A free literacy program, for 320 at-risk 3-to-5-year-old children from five local Head Start Centers, which uses in-class workshops led by a teaching artist to help students explore characters and themes of plays through interactive activities.

Workshops, offered four times per year to each class, prepare students for fieldtrips to live performances and help students come away with a better understanding of literary characters, story lines and themes.

Following each performance, each participating child is given a free copy of the book on which the play was based.

The arts have the power to engage and focus young people, increase academic performance and facilitate social development. Page and Stage introduces children to the arts at an early age and gives them an opportunity to explore literary themes on a deeper level. The program also helps children build a personal library of classic books. Teachers have indicated that after participating in the Page and Stage program, their students demonstrate an increased interest in reading and literacy.

Page and Stage is an early literacy program designed to foster a love of reading by using theatre arts to bring story characters to life for young children. Page and Stage began in the 2007-2008 school year in Asbury Park and each year AAT has been able to expanded the program to one additional Abbott school district each year. The five districts currently served by this program are Asbury Park, Howell, Neptune, Keyport and Red Bank.

The 2012-2013 season features the following books/plays:

• The Magical Christmas Horse (Lesson: Inspires hope, teaches sharing, discovering and values of family and relationships)
• The Little Engine that Could Earns Her Whistle (Lesson: Persistence and fortitude)
• The Rainbow Fish (Lesson: Sharing, accepting and respecting others. Additionally inspires expression and confidence.)
• Martha Speaks (Lesson: Teaches new words and creative ways to have fun while learning to be better readers and speakers. Students will imagine and adventure.)
• Click, Clack, Moo (Lesson: Spelling patterns, rhyming, word families, repetition – with silly characters.)

To inquire about involving your school in a similar program, please visit our Classroom Workshops page.