Wright, Lori

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices12-10-2012UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, OneChildren’s Play at a TimeLori WrightUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationWright, Lori, "UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Time" (2012). UNH Today. 4110.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/41102/20/2018 UNH News: UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Timehttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/nov/lw10robin.cfm.html 1/3The cast of “The Tale of Rollie Robin” wasmade up of students enrolled in UNH’sTheatre for Young Audiences course. Picturedfrom le  to right are Kim D’Agnese, a juniorfrom Concord; Briana Traynor, a senior fromRockport, Mass.; Lauren Barton, a senior fromSanford, Fla.; Alyssa Guida, a ﬁrst-yearstudent from Tewksbury, Mass.; Olivia Fiore, asophomore from Brightwaters, N.Y.; BrianMorley, a ﬁrst-year student from Tewksbury,Mass.; Chris na Kelly, a senior from Foxboro,Mass.; Katharine Paiva, a ﬁrst-year studentfrom Manchester; and Cady Hickman, a juniorfrom Merrimack and an alumna of ReedsFerry Elementary School. Credit: MikeRoss/UNH Photographic Services.December 10,2012UNH Students Promote Healthy Ea ng, One Children’s Play at a TimeDURHAM, N.H. – Students at Merrimack’s Reeds Ferry ElementarySchool learned about making healthy food choices and theimportance of exercise during an energy-packed performance of“The Tale of Rollie Robin,” which was created and performed byUniversity of New Hampshire theater students. There was singing,dancing, giggle-ﬁlled moments and even Angry Birds, much to thedelight of the second and third-graders watching the play.The play “The Tale of Rollie Robin,” which took place recentlyduring a school assembly, was the fall class project for UNH’sTheatre for Young Audiences course. It was borne out of thechildren’s story book of the same name that is part of an obesityawareness and preven on program designed to encouragephysical ac vity and health food choices. It tells the tale of a bird,Rollie Robin, who has trouble ﬂying because he eats the wrongfoods. Rollie learns that by ea ng be er and exercising throughplay, he is healthier. The program is targeted at students inkindergarten through third grade.“In my Methods of Teaching Theatre course, we talk aboutprocess-oriented teaching. I wanted to give my students anexperien al understanding of this teaching method, and Theatrefor Young Audiences was the best course for this. This oﬀered anexcellent opportunity to not only provide my students withprac cal experience but to also dra  a piece of theater that cannow be shared with more elementary schools. I hope in the future to use our script for the UNH Theatre &Dance Artsreach Tour,” said Raina Ames, associate professor of theatre and dance.The children’s story book and awareness program was created by Bill Sco , a professor of applied businessmanagement at the Thompson School of Applied Sciences at UNH. Sco  creates children’s awareness andpreven on programs in his free  me as a community service. Rollie Robin is the second children’s awarenessprogram Sco  has created; his ﬁrst program was the Samantha Skunk Smoking Preven on Program, which hewas inspired to create by his daughter who suﬀers from asthma."When I asked my grandchildren what kind of animal would be most harmed by ea ng the wrong food, theyimmediately suggested a bird. A er many discussions with my grandchildren, the acronym Healthy Ea ng Lotsof Play was developed and Rollie Robin was born. Oops. Hatched," Sco  says.Last summer, Sco  approached Ames about having “The Tale of Rollie Robin” story book adapted as a children’splay.“Adapta ons such as ‘The Tale of Rollie Robin’, are incredibly important. Reading a story is one thing, but whenthe story comes to life, it is something en rely diﬀerent. The students are brought into Rollie’s world and thatMedia Rela ons2/20/2018 UNH News: UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Timehttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/nov/lw10robin.cfm.html 2/3helps them connect to the content on a deeper level,” says Briana Traynor, a senior from Rockport, Mass., whoplays Rollie’s older sister Ruby Robin.  Traynor says the project of adap ng Rollie Robin as a play has been an invaluable experience as she plans acareer as an elementary school teacher who uses arts integra on to enrich her lessons. “This project has been a culmina on project for me as a theater educator. I have loved learning all about theimportance of the arts, especially theater, for kids inside and outside of the classroom. I have been able to takeeverything that I have learned in the theater educa on program so far and combine it in this project. That hasbeen incredibly rewarding,” Traynor says. Lauren Barton, a senior from Sanford, Fla., was involved behind the scenes with direc ng and blocking, wri ng,and overseeing the props. “The most worthwhile part of being involved in this project has been learning how to direct with others,learning how to write a children's script, and knowing that our show could change the lives of the students whosee it for the be er,” Barton said.A er she graduates, Barton plans to work as a high school drama teacher and high school director. “This classhas taught me how to build a show from the ground up. The experience of interpre ng text, blocking, direc ng,and organizing all technical elements of a show has been invaluable,” she says.Sophomore Olivia Fiore of Brightwaters, N.Y., says her experience in this class has taken her one step toward acareer working for public television and crea ng educa onal television.“Only so much is gained from just listening. When you add visuals, musical numbers, and audiencepar cipa on, the message comes alive. Our society is too focused on how we look instead of our overall health.Hopefully by seeing Rollie, kids will see the beneﬁts of a healthy lifestyle, not how beau ful you are,” Fiore says.The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of aNew England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's ﬂagship publicins tu on, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.PHOTOS h p://www.unh.edu/news/img/rollierobin1.jpg Rollie Robin is played by Brian Morley, a ﬁrst-year student from Tewksbury, Mass. Here he sings to the studentsat Reeds Ferry Elementary School in Merrimack. Credit: Mike Ross/UNH Photographic Servicesh p://www.unh.edu/news/img/rollierobin2.jpg The cast of “The Tale of Rollie Robin” was made up of students enrolled in UNH’s Theatre for Young Audiencescourse. Pictured from le  to right are Kim D’Agnese, a junior from Concord; Briana Traynor, a senior fromRockport, Mass.; Lauren Barton, a senior from Sanford, Fla.; Alyssa Guida, a ﬁrst-year student from Tewksbury,Mass.; Olivia Fiore, a sophomore from Brightwaters, N.Y.; Brian Morley, a ﬁrst-year student from Tewksbury,Mass.; Chris na Kelly, a senior from Foxboro, Mass.; Katharine Paiva, a ﬁrst-year student from Manchester; andCady Hickman, a junior from Merrimack and an alumna of Reeds Ferry Elementary School. Credit: Mike Ross/UNH Photographic Services-30-Media Contact: Lori Wright | 603-862-0574 | UNH Media Rela ons2/20/2018 UNH News: UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Timehttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/nov/lw10robin.cfm.html 3/3Copyright © 2018, The University of New Hampshire  •  Durham, NH 03824  •  UNH main directory: (603) 862-1234. Media Rela ons is a unit of Communica ons & Public Aﬀairs which is a division of University Advancement. 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UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Time

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UNH Students Promote Healthy Eating, One Children’s Play at a Time

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