Wharton Center Education and Outreach
The Act One Family Series
(for ages 5 years and older)
Act One Family Series weekend matinee performances by national and international touring youth theatre companies are designed to appeal to young audiences.
Jazz Kats: Jazz for Kids
(for grades 5-8)
Jazz Kats performances feature distinguished artists from Michigan State University's College of Music ensemble, the Professors of Jazz. The program is directed by Rodney T. Whitaker.
Programs for Adult Learners
The Kennedy Center's Partners in Education, Professional Development Series is designed to enhance teachers' ability to teach in and through the arts.
Wharton Center also offers lifelong educational opportunities through an MSU Alumni Evening College course, "Backstage at Wharton," and through the Wharton Center Preview Lectures.
The Act One School Series
(for grades K-8)
Act One School Series provides curriculum-linked, performing arts enrichment activities for students in grades K-8. The lecturedemonstration format introduces students to music and dance artists from around the world.
Annual Young Playwrights Festival
(for highschool students)
Michigan high school students are invited to write and submit one-act scripts to a juried competition. Six scripts are selected as finalists to be performed at Wharton Center by MSU Theatre Department students. All finalists receive awards.
Artist Residencies
(for grades K-8)
Residencies provide unique opportunities to integrate teaching artists into the academic and community experience.
Wharton artists-in-residence for the 2008-2009 season are jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, Cuban band Tiempo Libre, jazz vocalist Sophie Milman, and the return of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada.
Coming Soon to Wharton Center
In May 2008 the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union announced a $2.5 million gift to MSU's Wharton Center for Performing Arts to help fund a new Institute for Arts and Creativity. Existing educational programs will be incorporated into new initiatives, including a collaborative program of artist residencies that will serve as the cornerstone of the new institute. Also, as part of the first major enhancement to the Wharton Center facility in 25 years, the physical space will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology for long-distance learning broadcasts.
For more information, visit Wharton Education and Outreach, whartoncenter.com/education.
