National Oratory Finals
Please join us Sunday, May 5th at 12:30 p.m. for the culminating performance of student delegates from the National Oratory Fellows program. Fourteen students (representing Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Colorado and the District) will perform historical and original speeches, learned and created as part of their classroom’s participation in Ford’s National Oratory Fellows Program. The performance will take place at Ford’s Theatre, located at 511 Tenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

The event is free. Tickets are required. Please contact Cynthia Gertsen at 202-434-9529 or via email, cgertsen@fords.org

Stand Up and Be Heard
Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m.
Join orators from Ford’s Theatre Youth Programs as they present Stand Up and Be Heard: Re-Making our World on the historic Ford’s Theatre stage! Higher Achievement scholars from the Ward 6 Achievement Center, students from Oyster Adams Bilingual School, Greenbelt Middle School and the Ford’s Theatre Youth Leaders Ensemble will present original speeches on social issues and subjects that matter most to them. Listen as the orators share their perspective on today’s world – and show why youth voices matter TODAY. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are available at the door the evening of the performance. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Past Events:

Hello, Dolly! Teacher Preview and Workshop
Tuesday, March 19, 2013. 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. workshop; 7:30 p.m. performance
In this Tony-winning musical farce, half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder hires matchmaker Dolly Levi to find him a wife. Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker and set in 1890s New York, this show has become a staple of American musical theatre. This workshop will help prepare you to bring your students to the May 3 or 10 Student Matinees, or simply broaden your understanding of the Social Studies and ELA themes in the production. Free for up to 20 teachers. Priority is given to teachers who have made arrangements to bring their students to see a performance. R.S.V.P. by email.

Our Town Teacher Preview and Workshop
Tuesday, January 29, 2013. 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. workshop; 7:30 p.m. performance
The 75th anniversary production of Thornton Wilder’s classic play will return to Wilder’s original intent of a simple, unsentimental production that finds meaning in life’s everyday moments and experiences. This workshop will help prepare you to bring your students to the February 7, 14 or 21 Student Matinees or simply broaden your experience with early Modern American theatre. Free for up to 20 teachers. Priority is given to teachers who have made arrangements to bring their students to see a performance. R.S.V.P. by email.

Torn in Two: The 150th Anniversity of the Civil War
Grades 4-5, January 15, 4:30-6:30 p.m.;
Grades 8, January 16, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
As part of the presentation of this temporary exhibition, the Director of Education from the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library will use the materials from teh exhibition to explore creative ways to teach the Civil War, and will demonstrate a unique approach to using maps as a primary source for classroom teaching that goes well beyond "latitude and longitude." This temporary exhibition is organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, and will be open on the second floor of the Center for Educaiton and Leadership from December 10, 2012-February 24, 2013. To register for this event please email our Education Department.

Fly Teacher Preview and Workshop
Tuesday, September 25, 2012. 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. workshop; 7:30 p.m. performance
Based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen, Fly is the powerful story of four African-American military pioneers who proved themselves as officers and pilots during World War II. This workshop will help prepare you to bring your class to the October 11 or 18 Student Matinees or simply deepen your understanding of the social studies themes addressed in the play. Free for up to 20 teachers. Priority is given to teachers who have made arrangements to bring their students to see a performance. R.S.V.P. by email.

Tuesday, May 22nd at 7:00pm
On May 22nd students from the local Speak Like the President program and the Youth Leaders & Culture Corps come together to present an evening of oratory at Ford’s. During this evening showcase, 3rd-6th grade student orators from Ford’s after-school Speak Like the President programs at Oyster Adams Bilingual School and Nannie Helen Burroughs School will demonstrate their talents in the art of public speaking as they present original speeches on social issues and subjects that matter most to them. Joining them this evening will be Ford’s inaugural class of the Youth Leaders and Culture Corps. These future leaders have spent the spring developing their leadership, performance and public speaking skills. They will present an original ensemble piece highlighting a positive change they hope to make in the world.

Evening for Educators
Thursday, March 8, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Join us for a special Evening for Educators on March 8.  This free event invites local teachers to explore Ford’s new Center for Education and Leadership, and to discover the array of hands-on, engaging programs the Civil War Washington Consortium has to offer students in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade.  The evening will be hosted by the Ford’s Education staff along with our consortium partners Tudor Place, President Lincoln’s Cottage, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the National Mall and the United States Capitol Historical Society.  The event will be held on the 5th floor of the Center and will include refreshments, teacher resources, field trip information and door prizes.
To attend you must rsvp by email.

1776 Teacher Preview and Workshop
Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. workshop; 7:30 p.m. performance
1776, the beloved, quick-witted musical dramatizes the impassioned debates of Philadelphia’s Second Continental Congress as patriots John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson (among others) attempt to persuade the 13 colonies to separate from British rule. This preview will help prepare you to bring your class to the May 4th or May 11th student matinees, or simply will broaden your understanding of the Continental Congress and musical theatre. Free for up to 20 teachers. Priority is given to teachers who have made arrangements to bring their students to see a performance. R.S.V.P. by email.

Photo of young orators by Gary Erskine.