SILER CITY, N.C. — Audiences at “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” and students all across Chatham County Schools and beyond will be drawn into Arctic culture later this winter with “The Frozen North,” a multidimensional exhibition produced by Jordan-Matthews High School science teacher Wendi Pillars and funded by a grant from the Chatham Education Foundation.
“The Frozen North” is the latest community offering planned as part of the “Season of Frozen,” a series of free activities offered around the North Carolina school premiere of “Frozen” that runs at Jordan-Matthews High School from April 19 to 21.
Last fall, JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, announced “Frozen Storytime,” a partnership with Chatham County Schools, where dual-language students appear in costume to read a story from “Frozen” to preschoolers and kindergarteners in English and Spanish and then give each young student a bilingual storybook of their own.
Pillars lived in Norway during two farming seasons and has conducted polar research in Svalbard, Norway, and Savoonga, Alaska. She says those experiences “ruined her life” because she now understands at a visceral level the climate changes taking place across the Arctic — and the impact it is having on 4 million people calling the region home.
“The Frozen North” is an opportunity to share her deep insight into the Arctic at a time when everyone is focused on the musical and its setting.
“‘Frozen’ is the perfect intersection of art and science,” she said. “When I learned about our musical production, I wanted to create a learning experience that could capitalize on students’ interests in the region. I’m a member of Polar Educators International and we’re trying to increase awareness of polar science about Arctic regions, especially for students here in North Carolina.”
Pilllars is working on “The Frozen North” with Alexis Will, lead researcher for the seabird research project based in Savoonga, who will be vetting information and providing educational resources. Will and Pillars worked together during one research project and will be developing exhibits and activities together as part of this latest venture.
One central focus will be “The Frozen North” gallery, located in the hallway outside the school library, that will be open from early April through performances of the musical.
Students and audiences are encouraged to browse through about 15 large, captioned photos that provide a close look into the Arctic, examining its animals, landscape and people, as well as changes now happening in the region. QR codes provide an interactive opportunity for guests to experience Arctic sounds like birds, breaking ice and resident voices. The gallery also will include a scavenger hunt and an e-book with resources for different ages.
Content created for “The Frozen North” gallery will be incorporated into an Arctic Culture Kit with lesson ideas that can be shared among schools and adapted to different grade levels.
Pillars said she plans to share the Arctic Culture Kit with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which loans similar educational material through its Carolina Navigators initiative. Currently, about 200 culture kits focusing on 144 different countries or themes are shipped free of charge to teachers, students and community members across the state.
Jordan-Matthews was selected to present the statewide school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” in a nationwide competition sponsored by Educational Theatre Association, Disney Theatrical Group and Music Theatre International.
Centering on the theme “Love Is An Open Door,” the competition was designed to promote inclusion and outreach in high school theater programs. Projects like “The Frozen North,” bilingual “Frozen Storytime” and JMArts 2023 holiday cards featuring “Love in Winter," a color pencil work by JM artist Stephanie Aleman, were all created to reflect that theme.
“Frozen” performances are April 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. and April 21 at 3 p.m. at the Jordan-Matthews High School Auditorium. Tickets are now available to JMArts members with the public sale beginning on February 1.
Details about free community events associated with the production will be announced on JMArts social media and listed on a web page dedicated to the “Frozen” production at jmarts.org/frozen.
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Wendi Pillars, an Arctic researcher and producer of “The Frozen North,” stands alongside a piece of Bowhead whale baleen in Savoonga, Alaska. (Photo by Jean-Baptiste “JB” Thiebot)
Thick-billed murres, black and white seabirds, occupy cliffside nests alongside a kittiwake and her two chicks near Savoonga, Alaska. The Arctic region is the focus of “The Frozen North” gallery and culture kit. (Photo by Wendi Pillars)
The windswept Svalbard landscape, without sea ice, is one striking Arctic scene about 350 miles from the North Pole. “The Frozen North” gallery was designed to capitalize on students’ interest in the Arctic region as Jordan-Matthews High School produces the North Carolina school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical.” (Photo by Wendi Pillars)
A lone polar bear stands among its tracks on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Arctic culture that frames “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” will be highlighted in a scientific exhibition tied to the musical this spring. (Photo by Wendi Pillars)