Southland Sings offers two programs: “My Story, My Voice: Poetry to Song” and “From the Page to the Stage.” In both programs, children and youth write and perform an original musical or play in a series of 10-14 consecutive 60-minute weekly sessions.

“My Story, My Voice: Poetry to Song” teaches children to become writers, composers, singers, and performers of their own original musicals. Working together, the students improvise and write melodies with original accompaniment, and then merge their musical creation with their own lyrics. The finished piece contains 5-8 original short songs and poems, dialogue, movement, and narration. There is also an optional component that allows students to create original animations of their work.

“From the Page to the Stage” uses the same methodology as “My Story, My Voice: Poetry to Song,” but the students create a play instead of a work of musical theater.

The primary purpose of these programs is to deeply involve students in the subject of their play or musical. For example, students learning about Harriet Tubman would have the chance to speak her words, walk in her shoes, and write and sing songs about what she felt and experienced.

In both programs, students determine the theme and plot of their work, create characters, dialogue, and narration based on their life experiences or on a common classroom subject. Students work both individually and in small groups, and the project culminates with a student-performed show for a live audience.

Both programs serve general education students, students with disabilities, and students in a variety of settings including incarcerated youth facilities, and both integrated and isolated special education sites.