HR0440 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0440 LRB097 12150 KXB 56499 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members of the Child's Play Touring Theatre on the occasion of the organization's 33rd anniversary in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Based in Chicago, Child's Play Touring Theatre is the premiere theatre company in the United States dedicated exclusively to performing works written by children; Child's Play motivates elementary school students to read and write through developing and staging original plays based on children's poems, stories, and songs; and

WHEREAS, The goal of Child's Play is to help children understand the value and significance that writing and reading has on their lives; and

WHEREAS, Child's Play was founded by Victor and June Podagrosi in 1978 while Victor was teaching theatre at Parkland College in Champaign; when asked to stage a performance of children's writings for a Young Author's awards ceremony, Victor was delighted with the sophistication and storytelling abilities he discovered in children's writing; believing they had identified a unique form of educational theatre, Victor and June formed Child's Play Touring Theatre and began traveling to rural schools in east central Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Child's Play Touring Theatre believes in the importance of contributing to the Chicago community; its principal outreach program, the Chicago Young Writers Project, aims to motivate Chicago public school students to write, as well as provide teachers with drama-based methods for writing instruction; and

WHEREAS, With the passing of Victor Podagrosi, his wife took over the direction of Child's Play and established the Victor Award to honor individuals and organizations who have demonstrated outstanding commitment, generosity, and/or service to Child's Play; and

WHEREAS, Child's Play was honored with an Emmy Award for its contribution to the production of two child-focused Public Service Announcements, "Educate Us" and "If I Were President"; and

WHEREAS, Some of their original productions include: New Voices, Writing Our World, Do the Write Thing, The Great Green Adventures of: R-Man, and One Monster After Another; and

WHEREAS, Their website, launched in 2010, carries their motto: Kids Put It On The Page, We Put It On The Stage; and

WHEREAS, Their annual Spring Benefit Celebration will be held on June 16, 2011 and is entitled "Global Energy: The Musical"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the members of the Child's Play Touring Theatre on the occasion of the organization's 33rd anniversary and wish the group continued success in its future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy be presented to June Podagrosi as a symbol of our esteem and respect.