Imagination Stage

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Imagination Stage is the largest and most respected multi-disciplinary theatre arts organization for young people in the Washington, DC region. Their year-round professional shows for families and classes, performance opportunities, outreach programs and summer camps for ages 1-18 are informed by their core belief in making the arts inclusive and accessible to all children, regardless of their physical, cognitive or financial status.

Contents 1 Mission 2 Vision 3 The Facility 4 History 5 1979 6 1985 7 1987 8 1989 9 1992 10 1993 11 1995 12 1997 13 2002 14 2004 15 2005 16 Original Scripts

[edit] Mission

Imagination Stage is a family arts center that nurtures young people of all abilities through participation in professional theatre and arts education experiences.

[edit] Vision

Imagination Stage nurtures the creative spirit, inherent in all children, by using theatre to open hearts, inspire minds and ignite imaginations.

Imagination Stage is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit, tax-exempt, cultural and educational organization which does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic or national group, gender or disability.

[edit] The Facility

Imagination Stage’s 40,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility was designed by the internationally-renowned architecture firm Wood + Zapata, Inc., with interior design by Gensler and construction by Forrester Construction, Inc. Its architecture is unique and beautiful, with a striking copper, limestone and glass façade, plus artist designed terrazzo floor and cherry wood finishes inside. Artists represented include Heidi Lippman (terrazzo floor), Mary Ann Mears (outdoor sculpture), and Steven Weitzman (sculpture). The building, located on the street level of a 700-space public parking garage, is handicap accessible. It includes two theatres, six education studios, a digital media studio and the Just Imagine Café and Shop.

[edit] History

Imagination Stage was founded as BAPA (Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts) in 1979 in response to the urgent need for arts education for young people. The company was renamed Imagination Stage in 2001 in anticipation of its move to its downtown Bethesda theatre arts center in 2003. Imagination Stage has grown from a handful of children in a single classroom to a full-spectrum theatre arts organization, with nationally-acclaimed programs for children who are deaf (Deaf Access) and children with physical or cognitive disabilities (AccessAbility Theatre).

[edit] 1979

Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts (BAPA) is founded and 17 children enroll in the first class.

[edit] 1985

BAPA begins offering summer programs at American University, Washington, DC.

[edit] 1987

Arts Access program (now known as AccessAbility Theatre) is started for children with physical and/or cognitive disabilities.

[edit] 1989

Deaf Access Program is started for children who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

[edit] 1992

Imagination Stage professional children’s theatre opens at White Flint Mall.

[edit] 1993

Woodbine House Press publishes Wings to fly: Bringing Theatre Arts to Children with Special Needs, a book written by BAPA staff.

[edit] 1995

Deaf Access Company featured on CNN "Headline News" and in The Washington Post.

[edit] 1997

The Maryland State Department of Education awards a contract to provide professional development training in Maryland schools and to keynote MSDE's Summer Institute of ASrts Integration Practices.

Biotech initiative is started and BAPA commissions The Cutting Edge, a play which focuses on the issues surrounding genetic testing, The Cutting Edge begins touring regional high schools and other community venues.

BAPA awarded the Lockheed Martin Award for Excellence in Arts Education.

[edit] 2002

The Deaf Access program is awarded the 2001 VSA Arts/MetLife Cultural Access Award and is featured in Best Practices for Innovation in the Arts published in spring 2002.

The U.S. Department of Education commissions a paper on the IQ professional development initiative for teachers.

Construction begins on Imagination Stage in downtown Bethesda.

Strange Intelligence, the third play in the biotechnology series, is piloted in area high schools.

Working Wings!, an advocacy play focusing on issues faced by the employable disabled, is presented on Capitol Hill by the Wings Company of the AccessAbility Theatre program.

Dreams to Sign, a book chronicling the development of the Deaf Access Company, published and available in a book/video package.

[edit] 2004

Imagination Stage Founder and Executive Director, Bonnie Fogel, is named a "Washingtonian of the Year" by the Washingtonian magazine.

AccessAbility Theatre Program is awarded a $278,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Education.

Imagination Stage receives its first-ever Helen Hayes Award nomination when Toni Rae Brotons is nominated for her performance in Junie B. Jones & a Little Monkey Business.

[edit] 2005

Imagination Stage receives two Helen Hayes Award nominations, including a nomination for Charles Way, writer of Merlin and the Cave of Dreams for the prestigious "Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play or Musical".

Imagination Stage Founder and Executive Director, Bonnie Fogel, is named a "Montgomery College Arts Star".

U.S. Department of Education awards the Deaf Access Program a third consecutive grant, this one in the amount of $330,000.

[edit] Original Scripts

The following scripts have received their World Premieres at Imagination Stage.

Perfectly Persephone: Little Greek Myth By Kevin Kling

World Premiere, April 2005, directed by Janet Stanford

Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood Book, music and lyrics by Joan Cushing

Based on the book by Mike Artell

World Premiere, February 2005, directed and choreographed by Michael Bobbitt

Merlin and the Cave of Dreams By Charles Way

World Premiere, June 2004, directed by Mary Hall Surface

Miss Nelson Has a Field Day Book, music and lyrics by Joan Cushing

Based on the book by Harry Allard, Illustrated by James Marshall

World Premiere, December 2003, directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer

Junie B. Jones & a Little Monkey Business Book, music and lyrics by Joan Cushing

Based on the books by Barbara Park

World Premiere, June 2003, directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer

Cinderella Eats Rice & Beans By Karen Zacarias Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma

Aladdin's Luck By Janet Stanford Lyrics by Andrea Dodds Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma

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