First Stage partners with KPMG and First Book to promote literacy

Volunteers from KPMG

Over 150 students in K5 classes from Milwaukee College Prep 36^thStreet, 38^th Street and Lloyd Street Campuses assembled for a dramatic story-telling workshop at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center on Friday, March 15, 2013.  Students took part in a theatrical telling of the book “Days With Frog and Toad” by Arnold Lobel.  First Stage teaching artists with the help of interns from KPMG LLP, a U.S. audit, tax and advisory services firm with offices in Milwaukee, made the book come to life by acting out scenes and inviting students on the stage to help Frog and Toad. 

"The whole experience is really interactive for the kids and lets them enjoy reading and key curriculum in a fun, interactive setting," said First Stage Director of Education Julia Magnasco. 

Education Director Julia Magnasco, Teaching Artist Kim
Cieszykowski and students from MCP.

First Stage’s Theater in Education department works closely with Milwaukee College Prep throughout the school year including theater field trips, literacy residencies, classroom theater workshops and more. The event was an extension of First Stage’s literacy initiative, and a great opportunity to promote literacy to this group of K5 students.

Each child received with their own copy of the book “Days With Frog and Toad” to take home, made available through a generous donation through KPMG, as part of their Family for Literacy program and First Book, a national organization that provides new books to children in need. 

Students help tell the story of Frog and Toad

About Theater In Education
First Stage is Wisconsin’s leader in arts-integrated education in schools, creating programs that produce measured results and help students meet high standards of academic and personal achievement.  First Stage’s Theater in Education programs include pre- and post-show workshops, the Bully Ban Workshop, Literacy Residencies, professional development opportunities for teachers, and more, serving over 20,000 students throughout southeastern Wisconsin each year.

First Stage Teaching Artists warm up the crowd