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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members of the
4 Child's Play Touring Theatre on the occasion of the
5 organization's 30th anniversary in 2010; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Based in Chicago, Child's Play Touring Theatre is
7 the premiere theatre company in the United States dedicated
8 exclusively to performing works written by children; Child's
9 Play motivates elementary school students to read and write
10 through developing and staging original plays based on
11 children's poems, stories, and songs; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The goal of Child's Play is to help children
13 understand the value and significance that writing and reading
14 has on their lives; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Child's Play was founded by Victor and June
16 Podagrosi in 1978 while Victor was teaching theatre at Parkland
17 College in Champaign; when asked to stage a performance of
18 children's writings for a Young Author's awards ceremony,
19 Victor was delighted with the sophistication and storytelling
20 abilities he discovered in children's writing; believing they
21 had identified a unique form of educational theatre, the
22 Podagrosis formed Child's Play Touring Theatre and began

 

 

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1 traveling to rural schools in east central Illinois; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Child's Play Touring Theatre believes in the
3 importance of contributing to the Chicago community; its
4 principal outreach program, the Chicago Young Writers Project,
5 aims to motivate Chicago public school students to write, as
6 well as provide teachers with drama-based methods for writing
7 instruction; and
 
8     WHEREAS, With the passing of Victor Podagrosi, his wife
9 took over the direction of Child's Play and established the
10 Victor Award to honor individuals and organizations who have
11 demonstrated outstanding commitment, generosity, and/or
12 service to Child's Play; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Child's Play was honored with an Emmy Award for
14 its contribution to the production of two child-focused Public
15 Service Announcements, "Educate Us" and "If I Were President";
16 therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 congratulate the members of the Child's Play Touring Theatre on
20 the occasion of the organization's 30th anniversary and wish
21 the group continued success in its future endeavors; and be it
22 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy be presented to June
2 Podagrosi as a symbol of our esteem and respect.