The State of the Classroom: A Second Home

I hope Imagination Stage students remember this time of COVID not only as a time they overcame challenges but also as a fun time. Our programming is joyous and fun. Our classes are filled with laughter. Our virtual field trips are met with smiles. I hope that we are providing an outlet for laughter and creativity while young people are learning from home and social-distanced from friends. I hope they look back at this time and see what they themselves were able to create—whether a Zoom play with peers or learning a Broadway dance with their parents in one of our Family Fun online dance classes.

I am an alumna of BAPA’s Deaf Access Company (now Imagination Stage). When I think back to that time in my life, it was monumental to my growth. I was a teen struggling to fit in at my school and having the relationships from my peers and teacher, the challenge of learning a new language (ASL), and the excitement of performing—it provided me with a new outlook. It gave me new friendships with young people whose culture (Deaf culture) was different from my own, a theatrical experience and training, and a place that felt like a second home to me. I think for many young people, Imagination Stage is that second home.

"[My daughter] looks forward to Thursdays and Sundays more than any other days of the week, and it is because of her Imagination Stage classes. Thank you for allowing her to be part of this wonderful experience and the Imagination Stage family."
- Imagination Stage Parent

Spring classes start as early as March 20. Register today!


Joanne Seelig Lamparter
Artistic Director - Education & Theatre for Change

Joanne Seelig Lamparter joined Imagination Stage in 2014. As Director of Education and Theatre for Change she has led the organization’s school and community partnerships, theatre arts training programs, and the development of new work based on youth voices . Under Joanne’s leadership Imagination Stage’s youth programming has been featured at international festivals, national conferences, at local universities and even on Capitol Hill! Read more about Joanne and Imagination Stage's leadership here.

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