Book-It's 2012-13 Arts & Education Brochure

Book-It Repertory theatre’s arts & education program

2012-2013

TOURING STORIES, RESIDENCIES, TEACHER TRAINING & STUDENT MATINéeS

“The performance was absolutely fantastic! The study guide was useful and used in our library and our classrooms. The performance [initiated] great conversations about the themes of perseverance, equity, and hard work. Thank you!”

-Principal, Sunrise Elementary

Bringing Books to Life!

Book-It Repertory Theatre’s Arts and Education Program is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to read. The program tours a diverse range of stories to schools, libraries, and community venues throughout Washington; conducts long-term residencies in schools; offers teacher professional development; and presents student matinées of Book-It’s mainstage shows. All our work is adapted in the unique Book-It StyleTM, where the narrative is brought to life by the characters in the story.

partner with us!

Together we can create a continuum of learning that offers young audiences a profound experience with literature and professional theatre. Book-It closely aligns its performances, programs, and learning materials with research-based reading instruction and State Standards in order to make the thinking process of reading concrete for all learners. The Book-It Style helps students connect with books on multiple levels—students ask questions, exchange ideas, and make meaning out of what they read, see, and hear. We look forward to working with you to implement Book-It’s pre-and post-performance learning materials, so your students are thoroughly prepared for Book-It’s workshops and residencies, deepening their engagement with reading and theatre.

Literacy Advisory Committee: Carol Adams, Amanda Cain, Gerardine Carroll, Janice Fournier, Dr. Robert Hughes, David Quicksall, Brandon Salter, Dr. Sheila Valencia

our mission...

To provide an interactive relationship between youth and literature through theatrical productions and educational programs that promote the joy of reading, embrace diversity, enhance student and teacher learning, and inspire the imagination.

contact us 1

Book-It Repertory Theatre 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109 Ph: 206.428.6319 Fx: 206.428.6263 education@book-it.org | www.book-it.org

what book-it has to offer touring stories p. 3 - 7

Original adaptations of stories for children, young adults, and adults that tour to schools, libraries, and community venues.

Touring Package includes: performance, book, study guide, and workshop. cost: $575

residencies p. 8

Long-term, customized program designed with classroom teachers to address specific literature, content, academic standards, and students’ needs.

Residency Package includes: fiction or non-fiction text, trained Book-It Style teaching artists, Book-It touring performance, and culminating student performance. cost: Varies based on scope

teacher professional development p. 9

Bringing Theatre into the Classroom A week-long summer training and follow-up school-year consultations for K-12 teachers designed to integrate theatre into all content areas. cost: $500

student matinées p. 10

Student matinées of Book-It Repertory Theatre’s mainstage productions. cost: $10 per student, one free chaperone ticket per 10 students

A performance of La Mariposa; photo by Sara Lachman.

Cover photos by Chris Bennion. L to R: LaVon Hardison in Wilma Unlimited, 2012; Kay Nahm in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, 2011; Erin Stewart and Ben Burris in The Lorax and The Sneetches and Other Stories, 2012

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“This has to be one of the be st assemblies we’ve ever had.

My students wer sharing their th e still ough opinions well in ts and to third period—incred ible!”

-Teach er, Olympic Mid

dle School

grades: 6- Adult tours: Sep - Dec themes: censorship,

First Amendment rights, artistic freedom

events: Banned Books Month, Teen Read Month Please note: Danger: Books! does not include a book or workshop

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Danger: Books! is an ongoing series of readings from books that have been banned and challenged in the United States.

The list of banned and challenged books continues to grow, so each year we offer a new selection of controversial readings. Past programs have included excerpts from Thirteen Reasons Why, The Lord of the Flies, Beloved, Johnny Get Your Gun, Geography Club, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Baby Bebop, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, And Tango Makes Three, and Go Ask Alice. Professional actors present selections in the Book-It Style then facilitate a discussion on the censorship history of the books and the First Amendment.

Illustration by Kathryn Nave, ©2008.

grades: K - 8 tours: Sep - Dec themes: dyslexia,

bullying, family, mentors

events: National Children’s Book Week

Trisha loves stories, and she can’t wait until she’s able to read. But school is a struggle for her—the squiggly lines on the page make no sense, and she quickly falls behind her classmates. She begins to believe the bullies who call her “slow” and “stupid” when a teacher named Mr. Falker helps her discover a new way to look at words. An ode to her reallife teacher, author Patricia Polacco tells a powerful story of overcoming dyslexia and discovering one’s true gifts.

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, ©1998 by Babushka Inc. Used by permission of Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.

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grades: K - 8 tours: Jan - Apr themes: slavery, heritage,

perseverance, family

events: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Read Aloud Month

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In Western Africa, long ago, a blacksmith raises his son alone. When young Musafa is stolen by slave traders, Dinga calls on the four Mother Elements to help bring his son back home. Eventually Wind returns from across the sea with the news that Musafa is alive, though captive, and at work as a blacksmith. Dinga finds comfort knowing that his son carries on the traditions of his homeland in the New World.

This lyrical story told in verse highlights the importance of tradition and heritage, and the gift of family above all.

Illustrations by Leo & Diane Dillon, copyright Š 2011 by Leo and Diane Dillon, from Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon. Used by permission of Schwartz and Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

grades: K - 6 tours: Feb - Jun themes: imagination,

being yourself

events: Read Across America Day

Skippyjon Jones is a tiny Siamese kitten with a giant imagination. When he is sent to his room for being uncat like, Skippyjon escapes into his imagination where he becomes a bird, a mouse, a grouse, or even a Chihuahua, on one hilarious adventure after another. In Skippyjon Jones’ world of make believe, toilet paper becomes mummy bandages, the hallway is the Nile, and the living room is filled with Los Dinosaurios. When you “think Chihuahua” anything is possible!

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. Used by permission of the author. © 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 by Judith Byron Schachner. All rights reserved.

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a touring package... l

includes a performance (25-45 minutes), book, a study guide, and workshop;

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can tour to schools, libraries, and community venues;

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performance can accommodate an audience ranging in size from 10-500 in gyms, classrooms, and auditoriums.

story choices fall

Danger: Books! grades 6 - Adult Thank You, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco grades K - 8

Winter

Never Forgotten, by Patricia McKissack grades K - 8

spring

Skippyjon Jones, by Judy Schachner grades K - 6

workshop choices themes in motion

Students enter the world of the story using voice, body, and imagination to explore themes, characters, and events. 30-45 minutes. 35 students max. grades K - 2

adapt it! stage it!

Students analyze a selection of text, adapt it in the Book-It Style, and stage it for an informal performance. 1 hour. 35 students max. grades 3 - 12

cost $575—includes performance, book, study guide, and workshop Additional workshops: $125 each Additional travel fees apply

book your touring story or residency today!

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contact us!

206.428.6319 education@book-it.org _

residency program bring classroom literature to life!

A Book-It residency is a long-term, customized program that brings literature to the stage. Each program is designed with the teacher to address specific fiction or non-fiction texts, content, academic standards, and students’ needs. All residencies feature professionally trained Book-It teaching artists and culminate in final performances of the text. Students explore literary elements such as character, setting, plot, theme, and point of view to gain a deeper understanding of a book and collaborate with peers to make it come alive on stage.

Residencies foster collaborative class environments, and provides students with a toolbox of useful skills for the future: cooperation, collaboration, and problem solving. Through the synthesis of literature and theatre, the program challenges and inspires students to analyze and interpret text in a highly personal, fun, and physical way!

examples of residencies l

Book-It Style productions

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Classroom projects with selections of text

grades: K - 12 length: One week and up residencies include: Fiction or non-fiction text, Book-It teaching artists, touring performance, and culminating student performance

cost: Varies based on the length and scope of the program “As I’ve been introduced to Book-It and its work style, I’ve noticed I take much longer to read books than I used to, almost twice as long. I realized that with my basic understanding of ‘activating narrative’ and ‘purple words,’ every sentence in a book has an abundance of extra meaning I never knew was there. Book-It has reopened my mind to reading, and I love it.”

- Student, Roosevelt High School

Foster High School residency; photo by Chris Bennion.

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Teaching artist Rachel Atkins in the 2009 BTiC workshop; photo by Laine Mullen.

teacher professional development bringing theatre into the classroom!

A collaboration between three theatres—Book-It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre—Bringing Theatre into the Classroom (BTiC) is a five-day summer intensive for K-12 teachers with professionally led consultation sessions throughout the school year. BTiC creates an engaging and fun learning community among teachers and teaching artists to integrate drama into all curriculum areas.

Book-It’s BTiC workshops teach methods to make literature fun, physical, and active for students. Teachers learn how to take literature from page to stage using the Book-It Style. Workshops offered at BTiC include “Dramatic Literacy for the Classroom,” “Literature Meets Theatre,” and “Adapting and Directing in the Book-It Style.”

dates: July 9 - 13, 2012 cost: $500 per teacher location: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center Campus apply online: www.book-it.org/btic.php

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Clock hours and university credit are available.

Book-It Repertory Theatre (as part of BTiC) and the South Kitsap School District are members of the Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

student matinée series Book-It Repertory Theatre’s entertaining, literature-based main stage productions are available to schools through low-cost student matinées.

Experience the unique Book-It Style in fully-staged productions at our home theatre.

hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet by Jamie Ford October 10 & 17, 2012

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy February 13 & 27, 2013

The Adventures of huckleberry finn by Mark Twain May 1, 8 & 9, 2013

time: 10:30 a.m. length: 2 - 3 hours location: Center Theatre at The Armory, Seattle Center cost: $10 per student, one free chaperone ticket per 10 students “During class, when we talked about the book, I did not completely get it. After seeing the play, I understood the story a lot better, and I would like to thank you for that.”

- Student, Monroe High School (after seeing The River Why)

Myra Platt in Prairie Nocturne, 2012; photo by Alan Alabastro.

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Kay Nahm and Tim Takechi in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon; photo by Chris Bennion.

- Student, B.F. Day School

“The performance was amazing! It inspires me to work harder at what I’m good at.”

call 206.428.6319 or visit www.book-it.org

Book-It Repertory Theatre 305 Harrison Street Seattle, WA 98109

Seattle, WA Permit No. 631

paid

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

Book-It’s Arts & Education Program is supported, in part by: ArtsFund, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lucky Seven Foundation, Safeco Insurance Foundation, Humanities Washington, and Nordstrom.

book your story today!