Virtual ArtSmart

 

In addition to in-person events at the Smith Opera House, we are excited to provide virtual ArtSmart performing arts experiences to your students during the 2023-2024 school year. 

We hope you agree that performing arts experiences are a great way to engage students and to deepen classroom learning. All of our offerings tie directly to New York State learning standards.

The Smith thanks Lyons National Bank, the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation and Spring Hill Fund for Youth for their support of the ArtSmart program.

 

“This program was absolutely perfect for our WWII unit.  We showed the play on Monday, which was Pearl Harbor’s anniversary.  It was truly phenomenal. ”

  • Stacey Anderson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School, on Living VoicesWithin the Silence’ (Dec 2020)

Virtual ArtSmart Offerings

If you can’t travel to the Smith Opera House this year, let ArtSmart come to you! We offer:

  • experiences at every grade level
  • both pre-recorded and live streamed performances to give you more scheduling flexibility
  • workshops, guided pre-show and post-show activities, and/or talkbacks with the artists.
  • most programs may be shared among classrooms, schools, and even school districts

Here are the experiences that will be available in the virtual ArtSmart format during the 2022-2023 school year:

Grades Pre K-3

Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia presents Rainbow Fish with black light puppetsTHE MERMAID THEATRE OF NOVA SCOTIA

The company that tells classic stories (The Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny) with inventive puppetry announces a “digital residency” featuring excerpts from their many shows, along with demonstrations. Young children will learn how puppets are able to show emotion and how to express emotions using their hands as puppets.

 

David Gonzales performs on stageDAVID GONZALEZ 

Critically acclaimed and award-winning artist David Gonzalez combines live music with compelling drama and multimedia. His productions include fairy tales, epic myths and fables, and community voices. Various musical arrangements and residency options available.

David Gonzalez has over Six Titles in Rep, including The Boy Who Could Sing Pictures, Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Bride, Aesop Bops!, Maddog & Me: Bullying and the Power of Kindness, and Cuentos: Tales from the Latino World.

Recordings of excerpts of all titles are available: http://www.holdenarts.org/david-gonzalez

Illustration of a man from the Middle Ages pointing at a giant.The Brave Little Tailor

This delightful tale from the Brothers Grimm is about a feisty little tailor who kills seven flies in one blow. Impressed with his own accomplishment, he creates a sash with the words “Seven in One Blow” and, wearing it, sets off to make his fortune. But everyone he meets assumes that he has killed seven knights, not seven flies. Faced with a series of challenges, the tailor rises to meet each one. Using his pluck, courage and intelligence he defeats two evil giants, conquers a rampaging rhinoceros, saves the kingdom from a ferocious dragon, and wins the hand of a Princess too!

With expressive masks, life-size puppets, original music and imaginative scenic effects, Enchantment brings this beloved story to life in its uniquely magical way!

Illustration of a fisherman standing on an embankment with his fishing pole in his handThe Fisherman and the Flounder

In Enchantment’s telling of this classic Grimm fairy tale, a fisherman and his family live in a tiny hut by the sea. One day the fisherman catches a golden flounder who tells him that he’s really an enchanted prince. The flounder begs to be set free and promises to give the fisherman whatever he wishes. The fisherman is amazed and releases the flounder without making a wish. When he tells his wife the story, she asks her husband to return to the flounder and ask for a cottage to replace their tiny hut. The flounder does her bidding and the family is delighted with their new home.

Soon the wife tires of the cottage and asks for a castle. As the story continues her wishes become more and more grandiose as she demands to be king and then emperor. When she finally wishes to be lord of the universe, the fisherman finds a way to restore his family to their true happiness and transform the magic flounder as well.

With expressive masks, life-size puppets, original music, and imaginative scenic effects, Enchantment brings this beloved tale to life in its uniquely magical way!

Purple background features illustration of two men dressed as burglars and running from a stacked tower of farm animalsThe Bremen Town Musicians

A kindly old donkey runs away from the farmer who wants to trade him in. A lazy cat is kicked out of her home because she won’t catch mice. A rooster flies away from the farm where he’s about to be cooked for dinner. When these three down-and-out animals meet on the road, they decide to band together and become musicians. As they make their way to the town of Bremen, they encounter an old lady, her dog and two robbers. Using ingenuity, courage and their unique talents, they scare off the robbers and find a loving family and a happy home. Based on the classic Grimm’s fairy tale, this delightful story about discovering one’s purpose and creating community is as fresh and meaningful today as it was 200 hundred years ago.

A young girl wearing a yellow dress poses in a bayou as a bird flies near her.The Beast in the Bayou

Set in Louisiana with the flavor of an American folk tale, our story transports audiences to a magical world of herons, turtles, alligators and a mysterious Beast. In a little town at the edge of the bayou live a loving father and his two daughters, Grace Elizabeth and Beauty Jane. Beauty loves to explore the swamps and forest but after she has an accident there, she refuses to return. When her father’s livelihood is threatened by the wealthiest man in town, he travels into the forest and accidentally encounters the Beast. To save her father Beauty returns to the bayou and discovers the truth about the Beast. Realizing her true purpose, she bravely protects the creatures that call the bayou home as she stands up to those who want to destroy it.

Grades 2-5

Text reads: The Magic of Bill Blagg Live! Blagg is photographed on stage partaking in an illusionTHE MAGIC SCIENCE LAB WITH BILL BLAGG

In Making Magic with the Scientific Method students join Bill Blagg inside The Magic Science Lab where they will explore how magicians use science to create the impossible! In this Arts Engagement, students will learn the “secret” 5 step process (The Scientific Method) magicians use to develop the illusions they perform. Together with Bill, they will use the “secret” 5 steps to make a person magically float mid-air, and, as a bonus, Bill teaches a science-based magic trick students can do at home or in class – how to make a pencil float in the palm of their hand.

Doktor Kaboom performs on stage with an apparatus and wearing dark gogglesDOKTOR KABOOM

In It’s Just Rocket ScienceTM Doktor Kaboom, referred to as “part Mr. Wizard and part Mr. Rogers,” uses the excitement of rocketry to present Newton’s Laws of Motion. Each of Newton’s 3 laws are clearly explained, comically explored in multiple over-the-top demonstrations, and followed by a DIY project that students can do as a class, in groups, or individually. 3Laws, 3 lessons, 3 projects! Doktor Kaboom intersperses the lessons with discussions on safety and personal empowerment to bring home the point that “science is for everyone, not just the person who wins the science fair every year.” This Arts Engagement ties directly to new science standards, includes printable materials for worksheets, discussions, and multiple student demos for each section. This is the perfect program for introducing or reviewing the physics of motion.

 

Grades 4-7

Percussionist Kattam holds one of his instruments on stageKATTAM AND HIS TAM-TAMS

Join percussionist Kattam Laraki-Côté on a West African adventure in Rhythms of West Africa! Discover the culture of West Africa through drumming, singing, and dancing. Experience the language and rhythms of the Krin, Djembe, and Gongoma and learn how these instruments shaped and express regional culture. Are your students ready for the challenges Kattam will share?

 

Grades 6-12

black and white Living Voices logoLIVING VOICES

These interactive, single person historical programs blend video, audio and personal discussion to illuminate some of the most important stories of our shared global history. These pre-recorded programs offer unlimited access for one week so classes can view the program as many times as they need to. There is also an opportunity for a live Q&A session with the performer for an additional cost.  

“She made it look so realistic.” “This really showed what Japanese Americans went through.” “The details provided a deeper understanding.” – Students of Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School on Within the Silence

  1. Through the Eyes of a Friend: Like Anne Frank, Sarah is a young Jewish girl in Amsterdam when Hitler comes to power in the 1930s, whose experiences under Nazi rule, in hiding and through the concentration camps parallel Anne’s story. Through the Eyes of a Friend remains faithful to Anne Frank’s life and her world.  https://youtu.be/qESEk4cAMMc
  2. The New American: In the early 1900s, Bridget leaves the turmoil and poverty of Ireland for the promise of work and better opportunity in the United States, where she faces the challenges and discrimination of immigrant life on the road to citizenship.  https://youtu.be/jNEXspXzfYA
  3. The Right to Dream: In the 1960s, Raymond and Ruby risk their lives to fight racism and help lead African Americans to equality and the right to vote in the South through their involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.  https://youtu.be/QRpJOEd4DOc
  4. La Causa: In the 1960’s, Marta and her family step out of the fields to join thousands of other migrant farm workers in a new nonviolent protest movement to improve their own lives by fighting for civil rights and against racism and indecent working conditions. https://youtu.be/DBVrsD2tVfc
  5. Within the Silence: In 1941, Emiko is an ordinary American teenager whose life is changed forever when racism and xenophobia explode against her community after Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, forcing her and every member of her family to find a way to prove their loyalty to a country that sees them as “the face of the enemy.” https://youtu.be/ZTuTTDea-cg
  6. Hear My Voice: In the early 1900s, Jessie follows in the footsteps of decades of women before her to speak up and take action in demand of women’s right to vote, despite the opposition of her prominent political family. https://youtu.be/XTOztKesVmM
  7. Journey from the Dust: After their farm and livelihood are destroyed, Mark must separate from his family and strike out alone, riding the rails from Oklahoma to California to Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam in search of the chance for a fresh start. https://youtu.be/Vazr-CU-JpM
  8. Northwest Passages: After emigrating from Sweden with her family, Julia defies traditional gender roles and conventions by becoming a nurse, traveling throughout Washington to serve her broad new American community during the 1918 flu pandemic. https://youtu.be/IU62X__ZsR0
  9. Our Revolution: In 1775, Peter and his father enlist in the Concord patriot militia during the colonial rebellion. While his brother joins the Loyalists serving the British, Peter chooses to fight for freedom for himself and his land, participating in the birth of a new country and a new people: the first generation of African Americans. https://youtu.be/AldfpPAuZmY
  10. Native Vision: After leaving home on the Navajo reservation to pursue a white American education, Alice becomes a Navy nurse while her cousin enlists in the Marines as a Code Talker during World War II, both striving to find a balance between their Navajo and Western traditions. https://youtu.be/GF-WiETQMMM
  11. Island of Hope: In the early 1900s, Leah and her family escape persecution as Jews in Russia and sail to a new life in the new world. But when Leah alone is detained at Ellis Island, she confronts her biggest obstacle yet: what if she is sent back? https://youtu.be/RH75vKMzRLc
  12. Klondike: The Last Adventure: When the discovery of Yukon gold makes the news in 1897, Bess leaves her past behind to join thousands of other miners in the stampede north, braving a dangerous journey into unknown territory in the hopes of a new and better life.  Unit.https://youtu.be/zEPe15t8eXY

Please get in touch to discuss the virtual ArtSmart possibilities for your classroom, school, or school district. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Smith thanks Lyons National Bank, the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation, and Spring Hill Fund for Youth for their support of the ArtSmart program.

Lyons National Bank logo