Twin Cities High Schools Kickoff 'Hamilton' Curriculum

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) --  It's a busy week for Hennepin Theatre Trust.

The theatre is preparing for not only the long anticipated arrival of Hamilton, but also a new program that will bring Hamilton into the curriculum of roughly thirty local high schools.

"We feel lucky we get to be a part of bringing something so impactful to the state of Minnesota," Hennepin Theatre Trust director of education Kelli Foster Warder said. "We know the impact the arts has on, yes the kids that love the art, but all kids."

The program is called EduHam. It started in New York and is in several major cities around the country. EduHam in the Twin Cities will pair local actors and teaching artists with students to give a mix of American History and theater. PNC Bank, an HTT partner, is helping to fund the program.

It's a more accessible way to teach history, says teaching artist Ivory Doublette.

Doublette and C. Ryan Shipley are two of the teaching artists. They'll be helping students create their own one to two-minute acts that they'll perform at the end of the program

"Helping students to realize that every story has a beginning and this is your story to figure out how to move forward through life," Shipley said.

The Hamilton curriculum is a few weeks out of the students' regular history class. The hope is that they learn outside the box and find a deeper appreciation of history and the arts.

EduHam will wrap up at the end of September when the students will do a Q & A with some of the Hamilton cast members at the Orpheum Theater. They also get to watch a matinée performance.

The running performances of Hamilton kick off on Wednesday, August 29th, and WCCO is giving away two tickets! You can enter for a chance to win by clicking here.

The winner will be announced on August 31st at 4 p.m during our State Fair show.