Sigma Alpha Iota

4 Winter 2023 • sai-national.org By Keri Lorenz On a beautiful sunny morning in May 2022, the Buffalo Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota welcomed thirty-five smiling faces to spend the day learning, laughing, and falling in love with the power and delight of musical theater. As an alumnae chapter, our goals were to bring together young people from all around Buffalo, NY; to provide a unique workshop experience that would allow students to explore their creativity; and to develop their artistry in a supportive environment. Aer a month of recruitment and dedicated service from a number of our sisters, we gathered our group of students, ages 10-17, to work with the nationally recognized ieatrics consultant, our alumnae chapter President, Cindy Ripley. Cindy Ripley has captivated the musical theater world with her energy, expertise, and kindhearted spirit. With thirty-three years of experience as a public school music educator, Cindy has served as an advocate for the arts throughout her entire career. As a prior consultant for the educational division of Music eater International (MTI), Cindy has helped adapt over forty-five musicals for young people. e success of this division resulted in the development of an independent company, ieatrics, where Cindy currently serves as the Senior Education Consultant. With ieatrics, she designs and implements informative workshops for theater educators on how to build student-driven musical theater programs. ieatrics's accessible and inclusive approach has led to remarkable results, as educators leave these workshops feeling refreshed, revitalized, and inspired. Cindy is also the co-author of ieatrics Method: e Quintessential Guide to Creating Quality Musical eatre Programs, published by GIA Publications. Cindy's passion for youth theater, her notable achievements, and her expansive influence as an educator in her community make her quite an outstanding alumnae member of Sigma Alpha Iota. Cindy holds the SAI distinguished membership honor of Member Laureate. Our Buffalo Alumnae Chapter was eager to resume community outreach projects aer the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. us, many members of our chapter took part in helping with the planning and execution of the workshop. Our recruitment committee designed a digital advertisement poster that was sent to music educators in the Western New York counties of Erie, Niagara, and Catteraugus. Our sisters volunteered to set up the space, brought supplies, ran the registration table, provided snacks, and financially sponsored some students in need. It was important for us to encourage students from all around Western New York to attend the workshop, since one of our goals is to foster community and inclusivity among our young people. Needless to say, once the big day came, we were beyond excited! We welcomed the thirty-five students bright and early, as they had a long day Cultivating Creativity, Compassion, and Change in our Community How the Buffalo Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota Promotes the Power of Musical Theater SAIs In Action The full group The full group of musical theater students of musical theater students at the workshop. at the workshop.

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