Schools