Gal & teacher reflection 2014

Fall Play Production 2014-2015

Reflection ​

TST & the Catawba Valley Guardian Ad Litem Fall Play Production 2014 (an auditioned troupe of performing artists) presents Voices: Interpretive Art Based on the Life Stories of Abused and

Neglected Children in conjunction with Catawba Valley Guardian Ad Litem.

The Tractor Shed Theatre is an award winning high school theatre program known for their community outreach and creative work. In the past, the teenagers have worked with Women's Resource Center, Safe Harbor, Family Guidance Center, Children's Advocacy Center, PACE@Home, and Grace House Homeless Day Shelter to meet and hear the life stories of their participants in order to write an original show to playback to the participants and community to raise awareness and funds. Our chosen charity this year was the ​Catawba Valley Guardian Ad Litem program​.

Michelle Shield & Michelle Shepherd ​from

GAL came in to speak with the troupe about the mission of Guardian Ad Litem and shared twelve personal stories of local abused & neglected children. The troupe chose a child's story or theme that spoke to them individually. They decided to work alone or collaborate with other cast members. They wrote original monologues, spoken word, poetry, music, testimony, photography, film, dance, and a performance art piece with original costume. The performance was an unique walk​through performance where the audience was divided into three sections and toured with a guide through different levels of the museum. This gave the performance an

intimate feel. The show raised $1200 for the Children's Assistance Fund for GAL. Dec. 18th 2014. ​Hickory Museum of Art​.

Molly Rice & TST students was also on 1290 WHKY Talk Radio First Talk with Hal Row. One hour interview Radio Show recorded for archive.

Original Photography by Ashton B. & Irvin M.

Eckard Photographic at Hickory Museum of Art A Guardian ad Litem advocate is a trained community volunteer who is appointed, along with a Guardian ad Litem attorney, by a district court judge to investigate and determine the needs of abused and neglected children petitioned into the court system by the Department of Social Services. Their role is mandated by ​North Carolina General Statute​ ​7B​601​.

Throughout North Carolina, the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program seeks to serve the best interests of thousands of children who find themselves the subjects of court cases by assigning them Guardian ad Litem volunteers. Our program exists in every county throughout the state, and we serve more than 15,000 children a year.

For more information about the program, view our ​fact sheet as a PDF​.

The GAL volunteer’s responsibilities include digging for details in the case, collaborating with other participants in the case, recommending what’s best for child by writing court reports, empowering the child’s voice, staying vigilant by constantly monitoring the case, and keeping all information confidential.

The main qualification for becoming a GAL is to have a sincere concern for the well​being of children.

There are no education or experience requirements.

GAL advocates commit to spending at least 8 hours per month on a case, and cases usually take at least a year to be resolved. In order to apply, you need to complete an application, a screening interview, and a criminal record check. We also require 30 hours of training before being sworn in by a judge and appointed to a case. Our volunteers are supervised by program staff, and can attend continuing education trainings on advocacy issues.

The Charlotte Observer

Performance shines spotlight on abuse, neglect

By Julia Sendor Correspondent ​Posted: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014

​

COURTESY OF MOLLY RICE (cast photo Eckard Photographic)

Weaving together monologues, spoken word poetry, music and photography, St. Stephens play production students will shine a spotlight on child abuse and neglect on Dec. 18 at the Hickory Museum of Art. Cast members are, from left, Dalton Pope, Katherine Spuller, Nikki Witt, Mackenzie Patton, Kyla Little, Madison Phelps, Kariey Smith, Molly Rice, Carson Gantt, Olivia Wilson, Ashton Burgess, Alice Gomez, Julia Parham, Ashley Barnett and Irvin Maldonado.

MOREINFORMATION WANT TO GO?

The St. Stephens play production class will perform a creative arts show and service project hosted by the Hickory Museum of Art at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18. Tickets are $10, and proceeds go to the Catawba Valley GAL Association, a nonprofit that supports the North Carolina Guardian ad Litem program.

For information about the performance, contact Molly Rice at Molly _Rice@catawbaschools.net. For information about the Catawba Valley GAL Association, go to www.cvgal.org.

Kyla Little remembers waking up, alone in her house, without her mother. She would have to climb up on the kitchen counters to search for something to eat.

After the Department of Social Services took Little from her mother, she moved in with father, where she still lives.

Now 18 and a senior at St. Stephens High School, Little will share a monologue of the neglect she survived, as part of a creative arts show and service project by the St. Stephen’s play production class.

Through monologues, spoken word poetry, music, and photography, students will shine a spotlight on child abuse and neglect, drawing from true stories collected by the local Guardian ad Litem program as well as personal testimonies from Little and other students.

“I really believe in art therapy,” said Little. “I really think that art heals, and (telling my story) really shows the progress that I’ve made.

Molly Rice, theater arts director at St. Stephens, explained the show will employ art as a force of healing and also to honor the voices of abused children, awaken empathy in audience members, and even compel people to act.

Those who attend the show should not expect a passive, sit​down theater experience. It’s more of a “shindig,” Rice explained.

The students will perform their pieces at stations throughout the museum, and play production class alumni will guide audience members in groups from one station to the next. Tours will begin in the Coe Gallery.

“You’re kind of creating a sense of taking (the audience members) out of their comfort zones a bit, where they’re not just a viewer or voyeur or a fly on the wall,” said Rice.

Complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served, and Guardian ad Litem volunteers will provide attendees with information about becoming a guardian. The program provides trained, independent advocates to represent and promote the best interests of abused and neglected children in the court system and to work toward a plan that will ensure the children are in a safe, permanent home.

Michelle Shield, a local GAL volunteer, estimated that of the 232 children in foster care in Catawba County, 80 do not have an assigned guardian.

For children without a guardian, the county supervises the case, but those children go without the support and advocacy a personal guardian can provide.

“These children need a voice that is solely their own in court, that is looking after their best interest,” said Shield. As a guardian, “you are the eyes and the ears for the judge of this child.” Carson Gantt, a 15​ year ​old sophomore at St. Stephens, said she hoped the show would inspire audience members to volunteer as a guardian.

“People are so comfortable, they don’t know what’s going on,” Gantt said. “We have the possibility this time to make a really big difference…getting people really involved, if we’re successful.”

‘This is who we are’ The performance will be Rice’s fourth time challenging her students to create theater that doubles as community service. Last year, the play production class raised $460 for the Grace House Day Shelter in Hickory with a performance about homelessness.

This year, GAL provided the students with 12 stories of abused and neglected children because, for legal reasons, students could not meet the children in person. Even one step removed from the children, some of the students feared the stories would be too painful for them to explore deeply, Rice said. But they chose to commit to the project anyway.

“They decided, ‘no, we’re going to do it, this is who we are, what we do,’” said Rice.

Olivia Wilson, a 17​year​old senior, said she viewed taking on the children’s stories, painful as they may be, as an essential part of making art.

“We have to put ourselves … in (the children’s) places, and that’s what we were told to do as an artist – to think how they would feel,” said Wilson. “It’s heartbreaking, but it motivates you that much more to be their voice, because they can’t have one … I’ve learned how beautiful and important it is to ‘torch​bear.’ ”

“Good theater to me makes you think, makes you consider something that you hadn’t before, and that’s what I want to do with my life – it’s to shed light,” said Wilson.

Wilson will tell the story of a neglected child, by weaving original spoken word poetry with pieces of the song, “Mama Said,” by The Shirelles.

“What struck me when I read (the child’s) story was that all she wanted was for her mother to choose her … so my piece is about the need for love and attention,” said Wilson.

Students Irvin Maldonado and Ashton Burgess are collaborating on a photography piece, staging scenes that capture the essence of the children’s stories. Burgess, a 17 ​year ​old senior, described one shot that will portray a child on a bed, trying to protect him or herself from a hand wielding a belt.

Maldonado, a 16​ year ​old junior, described a particular story that resonated with him: a young woman on the verge of killing herself, who began to heal by making art with supplies given by the Children’s Assistance Fund of the Catawba Valley GAL Association.

The fund collects donations to support the children and teenagers in activities that help them feel normal – like making art or getting to go on the school band trip, Maldonado said.

Maldonado explained he understood the need to create art to survive painful times. “That’s one of the ways that I’m still here,” Maldonado said.

Little, whose father and sister will attend her performance, said she hopes her monologue will not only reveal how much she’s healed through art, but also galvanize her community to help other children heal.

“I just hope that people will realize that this is a prominent (problem) in our county, because this kind of thing really does happen,” said Little.

Rice described the performance’s two​fold potential: supporting abused and neglected children while instilling in her students a life​long dedication to advocacy.

“Of course they’re going to be advocates,” said Rice. “They’re enlightened and awake. If they see the wrong, they’re going to help.

Julia Sendor is a freelance writer. Have a story idea for Julia? Email her at julia.b.sendor@gmail.com.

Read online here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/13/5375233/performance​shines​spotlight​on.html#.VL_lAkfF98F# storylink=cpy

See our touching promotional video filmed in class and intertwined with the award winning short “Removed” a film based on the lives of abused and neglected children.

The Hickory Daily Record

Theater class hosts art show to raise funds, awareness for abused children

Submitted St. Stephens High theater director Molly Rice and her theater group w ill perform a show today at Hickory Museum of Art. Tickets are $10. The show w ill benefit the Cataw ba Valley Guardian ad Litem Association.

Posted: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 7:00 pm | ​Updated: 7:01 pm, Wed Dec 17, 2014.

By DAPHNE CHEN ​dchen@hickoryrecord.com

HICKORY, N.C. — They’d won the awards. They’d gotten the accolades. Now, they want to make a difference.

The award​winning theater group led by St. Stephens High School theater director Molly Rice is teaming up with the Catawba Valley Guardian ad Litem Association to shine a light on child abuse.

“Theater is the study of life,” Rice said. “For me, art is where it’s at for social change.”

Rice returned to the area to teach theater after five years doing peace work through art in Ireland. Every year, her theater class picks a different cause for their fall production. In past years, they fundraised for the homeless, the elderly and battered women.

This year, proceeds from their show will be donated to the Children’s Assistance Fund, administered by the nonprofit Catawba Valley GAL Association.

By attending the show, “that audience member has actually directly helped a child right here in Catawba County with whatever it is that they need,” Rice said.

According to Michelle Shield, a CVGAL board member and manager of the Children’s Assistance Fund, the fund has distributed more than $4,800 to abused and neglected children in Catawba, Caldwell and Burke counties.

“We try hard to make it as normal for being in foster care as possible with this fund,” Shield said. “Kids who live at home, they get to do things, they get to go on field trips, they get yearbooks, they get eyeglasses. Children in DSS don’t get those luxuries.”

A Guardian ad Litem is a court appointed advocate who represents a child in court proceedings. As volunteers, they are unpaid, and dedicate their time to advocating for the child through the duration of his or her case, whether it takes three months or three years.

“We are the child’s voice in court,” district administrator Sydney Smith said. “Parents have attorneys, DSS has attorneys, and that’s why it’s important for these children to have a volunteer that can be their voice in court.”

Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba are some of the most desperately underserved counties in the state in terms of guardians.

According to data provided by the North Carolina Guardian ad Litem program, 45 percent of children in DSS custody in the district did not have a guardian.

Statewide, the average percentage of children who did not have a court appointed guardian was 18 percent.

In an effort to educate local residents about the Guardian ad Litem program, CVGAL provided Rice’s students with 12 stories of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases in the area — stories that ended up being all too familiar to some of Rice’s students, and to Rice herself, who grew up in an abusive household.

“We had to batten down the hatches,” Rice said. “We sat down together and we knew it was going to be emotional, and we sat in a circle and read out all the stories.”

Senior Kyla Little, who was taken out of her mother’s care in kindergarten, found herself recalling the neglect she experienced as a young child.

“All I could think of was, ‘Wow, I could’ve been one of those people. I could have been one of those children if my dad hadn’t come to take me,’” Little said.

Little’s mother went through “bouts of depression” and often left her alone in the house, even as a toddler. One day, Little walked home from the school bus to find her mother passed out on the floor.

“She just didn’t really have a really good hold on her life,” Little said. “She was going through a lot, and you just can’t take care of a child if you can’t take care of yourself. And I understand that now.”

Little’s performance — a monologue addressed to her mother — will be one of many sprinkled throughout the Coe Gallery, which will become an interactive space showcasing the students’ art, music, photography and poetry.

“A lot of places in the museum, you’ll feel like you’re seeing things you shouldn’t,” Rice said. “We’re trying to make the audience think, and that’s going to take them out of their

comfort zone. If they have to actually get up, walk and stand very close to an actor … then I just feel like this style of theater best suits the stories of the children.”

The show will take place today at the Hickory Museum of Art. The reception is at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. http://www.hickoryrecord.com/life_entertainment/theater​class​hosts​art​show​to​raise​funds​aw areness​for/article_e1c6656a​8648​11e4​9bc5​234f7cfee8cd.html

The Focus Magazine: Dec. 12th, 2015 (Focus does not currently archive) The Hickory City Website:

The Tractor Shed Theatre​,​ ​the much awarded theatre department​ ​at Saint Stephen’s High School, lead by Molly Rice and ​Guardian​ ​Ad Litem ​pair​ ​up for a one​of​a​kind performance to raise​ ​awareness and funds for Catawba County children in need. The performance is December 18 at 7 p.m. in the Hickory Museum of Art

Since 2010, Saint Stephens High School Play Production (an auditioned troupe of artists) has collaborated with a chosen local charity or organization to raise awareness and funds to foster communication and art between teens and the community. The group has worked with the Children's Advocacy Center, Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, the Women's Resource Center, the Family Guidance Center, Pace@Home (All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) and The Grace House Day Shelter for the Homeless. This year, the Tractor Shed Theatre will partner with the Catawba Valley Guardian Ad Litem Association (GAL) as they present a unique original performance piece sharing the stories of foster children in the Unifour area.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 18, at the Hickory Museum of Art on the SALT Block. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to the Children's Assistance Funds. Hors d'Oeuvres will be served. h​ ​ttp://w w w .w hky.com/archive/item/4088​tractor​shed​theater​partners​w ith​guardian​ad​litem#.VMYkSkfF​So

Kudos and Congratulations for GAL Performance: Dear Educators: It was my pleasure recently to work with the very talented and passionate students of St. Stephen’s Tractor Shed Theatre during their winter presentation entitled “Voices” at the Hickory Museum of Art on December 18. Molly Rice and her students selected our

nonprofit, Catawba Valley Guardian ad Litem Association, to raise awareness about abuse and the role of the guardian ad litem(GAL) and also to raise funds for local foster children to be distributed by the nonprofit.

These students took on the very difficult subject matter of child abuse with their whole hearts and crafted individual performances based on the true stories of local children shared with them anonymously by the GAL program. Several students shared their very personal stories of the abuse they suffered as a child. The courage that it took for these students to reveal that part of their lives overwhelmed us all. The goal of this performance was to inspire action from the audience, and we feel they absolutely achieved this goal! In addition, over $1,200 was raised to be used to help local foster children to participate in sports, school field trips, receive tutoring and technology to meet special needs and much more!

Molly Rice is more than a drama teacher. She is leading by example and teaching the next generation of young adults that giving back and getting involved is life’s greatest work. She is inspiring them to look around, take a stand and then act accordingly. These young students of “life” should be celebrated for standing up for those who have no voice.

Our organization desperately needs volunteers to advocate for the abused and neglected children of the area. As the number of abuse cases grow exponentially, these students gave us the greatest gift, the gift of education and awareness about this need. We can never adequately express the gratitude we feel, but the administrators at St. Stephen’s should be so very proud of these students who bear their school name. Every day in the news, we read about youth who are doing harm and getting into trouble, but there is never enough good news celebrating the youth who are making a difference. I implore you to take a moment and tell these 22 students how very proud you are of them and their efforts. As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

With Kind Regards, Tami Barker, President Catawba Valley Guardian ad Litem Assoc. 704​995​4950 www.cvgal.org *Advocating for abused and neglected children in Caldwell, Catawba, and Burke Counties*

From: ​"Brigman, Dan" <​Dan_Brigman@catawbaschools.net​> To: ​Catawba Valley GALA <​cvgala@bellsouth.net​>, "​june.atkinson@dpi.nc.gov​" <​june.atkinson@dpi.nc.gov​>, "Butler, Sherry"

<​Sherry_Butler@catawbaschools.net​>, "​DeAnna_Taylor@catawbaschools.net​" <​DeAnna_Taylor@catawbaschools.net​>, "Taylor, Jeff" <​Jeff_Taylor@catawbaschools.net​>, "Rucker, Amy" <​Amy_Rucker@catawbaschools.net​>, "Johnson, Chris" <​Chris_Johnson@catawbaschools.net​>, "Hollifield, Heather" <​Heather_Hollifield@catawbaschools.net​> Subject: RE: Tractor Shed Theatre Date: ​December 23, 2014 at 10:02:22 AM EST Good morning Ms. Barker!

Thank you for taking time to share the positive words about our students and faculty members, particularly Molly Rice. I am glad to hear that the recent performance was a huge success and your organization greatly benefited from the efforts of so many students. Thank you for your support for abused and neglected children in our region. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sincerely, Dan Brigman, Ed.D. Dr. Dan Brigman Superintendent of Schools Catawba County School System PO Box 1010 Newton, NC 28658 P: 828-464-8333 F: 828-464-0925 www.catawbaschools.net

Wishing you all a peaceful and restful holiday season...

SSHS TST raised ​$1200 for foster children​ in our area through the Catawba Valley Guardian Ad Litem Children Assistance Fund with admission fees for our original performance - Voices: an interpretive performance piece based on the life stories of abused and neglected children in our area.

It was great to see Ms. Johansen, Mr. Hoke, Ms. Watson, Mrs. Gantt, and Mrs. Kipp there to help represent Saint in our community. The audience consist of SSHS students, alumni,

doctors, dentists, lawyers, parents, and packed full! It was beautiful to see so many different walks of life at the show. DeAnna Taylor and Zack were there which was a beautiful surprise.

Thought I'd share some words from the community about our SSHS student actors:

Dear Molly, Congratulations to you and your students for such a meaningful offering they shared with this community and which also resulted in funds for such an important cause. Please let your students know how much I personally enjoyed their words, music and their passion about something that is important and which they decided to do something about. And, thanks to you for your leadership and persistence!

LisĂŤ C. Swensson Executive Director (Hickory Museum of Art) Merry Christmas to one of the brightest and most talented women I know.

I just wanted to say thank you for the gift of that wonderful performance last night. It was obvious that your students were well prepared, but even more important was the compassion and understanding your students walked away with-a priceless gift. Thank you for pouring your heart and soul into the Tractor Shed. You have made a positive difference in the lives of many, many students.

DeAnna Taylor Director of Secondary Education (Catawba County Schools) from Guardian Ad Litem District 25: Thank you to everyone who came out last night to support the talented students at Tractor Shed Theatre. They tackled a very difficult subject with their entire heart and poured their time and talent into raising awareness about child abuse and neglect. In addition, they raised an amazing amount of money for local children in foster care. Molly Rice, we are overwhelmed by your support!! Thank you to Michelle Shepherd and Michelle Shield for sharing the stories with the students, organizing the food and venue, and much more! It truly was an evening to remember!!

Michelle Asher Shepherd (GAL): â&#x20AC;&#x2039; Molly Rice's students moved me deeply last night . What a beautiful group of teenagers...sensitive, creative, and so very talented! Molly, thank you for for all you do for the

arts in our community! Thank you Tractor Shed Theatre, for choosing The Guardian Ad Litem Program and helping raise awareness and funds for this wonderful organization. You blew me away!

From Katharina Carrasquillo (GAL): â&#x20AC;&#x2039;Thank you for such a great performance. You and your group are simply phenomenal. Being a GAL I was in awe how much love and dedication these young adults have .......I am speechless. Thank you for your support.

From Tami Baxter (Gal): The show & your students left quite an impression on me. They went above & beyond with the heart & soul they put into this project. You are a sweet angel & I'm honored to know you! Thank you for letting us share our hearts work with you. I am stunned!! Everything just went beautifully!! The total is $1,200! I am STUNNED by this Molly....really I am!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

From Michelle Shield (GAL): I would like to thank Molly and the Tractor Shen performers for a wonderful performance last night. All the performers gave up their evening to advocate for the children who can't speak up for themselves in court. I have a feeling that some of the young performers will at one time in their lives commit to being a GAL, and they will find it very rewarding when they do. Thank you again for all your help with our GAL organization. I would be happy to talk more to any of the students who have more questions. Michelle Shield From a GAL Board Member: "I cannot thank you and your students enough for the wonderful work you are doing. My heart is so full, I could just explode. The video this morning and then the article in the Observer has left me a tearful mess. I don't know how I will get through the performances on Thursday...two of the teens I advocate for are being spotlighted. The teen who talked of suicide and uses art to heal and also the young lady who only wants her mother to "choose her." Both of these have been extremely difficult cases for me and they are both still in the system today.

I can't wait to meet you and just thank you personally for the attention you have created for these children and the need for GAL's. You are AWESOME!!!"

From a Parent and Colleague: I am certain I do not have the means to express my thoughts and feelings about last nights performance. However, I feel I should give it a try.

I was very impressed the choice of subject for a high school play production class. When I think about the age and experience range of your students in the class, I am amazed they took on such an emotionally charged topic.

The performances were astounding in that they were written by youth in response to situations that may be so foreign to their own daily lives. The compassion and empathy the students felt was so developed for their ages. That they could convey those feelings so effectively, in such a short time frame was amazing. The level of passion that was expressed through the words, songs and performance was deep and true. That passion was felt in the audience. That the students could repeat that passion throughout the night was extraordinary.

The gallery space and movements of the audience provided a different sense of time, setting and theme.

Thank you to you and your students for their hard work and bringing awareness to a worthy cause.

Diane Gantt

Tami Baxter Barker December 18, 2014

I am still overwhelmed by this wonderful group of talented, caring students. Thank you for tackling this very difficult social issue with grace and amazing amounts of heart!

Corinne Green​ What an amazing group of teens!

December 19, 2014 at 6:44am​ ·

Abigail Taylor December 18, 2014​ · ​Hickory, NC

Very proud of the Tractor Shed Theatre, touched by the show tonight, and blessed to have been an early Tractor Shed player. Awesome work!

Melissa Gibson December 18, 2014

Noah and I are so thankful we came tonight. Awesome heartfelt evening!

Liz Allen Phothichack December 18, 2014

BRAVO!!!

Beth Deskevich Phelps You are incredible ​Molly Rice and it shows in those kids performances. Thank you for your loving and supportive touch you give to your students.

December 20, 2014 at 10:15am

Betty O'Hearn This night made an impression on Katelyn and we both left with mascara tracks on our faces. Kudos to the actors from the Tractor Shed and ​Molly Rice who conveyed the work of the Guardian Ad Litem program.

December 18, 2014 at 9:20pm

Johnson, Chris In response to the message from Rice, Molly, 12/21/2014 To: ​Rice, Molly Inbox Monday, December 22, 2014 4:20 PM

Congratulation!! Mrs. Rice, WOW!! What a worthy cause.!! Great Job Chris Johnson Assistant Principal St. Stephens High School

Teacher Reflection: This semester’s work seems like a year’s worth! With two full classes of Beginning Theatre Arts and our auditioned classes of Intermediate and Advanced (Honors) Play Production there was never a moment of downtime. At the beginning our this year, I found out that I had a B12 and Vitamin D deficiency which kept me feeling depleted and currently I’m still journeying through my

health issues with a scheduled MRI upcoming. Regardless of my personal health concerns, my students and I made beautiful art together. I loved starting the year off with Professional Development by attending the ​North Carolina Theatre Arts Educators with was held in Belmont, NC. You can check out our workshop schedules here: http://media.wix.com/ugd/c2ce5d_009ae6608a154b9289b9519ca62035f1.pdf I also enjoyed the Super Saturday professional development opportunities. It was nice to be involved in the workshops with high school students and take part with them and their interaction with the college professor’s workshops. I also was able to make connections with a few professors whom I hadn’t met before.

College Discovery Day NCTC gave the same mingling aspect with college theatre professors.

To help our new theatre teachers here in Catawba County I added our new teachers to the Facebook Group I create years ago and also created a Pinterest site to help inspire them. I would like a closer network however we still have some way to go on that front since drama teachers are some of the busiest people I know.

The Pinterest site I created for our new TA Educators. beginning stages still...

Of course, it is in the

Click here to check out my pins: ​http://www.pinterest.com/theatreteaching/

I love playing the Media League as it really has such a creative process that is like a mini production in itself. My students work hard to reach the theme artistically and build their artist’s portfolios. We create so much work, we find it difficult to keep up at times. We are in the process of showcasing all the art in the Media League’s online “Gallery”. I’m very proud that we have come so far in honest critique and choosing the right media to serve as game pieces. Our online presence in our social media aspect of leaving other players comments is very professional and I like the way the game is set up as a teaching opportunity for online etiquette. I wish that other Media League coaches would take the same opportunity with their students.

Working with Guardian Ad Litem was an absolute honor. It was emotionally challenging. I’ll not forget when the class and I sat in a circle on the floor and I said “Okay. Let’s batten down the hatches.” and we each read a life story from children in our area aloud to one another. We discussed their circumstances and some liken it to their own personal life as I did as well. But some of the stories all we could do was share silence and tears. It was a terrible beauty.

A wonderful person from the community whom I do not know Ruth Clontz donated money to the Children’s Advocacy & Protection Center in the honor of me.

Notable Neighbor: Students learn about life, charity, theater Posted: Monday, October 27, 2014 11:00 pm | ​Updated: 7:01 pm, Wed Dec 17, 2014.

By RICHARD GOULD ​rgould@hickoryrecord.com

ROBERT C. REED Drama teacher Molly Rice at St. Stephens High's Tractor Shed Theatre.

HICKORY, N.C. — She’s won awards – plenty of them. Championship banners hang on the black box theater wall. Her students have performed on Broadway and at Carnegie Hall.

They’ve gone on to hone their craft at art schools and universities.

Molly Rice is St. Stephens High School’s drama teacher. For the past 10 years, she’s taught teens to go from script to stage.

She’s good at her job, but what makes her great probably has more to do with her outlook than her subject matter.

In 2012, the Long View Police Department announced that they were searching for a 22-year-old man. He was one of Rice’s former students. While officers were tracking down leads, Rice was organizing her students into search parties. A parking lot served as their civilian command center where teens and parents returned for refreshments and to share information they gathered during searches, phone calls and forays on social media.

Dozens of teachers taught the man throughout his school years. When he went missing in the middle of February there was only one who was willing to spend her weekend doing everything in her power to bring him home safely. Officers and some members of the

community suspected the man wasn’t in any danger — that he had left home voluntarily — and was hiding out.

ROBERT C. REED Drama teacher Molly Rice (left) at St. Stephens

High's

Tractor

Shed

Theatre

confers with senior Olivia Wilson about an upcoming Halloween production.

Rice didn’t care. The possibility that her former student was alone in the cold was enough to motivate her front-line efforts.

And the fact the man showed up at the car dealership where his mother worked six days after he went missing, and was later charged with filing a false police report for claiming he’d been kidnapped when he’d really been hiding in an abandoned house — according to Long View police — didn’t change her mind.

She’d done the right thing. That’s what mattered. And for Rice, doing the right thing is really the only thing that does matter.

Although her students continue to compete in a social-media-based arts competition, which they won at the national level last year, she doesn’t take them out on the theater competition circuit any more. She’s got them focused on bigger things.

“We did that and we won awards and we got those kudos, but now we’ve decided to take that money and put it back into the community,” Rice said. “Our job as artists is to torchbear, to celebrate life’s stories in our community.”

Every year the St. Stephens drama students examine a social issue. First, it was domestic violence. One year it was homelessness and another year it was child abuse. Rice’s students meet victims and volunteers. The students listen to stories and learn the humanity behind the buzzwords. Then, they write. Then, they perform.

Then, they give.

“Molly has a heart for others, and she’s teaching her students to give back and to be responsible community members,” St. Stephens High Principal Jeff Taylor said. “Research states that students need to connect with at least one teacher who’s passionate about her

subject and that’s Molly Rice. Every kid needs something that gives them a passion for getting up and going to school, and performing arts are huge in that respect.”

The money earned from the child abuse show’s ticket sales bought teddy bears and blankets, which were given to the young victims to hold as they recount their torment to detectives and social workers.

It’s not surprising from a woman who survived a childhood of abuse in small town North Carolina before making her way to Northern Ireland where, she did freelance work promoting peace by teaching drama and poetry to children who committed heinous crimes.

She’s a wife, a mother, a published poet. And she’s the sort of teacher students remember for a lifetime.

“If I didn’t do what I do, then I wouldn’t have been saved,” Rice said referencing the substance abuse that took the lives of her parents and brother. “I come from absolute nothing — from the dirt — and I came out on top of that abuse.”

When students walk down the hall they gravitate to the woman with the long strawberry blonde hair and the brown calico vest. They beam and hug her before bragging about poem they’ve written for the next open mic night at St. Stephen’s weekly Coffee House performances. Her young acolytes bring their lunches and gather around her desk for lunch instead of dining in the cafeteria.

Rice spends her last class period of the day teaching a gaggle of teens that range from honors students to students who are failing every other class. Some are athletes. Some are growing up too early. Some know the court system from the inside. Some are safer at school than they are at home. This disparate group spent the first month of this school year taking personality assessments, learning who their peers are and learning to trust Rice. Now she’s taking this assortment of teen experience and guiding them as they struggle to discover who they are and figure out what they want — while they think they’re just learning how to perform plays.

ROBERT C. REED St.

Stephens

High's

Tractor

Shed

Theatre drama teacher Molly Rice and her cast of actors have won major awards for their performances.

“Theater, if it’s run right, it’s a family and it’s more of a family than I ever had,” she said. “I know I do my best work when I’m a facilitator

and the students are in charge of the journey.”

Some

are

slump-shouldered

with

their hair in their eyes and their hands jammed in their pockets; others can’t stop their twitchy shuffling feet. More than one

is

trying

on

a

preening-self-confidence as

convincing

as

an

ill-fitting mask. They’re all casting for an identity.

The students listen to each

other

perform

sing

spoken

angst-riddled about

and word,

pieces

the

moral

imperative to be true to one’s

self

they’re

—

a

self

desperate

to

discover.

All while Rice moves from

group

coaching,

to

group

guiding

and

laughing as she makes sure

they’re

making

progress on their current project

—

five-minute

writing

a

piece

to

perform in front of the class

about

their

life

stories. When she nods at a good idea she bends at the waist and includes her torso in the gesture.

“You can tell us about a scar or a necklace that you got from your grandmother. Remember your audience is made up of teenagers,” she said. “Don’t share something from your life that’s going to leave you a blubbering mess on the stage — protect yourself a bit.”

And there, in St. Stephens’ Tractor Shed Theatre, a group of teenagers moves one step closer to the men and women they’re becoming under the gentle guidance of a great teacher.

Molly Rice Award-winning Saint Stephens High School drama teacher Molly Rice is the kind of person who pours her heart into her job. She’s the kind of teacher students remember for a lifetime.

For 10 years she’s taught Catawba County teens to go from script to stage. Every year the St. Stephens drama students examine a social issue. First it was domestic violence. One time the subject was homelessness. This year it’s child abuse. Her students meet the victims and the volunteers. The students listen to the stories and learn the humanity behind the buzzwords. Then they write. Then they perform. Then they give the proceeds of their theatrical performances to this year’s charity.

And every one of her students goes out into the world with a deeper understanding of their community’s needs and what they can do to help. It’s the kind of social awareness that some take decades to develop and Rice is creating dozens of socially aware students every year.

Keli J. Osborne​ via ​Hickory Daily Record | hickoryrecord.com December 27, 2014 at 2:11pm​ · Molly Rice​. One of the few on this list who truly helps others and does not live to climb a political ladder, but instead genuinely wants to lift others spirits and increase their quality of life. So deserving and I'm so proud of you Molly!

Catie Cain Kale​ Soooo amazing ​Molly Rice​!!! Soooo proud!!!

December 27, 2014 at 3:34pm​ · ​Unlike​ · ​1 Christina Kliesch​ Congrats Molly! It's a well deserved recognition!

December 27, 2014 at 3:57pm​ · ​Unlike​ · ​2 Julia Rush December 29, 2014 at 6:37am​ · ​Congratulations! M ​ olly Rice​! I sent this article on to Drew. ..just one of the thousands of kids who adore you.

Anthony Alderman​ December 28, 2014 at 12:10pm​ · ​Congrats

I know you don't need and never did.

on a shout out from the HDR. What's great about you is