Just One Second at Create Academy in Phoenix
When a Mad Hatter mysteriously lands in the front office of a school, he implores the students to write stories for him to share with the Queen of Hearts… before she says “Off with his Head!”
The pilot production of DogEar Theatre Company, a company Nikki co-founded in 2017.
Just One Second was presented in four stages: Present. Explore. Create. Interact.
Nikki read The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party to the students at Create Academy, an educational program for young people.
To explore the story and the world of Alice in Wonderland, we integrated theatre workshops into subjects like math, science, English, and art. Nikki worked closely with teachers to identify areas where students were struggling and developed arts-based lessons that connected those challenges to elements of the story. We also asked the students what they would want at a tea party and what might happen there. In addition, the students designed and created their own tea-party chairs and teacups.
A few weeks later, the DogEar team transformed the front office, replacing the space with a fully designed tea party set inspired by the students' ideas and artwork.
For one week, students, faculty, staff, and parents had the opportunity to interact with and use this creative space. On two of those days, the Mad Hatter himself made an appearance!
This inaugural installation was made possible through the support of the Pave Arts Venture Incubator Grant.
