FAQs
About the Virtual Volunteering Project
http://www.sjcmt.com
Tegan McLane, Theater as Digital Activity (TADA) Coordinator
The Theater as Digital Activity (TADA) program at San José Children's Musical Theater is a perfect example of an organization fully and successfully integrating virtual volunteering and online service delivery into what it already does well.
The first TADA project took place over a whole year: 45 young people throughout the U.S. with serious illnesses and disabilities and linked via ConvoNation worked online with the San José Children's Musical Theater (SJCMT). They shared fears and frustrations with young actors in San José, the theater artistic director Kevin Hauge, and playwright and TADA coordinator Tegan McLane.
The result was Pulse, the Rhythm of Life, an original musical which premiered in May 1998 in San José, with young actors protraying characters that were "a mosaic of wounded, hurting kids whose loneliness is lessed by a keyboard and the knowledge that other children similarly suffer," according to a feature article in the San Jose Mercury News.
Just before the production was launched, Tegan noted, "The new virtual component allows us to be even more inclusive, welcoming kids who are isolated by sickness or geographic distance and sharing the magic of theater with them." SJCMT is committed to providing excellent, accessible musical theater training for youth, with high-quality performances for families and the entire community. TADA is an extension of this endeavor, and is already working on more computer-born, collaborative stage shows.
"Our second project is called OUR TREE: The Family Chronicles and we'll be working online with students around the country to write another original musical, premiering in the year 2000," Tegan added.
"Our online participants, who are mostly junior high, high school and college age kids, are considered both clients and volunteers. The kids contribute ideas to our original musicals via the internet, email and live chats."
TADA has an outline of OUR TREE: The Family Chronicles posted on its web site, and is inviting feedback from online volunteers about these scenes. The countdown for TADA's third original musical inspired by youth online begins in the Fall of 1999 as well. The new show will be set in the year 2101 and online contributors will offer suggestions about what the world will be like a hundred years from now.
They also incorporate volunteer involvement with regular season shows at SJCMT. For instance, Evita cast members (all youth volunteers) and young people around the world will help shape the upcoming production of Evita by working as " online dramaturgs" through the bilingual interactive website. Each week until the production, Director Kevin Hauge and members of his production team pose research questions and invite input on certain aspects of the show. For example, during the first week, as Kevin plans the staging for Eva's funeral scene, the online volunteer dramaturgs were asked to use the Internet to uncover details about Eva Peron's funeral, including any special customs or state funeral traditions, decor and who was in attendance. "The site is available in both English and Spanish, thanks to the dedicated work of our volunteer translators," says Tegan. A SJCMT parent heads the translation team, with additional support from a Spanish student in Florida who is volunteering online.
SJCMT also involves volunteers virtually in .HTML programming (one online volunteer designs and produces all of the theater's performance programs) , and uses its web site to recruit volunteers for offline tasks. The theater has started doing two monthly e-mail newsletters -- one for kids and one for adults (and all volunteers).
SJCMT/TADA is exploring ways for parents whose work prevents them from volunteering onsite to be able to volunteer virtually.
Tegan prepared detailed information to help other organizations wanting to work with volunteers and clients via chat rooms, based on her own experiences with TADA. This information focuses on the human aspects that make such interactions successful, rather than the technology. The VV Project combined this information with other material for a chat resource page.
