On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, twenty-seven Orange County school teachers and representatives joined together for a Kennedy Center Partners in Education Teaching Workshop at the Lutcher Theater. Orange County Teachers spent the day working with Focus 5 teaching artist, Jennifer Unger on integrating the arts into lesson plans of other subjects.
This workshop taught the foundational elements of acting such as concentration, cooperation, and collaboration to create a structured process, which can become the basis for effective classroom management. The engaging, step-by-step approach empowers students to take ownership of and be responsible for their own behavior. Teachers were taught how to help students build the skills necessary to establish a sense of self-control, accountability, and team-building in the classroom.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018, Mrs. Unger trekked the construction zone of Mauricville Middle School to work with students to demonstrate the practices taught at the workshop in a real classroom setting. There was nothing but positive feedback from students and teachers alike regarding the methods brought to the district through the Kennedy Center Workshop.
Jennifer Unger is a professional teaching artist and theatre director. She lives in Texarkana, TX and is the Education Director for the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council. As a director, Jennifer has directed and written productions both for adult and young audiences. She also serves as adjunct faculty for graduate and undergraduate classes at Texas A&M University-Texarkana and is an adjudicator for UIL One Act plays. She earned a Master of Arts in Theatre from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Texas A&M University. With positions at The Shelton School (a private school for learning different children in Dallas, Texas), Capers for Kids, and the Dallas Theatre Center, Ms. Unger has instructed all ages in the art of drama and directing theatre productions. With over 20 years of experience in the field of arts education and arts integration, Jennifer brings knowledge of curriculum, diverse student populations and the arts together in an engaging and meaningful way.
The Lutcher Theater and Little Cypress-Mauriceville are one of only four Kennedy Center Partners in Education partnerships in the state of Texas and have been collaborating for this mission since 2003. The Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is designed to assist arts organizations throughout the nation to develop or expand educational partnerships with their local school systems. The primary purpose of these partnerships is to provide professional learning in the arts for teachers.
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