Our Stories - Arts for Learning Virginia

Story Hour with Mark Twain: Free, Family – Friendly Entertainment at the Z

November 7, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Mark Twain

Mark Twain lives, at least for an afternoon in Virginia Beach this November. Kicking off a new Family Time Performance series at the Zeiders American Dream Theater, Arts for Learning’s Ryan Cleme ns will perform as his famous relative, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.

Clemens will present Story Hour with Mark Twain on Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m. at the Z, located at 4509 Commerce Street in Virginia Beach.

Tickets are free at this link:
Story Hour with Mark Twain

“The Z is such a terrific place for performers like myself to offer our special gifts,” says Ryan Clemens. “I’ve been performing as Mark Twain for decades, and I’m excited to bring him to meet the good folks at Virginia Beach’s own Zeiders American Dream Theater. It’s Mark Twain as you would have met him when he came to visit our area in 1907. He’s full of tall tales, jokes, maybe a ghost story or two, and lots of playful audience banter. Whether you’re 10 years old or 110, you’re sure to enjoy an hour with my jovial, old cousin.”

Story Hour with Mark Twain is part of the Family Time Series, a partnership between Arts for Learning and the Z to provide entertaining, family-oriented programming. Future performances include Orisirisi African Folklore and Roberta Lea in February and storyteller Sarah Osburn Brady in April. Programs will be presented by Arts for Learning’s roster of professional artists who use their art forms to educate and engage audiences while actively exploring artistic traditions and cultures from around the world.

“Our artists are excited for the partnership with Zeiders American Dream Theater,” says Drew Lusher, Arts for Learning’s Artist programming Manager. “In addition to being a modern and inviting performance venue, Zeiders is an energetic organization with a mission that parallels ours. We appreciate the opportunity to pair our performing artists with their beautiful space to further engage the community and inspire creative growth.”

Arts for Learning thanks the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, Helen G. Gifford Foundation, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts for underwriting A4L’s Family Time Series at the Z.

Sparking Joy

September 26, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

At our Sunshine Beach Party event recently, we paid tribute to two long-time musicians, Steve Ambrose and Janet Kriner, who have retired after decades of service. One of the special moments during the event came when Board of Directors’ member Linda Dennis spoke about how Janet has inspired her as a musician. As a cellist, Janet was an original member of the Feldman Quartet in the 1950s—the quartet’s performances were the very earliest version of Young Audiences of Virginia, now known as Arts for Learning.

Linda, who’s been a board member for about eight years, retired in 2016 after teaching music in Norfolk Public Schools for 30 years. She’s a violinist in the Virginia Symphony Orchestra where she played with Janet for decades, but the two first encountered one another when Linda was growing up in Norfolk.

“My life was anything but privileged. It’s very unlikely that I would have encountered a string quartet as a child,” Linda says. “I grew up in a very working-class neighborhood, working-class schools. It’s just not something that my family did. One day when I was in the fourth grade, a string quartet came to our school for a performance, and they were from Young Audiences. Janet probably was in that quartet. I was just fascinated with this ensemble, and I fell in love with the violin myself.”

In fifth grade, Linda started playing the violin at her elementary school. When she was 13, she attended a week-long summer orchestra camp, which was new to the area. Janet worked with the student musicians as a cellist specialist, and she made a big impression on Linda.

“I just thought she was the happiest person I had ever met. She always had a smile on her face. She just seemed like she was filled with joy. She was excited to work with us. It didn’t seem to be a burden for her. She thoroughly enjoyed it. And she sparked enthusiasm with the kids as well.”

Throughout the years, Linda continued to interact with Janet as she guided young musicians, including serving as a coach for the Tidewater Youth Orchestra (now Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia where Linda played violin. But after earning a spot in the Virginia Symphony in college, Linda saw a different side of Janet, who was principal cellist.

“She had a professional persona and then a student persona. Students got all the inspiration and happiness and joy, but as a professional, she was a tough cookie. She was demanding of her section, and she was a perfectionist,” Linda says. “I loved seeing that you could be both. You could be a student advocate, kind and understanding and patient, but then you had standards for yourself, and I really respected that in her.

“She is like gold to this area. She’s just a gem. She’s done so much for kids and for teachers too. She’s inspirational to the teachers.”

Linda’s experience playing the violin when she was young—and the joy she witnessed in Janet—motivated her to teach music.

“I knew the joy that I felt as a child… it’s not an opportunity that I expected. And it just really changed the course of my life. So whatever I can do to give back and give some other child that experience that’s what I wanted to do.”

Linda gives back in a different way on Arts for Learning’s board. As someone who first enjoyed a Young Audiences’ performance 55 years ago, she appreciates the ways in which our organization has evolved over the decades, such as incorporating Virginia’s Standards of Learning into its programs.

“I really love the way [Arts for Learning] works so hard to build programs to give the students exactly what they need. I think that the way we’ve transitioned over the years to give students exactly what they need, exactly when they need it, is quite a service to the community.”

At Arts for Learning, we want to express our thanks to both Linda and Janet—two individuals who have contributed so much to the school, arts, and nonprofit communities throughout the years.

Are you interested in serving on the Arts for Learning board? We’re always searching for dedicated arts advocates who are leaders in their fields. If you’d like more information, please contact CEO Chris Everly at CEO@Arts4LearningVA.org.

Major News: Arts for Learning Becomes the Coastal Virginia Wolf Trap Affiliate

August 14, 2023 By Katie Driskill

We’re… thrilled… honored… happy… ecstatic… overjoyed… and delighted to announce we’re now partnering with the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. As the Coastal Virginia Wolf Trap affiliate, we’ll bring customized arts-based teaching and learning programs to early childhood classrooms.

“Our teaching artists have the opportunity to be trained in the Wolf Trap method, which focuses on bringing arts-integrated strategies into the classrooms of our youngest learners,” said Drew Lusher, Arts for Learning Artist and Programming Manager and Coastal Virginia Wolf Trap Affiliate Director. “We’re excited to foster this work in our community.”

The affiliate program is operated under Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, a program of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts based in Vienna, Virginia.

Last week, four teaching artists on our roster received paid training to learn creative, interactive techniques of how to work with children in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Wolf Trap Master Artist Trainer Christina Farrell showed how to incorporate song, movement, imaginative play, and musical instruments into lessons that introduce key curricular concepts such as literacy and social-emotional learning.

The training sessions were held at Children’s Harbor Ghent where the teaching artists had the opportunity to practice what they learned with young learners.

“I greatly appreciated observing Christina with the kids,” said Arts for Learning’s Amelia Zontini. “Each day they bloomed a little more. On my way out to my car on Friday, Miss Destiny and some kids opened their door and cried out, ‘Thank you!’ What a special experience for us all.”

Teaching artists who participated last week were Ryan Clemens, Jennifer Graham, Dylan Pritchett, and Amelia Zontini.

Arts for Learning’s Cindy Aitken, James Cooper, Via Goode, and Roberta Lea will undergo training in September.

Initially, Coastal Virginia Wolf Trap will deliver services in Norfolk, but will branch out to other Hampton Roads’ communities in future academic years. Our Wolf Trap-trained teaching artists will partner with early childhood education classroom teachers, illustrating how they can use the performing arts to engage children, enrich their learning, and reinforce the curriculum. Through multi-day residencies, our teaching artists will work one-on-one with classroom teachers to create custom lesson plans using proven, arts-based learning experiences.

We couldn’t be happier (or more elated… excited… glad… eager… tickled pink… you name it!) to enter into this partnership and join Wolf Trap’s network of 24 affiliates across the United States and Singapore. Thank you to all who made last week’s first training such a success!

Making a Splash in Hampton

July 9, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

It’s almost time—we’re excited for the kickoff of “A Splash of the Arts” in downtown Hampton this Saturday, July 15. The day will be packed with performances and workshops by Arts for Learning’s musicians, artists, actors, storytellers, and dancers—programs just perfect for school-aged children and their families.

The FREE downtown Hampton arts and entertainment series runs from 10 am to 4 pm at the Hampton History Museum, 120 Old Hampton Lane in downtown Hampton. The series continues the next two Saturdays, July 22 and 29, with new programming each weekend. Check out the full schedule here!

This Saturday, you can learn traditional dances from around the world with
Rita Cohen…

Explore techniques that help actors create unforgettable characters with
Katherine Willet…

And listen to musical instruments from different cultures and continents with Curtis Blues.

But there’s more!

Sail the Caribbean seas on the sound waves of steel drums with Gary Garlic….

Enjoy folktales from
around the world with
Via Goode…

Hear the story of Martha Ann Fields’s escape to freedom from actor
Valerie Davis…

And watch the remarkable portrayal of Frederick Douglass by Nathan Richardson.

Museum admission will be free to all from 9 am to 5 pm. There’s also free parking in the garage across the street from the museum.

This is the second year we’ve partnered with Hampton City Schools Fine Arts Department, the Hampton History Museum, and Downtown Hampton Development Partnership for this family-friendly series of arts programming. All programs are inside the air-conditioned museum. So get set to beat the heat and make a splash starting this Saturday, July 15!

In Their Own Words: IDEAL Residency Students

June 6, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

Sometimes we can learn the most about the impact of a program that we offer directly from the students we serve.

So we wanted to share comments from some of the students who participated in our IDEAL (Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages) residency this spring. Remarks from students at Virginia Beach’s College Park Elementary and Portsmouth’s Westhaven Elementary are divided into the categories that we measure before, during, and after the residency to determine gains: self-worth, community connectedness, and creative expression.

SELF-WORTH

Emma, College Park, 5^th grade: “It showed me I could really be anything I want to be.”

Sadé, College Park, 5^th grade: “I want to teach others how to do art. It’s very inspiring. It makes you feel like you can do other things that you thought that you couldn’t do in art. And that’s why I love Arts for Learning.”

Deniya, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I learned you can do what you want to do. You just have to keep practicing. Don’t let anybody make you come down, just keep trying and trying… And you might end up being an artist if you keep trying.”

Harmony, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I got a lot more friends in my life. They made us sit at different tables so we could get to know each other, and it really helped a lot. I’m very shy. I got put into a room full of new people I didn’t know, at least most of them. I guess I had to branch out… I feel like Arts for Learning made me into a better person.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTIVENESS

Samantha, Westhaven, 6^th grade: “Arts for Learning was important because it helped you connect with who you are and your identity.” (Samantha had noted that she was Filipino on her mother’s side and used to visit cousins in the Philippines prior to Covid. She said she had done research about the Philippines as part of IDEAL.)

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Sadé, College Park, 5^th grade: “I’m more excited when I do art. It makes my heart burst.”

Mark, Westhaven, 6^th grade: “I created a phoenix, and it was really inspiring because it shows my personality, like the power of the phoenix. It’s a sock puppet so it’s silly and goofy but on the inside it’s powerful and meaningful. The project changed how I saw myself because I expressed my inner personality.”

Kerrington, College Park, 5^th grade: “Before I joined [the IDEAL residency], I wasn’t really artistic because I didn’t think I could do the things I wanted to do. When I joined Arts for Learning, it was really fun because I got to paint, do watercolors, and sculptures…. Anytime I go home, I have paint and canvases in my room, and I just paint nonstop. And my mom tells me to go to bed and I’m like, ‘No, I’ve got to paint.’”

Mary, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I realized that I could express myself in different ways instead of just talking about it. I can express myself through singing or dancing or painting or drawing. Arts for Learning has helped me a lot because I learned I can express myself in different ways.”

Raenah, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I’ve changed the way I express myself going to [the IDEAL residency] because I learned that I don’t have to just speak the way I feel, I can draw it out, dance it out, sing it out, or do it all types of ways. My favorite way of showing my feelings is painting. I can show it if I’m mad, happy, sad, or any other emotion. The painting I did for the Chrysler Museum I basically just put lots of fun and colorful things because I feel like it describes how I am most of the time because I’m mostly happy.”

Many thanks to Hannah Sobol and Jackie Glass of Heard Productions for conducting interviews with students at the Chrysler Museum.

The IDEAL student art exhibit is still on display and available for the public to view through Sunday, June 11. Admission to the Chrysler Museum is free. The artwork can be viewed at the Margaret Shepherd Ray Family and Student Gallery.