The Crew
Mara Tapp bio
An award-winning journalist and broadcaster for more than 25 years, Cool Classics! Creator and Director Mara Tapp's recent work has appeared in Chicago magazine, the Chicago Reader, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Catalyst, Bookforum and Playbill, on many public radio and television broadcasts, as well as on public access television. During the seven years she spent doing The Mara Tapp Show on Chicago’s National Public Radio affiliate, she had the privilege of interviewing children's authors including Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Tomie de Paola, the late Madeleine L'Engle and E.L. Konigsburg.
In the past few years, Tapp has added teaching to her professional activities and is proud to be a substitute teacher in several Chicago Public Schools, including the one where her daughters began their formal education. Since early 2004 she has worked for extended periods with gifted students and children with special needs. Tapp also teaches in the graduate program for New Arts Journalism at the School of the Art Institute and has taught "Reviewing the Arts" to upper-level undergraduates at Columbia College Chicago. Both courses expose students to and teach them how to think and write critically about a wide range of arts and culture.
Board of Directors
Hon. Marilyn F. Johnson, President
Juvenile Division
Circuit Court of Cook County
Julie MacCarthy, Secretary
Director of Marketing, Art Resources in Teaching
Leah Marcus, Treasurer
Former Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times Education Guide
Former President, Oak Park River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education
William B. McClellan
Music Curriculum Supervisor for the Office of Arts Education, Chicago Public Schools
Managing Director of the CPS All-City Groups and the Contests
Principal Conductor for the CPS All-City High School Band
Former Chicago Band Chair for Illinois Music Educators Association
Evie Pena-Shives
Educator, Walt Disney Magnet School
Faculty member, Chicago Ballet Arts
Mara Tapp
Cool Classics Inc. Founder and Director
Alaka Wali
Curator of North American Anthropology
Applied Cultural Research Director
Environment, Culture and Conservation
The Field Museum
Leon M. Despres, 1908-2009
Attorney
Former 5th Ward Alderman
Former Parliamentarian to the Chicago City Council
Special Thanks
Cool Classics! began with a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Our deepest gratitude goes to Tony Berkley and Gail McClure for their genuine support of the Cool Classics! concept. The seed money Kellogg gave made it possible to develop, pilot test and evaluate the program for Chicago's public school children.
Credits
Photography by Kirk Shepherd, one of Chicago's premier portrait photographers, of Kirk Shepherd Photography, LLC. His specialties include children, families and working in outdoor/natural light locations. Please visit www.ksphoto.net
Videography by EyeQuilt, Inc. www.eyequilt.com
Cool Classics! logo concept by Jodi Crawford, who resides in Jamestown, NY. She received her college degree in "Computer Graphic Art & Design." Her business, "Creative Designs," includes freelance artwork, quality, one-of-a-kind hand-sewn items and gifts and unique jewelry designs and sales. Please visit www.creativedesignsbyjodi.com
Logo Design by Zack Hull and Naïveté Studios.
Site design by Jason Birchler and Peter Murray.
Books for the Cool Classics! pilot were purchased from and donated by Powell's Bookstores, which have been selling quality used, rare, bargain, and out-of-print books in Chicago since 1971. Powell's now has three large stores, with over 50 subject areas, specializing in scholarly subjects, but also carrying a deep selection of trade books. All stores feature extensive children's book collections. For more information, visit its website at www.powellschicago.com
Artists participating in the Spring 2006 Cool Classics! pilot at the Walt Disney Magnet School are:
Drostan Hall and the Lincoln Piano Trio, Drostan & Dorothy Hall of the Hall School of Music. Ferdinand & Friends Book and CD gift set, which is available at www.hallschoolofmusic.com
Ella Jenkins, award-winning singer and performer. http://www.ellajenkins.com
For more than 15 years, Lifeline Theatre's Artists in Residency Program has placed working artists into the classrooms of Chicago Public Schools for residencies. Committed to literature and a love of language, Lifeline artists use creative dramatics to enhance curriculum and inspire children to find learning fun. Each year, Lifeline serves over 400 students in the Chicago areas for residencies of up to 10 weeks. Lifeline Theatre also offers three book-linked plays a year in its KidsSeries at its 6912 N. Glenwood theater. For more information on productions or residencies, please visit the website at www.lifelinetheatre.com
Our deepest gratitude goes to our Disney stars: Dr. Kathleen Hagstrom, Leonie Deutsch, Nancy Jones, Jeralyn Mitchell, Natalie Butler, Evie Pena-Shives, Sarah Roodhouse and especially to our student helpers. Our parent stars were Henry Anderson, Janice Cody, Annie Hudson and Bette Schwarz-Walker. Thanks also to all the parents who were able to come in and help with special projects or chaperone on field trips. We also heartily thank Art Resources in Teaching, especially Associate Director Julie MacCarthy, whose regular advice and support was beyond measure. Thanks to all of our artists: to the Lifeline Theatre actors and teachers for sharpening our acting skills; to Ella Jenkins for teaching us some great songs; to David Geary for making bull masks with us; to Drostan Hall and the Lincoln Piano Trio for a teaching us about classical music. Special thanks to our field trip hosts, Brad Jonas and Mai Wagner of Powell's Bookstore and to Laura Jenkins of the Chicago Public Library's Uptown Branch. Perhaps the biggest thanks go to our wonderful children for their enthusiasm, attention, intelligence and charm. They made us laugh and cry and, most important, they made us think. And, like all the best students, they taught us.