Janita was born and raised in the Bronx. This past year, her last at University Heights High School, she began participating in Early Stages' Live Theater Program. Trips to the theater were coordinated by her college advisor, Lillian Martinez, and Janita was both excited and skeptical when she first decided to participate. 

She thought Broadway shows would be old-fashioned and boring, with theaters full of uptight wealthy people, but Janita decided to take a chance- and she was not disappointed. She fell in love with the world of theater and now considers herself a life-long fan. "I love theater, and I plan on watching many plays. I know it will allow me to look at life differently."

The daring and curiosity she practiced at the theater will come in handy this fall when she heads off to SUNY Geneseo. She is the first in her family to go to college and plans to study liberal arts and minor in dance. The environment at Geneseo will be very different from anything Janita has experienced thus far, "It's full of cows!" But she feels ready to meet the challenge head on, "I walk into every situation in life the same way I first walked into a theater. Prepared, eyes wide opened, and with a smile on my face. I love life and I have come to understand that my life is something like a play in a theater. It's special in its own way and I can make my own story."

Early Stages students practice movement and teamwork.

This week is the UNESCO Second Annual World Conference on Arts Education. Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein discussed their upcoming presentation with Psychology Today.  Included in their main points,

"Arts and crafts-and the thinking tools they exercise-belong at the center of education because they can and will ignite the creative imagination vital to those high-level innovations in science, politics, economics, and culture that must lead us into the future."

At Early Stages we firmly believe that the arts foster literacy and teach vital life skills and are thrilled to see these tenets take center stage at this international forum.

It's been a busy week at Early Stages with students headed to theaters on and off Broadway!

New York Choral Society

When the orchestra started playing all their instruments they caught my attention in a second, because it was very amazing how they all were so into their instruments.  You could see it was a really important thing in their lives.  The chorus sounded great, as they began singing, I was amazed.  The way they harmonized sounded as if the group was just one person.  I found it captivating, the way they managed to hold their breaths for such a long time.  It was a great experience and I'm glad that I got to see the New York Choral Society doing what they do best!

Student

White's Lies

The show was called White's Lies, a hilarious sitcom type of show that had me in stitches. The characters were unique, and over the top!  It was like watching a T.V. show come to life. After intermission, the twist at the end of the play was so entirely shocking, it had the whole audience engaged. It reminded me again why I love theater so much, and how the suspension of reality can happen once the lights go down and the show begins. For a moment in time you forget your troubles and become absorbed into somebody else's life. It's great to share a laugh with a room full of strangers. To become united by empathizing to the characters being portrayed. It truly is art imitating life.

Alumna

Hair

Watching the show Hair was so much fun!  I felt like a little piece of history came alive on stage.  I wish that people my age had something that brought them together like the characters in the play.

Student

An Early Stages Volunteer and Student Embrace the "Age of Aquarius" at Hair

As we move towards the end of the school year, I would be remiss if I did not let you know how important Early Stages has been to me and my students. We have been to eight shows so far this year and each show has contributed to my students' social awareness as well as to classroom discussions and their personal interactions.

 My students have started to realize that there is more to life than that which they have already experienced. They have had the chance to  "dress up"  and go out for the evening with their teacher and fellow students and they have learned the rules of being a polite audience.

 They have spent time discussing issues, ranging from alienation to the differences between slapstick and other types of comedy, that I believe, even regular theater-goers don't discuss. 

My students have expanded their horizons and points of view. They spend time during their lunch period discussing shows they've seen, as well as issues that these shows have brought up.

When I was offered Fuerza Bruta tickets I considered long and hard if this would be appropriate for my students. I had seen De la Guarda so I knew what to expect, but I wanted to make sure that this type of performance art would be something from which my students could benefit. There was no need to worry, my students were mesmerized.

After the show, we stood outside the theater and discussed symbolism. My students were able to see more than just the visual and we discussed the show in terms of the violence of modern life as well as in terms of inter-personal relationships.

At one point in the show, a character stood at the top of stairs and, finally, chose to jump. We discussed t he concept of "taking a leap of faith." During a class lesson the next day, these students made the connection between what we were learning and "taking a leap of faith." They had taken something  experienced at the theater and applied it in their everyday lives. I was so very proud.

My students write, what I consider to be, unbelievably aware essays after each show. They never just say that they enjoyed or didn't enjoy a show. They delve into their emotions and their own personal experiences to write essays that have depth. Then they share their essays with their classmates, both those who attended the theater and with those who did not attend.

One of the goals of Early Stages is to develop and nurture the next generation of theater-goers. To this end, you are succeeding, a t least with my students. For example, those who saw Fuerza Bruta  are planning to  go together this summer, on their own, to see it again and they have invited classmates who haven't seen the show to join them.

One of my goals for this program, in addition to the academic enhancement, is to introduce my students to new experiences and to have them transfer these experiences into their writings and into their lives.  To this end, I am so grateful to Early Stages for the opportunities afforded my students. Thank you.

Len Berman, Teacher, Stanley Isaacs GED +

      I walked into Next to Normal unsure of what to expect in terms of how I'd feel and understand the problems addressed in the show. I knew generally what the show was going to be about, but wasn't sure if I would fully appreciate the severity of the issues and how the other characters would be affected, and in turn, how people in real life and families who deal with these issues are affected.

      I was immediately captured by the great music and voices of the cast. I thought the description of the problems and feelings of the characters were expressed best through the music. Music always has some sort of emotion attached to it, and in this case, it only enhanced the emotions of the characters who were singing. I definitely felt the confusion, pain, hope, and sadness of each character during different moments of their lives.

      The small intimate cast kept the feel of a family and kept the subject very personal. I felt like I was part of the family, going through the challenges with them and in my own way, not just like an onlooker hearing their story. That was very important to me as an audience member because that is what made the play so emotional.

      Having the "imaginary brother" as a character was a new experience for me because I have never watched a show where a character only existed in the mind of another, but I have recently read novels and plays where this was the case. I thought Gabe's character was portrayed excellently because he felt as real to the audience as he did to Diana but as imaginary to the audience as he did to the other family members in the play.

      After seeing this play I certainly have a new respect and sympathy towards families who have to deal with hardships like this on a daily basis. I am now also more aware of the medical help that is needed for different diseases of the mind because it is not something that affects one person, but everyone around them.

      This was my first play with Early Stages and it could not have been a better experience. I know I would have never had the chance to see a play like "Next to Normal" otherwise, and I would really be missing out on a great show and life lesson. I wish there were more opportunities for high school and college students to see shows on Broadway, because it is a very valuable learning experience and can give a student an appreciation for art and performance.

-          Laili, 12^th grade

As for the actual story line, I felt really bad for the whole family because of all of the hardships that they had to go through. . . I thought that all of the actors played their roles well because I had a hard time grasping that the actors were not really like their characters in real life.  My family seems perfect compared to what their family had to go through. It gave me a new appreciation of how great my life really is.

-          Lucien, 9^th grade

Next to Normal was really good!  It was strange to be pretty much the youngest group of people in the theater, but having two of the characters be around our age helped.  I did not cry, but it was in fact a very sad story. I liked how they were honest and thought the story seemed life-like. I really liked the character the dad played, because he was so nice, and dealing with his own problems at the same time. This whole story was really complex.  Overall, the experience was one that I enjoyed, a good story and the actors/performers were very talented. 

-          Charlotte, grade 12