Red Kite Drama Time Residency | Spring 2025 Application

Bring Red Kite to your school | Apply by January 17!

Red Kite Drama Time is an in-school drama residency for young people on the autism spectrum and other neurodiverse learners. The primary pillar of our curriculum is social-emotional learning (SEL), utilizing sensory drama games to engage each student’s ability to work within a group and explore their emotional expressivity and understanding. Our classes engage in creative play, drama games, and sensory experiences to encourage students to connect with their unique body, voice, imagination, and with the community around them.

The main goals of this program include: imaginative play, greater confidence in communication skills, facial emotion recognition, turn-taking, and collaboration. This program is inclusive of children who communicate verbally or non-verbally.

Chicago Children’s Theatre provides:

• Eight 45-minute long sessions, provided to selected CPS cluster classrooms at no cost
• Two teaching artists, who are theatre professionals trained by experts in creating accessible drama classrooms
• Engaging units that use stories as a jumping off point for exploring identity and community through multi-sensory drama activities
• Accessible visual materials for all lessons (e.g., visual schedule, choice boards, visuals for theatre concepts)
• Pre-residency social story to get students ready for Red Kite
• A ton of fun for students during their school day!

Applicants

Red Kite Drama Time partners directly with CPS SPED teachers to deliver quality programming to cluster classrooms across Chicago. Your application must include 2-4 individual cluster classrooms at your school. All applicants for Spring 2025 Drama Time Residencies must be:

• A lead teacher in a CPS self-contained “cluster” classroom.
• Applying as part of a teacher team from multiple classrooms at your school.

Application Timeline

Applications Open – December 13, 2024 – January 17, 2025

School Visits & Interviews Conducted with Finalists – January 27 – February 7, 2025

All Applicants Notified of Status – February 14, 2024

Residency Begins – April 2025