Young Singers of the Palm Beaches (Young Singers) and Resource Depot, Prime Time expanded learning opportunity providers offered to afterschool and summer programs in Palm Beach County, partnered to give youth the opportunity to produce a musical from start to finish. As part of Young Singers Musical Theater Summer Camp in 2021, 31 youth in elementary and middle school grades presented the United States premier entitled Jenny and the Paper Pirates, a children’s musical with a focus on kindness, friendship, recycling, repurposing and upcycling.
Youth created the props, costumes and set, including a full-scale space pirate ship with recycled materials provided by Resource Depot. The video below, provided by Young Singers, captures the youth performing Trash to Treasure, while using American Sign Language learned during the summer months.
Youth and families enjoyed the process of creating the musical so much that Young Singers and Resource Depot plan on extending the summer camp in 2022 to give youth more time to get creative!
Young Singers of the Palm Beaches provides children and youth an opportunity to explore various aspects of musicianship, world cultures, emotions, linguistics and teamwork. Each session includes activities that develop a natural singing body alignment, freedom of breath, development of intonation, ease of personal vocal freedom using music from various periods and genres. Benefits of singing include the enhancement of social, mental and emotional health of participating children and youth. Studies show that singing increases self-confidence and self-esteem, and fosters leadership skills and ultimately develops good citizens.
Resource Depot’s Reimagine your World: Creativity through Conservation is a hands-on environmental arts-based program designed to engage kindergarten through eighth graders in creative and collaborative projects that demonstrate creative reuse. Participants learn about the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and how pollution and overconsumption are affecting society and the environment.
