Local composer honored for tolerance-teaching musicals

by Lori Samlin Miller For The Voice 

08/17/12 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of local composer Andrea Green’s first musical for children, “On The Other Side of the Fence,” which she wrote to help foster acceptance and increase communication between children who are perceived as different from one another.

Green wrote “FENCE” in 1983 to give her non-verbal students from The HMS School for children with Cerebral Palsy and their more typical peers at the Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia a way to ‘take down the fence’ between the children and to give them a common language with which to communicate. That common language is music.

“I wanted to show children from both sides of the fence, who seem so different, that they also have much in common,” said Green, a long time South Jersey resident who was a music therapist at the HMS School.

It quickly became obvious that “Fence,” Green’s first metaphorical musical for children, was not merely capable of helping the students break through boundaries by teaching them tolerance, respect, and acceptance for others. Genuine friendships emerged as the students had great fun singing, dancing, and acting together.

On May 16th, she was honored at City Hall in Philadelphia in recognition of thirty years of the musical collaboration between the HMS and GFS schools and the positive impact she has already made in the lives of thousands of students. In her latest project, Green is making a documentary movie about the lasting power of “Fence” and its musical message in bridging differences among children. A trailer of the documentary will be shown at 7:30 p.m. June 24 at Cong. M’kor Shalom, 850 Evesham Road in Cherry Hill.

“ I am making a documentary to bring awareness about the ability of my musicals to change negative attitudes and values and replace them with more compassion and understanding: to teach tolerance, to ignite understanding and feelings between children who are ‘different,’” said Green. “Hopefully, the film and accompanying educational materials will be utilized as a powerful, necessary tool that every school can use to teach tolerance, to address bullying, prejudice, stereotyping, and bias.”

She also directed and produced several of her shows with school children and local theater groups here in South Jersey, earning her a large ‘local following’. In the past few years, “Fence” and several of the other musicals have been directed and performed around the country by various school and theater groups of all ages and backgrounds. A real highlight for Green has been traveling to meet other theater and school groups and watch them perform her shows, including recent visits to Disney World, FL, to Acton, MA, Danville, IL, and Newark, NJ, among others.

“I created eight musicals for children, never really thinking anyone else might want to use them,” said Green. “Several years ago I decided to make these musicals available for others to use and also started to think about how the value of these musicals and the project between the two schools could reach out beyond my world. I think all children can benefit from my musicals — especially when partnered with other children from different worlds.”

She expects the documentary will have even more power to spread the message of tolerance to even larger audiences.

“I hope everyone will join me for a night of song and discussion, as well as a chance to view the trailer of the documentary,” she said, noting that Dr. Dan Gottlieb, a consultant for the project, will also speak about the power of the music and project to teach tolerance.

 

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