Help me give my students the tools they need to create professional theatre designs. The cabinet, would help our theatre transform from stage to full classroom and workshop easily and make the design tools students accessible and organized.
$2,404 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Stengel for her next project!
Help Ms. Stengel
Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Stengel for her next project!
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
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We are a theater serving grades 4 -12; we built our stage in a band hall because our school does not have a theatre. Our school is located in the very center of down town San Antonio. Nearly all of our students are from low-income households and also receive 3 meals a day on our campus. Most parents work full time. However, by nature, our students are resilient, optimistic and committed to their education. They are vastly creative. Our students believe that imagination doesn't require big money. And, students are willing to make something work; this innovation has created beautiful productions and class projects out of very little.
This past year, we never stopped.
Together, we learned quickly how to edit video, sync voices to music and background lyrics. We delivered materials to porches, and picked up the finished pieces. Backdrops came to life in driveways and living rooms. During one of the most challenging times for young people, the desire to create something meaningful was nothing short of magic.
When I think about gratitude, our students appear in my mind first: their passion and energy, their love for one another,
My Project
I have always hoped that students would have the opportunity to take on the many facets of theatrical design. There are so many areas students can use their willingness to create and make art. One way is through the performance, and the other is through the art of story-making in image, costume design, projections, scenery, lighting, sound, prop making and costumes. Each year we build our tools and resources so that students can learn this creative skillset. Each year, we grow in number and it is harder to make the really interesting and colorful tools available to all students whether they be at home or at school. I would love for a student to sit at a table, much like the famous Project Runway's set and maker space, and be able to have the tools they need right in front of them in order to see their ideas come to life. Our students have taken on the leadership roles on the production team, working as designers, stage managers, and technicians. These positions can grow as we offer more spaces for students to serve the leadership roles they wish to take on, and also see how creativity can be utilized in such a role: talking through designs with a building team, dividing tasks, involving the community, all to meet one collective artistic goal. Additionally, students can create artistic portfolios as they learn and create theatrical designs. The skills are very much part of the professional theatre world, and also students learn the valuable skills of communication, budgeting, the utilization and sharing of resources, improvisation, analysis, collaborating on a creative idea, public relations, and so much more. There is so much to learn and so many exciting epiphanic moments to happen in witnessing creative ideas coming to life.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Stengel and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
