- Sundog Theatre :: Arts In Education

Sundog Theatre :: Arts In Education

Sundog's Arts-in-Education Directors

     Artistic Director Susan Fenley has been a professional performer - actor, singer, and mime for over two decades and has taught at Paper Mill Theatre and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ms. Fenley teaches mime, acting, and public speaking at Wagner College, and has also taught at St. John’s University. She has worked as a teaching artist in many New York City public and private schools and in the Los Angeles School District developing and performing in original touring shows. She now coordinates Sundog Theatre’s arts-in-education programs.

     Arts Education Specialist Jeannine Otis sang with Kool and the Gang and The New Shirelles. She has performed with artists such as Pete Seeger and Grover Washington. With degrees from Wellesley and Emerson, Ms. Otis has been involved nationally and internationally for over 20 years in many aspects of music and arts-in-education, both as a teaching artist and program coordinator.
   Ms. Otis has worked at Safari East with special education students, some of whom have performed at the Apollo Theatre; at New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts, as composer/musical director/coordinator and co writer with Elizabeth Swados and Lois Bohevesky; with Citikids, who performed under the auspices of Ted Turner Productions for the Better World Society Awards; with ENACT on a recording project sponsored by BMG Records; with Staten Island Children's Museum, where she designed and performed programs in the areas of drama and African American history; with the New Jersey Historical Society, where she coordinated and performed with producer musician Sam Jacobs in a series of programs designed to explore the roots of Hip Hop music, and is a New 2002 York Times Foundation Grant recipient for organizing a peace concert for students that witnessed 9/11.

Sundog Theatre has a wide variety of qualified professional teaching artists of all disciplines who implement its programs.

1/9/08 9:47 AM

For students living in a rapidly changing world, the arts teach vital modes of seeing, imagining, inventing, and thinking. If our primary demand of students is that they recall established facts, the children we educate today will find themselves ill-equipped to deal with problems like global warming, terrorism, and pandemics. Those who have learned the lessons of the arts, however - how to see new patterns, how to learn from mistakes, and how to envision solutions - are the ones likely to come up with the novel answers needed most for the future.

– from “Art for Our Sake" by Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, professors and researchers at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Sundog Theatre supplements classroom lessons to assist teachers in presenting subjects such as English/ literature, arts, history, social studies, and career development.

The arts--theatre, visual arts, improvisation, mime, and music--give students alternative ways to process information. Our programs help students become more actively involved in their subjects through multiple intelligence theory and learning techniques designed to involve students mentally and physically in schoolwork. Children are active beings. We find that once they experience the lessons physically through our artistic methods, they tend to retain the information, sometimes indefinitely.
Our methods help students not only to discover the arts, they help them think critically and creatively, work cooperatively, hone listening skills, think imaginatively, develop presentation skills, and explore potential careers.

Click here for more information about the programs we offer!

NOTE: Sundog Theatre has Department of Education contract and vendor numbers.

Grade Levels: Elementary through high school
Program Season: Year round
Hours/Location: In school and out of school hours, on school site
Maximum Group Size: In classroom--standard class sizes.
Other Requirements: Teacher and any required para professional(s) must be with artist and children.

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TESTIMONIALS FROM EDUCATORS:

“Teaching artists from Sundog worked with the students to turn a two-dimensional script into a multi modality learning experience. The result was such a success that conversations resonated through the school and the community for days after. The efficient planning, flexible scheduling, and dedication to the whole project have made our school eager for Sundog to return. I recommend Sundog without reservation, as there is a wholehearted commitment to the arts in education program.” -- Anna Castley, Principal, P.S. 54, Staten Island.

“Arts and education is the perfect marriage that provides a natural bridge into learning for motivated students and an impetus for the more reluctant ones. Sundog is the ideal arts partner for our program.” -- Diane Zerega, Department Chair and drama/stagecraft coordinator for IS 61 William Morris Magnet School for the Arts, Staten Island.

“Thanks to the talents of Susan Fenley and Sundog Theatre, our 5th graders brought the story of Lewis and Clark alive on stage. Social studies has never been so much fun! -- Vernell Renee Davis, principal, Trinity Lutheran School, Staten Island.

“Sundog Theatre brings energetic, skilled teaching artists who work closely with the Petrides faculty, planning and implementing meaningful experiences for the children. Sundog understands the need to provide integrated arts instruction, and their expertise and creative energy produce wonderful results.” – Joanne Buckheit, principal, The Petrides School Staten Island.

Casey At The Bat: Arts in Education program