Meet Fred Diggins, lead of Skylight Music Theatre’s Education Department. Actor, writer, and creative himself, learn more about Fred and his approach to KidsWrites and his own relationship with the program.
What drew you to become a part of the Skylight Education team?
Theatre education has always been a passion of mine. I started teaching at a young age with the Milwaukee Youth Theatre. A few years back, I was asked by the Education Director to join the Skylight Education Team. I take great pride in being able to enhance not only the students that I work with but the Teaching Artists as well.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your work with young people through Skylight?
Being able to carry on a tradition. The KidsWrites program is very personal to me. KidsWrites was started locally by former artistic director Ray Jivoff. I met Ray back in 1992; he was the director of a program called Schnieder Arts. In this program, we got to write original shows, and we would tour those shows all over the Milwaukee area. Through this program, I decided that this is something that I wanted to do in my life. Being here at Skylight and working on a project that he started means the world to me.
How do Skylight's education programs help students grow beyond just music and theatre skills?
I feel that the greatest lesson that we teach students is confidence. Through our programs and our workshops, we take pride in seeing someone try something for the first time. In my own life, someone took a chance on me and helped develop me into what I do now. Having a student or someone from the workshop realize that they are capable of singing or writing a story is a very humbling and fantastic feeling.
Can you share a favorite success story from a student who has participated in a Skylight
education program?
There’s so many. We recently went to Ninety-fifth Street School for the KidsWrites workshops, and we met a student by the name of Kai. Kai was a blind student, and we tried to find ways to help him write an original story. I took that moment to go and speak with him one one-on-one to ask who his hero was. It was Ray Charles. Kai then pulled out a typewriter that was designed for blind students and wrote his story about his hero. I asked him to read it to me and we transcribed his story. He was so happy that he got an opportunity to write about someone he admires and wanted to be like.
Can you share your personal connection to KidsWrites and how it has helped you personally succeed?
Ray Jivoff, one of my mentors, helped start most of the education programs that we have here. I performed, as a high school student, in one of the first KidsWrites performances. As a person who grew up in Milwaukee, went to MPS schools and did not have a direct connection with the theatre, I understand how a program like this can change your life. I understand the importance of storytelling and being able to write freely and utilize your imagination. At the age of 9 I was introduced to the theatre, by high school, I was writing original stories and performing them. This allowed me to see and understand the world differently. Luckily, I was given a chance to be able to express myself in a different way. This is what I strive to give back. Being able to give students a chance to do something different, do something creative, and do something meaningful. If I can take a piece of my knowledge and instill that in students and help them become better - that’s my goal, that would be my legacy.
What has surprised you during your time leading the KidsWrites program?
The creativity of the students. When we enter the schools, you never know what to expect. We take the time to talk to the students about their stories. By doing this we find that they are creative, and they are looking for ways to express that creativity. Students have written original songs, poems, and storyboards, and some have taken their stories and created books and series out of them. We have created longtime bonds with not only the students but the teachers as well. I am also surprised by the teaching artists that I work with. For many of them, this is the first time working with the students, and their development over the course of the year expands. You can see the joy in their faces as they are working with the students, reading their stories, and getting a chance to perform it in front of the students who wrote them.
To learn more about KidsWrites and Skylight's other Education Programs, visit our Education Page.