Playwriting Workshop

Portland Stage

Join Portland Stage education program for an interactive playwriting workshop with actor, playwright, and Maine Native, John Cariani. As a playwright, Cariani is best known for his play Almost, Maine which he will be performing in this season at Portland Stage. Other plays include cul-de-sac, Last Gas, and LOVE/SICK. As an actor, Cariani’s Broadway credits include Tony Award winning Broadway musical The Band’s Visit, Fiddler on the Roof (Tony Award nominee for Best Featured Actor in a musical), Something Rotten!. Coming up next, John will be heading back to Broadway in Tony Kushner’s Caroline or Change.

The workshop is designed for high school students and will be held at Portland Stage on January 20, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Cost is $50 however there are partial and full scholarships available – no one will be left out! For more information please email education@portlandstage.org.

Sign up at: https://www.portlandstage.org/education/classes/

Launching POL

Year 14 begins

Register Now!

The Maine Arts Commission, a state government agency in Augusta, is pleased to announce that school registration for the 2018-2019 Poetry Out Loudprogram is now open. Schools can find online all information about the program and register quickly and easily. The registration deadline is October 17, 2018. Immediately following registration, each school’s identified contact teacher will be sent program materials and teacher toolkits, which include the newly revised Poetry Out Loud 2018-2019 Teacher’s Guide, for all participating teachers/staff members.

Poetry Out Loud is organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation; it is administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. Begun in high schools nationwide in 2006, this dynamic program encourages our nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. Students have the opportunity to choose from among 900+ poems in the official Poetry Out Loud anthology and then bring their selected poems to life. The program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. In addition to providing ameaningful educational experience of poetry in written and spoken form, over $100,000 in awards is given to successful students and schools at the state and national level, including $20,000 awarded to the National Champion.

Poetry Out Loud offers high school teachers an easy-to-use, standards-based program to help students discover a range of poets from Emily Dickinson to Richard Blanco to Gwendolyn Brooks. Participating teachers receive free materials including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, and access to audio-visual materials on the art of recitation.

We are thrilled that over 9,500 students and 200 teachers from 44 high schools across Maine participated in Poetry Out Loud in 2017-2018. We anticipate that this school year will be just as exciting and we encourage all teachers to consider giving their students throughout your school the opportunity to shine in this nationwide celebration of poetry!

We encourage you to view a video of the Maine’s 2018 Poetry Out Loud finalists discussing what poetry and performance art means to them. Student recitations and highlights from the 2018 state finals are also included.

Please take a few minutes to view and share the promotional national videos entitled “Get involved in POL!” and “Why Poetry Out Loud?” Additionally, we recommend that you share a short article from The Atlantic entitled “Why Teaching Poetry Is So Important” (April 2014) with students, teaching colleagues, administrators and parents. It is our hope that these resources may help you publicize Poetry Out Loud in your school and support your school’s participation in the program this year.

Please note that Poetry Out Loud can take place in your school anytime between now and December 21, 2018, as the program does not require full class periods and can be completed in just two to three weeks; however, teachers are encouraged to consider making Poetry Out Loud a larger part of their school’s curriculum. Specific lesson plans as well as an explanation of the alignment with both the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Standards and Common Core State Standardsare available.

Register Now!

Please review the following timeline as you consider registering your school:

September – October 2018	School Registration (ongoing)
October 17, 2018	Last day to register for Poetry Out Loud
December 21, 2018	Last day for school-wide competitions
January 9, 2019	Last day for Regional Finals Registration
January 9, 2019 January 14, 2019	Last day for Regional Workshop Registration Southern Regional Workshop(4-6 p.m.) (Portland Public Library)
January 15, 2019	Snow date for Southern Regional Workshop
January 16, 2019	Northern Regional Workshop(4-6 p.m.) (Performing Arts Center, Hampden Academy)
January 17, 2019	Snow date for Northern Regional Workshop
January 29, 2019	Northern Maine Regional Finals (Performing Arts Center, Hampden Academy)
January 30, 2019	Snow date for Northern Maine Regional Finals
February 11, 2019	Southern Maine Regional Finals (Performing Arts Center, Westbrook Middle School)
February 12, 2019	Snow date for Southern Maine Regional Finals
March 11, 2019	Maine State Finals(Waterville Opera House)
March 12, 2018	Snow date for Maine State Finals
April 30 – May 1, 2019	Poetry Out Loud National Finals(Washington, DC)

The Maine Arts Commission believes that the arts are an essential part of a well-rounded education. Through our Arts Education program, we create and support innovative arts learning opportunities that engage both students and teachers in creative thinking, arts participation and the building of vibrant learning communities. Visit this site to obtain more information about the benefits of Poetry Out Loud, as well as information on all educational programming offered by the Maine Arts Commission.

If we can provide any assistance with registration or program planning for your school’s Poetry Out Loud program, please contact Argy Nestor.