Next Gen Events
Offered at no charge thanks to the generosity of many donors and special support from the following organizations:
Mansfield Family Foundation
Human[kind] Cinema Series: Freedom Writers
Thursday, November 14
9:30 AM - Film Screening (2h 5m)
9:30 AM - 1:30 PM - Film Screening + SEL Workshop (optional, limited availability)
Grades: 9 - 12
Registration opens October 1 at 8:00PM
The value of the Human[kind] Cinema Series resides in its ability to assist schools as they work to meet the Michigan Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies. The selected films inspire conversation, leverage the power of storytelling, and bring high school students together from across five countries to share a common experience they're likely more accustomed to having alone, in front of a computer screen, digital monitor, or phone.
This year's offering presents the powerful film Freedom Writers, based on a 1999 book of the same name by the high school students of teacher Erin Gruwell. The film is based on the true story of a determined and courageous educator of low-performing students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. The story highlights difficult issues affecting students, challenges embodied in socioeconomic struggles, and the importance of breaking down stereotypes and connecting across their differences to build hope and find solutions and, ultimately, to empower students to positively impact school culture and well-being. A discussion guide is made available to teachers as part of this program. It provides rich opportunities to engage students and educators around social and emotional skill development (SEL) and also allows for curricular links to history, social studies, civics, psychology, and literature.
For the first time, Next Gen is offering an inter-school SEL Workshop in the Community Engagement Room (CER); Camp Daggett staff will dive deeper into school-related issues through experiential activities and discussion! Space is limited. This opportunity will only be open to 100 students whose teachers select it as an "add-on" at registration. SEL Workshop participants will arrive at 9:30AM for the film but will stay until 1:30PM for the workshop after the film. Teachers of the Workshop students are asked to be available in the CER as needed under the leadership of Camp Daggett staff. Sack lunch from home required.
A Christmas Carol
Friday, December 6, 2024
12:30 PM
Grades: 8 - 11
Registration opens October 1 at 8:00PM
This one-man play brings familiar, time-honored characters to life for audiences of all ages. Virtual effects create scenes that bring the audience into the storyline in this special holiday performance of the Charles Dickens classic. Notable actor Allen Fitzpatrick, who has spent 50 years on Broadway and professional theatre, follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, who, a few years after writing the novel, began public readings of it, which he continued to perform until the year of his death.
This classic story has been represented in over a hundred stage, film, opera, and radio adaptations. In Allen's version, audiences can use the full range of their imagination as one actor on a virtually bare stage creates 26 different characters. Audiences have been delighted by this approach's personal, individual impact.
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Doktor Kaboom! The Science of Santa
Monday, December 16, 2024
10:00 AM, 12:30 PM - BOTH SHOWS SOLD OUT
Grades: K-3
Registration opens October 1 at 8:00PM
The Doktor Kaboom Holiday Extravaganza! Are science and magic the same thing? Is Mr. Claus the world's greatest scientist? Join Doktor Kaboom as he attempts to recreate all of Santa's wonders using basic physics. Doktor Kaboom has been a family favorite here at the Center. Back for a second, in-person show, Doktor Kaboom whips up a new show with his special holiday science magic! Rest easy - no holiday icons are damaged in this show.
Magic School Bus - Lost in the Solar System
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
10:00 AM, 12:30 PM
Grades: 1-5
Registration opens December 3 at 8:00PM
Who doesn't love Ms. Frizzle?! Science has never been more fun than in a Magic School Bus book, and with this show, your students will get to see the book come to life onstage!
When the class gets lost on the way to the planetarium, Ms. Frizzle saves the day by blasting into outer space for an epic interplanetary field trip! But when both old and new rivalries threaten to tear the students apart, our young heroes must learn to pull together or risk getting lost forever in the solar system.
Hop on the Magic School Bus for an imaginative ride in this new musical adaptation based on the original book series published by Scholastic. The original director/choreographer of this book adaptation is Connor Gallagher, who also choreographed Beetlejuice on Broadway and directed and choreographed Beauty and the Beast for Disney Cruise Line. Come join an out-of-this-world educational adventure!
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Interlochen Arts Academy's Ballet - Swan Lake
Friday, February 21, 2025
12:30 PM
Grades: 5 - 7
Registration opens December 3 at 8:00PM
Next Gen is excited to welcome back Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) with this year’s ballet, Swan Lake – a story rooted in the folktale The Stolen Veil by Johann Karl August Musaus. IAA will perform highlights from its full ballet for one Next Gen audience. Each year, Next Gen welcomes students who are seeing a live ballet performance for the first time; this is a special tradition for our middle-grade students, 75% of whom are experiencing live ballet for the first time.
Stories Told
A Community Project Empowering Students to Discover their Voices
Stories Told is a uniquely collaborative literacy project involving the creative programming of Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Harbor Springs Festival of the Book, and Petoskey District Library. Designed for middle school students but inclusive of all readers, storytellers, families, and communities across our region, Stories Told highlights three fictional works (a novel, a novel in verse, and a graphic novel) that all speak to courage, self-confidence, and empathy and share the common theme, “Finding Your Voice.” Experience one or more of the Stories Told books through reading… and then “find your voice” through visual art, music, performing art, writing, conversations, crafting, and visual storytelling, March 1 – early May, 2025. Stories Told is multi-modal learning at the community scale, and we cannot wait to share this learning adventure with you!
More coming soon.
Step Afrika!
Thursday, March 13, 2025
10:00 AM - Grades 2 - 5
12:30 PM - Grades 6 - 9
Registration opens January 7 at 8:00PM
Step Afrika! performs at theaters and performing arts centers throughout the United States... [Introducing] audiences to the importance of stepping in cultural identity; the use of body percussion as a means of communication; and to the continuity of the use polyrhythms and audience participation from traditional Zulu dance to contemporary stepping... Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances, and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding. Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. The company is featured prominently at the Smithsonians' National Museum of African American History & Culture with the world's first interactive stepping exhibit.
We cannot take our students around the world, but we can bring the world to them; Step Afrika! offers a special opportunity to introduce Northern Michigan students to the rich cultural tradition of African and African American dance through an interactive and intentionally educational artistic performance.
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The Kennedy's Center's "Look Both Ways - A Tale Told in Ten Blocks"
This event is part of Stories Told!
Friday, April 11, 2025
10:00 AM, 12:30 PM
Grades 6 - 8
Note: This performance is 60-70 minutes long.
Registration opens January 7 at 8:00PM
The Next Gen at the Center is proud to present this faithful, musical stage adaptation of Jason Reynolds' work as part of "Stories Told: A Community Project in Four Parts." You've read the book; now see it brought to life by the Kennedy Center on the GLCFA stage!
"Take a step in a new direction. Ten unique perspectives are brilliantly woven into one funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face at work, home, and life." - Source: Kennedy Center
Based on the multiple award-winning books for middle readers by the same name, this Kennedy Center production takes the innovative and appealing storytelling of Jason Reynolds to the stage with what promises to be a moving and important work for Theater for Young Audiences. A faithful stage adaptation (in musical style), this show explores 10 tales of what happens "after the dismissal bell." As the cornerstone for the community project, Stories Told, this tale speaks to all of us about the power of "finding our voices;" the stories help us develop the courage to be ourselves and learn to live by our own values in the face of pressure to live by others' values. This book and stage show reveal how similar we all are - that our friends and peers share many of our struggles silently.
Mr. Reynolds' work, while appreciated by diverse audiences and all ages, was initially intended to engage more boys in reading novels, and his work has made him a New York Times bestselling author as well as the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. If you don't know the work of Jason Reynolds, it's worth a hearing: www.JasonWritesBooks.com
Mayhem Poets (2025 GLCFA Artists in Residence)
This event is part of Stories Told!
Friday, April 25, 2025
10:00 AM - Grades 5 - 7
12:30 PM - Grades 8 - 11
Registration opens January 7 at 8:00PM
Next Gen at the Center is proud to present the Mayhem Poets live onstage as part of the community project Stories Told. The week-long 2025 Artists' Residency will conclude with two live matinees by the Mayhem Poets on the GLCFA stage for your inspiration and entertainment! "Called 'an amazing ride' by the New York Times, the Mayhem Poets are theatre-trained, comedically-gifted, lyrical virtuosos who seamlessly blend raw elements of hip hop, theatre, improv, and stand-up comedy to tell gut-wrenching truths that leave audiences forever changed." Source: New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
On Friday, April 25, the Mayhem Poets will perform their own poetry, with a nod to the Stories Told theme, "Finding Your Voice," through the sharing of stories and ideas that help us understand the power of self-expression and embracing who we are so that we can understand others.
SPRighT - Student Playwright's Readers Theater
This event is part of Stories Told!
Grades: 9 - 12
Showcase: Saturday, May 10, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00PM
Crooked Tree Arts Center Ross Stokes Theater
Calling all creative writers, playwright hopefuls, and wanna-be screenwriters! No registration necessary.
The final Stories Told event offered by Next Gen at the Center, SPRighT, represents an impactful and completely new opportunity for Regional high school students interested in creative writing. All high school students across Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Ostego counties will be invited to submit a 3 - 6 minute original play with up to 5 characters as a guideline; limit two entries per student addressing the Stories Told theme, "Finding Your Voice." From the submissions, winning plays will be showcased onstage at Crooked Tree Arts Center alongside readings from the Young Artist Festival (Crooked Tree Arts Center) and a special guest. Little Traverse Civic Theater (LTCT) actors will perform the winning student plays in Readers Theater style; winning student playwrights will be invited to rehearsal to guest direct their work, providing feedback and direction to the LTCT actors. Not only is this a great opportunity for your creative writers, but it's also a great opportunity to bring a real-world experience of self-expression into your curriculum.
Frequently Asked Questions
about Next Gen Events
I submitted a registration request; why didn’t I get seats for my class?
Next Gen does its best to accommodate all interested educators, but space is limited. Sometimes, you request registration but do not end up with your students registered. Instead, you may find yourself on a waitlist. If a show receives more registration requests than it has available seats, there are three main reasons you may not have been able to attend:
- “Spread the love.” All Next Gen programming costs are paid for by donations; these gifts allow teachers, schools, and students to participate at no cost. Next Gen works diligently to welcome students from the five counties we serve – and as many schools as possible – across each academic year out of respect for the donations that have been given. If a school who has attended frequently is trying to get seats and the show has more requests than available seats, Next Gen may prioritize a school who has not been able to attend in that academic year.
- “It’s a puzzle.” Next Gen strives to fill the theater for each show. Sometimes the size of your group is just too big for the number of seats remaining; when that happens, the next group whose seat request fits availability gets the seats. It’s a tricky puzzle that must balance registration request order and the need to fill the theater out of respect for donors whose gifts deserve to be maximally shared.
- “The no-show effect.” Because donors are paying for schools and students, Next Gen takes attendance very seriously. There are often waitlists for shows. If a school or group fails to show after registering, that school or group is moved to the end of the line for registration requests for the school year in which the no-show happened. Please don’t register and then fail to attend; it’s unfair to both donors and other schools who really wish to come.
Can I take students to a show who are not quite in the grade range listed on the website?
The grade ranges provided on the website and schedule are guidelines based on information available through the artists’ websites and agents. We customize to best fit the Next Gen schedule each year. If you wish to take a class outside the grade range for a given show, that is up to you; remember that the bulk of the audience will be from the grades included in the suggested grade range. EX: If you’d like to take your preschool class to Doktor Kaboom, you may request registration for them to attend even though the suggested grade range is K – 3. I would not encourage someone with a middle or high school class to do the same, given the age, size, and maturity differences between middle/high school students and the target age range for Doktor Kaboom.
Why are there some events for which no registration is available?
The “On the Road! Show” series, which takes touring theater into schools, must be arranged up to one year in advance. Therefore, registration is not available for these events. If you’d like your school to be considered for an upcoming “On the Road! Show,” please email rachel@greatlakescfa.organd type “WE WANT IN FOR ON THE ROAD!” in the subject box. The Artist in Residence program is participation by invitation; Next Gen is making its way around the school districts across all five counties we serve. These invitations go out 1-1.5 years in advance, and the in-school portion of the Artist Residencies always take place the third week of April. Next Gen is pleased to be adding summer programming beginning in June, 2025, with a Winnie the Pooh Library Tour for Littles (PreK and early elementary!); library tours are not available for registration through Next Gen because the individual libraries are at liberty to register if/how they see fit.
