Featured Artist: Annette Daniels-Taylor

Young Audiences is pleased to announce four new workshops doffered by Buffalo's reknowned playwright, poet, actor, teacher, singer and costumer Annette Daniels-Taylor.  Her multifaceted and innovative approaches to bringing the written word and history to life ignites the enthusiasm of audiences of all ages. Annette's dynamic personality and theatrical expertise can bring the joy of theater and performance to any classroom or professional development event.

Students may experience a spoken word performance of original, personal poetry and stories in Stories Through the Microphone. This workshop includes writing exercises to help students gain confidence with the writing process and sharing poetry of their own!

Through the This Is What Happened, Playwriting Stories workshop, young writers may focus on translating their most memorable experiences into dramatic short scenes or monologues set for the stage.

The Mama Songs workshop celebrates childhood memories and illustrates the important relationships we share with the people who raise us. Poetry and prose songs are performed over hip-hop beats and students are given the chance to practice writing poetic memoirs about themselves and their families.

Allow students to engage to engage with New York State's integral role in history involving the Erie Canal, the Women's Suffrage Movement, and freedom through Daniels-Taylor's Nancy Goes to Seneca Falls performance, created for Young Audiences of WEstern NEw York. Annette brings to life a character based on a real wife, mother and former slave named Nancy Freeman. It is 1848, and Nancy is traveling in her husband's boat down the Erie Canal to be part of the Women' s Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Nancy shares stories and songs about life as a slave, and her life as a free woman on New York' s Erie Canal.

Many of Annette's programs can be tailored to suit a variety of classroom subjects. These workshops are also available for adult audiences as a professional development event. Call the Young Audiences of WNY office for more details on booking Annette at your school or workplace!

Watch this video to see what 2nd and 7th grade students did with Annette during their residency in 2008-2009.

Annette Daniels Taylor at Buffalo Public School #43 from Young Audiences on Vimeo.