Lyle Cogen

Lyle Cogen is a musical performer & recording artist, writer, and Lincoln Center trained teaching artist who is singular in her niche position offering top-notch children’s song and story that educates along with the entertainment. Lyle has toured nationwide, bringing her music to families in cities across America. Her award winning recordings have received accolades from national media such as Parenting, Sesame Street, Parents and Family Fun. With titles such as Friends, Like You And Me, My Name Is Lyle, and Lyle Sings Broadway For Kids, she has been featured on CNN, FOX and other television networks. In 2008, she was commissioned by Tilles Center For The Performing Arts and funded by the United States Department of Justice to write and create a piece of theater about bullying for adolescents that would inspire self reflection and dialogue to bring about change for the better. Lyle is recognized for her professional acumen as a recipient of The 2007 Forbes Enterprise Award and twice as one of the Top 50 Business Women on Long Island. She was awarded the “Pathfinder Award” by The Town of Hempstead and was honored as a recipient of “Profiles In Humanity-Distinguished Women of Today Enhancing The Lives of Children Tomorrow,” by The Children’s Medical Fund of Schneider’s Children’s Hospital. Her record label, MalZac Music has produced three Parent’s Choice award winning recordings and is poised for a fourth. Lyle is a founding member of The Long Island Arts In Education Roundtable.
"POWERFUL!!!  Of all my years of teaching, this was hands-down the best show I have ever seen in a school!..." - Teacher, NYS BOCES Evaluation

Touring Repertoire

Sticks & Stones The Musical (ages 8-14)
A musical play about social issues and bullying, based on real life experiences of adolescents, commissioned by Tilles Center For The Performing Arts and funded by The United States Department of Justice. Scott and Lyn, are brother and sister. Each of them is experiencing different problems with bullies, peer pressure and loss of friends. Scott is betrayed after his mother reports the names of his friends who are caught vandalizing. Lyn is called “a snitch” after a derogatory website is discovered. When Lyn's best friend befriends the school bully, the situation spirals out of control. a one-woman performance which includes multiple characters, music, and poetry and video projection; all within a story about the critical effects of bullying. Ages 8-14 and families.

Sticks & Stones (young audiences)
Kindergarten through third grade are the pivotal and crucial years when children have their first experience with bullying. Would it be great if we as educators can catch them when they are most open to learning what to do if they are in a bullying situation? Sticks & Stones FYA teaches young children about bullying. It is entirely interactive and paced for a young audience to follow and understand. It identifies and defines the fundamental behavior that is “bullyish” such as pushing or hitting, saying mean things and leaving people out. It reinforces what we should do if someone is bullying us or if we see someone else being bullied and teaches us some on the spot tools that we can use if have to. This is a performance of teachable moments. Ages 5-10. 

Sticks & Stones - Interactive
What does a bully look like anyway? Do you project that image? How could someone who sees somebody else getting bullied stand by and not do anything? Why does that happen? Why do we judge each other on appearance and post our thoughts on Facebook and MySpace? This performance is a constant back and forth between performer and audience. It is fueled by the energy in the theater and is often spontaneous. Students will examine the trio in bullying; the bullied, the bystander and the bully, and figure out how they fit into those three roles. Lyle challenges adolescents to be change makers and proves to them that change can happen in many ways, little by little, person by person, but it is fastest when we join together as one.

Lyle Sings Broadway For Kids
Lyle brings the excitement and scintillation of Broadway, to your stage in this participatory and charismatic performance of Broadway's most age appropriate and recognizable songs and characters. Through its great composers, shows and history, this program spotlights Broadway's great legacy and draws the comparison of various songs from the stage to the issues relevant children. Workshops available.

Songs For The Planet Earth
What is biodiversity and how does it affect us? In this program Lyle teaches about the many ways in which we can help keep the earth clean and how we can preserve and protect its beauty and its resources. This concert is a multi media environmental show that utilizes music and video projections. The visual dimension to this show enhances perception of the subject matter and invokes deeper thoughts, ideas and dialogue from students. Workshops available.

Friends, Like You And Me
A highly energetic early childhood and family performance that engages young children through music and movement. Highly interactive, thought provoking and meaningful. Students will use their bodies and voices and hop like frogs…flop their socks…make an imaginary pizza…and learn sigh language. Workshops and residencies available.

Snowflakes and Snow Songs
Snowflakes & Snow Songs is a Winter Songfest. "The content of the holiday performance has always been a challenging task for me. It has always posed the quandary of how to be honorable to all faiths and politically correct to each school. The performance has changed from year to year, evolving in its own right to what is now a program that musically recognizes the December holidays but uses the underlying theme that December is the perfect time for us to be practicing goodwill to each other…Respect, Kindness and Tolerance." The performance is meant to tap into a student’s awareness of how they treat others and to give students a chance to pause and reflect, and perhaps make a commitment to do better in the coming year.

The Spirit Of America
A musical that includes material about our 50 United States, our flag, our anthem, and the landscape and community of America. Throughout this performance, students will hear the famous songs of America written by people who were all motivated to capture a moment in history or the spirit of the people of America. Everyone will interpret lyrics, define an anthem and think about what motivated Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. Children will be asked about the definition of (in)tolerance and how what they have seen as examples of intolerance around us. Workshops available.