Blank Page to Stage

(2008-12)

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Funded by an Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Blank Page to Stage (BPS) is a four-year partnership between Manhattan New Music Project and P.S. 24K, a dual-language school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

The program serves approximately 850 students in grades K-5. This population includes English language learners, special-needs students, and general education students.

BPS will train all of P.S. 24K’s teachers to integrate arts activities into their classrooms and core curricula. Students will start, quite literally, with a blank page, and will go on to create their own original musical theater production.

Throughout this process, students will actively participate in five core arts disciplines: drama, music, dance, creative writing and visual arts. They will write and perform a script, compose and choreograph original music, and design and build their own costumes and sets. Teachers will, through professional development and extensive in-class support, learn to shepherd their students through this dynamic process.

Program evaluation is directed by Dr. Rob Horowitz, Associate Director of the Center for Arts Education Research at Teachers College, Columbia University.