"This program helps fill in the gaps by exposing
students to singing, acting, dancing, songwriting and improvising,"
said Coplan. "It also bolsters their existing social studies curriculum
by discussing the politics, geography and culture of countries like
Austria, England and China."

The new program meets two to three
Wednesdays each month from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. "The West Somerville
Neighborhood School has a fair amount of half-days on Wednesdays," she
said. Therefore, "Our program can only take place on full Wednesdays.
However, we try to make up for the "missing" Wednesdays by hosting
extra events, like taking all the students to a play or hosting an
acting workshop at Tufts."

So far, three sessions have been
held, although more would have taken place, had fewer snow or half days
occurred. Although, she "would absolutely love to continue it during
the summer, most Tufts students won't be around."

All sixth,
seventh and eighth grade students at WSNS may participate in this
program. Students range in age from 11 to 15 years of age. "We started
out with five people and have grown to nine," said Coplan. Fewer than
100 students are enrolled at the school. Therefore, approximately 10
percent of the student body, in that age bracket, currently benefits
from the program.

Broadway2Broadway was funded by Tufts Civic
Engagement Institute at the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public
Service, The Civic Engagement Fund, "provides support for students who
want to create projects that help the community," said Coplan.

"For
a two week period in October 2008, she wrote letters to individuals in
the Drama Department, Education Department, History Department and
Child Development, all of whom provided additional assistance. "People
could tell that it was a good idea, and that it had realistic,
manageable goals," she said. Coplan submitted her application on
October 31. Approximately a month later, she received word that
Broadway2Broadway "had been granted every dollar I asked for."

"Tufts'
student-run musical theater organization Torn Ticket II has donated
tickets to their Spring show, Into the Woods, so that the WSNS students
can see their first musical," she said.

WSNS, does not possess
ample resources "to offer a strong performing arts program. These kids
are suddenly being encouraged to let their inner actor/singer/dancer
shine," said Coplan. "No one has nurtured these talents in a
professional way before."

She discovered that this particular
school was in dire need of a better arts department. According to
Coplan, she selected WSNS because the location of the school is ideal,
as it lies "around the corner from Tufts." Therefore, the school is
within walking distance for Tufts students.

Students with various backgrounds participate. "We've got quite a diverse group of people," she said.

Many
of the students in Broadway2Broadway play instruments in their music
classes. However, acting, dancing and singing in-school opportunities
are lacking.

Participants exhibit a wide-range of acting, singing and dancing ability. Some excel in all three areas.

"We
have a sixth grader who likes to sing opera, an eighth grade boy who
can do amazing impressions – even one of Britney Spears, and an eighth
grade girl who can play every instrument and wants to go to Berklee for
music production," said Coplan.

"The way the sessions work is
that we bring in a different Tufts student each week to "lead" the
session for the day, focusing on a different musical each week," she
said. "For instance, we recently did a session on My Fair Lady in
connection with England. Two students, Michelle Wilson ('12) and
Carolyn Berliner ('11) came to WSNS and showed clips from the Audrey
Hepburn film and discussed the socio-economic breakdown of London. That
was the social studies portion."

That session began with diction
exercises, analogous to those in My Fair Lady. That stressed the
importance of enunciation in acting. Tea time followed. Besides tea,
biscuits, jam and butter were available to devour. Choreography from "I
Could Have Danced All Night" filled out the day. Therefore, "By not
focusing on one thing for two and a half hours, everyone gets a little
taste of something different," said Coplan.

At present,
student plays are not in the works for Broadway2Broadway. However,
Coplan anticipates that the program will reach that goal in the future.
"For right now, we're trying to build basic skills," she said.

She
hopes that this program will become a permanent after-school fixture at
WSNS, and she would be thrilled if other area schools in Somerville and
the surrounding area could partake in similar programs. However, that
would require additional funding. Since the program's inception, the
number of students has virtually doubled.

Surprisingly, Coplan is not a theater major, but a Philosophy major.

"I
have very little background in theater…I starred in a few school
plays, but I'm mostly just a musical theater buff," she said. "I
started taking [piano] lessons when I was eight, and I've played for
dozens of musicals in orchestra pits, as well as jazz bands."

"I'm
the only organizer, in the sense that I'm the only one keeping track of
when our sessions are, what paperwork needs to be done, what reports
need to be sent to Tisch College," she said.

"Leaders" are
rotated each week and really take control of their own session. There
is no lesson plan for the volunteer-based program.

To date, four
individuals have served as session leaders, all of whom possess "a
background in theater and music." Samantha Tempchin, ('10,) Carolyn
Berliner, ('11,) Michelle Wilson, ('12,) and Stephanie Kreutz ('09)
have all filled the role.

Although, "We're going to have a
member of Tisch College, Anthony DeMatteo, [who has a background in
film] run the next one on April 1," said Coplan.