Next Gen Events
Offered at no charge thanks to the generosity of many donors and special support from the following organizations:
Mansfield Family Foundation
Thank you for another fantastic year of educating through the performing arts. It’s been an honor and a privilege to welcome each of you to the Center.
We can’t wait to see you back in September for the 2025–2026 season!
I submitted a registration request; why didn’t I get seats for my class?
Next Gen does its best to accommodate all interested educators, but space is limited. Sometimes, you request registration but do not end up with your students registered. Instead, you may find yourself on a waitlist. If a show receives more registration requests than it has available seats, there are three main reasons you may not have been able to attend:
- “Spread the love.” All Next Gen programming costs are paid for by donations; these gifts allow teachers, schools, and students to participate at no cost. Next Gen works diligently to welcome students from the five counties we serve – and as many schools as possible – across each academic year out of respect for the donations that have been given. If a school who has attended frequently is trying to get seats and the show has more requests than available seats, Next Gen may prioritize a school who has not been able to attend in that academic year.
- “It’s a puzzle.” Next Gen strives to fill the theater for each show. Sometimes the size of your group is just too big for the number of seats remaining; when that happens, the next group whose seat request fits availability gets the seats. It’s a tricky puzzle that must balance registration request order and the need to fill the theater out of respect for donors whose gifts deserve to be maximally shared.
- “The no-show effect.” Because donors are paying for schools and students, Next Gen takes attendance very seriously. There are often waitlists for shows. If a school or group fails to show after registering, that school or group is moved to the end of the line for registration requests for the school year in which the no-show happened. Please don’t register and then fail to attend; it’s unfair to both donors and other schools who really wish to come.
Can I take students to a show who are not quite in the grade range listed on the website?
The grade ranges provided on the website and schedule are guidelines based on information available through the artists’ websites and agents. We customize to best fit the Next Gen schedule each year. If you wish to take a class outside the grade range for a given show, that is up to you; remember that the bulk of the audience will be from the grades included in the suggested grade range. EX: If you’d like to take your preschool class to Doktor Kaboom, you may request registration for them to attend even though the suggested grade range is K – 3. I would not encourage someone with a middle or high school class to do the same, given the age, size, and maturity differences between middle/high school students and the target age range for Doktor Kaboom.
Why are there some events for which no registration is available?
The “On the Road! Show” series, which takes touring theater into schools, must be arranged up to one year in advance. Therefore, registration is not available for these events. If you’d like your school to be considered for an upcoming “On the Road! Show,” please email rachel@greatlakescfa.organd type “WE WANT IN FOR ON THE ROAD!” in the subject box. The Artist in Residence program is participation by invitation; Next Gen is making its way around the school districts across all five counties we serve. These invitations go out 1-1.5 years in advance, and the in-school portion of the Artist Residencies always take place the third week of April. Next Gen is pleased to be adding summer programming beginning in June, 2025, with a Winnie the Pooh Library Tour for Littles (PreK and early elementary!); library tours are not available for registration through Next Gen because the individual libraries are at liberty to register if/how they see fit.
Past Events
Human[kind] Cinema Series: Freedom Writers
Thursday, November 14
Grades: 9 - 12
The value of the Human[kind] Cinema Series resides in its ability to assist schools as they work to meet the Michigan Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies. The selected films inspire conversation, leverage the power of storytelling, and bring high school students together from across five countries to share a common experience they're likely more accustomed to having alone, in front of a computer screen, digital monitor, or phone.
This year's offering presents the powerful film Freedom Writers, based on a 1999 book of the same name by the high school students of teacher Erin Gruwell. The film is based on the true story of a determined and courageous educator of low-performing students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. The story highlights difficult issues affecting students, challenges embodied in socioeconomic struggles, and the importance of breaking down stereotypes and connecting across their differences to build hope and find solutions and, ultimately, to empower students to positively impact school culture and well-being. A discussion guide is made available to teachers as part of this program. It provides rich opportunities to engage students and educators around social and emotional skill development (SEL) and also allows for curricular links to history, social studies, civics, psychology, and literature.
For the first time, Next Gen is offering an inter-school SEL Workshop in the Community Engagement Room (CER); Camp Daggett staff will dive deeper into school-related issues through experiential activities and discussion! Space is limited. This opportunity will only be open to 100 students whose teachers select it as an "add-on" at registration. SEL Workshop participants will arrive at 9:30AM for the film but will stay until 1:30PM for the workshop after the film. Teachers of the Workshop students are asked to be available in the CER as needed under the leadership of Camp Daggett staff. Sack lunch from home required.
A Christmas Carol
Friday, December 6, 2024
Grades: 8 - 11
This one-man play brings familiar, time-honored characters to life for audiences of all ages. Virtual effects create scenes that bring the audience into the storyline in this special holiday performance of the Charles Dickens classic. Notable actor Allen Fitzpatrick, who has spent 50 years on Broadway and professional theatre, follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, who, a few years after writing the novel, began public readings of it, which he continued to perform until the year of his death.
This classic story has been represented in over a hundred stage, film, opera, and radio adaptations. In Allen's version, audiences can use the full range of their imagination as one actor on a virtually bare stage creates 26 different characters. Audiences have been delighted by this approach's personal, individual impact.
Doktor Kaboom! The Science of Santa
Monday, December 16, 2024
Grades: K-3
The Doktor Kaboom Holiday Extravaganza! Are science and magic the same thing? Is Mr. Claus the world's greatest scientist? Join Doktor Kaboom as he attempts to recreate all of Santa's wonders using basic physics. Doktor Kaboom has been a family favorite here at the Center. Back for a second, in-person show, Doktor Kaboom whips up a new show with his special holiday science magic! Rest easy - no holiday icons are damaged in this show.
Magic School Bus - Lost in the Solar System
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Grades: 1-5
Who doesn't love Ms. Frizzle?! Science has never been more fun than in a Magic School Bus book, and with this show, your students will get to see the book come to life onstage!
When the class gets lost on the way to the planetarium, Ms. Frizzle saves the day by blasting into outer space for an epic interplanetary field trip! But when both old and new rivalries threaten to tear the students apart, our young heroes must learn to pull together or risk getting lost forever in the solar system.
Hop on the Magic School Bus for an imaginative ride in this new musical adaptation based on the original book series published by Scholastic. The original director/choreographer of this book adaptation is Connor Gallagher, who also choreographed Beetlejuice on Broadway and directed and choreographed Beauty and the Beast for Disney Cruise Line. Come join an out-of-this-world educational adventure!
Lost in the Solar System: Read Aloud
Educational Resource I Educational Resource II Educational Resource III
Interlochen Arts Academy's Ballet - Swan Lake
Friday, February 21, 2025
Grades: 5 - 7
Rich colors and textures in both the costumes and set design complemented the incredible dancing of students from Interlochen Arts Academy when they shared their production of the classic ballet, Swan Lake, with more than 500 students from across five counties. For many students – and even some chaperones! – this was their very first live ballet experience. Set to the classical music of the famous Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and highlighting the incredible athleticism and precision of dance, Swan Lake introduced students to the power and beauty of storytelling without words. The audience was enthralled with this tragic tale of love, power, and betrayal. Joseph Morrissey, Director of Dance at Interlochen Center for the Arts, wrapped the matinee with a question-and-answer session that included four key dancers. Students’ questions were insightful and impressive; Mr. Morrissey was impressed with the students even as they were impressed with the show.
Step Afrika!
Thursday, March 13, 2025
We are all “hearting” for Step Afrika! They brought it all for two fantastic educational performances that welcomed more than 170 homeschoolers, as well as elementary and middle school students from all five counties that Next Gen serves. The energy was contagious, the message was positive, the dance was mind-blowing, and the fun was off the charts! There was absolutely no question why this group, one of the top ten African-American dance troupes in the USA, serves as a Cultural Ambassador for our country.
Step Afrika! created the perfect program—one that took the audience on an incredible ride, masterfully transitioning with perfect timing from performance to engagement, from teaching to doing... and by doing, we mean “Stepping!” Perhaps Next Gen’s most diverse audience in terms of ages and grades, these school groups truly seemed to love it—adults and students alike!
How fortunate we are to experience world-class quality right here in our special corner of the world. While Next Gen can’t take all the students it serves around the world, it certainly can bring the world to northern Michigan. Step Afrika! reminded us why we love what we do and how powerful the performing arts are in sharing cultural stories.
The Kennedy's Center's "Look Both Ways - A Tale Told in Ten Blocks"
Friday, April 11, 2025
Grades 5 - 12
What could be better than a Jason Reynolds book to stir and entertain the minds of middle readers? A Jason Reynolds book brought to life onstage by the Kennedy Center!
The Kennedy Center’s Theater for Young Audiences “works passionately to create and present performances worthy of young people and their families… believing that engaging with the performing arts can change lives.” This adaptation of the incredibly popular book by the same name did not disappoint. Next Gen was absolutely thrilled to present this innovative production, filled with a powerful message and exceptional talent.
From live, onstage video feeds to the integration of two-dimensional puppets and a set that transformed from “the school bus that fell from the sky” into diverse backdrops like an apartment building, a city park, and an ice cream truck, this show was sophisticated, captivating, and full of opportunities. It challenged each of us to recognize how we stereotype — and celebrated the joy that comes when those stereotypes fall apart in the face of kindness.
The Mayhem Poets (Artists in Residence)
This event is part of Stories Told!
Friday, April 25, 2025
10:00 AM - Grades 5 - 7
12:30 PM - Grades 8 - 12
More than 800 middle and high school students from Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Otsego counties were introduced to performance poetry—sometimes called “slam poetry”—on Friday when the Mayhem Poets took the Center by storm for two unforgettable, incredibly powerful, and ridiculously cool performances!
The Poets masterfully mixed rhythm and rhyme, beat and time, humor and heart, and brought the audiences into the show with a facility and charisma that can only come from years of working with students and performing onstage in front of hundreds and thousands of people.
The Mayhem Poets were more than worth the trip; they were a door opened, a window cleaned to let in bright light, an outreached hand, mentors of voice, therapeutic listeners with hearts bigger than the stage upon which they stood.
As this year’s Artists in Residence, these gentlemen—friends since their college days at Rutgers University—connected with incredible students from Petoskey and Vanderbilt through Stories Told: A Community Project Empowering Students to Discover Their Voices. The lucky students who participated in workshops with the Poets and performed in Vanderbilt and at the Center had a special opportunity to think more broadly about what poetry is and how they can use their own unique voices to tell their own stories—because everyone's story matters.
