Book-It Repertory theatre’s arts & education program
2013 - 2014
TOURING STORIES, RESIDENCIES, TEACHER TRAINING, & STUDENT MATINéeS
“Excellent presentation. Students K-5 were attentive and entertained. They got the message of the performance. I received positive feedback from the teachers about the workshops [exploring] compassion for students who struggle, ways to support them, and the sweetness of knowledge—all things that impact students.” - Dr. Betty J. Cobbs, Principal, Woodside Elementary School
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 State; 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. The Book-It Style helps students connect with books on multiple levels as they ask questions, exchange ideas, and make meaning out of what they read, see, and hear— all while being up on their feet. The entire program is closely aligned with researchbased reading instruction and state standards.
Grow with us! Book-It is responding to arts and literacy opportunity gaps in local and regional schools with two exciting initiatives. Over the next three years, the company will expand its programming by touring to rural areas and by implementing the Book-It Literacy Project. The touring expansion enables Book-It to bring its literature-cometo-life performances to school districts that have little to no access to the arts. The Book-It Literacy Project brings together literacy experts and classroom teachers to develop a curriculum that integrates theatre with classroom reading instruction. The curriculum will incorporate Book-It’s unique style of theatre to help students master “reading-to-learn” skills. Art in schools can change lives. Theatre-integrated programs, like Book-It, can impact reading and learning. Grow with us as we launch these initiatives! Literacy Advisory Committee: Carol Adams, Amanda Cain, Gerardine Carroll, Anela Deisler, Janice Fournier, Dr. Robert Hughes, David Quicksall, Brandon Salter, Benjamin Stuart, and Dr. Sheila Valencia
our mission... To provide an interactive relationship between youth and literature through diverse theatrical productions and educational programs that promote the joy of reading, enhance student and teacher learning, and inspire the imagination.
1
Cover photos by Chris Bennion. L to R: Jose Abaoag in Danger: Books!; Diana Huey in Skippyjon Jones, 2013; Dumi in Never Forgotten, 2012; Stephanie McAlexander in Thank You, Mr. Falker, 2012. Opposite: A performance of La Mariposa; photo by Sara Lachman.
what book-it offers 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 can include: fiction or non-fiction text, trained Book-It 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 Week-long summer training and 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
contact us
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
“I had a bunc students comin h of library after the g to the wanting to look performance at books display anour banned d talking about why cert ain books were challenged or ba nned.” -Librarian, Madison Middle Sc
hool
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
3 3
Danger: Books! is an ongoing series of readings from books that have been banned or 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, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Baby Be-bop, 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 censorship and the First Amendment.
Illustration by Kathryn Nave, ©2008.
Francisco is a young Mexican-American boy whose abuelo (Spanish for grandfather) has come to help support the family. Abuelo does not yet speak English, so Francisco translates when they meet Ben, who is looking experiences, integrity, pride, for a gardener for a day’s work. Francisco rashly says they non-verbal communication can do the job, but abuelo is a carpenter, not a gardener, events: National Children’s leading to a serious mistake. As the story unfolds, Book Week, Hispanic Francisco learns a powerful lesson about intregrity from Heritage Month, Citizenship his abuelo. This production will be performed bilingually in Day, Mexican Independence Spanish and English.
grades: K - 6 tours: Sep - Dec themes: immigrant
A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting and Ronald Himler. Text copyright © 1994 by Eve Bunting. Illustrations copyright © 1994 by Ronald Himler. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
4
A tr u e st or y p as se d do w n b y P ol ac co ’s gr ea tgr ea t- gr an df at h er
grades: K - 8 tours: Jan - Apr themes: Civil War, family,
friendship, heritage, perseverance
events: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Read Aloud Month
5
This true Civil War storybegins when Pink, an African American slave-turned-Union soldier, finds Say, an Ohio farm boy, also a Union soldier, wounded in battle. Pink carries Say to his mother’s nearby farm where the 15-yearolds find a pocket of peace and friendship amid the violence that rages around them. They share their stories, including Say’s brief encounter with President Abraham Lincoln. Pink and Say is a celebration of compassion, humanity, and fighting for what’s right.
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, copyright © 1994 by Babushka, Inc. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.
grades: K - 6 tours: Feb - Jun themes: adventure,
imagination, learning, vocabulary
events: Read Across America Day, National & School Librarian Day
Travel with Milo, a boy who thinks seeking knowledge is a waste of time. The discovery of the Phantom Tollbooth leads him on an adventure to The Lands Beyond where he meets the Lethargarians, the Whether Man, and the Count of Connotation. At the end of his journey, Milo realizes that there “are worlds to imagine and someday make real,” and that even in his room, “everything looks new and worth trying.”
From The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Illustrations by Jules Feiffer, copyright © 1961 by Jules Feiffer. Copyright renewed 1989 by Jules Feiffer. Book Cover copyright © 1961, 1989 by Random House Children’s Books. Used by permission of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission.
6
a touring package... l
Includes a performance (25-45 minutes), book, study guide, and workshop
l
Tours to schools, libraries, and community venues
Accomodates audiences ranging in size from 10-500 in gyms, classrooms, and auditoriums l
story choices fall
Danger: Books! grades 6 - Adult A Day’s Work, by Eve Bunting grades K - 6
Winter
Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco grades K - 8
spring
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster 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! 7
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, providing students with a toolbox of useful skills for the future: cooperation, collaboration, and problem solving. Through the synthesis of literature and theatre, the program inspires students to analyze and interpret text in a highly personal, fun, and physical way!
examples of residencies l
Book-It Style productions
l
Classroom projects with selections of text
grades: K - 12 length: One week and up residencies can include: Fiction or non-fiction text, Book-It teaching artists, touring performance, and culminating student performances
cost: Varies based on the length and scope of the program
“Three things I got out of Book-It were: self respect, greater self confidence, and my confidence of performing in front of groups.” - Student, Chief Sealth International High School
Foster High School residency; photo by Chris Bennion.
8
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 text 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 8 - 12, 2013 cost: $500 per teacher location: Seattle Repertory Theatre apply online: www.book-it.org/education/teacher-training
9
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 mainstage productions are available to schools through low-cost student matinées. Student matinées are selected based on their connection to classroom curriculum and age appropriateness. Experience the unique Book-It Style in fully staged productions at our home theatre.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Grades: Middle and High School Date: March 4, 2014
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 the play I didn’t feel as if I was in a theatre with a bunch of people that I didn’t know watching a play. I felt as if I was at my grandma’s house and she was telling me a story from her childhood… [The actors] energy was like an echo that hit the wall, it came back and hit me and I heard it and felt it.” - Student, Lake Washington High School (After seeing A Tale of Two Cities)
Nathan Pringle, William Poole, Jose Abaoag, and Marianne Owen in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; photo by Alan Alabastro.
10
Diana Huey, Erin Stewart, and Nick Edwards in Skippyjon Jones; photo by Chris Bennion.
- Student, Cedar Wood Elementary School
“Your play was so awesome! Your acting made the story seem real.”
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: The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, ArtsFund, ArtsWA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lucky Seven Foundation, and The Norfliffe Foundation. Thank you to all our supporters!
book your story today!