Bilingual ‘Frozen Storytime’ Created to Celebrate Upcoming North Carolina School Premiere of ‘Frozen’

SILER CITY, N.C. — Bilingual high school students portraying Princess Elsa, Olaf and other beloved characters from “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” will soon be reading their story about the mythical kingdom of Arendelle to preschoolers across Chatham County thanks to Frozen Storytime.

Organized by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, Frozen Storytime was created as part of JM’s Season of Frozen, a series of special events over coming months to help celebrate Jordan-Matthews High School’s North Carolina school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical.” The school was one of about 50 selected in a national contest to be the first school to present the full Broadway musical in their state.

“Frozen Storytime brings preschoolers into the celebration,” says Rose Pate, president of JMArts. “The national theme uniting all of our statewide premieres is ‘Love Is An Open Door’ — and the idea is to bring everyone together, people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. We couldn’t think of a better way than having our dual-language student actors read the story of ‘Frozen’ to them in Spanish and English, the languages that reflect our community.”

To make that happen, JMArts has united with the Jordan-Matthews High School dual-language program and Chatham County Schools to offer the first Frozen Storytimes. Bilingual high school students who have studied together in both languages since kindergarten at Siler City Elementary will appear in costume in preschool classes at local public schools.

After reading “Disney Frozen II” to the children in Spanish and English, students portraying “Frozen” characters will talk with the preschoolers and give them each a copy of the book to take home for their very own.

Cynthia Bredenberg, who directs the high school dual-language program and also designs costumes for Jordan-Matthews theatrical productions, said students are already excited about what’s ahead. “ Our dual-language program students are always excited to work with our younger bilingual students,” she said. “This will give our high school students an opportunity to volunteer while using their Spanish skills.”

Books for all of the students are being provided by Chatham County Schools. “This collaboration is helping our youngest learners experience how the arts and multilingual learning can increase interest and love of literacy and most importantly acceptance of one another,” said Carrie Little, executive director of pre-K and federal programs for Chatham County Schools. “With each child receiving a copy of the book, they will be able to replay the memory of what they experienced when listening and watching the multilingual actors and feel a part of what they are reading.”

While Frozen Storytime will be offered this winter through Chatham County Schools, Pate said some public readings could be organized as well.

Jordan-Matthews was selected to present the statewide premiere 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.

“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 will available in a presale to JMArts members beginning December 1 and then in a public sale beginning February 1.

Several free community events associated with the production will be held through April. Details 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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Zachary D. Wills Named Orchestra Pit Director for North Carolina School Premiere of ‘Frozen’

SILER CITY, N.C. — Zachary D. Wills, a music educator currently teaching general music and band at Silk Hope School, has been named orchestra pit director for the North Carolina high school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” at Jordan-Matthews High School.

The school in Siler City was selected to present the statewide premiere 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.

As part of that outreach, the pit orchestra will be open by audition to high school musicians throughout Chatham County Schools. Auditions will be held in mid- to late-January.

Wills is a strong proponent of artistic collaboration, working with other area music directors and performing with the West Chatham Jazz Ensemble.

He has served in the Marine Corps bands as an instrumentalist and small ensemble leader for 12 years, and has taught music for more than two decades to students from kindergarten through graduate school. He is a doctoral candidate in music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“I am excited to be part of ‘Frozen,’” Wills says. “As Jordan-Matthews is the only high school in North Carolina authorized to perform this extremely popular Broadway show, our community will have a unique opportunity to experience a high school-based development and performance of a recent, modern musical — a capstone event for the year for all of those involved.

“This musical will provide a collaborative platform for our county’s arts students, leaders and programs to grow and develop in the spirit of our district’s vision of One Chatham.”

“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 will available in a presale to JMArts members in late fall and then in a public sale early in the new year.

Several free community events associated with the production will be held through April. Details 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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Zachary D. Wills has been named orchestra pit director for the North Carolina high school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical,” scheduled for April at Jordan-Matthews High School.

JMArts Strengthens, Expands with Chatham Arts Council Grant

SILER CITY, N.C. — JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, recently strengthened the organization and expanded its services to the Spanish-speaking community thanks to a grant from the Chatham Arts Council.

Known as a “capacity-building grant,” the $5,000 award from the Chatham Arts Council is designed to strengthen organizations and provide better programs to constituents and the entire community. For JMArts, that meant focusing on three specific projects: expanding services for Spanish-speaking families, updating bylaws and financial procedures to provide a stronger foundation for the organization, and creating a portal to draw more volunteers into the effort.

JMArts already has a vibrant portfolio of projects — all designed, as the organization puts it, to help students interested in the arts reach their dreams, whether that means a career in the arts or a lifetime of artistic expression.

Its flagship initiative, JMArts Scholars, has awarded 89 scholarships to 60 students since 2012 for intensive study over the summer, usually at weeklong, residential workshops offered on university campuses. JMArts Scholars develop their talent, explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other students.

But that’s just the start. JMArts’s most visible project may be producing the annual musical; last year, it was “Shrek The Musical.” The nonprofit also takes eight upperclass arts students to New York City each spring break to learn directly from world-renowned artists; works with community partners to offer free student workshops led by professional artists; produces the annual “Sing and Play” student music competition for K-12 musicians throughout the area; and offers a variety of public concerts and events.

The Spanish piece of the puzzle was especially important, said JMArts President Rose Pate, because it’s something the organization was preparing to begin a little more than three years ago — just before the pandemic hit. “At that time,” she said, “we immediately had to stop all of our plans and focus all of our effort on providing immediate help for students. Things like moving performances, art exhibitions and awards presentations online and even providing some connection with arts in the outside world.”

It was fairly successful, though such a dramatic shift set the organization back. But the Chatham Arts Council grant helped JMArts continue their recovery and begin moving forward again. For example, as part of the expanded services for Spanish-speaking families, the nonprofit has added a Spanish-language section to its website, welcomed Spanish-language social media managers and strengthened translation services.

Those initiatives mirror efforts underway elsewhere in Jordan-Matthews arts. Last year’s theater teacher Sawyer Shafer, for example, experimented with providing Spanish translation on headsets during performances of “Almost, Maine” and “Shrek The Musical.”

Siler City Elementary Dual Language Teacher William Ureña, the parent of a JM actor and musician, has joined the JMArts board of directors and will be leading the expanded outreach. He and his wife, Zulma, will be responding to messages sent through a new address created for Spanish email.

With JMArts having so many plans derailed by the pandemic — and with arts organizations everywhere struggling to recover audiences and contributions — Pate was wondering if JMArts would even survive. Things are slowly getting better, she said, and projects funded by the grant should help the organization continue its decade-long service to high school arts students.

“It’s such a great service for all-volunteer organizations like ours to have these resources to support all of the behind-the-scenes work it takes to provide meaningful opportunities for students and programs for our entire community,” Pate said. “We appreciate the Chatham Arts Council’s commitment to local arts education and all that means to improving the lives of our children."

More information about JMArts is available online at JMArts.org.

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Fiona (Jacqueline Basilio), from left, Donkey (Karsyn Vann) and Shrek (Buck Thornton) embrace their authentic selves at the conclusion of “Shrek The Musical,” produced by JMArts with the Jordan-Matthews High School fine arts department. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Nine returning Jordan-Matthews students were named JMArts Scholars in May and are studying this summer at intensive arts workshops — most attending residential programs on university campuses. They are, from left, Elizabeth Vasquez Perez, Serena Pietri, Abigail Cockrum, Clara Rojas, Sandra Lopez, Karsyn Vann, Traycee Wall, Andrey Ureña-Seceña and David Ta’Bon. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Recent projects to strengthen JMArts and expand its services to the Spanish-speaking community were conducted using a $5,000 capacity-building grant from the Chatham Arts Council.