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ORLANDO, Fla. — Local elementary school students will be featured in their own productions of Disney musicals at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts next week.
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For the past four months, students at Idyllwilde, Lake Silver, Lakeview, Oak Hill, and Riverside elementary schools have been rehearsing scenes from selected Disney KIDS musicals as part of the Disney Musicals in Schools program.
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The free, 17-week musical theater residency is facilitated by a team of Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts teaching artists.
Nearly 350 participating students and teachers will get to perform their scenes at the Dr. Phillips Center’s Walt Disney Theater on May 7th at the 7th annual Student Share Celebration.
The Dr. Phillips Center and Disney Theatrical Group first partnered to bring the Disney Musicals in Schools program to the Orlando area in 2015, aimed at developing sustainable musical theater programs in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties.
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The program was created in 2009 and has since expanded to include a national network of affiliate organizations.
“This initiative is about igniting parents, administrators, and students to imagine and foster a sense of possibility,” Dr. Phillips Center Education Director Ryan Simpson said. ”All while building sustainable musical theater programs across Central Florida.”
“The team at the Dr. Phillips Center is providing a joyful experience to students,” Disney Theatrical Group Director of Education and Audience Engagement LIsa Mitchell added. “They are building arts education programs in under-resourced schools through partnerships. It’s thrilling to see school theater seeded by Disney Musicals in Schools blossoming into quality.”
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The program is supported by Walk Disney World and AdventHealth. Since its inception at the Dr. Phillips Center, more than 4,000 students across 28 Title I elementary schools and three counties have participated in the program.
Tuesday’s Celebration is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. The performance is free for friends and family to attend, and no reservations are required.
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