Mariposa In the Schools
55 Mill Street Studio 203
Case Goods Building 74
Distillery Historic District
Toronto ON
Canada M5A 3C4

Tel 416-462-9400
Toll 1-888-255-MITS
Fax 416-462-0871



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Home : Deborah Dunleavy





Deborah Dunleavy
musician, songwriter, storyteller


Deborah's special talent is nurtured by her background as a drama teacher and her training in clown, mime, voice, dance and acting. Deborah has toured extensively in Canada and the US and in 1994 represented Canada at the International Children's Festival in the People's Republic of China. Jim Henson Productions engaged Deborah to compose and produce songs for an English series for Japanese National Television. After living in Toronto for close to 30 years Deborah returned to her hometown of Brockville one week before the ice storm of January 1998.

Performances

Beaver Hats & Bagpipes

7-8

History comes to life in this engaging storytelling featuring tales from the hay-day of the Hudson Bay Company fur traders to settlers of Eastern Ontario and the backwoods of Quebec.

Circle 'Round The Sun
JK-3


Meet the hungry Naga from Indonesia or the greedy Kudu from Africa. Imagine growing wings with children from long ago in China, and discover how the beautiful mouse from Japan married the greatest being of all. The audience is invited to echo, chant, clap and sing along.


Fool's Wisdom
2-6


Meet Lin and Wan from China, learn from the clever Hodja of long ago Turkey, and the clever trick played on the King of Poland. Deborah spins tales telling of the wisdom that is taught to us by fools.


Northern Lights
5 to 8


Drawing upon her mixed Canadian heritage, Deborah steps easily into the heart of each tale—Irish, French, or Native North American—and transports listeners from the shores of Newfoundland and New Brunswick across the Gaspé and St. Lawrence River to the forests and vastness of Northern Ontario.  Once told around the campfires and in the homes of settlers hundreds of years ago, these are still very relevant today.


Workshops


Cool Body Jive 
4-6


Deborah leads students through a creative, kinesthetic journey to create inventive douns scores while singing, drawing and dance. All inspired by Deborah's book, Jumbo Book of Music (Kids Can Press).


If You Knew Me...
1 to 8


Students learn to recognize the very real problems of physical and verbal bullying and experiment with story, song and role-play to get a deeper understanding of the issue and the fragile boundaries that separate the victim, the bully and the rescuer.


Sing Me a Story
2-6


Deborah spins world stories with metaphor, simile, alliteration and assonance that students then collectively put into song exploring the three R's - rhythm, rhyme and repetition.


Teacher Education


Bully Proofing
Primary/Junior/Intermediate


Challenged by the bullies in your classroom? This drama workshop invites you to explore effective ways of addressing relationship and behaviour issues.


From Story to Action
Primary/Junior


Don't know where to start with the drama curriculum? Learn innovative ways to use stories to create plays. Here's an introduction to teaching drama and for new teachers looking for skills and confidence to establish a drama program
.


Play Score
Junior/Intermediate


A kinetic approach to composing, performing, and interpreting music through voice and body. Through activities appropriate for classroom use educators will learn to help children understand the role of the composer as communicator.


The Language Beat
Junior/Intermediate


An integrated approach to teaching language development through music and drama. This program is supported by Deborah's book publication, The Jumbo Music Book.