SIERRA ARTS FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE – In partnership with the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program, Sierra Arts Foundation and Washoe County School District are pleased to host Sean Layne, a national expert on Arts Integration in the classroom, on May 16 and 17. This two day event called “Acting Right: Drama as a Classroom Management Strategy”, will encourage teachers to use theater skills to focus students and create highly engaged learning communities in the classroom. An additional workshop specifically for teaching artists will introduce Arts Integration into the Sierra Arts’ Artist in Residence program.The schedule on May 16 includes the teaching artist workshop from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Sierra Arts Foundation with a 10 artist maximum and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. the “Acting Right: Drama as a Classroom Management Strategy” Professional Development Workshop for Educators at McKinley Arts & Culture Center with a 40 teacher maximum that is required for attendance on the 17th. Teachers can choose one of the two sessions on May 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Sparks Middle School, or from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. at Canaan Elementary, which will feature a one hour demonstration teaching class with 30 minute reflection each with a 20 teacher maximum. To sign up as an artist for the 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. session on the 16th please contact Sierra Arts at 775-329-2787. To sign up or for more information as an educator contact Martha O’Neill at [email protected].
Sean Layne has taken the foundational elements of acting such as concentration, cooperation, and collaboration and created a structured process, which can become the basis for effective classroom management every day. This engaging step-by-step approach empowers students to take ownership of and be responsible for their own behavior. In this workshop, teachers learn how to help students build the skills necessary to establish a sense of self-control, accountability, and team building in their classroom.
Sean Layne, a native of the Washington, D.C. area, received a B.F.A. degree in acting and studied acting in London, England. He is founder of a national arts education consulting company called Focus 5 Inc. This company focuses on arts integration across the curriculum for grades Pre K-12. Mr. Layne presents professional development workshops for teachers, and has designed training seminars for teaching artists nationwide for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is also an Arts Coach for the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program. For over a decade Mr. Layne acted, directed and designed sets for the InterAct Story Theatre, a professional theatre company that has served more than 4,000 schools, museums, libraries, and festivals around the world. He began working with the Wolf Trap Institute Early Learning Through the Arts program in 1989. As a Master Artist, he has represented Wolf Trap across the country and internationally, and has designed and piloted new residency and workshop models for the Institute.
