2014-2015 Student Season

2014 –2015

STUDENT

SEASON

NINE PLAYS ON TWO STAGES BOSS THRUST STAGE

PROSCENIUM STAGE

The House on Mango Street

33 Variations

4000 Miles

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

2 Sugars, Room for Cream

The Color Purple

Trick Boxing

The Diary of Anne Frank

Romeo and Juliet

LET US BRING YOUR STUDENTS

to the edge of their seats and into the heart of literature in our new 200-seat Andy Boss Thrust Stage just steps away from the Park Square Proscenium Stage.

theatre for your students. ( yes yours. )

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING

about Park Square...

Reading a play is fun, but seeing it performed changes the way they read everything.

—Lisa Klobe, Lester Prairie Junior High

LIVE theater is a spectacular learning experience. Many students have not seen a live stage presentation before, so this opportunity is priceless.

—Jan Heyerdahl, Buffalo Community Middle School

Seeing and feeling their two months of study embodied on stage mere steps away from them was a profound experience.

—Bob Gregory-Bjorklund, ARTech Charter School

We have been to see plays at many theaters, and your staff treated our students the best by far. They were polite to our kids and treated them as customers.

—Jeremy Stradling, Sanford Middle School

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

A Powerful Theatrical Piece About the Healing Power of Music

Karen Landry* and Edwin Strout

OCT 22 & 29, 2014

Recommended Grade Level: 8 –12

By MOISÉS KAUFMAN; Directed by JAMES ROCCO THE SETTING: 1819, 1823 and the present day; New York City; Bonn, Germany; Vienna, Austria SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Beethoven’s Artistic Process, Artistic Expression as a Response to Adversity, Music Vocabulary, Music Theory, Music Appreciation, Character Study, Themes, Theatre THE STORY: Drama, memory and music combine in this extraordinary, Tonynominated play about passion and the transformative power of music. In defiance of her recent diagnosis with ALS, world-renowned musicologist Katherine Brandt scours Beethoven’s manuscripts to unlock the secret of his obsession with the Diabelli Variations. As she works to solve the mystery, we see Beethoven two hundred years earlier, struggling to compose while losing his hearing. Separated by two centuries, the obsessions that guide these two passionate geniuses might, for a moment, make time stand still—and bring healing to their lives. Music, drama and literature students will find this a fascinating piece of theatre.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 2 ½ Hours (Including Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square Proscenium Stage

TUE

Featuring a live pianist onstage playing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations

OCT

WED

THU

22 29

2014 Student Matinee Performance Dates Mid-morning matinees – call for times

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

OCT 22 – NOV 21, 2014

A Stirring Portrayal of Esperanza’s Coming of Age in the Barrio

Recommended Grade Level: 7 –12

Written by SANDRA CISNEROS Adapted by AMY LUDWIG Directed by DIPANKAR MUKHERJEE

THE SETTING: 1970s in a Chicago barrio SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Cultural Identity, Gender and Ethnicity, The Struggles of American Immigrants, Latina Literature, Society and Class, First Person Narrative, Coming of Age, Urban Neighborhoods, Symbolism, Plot, Theme, Characters, Creative Writing, Biography of the Author THE STORY: New to the neighborhood, Esperanza Cordero hopes she will make friends and find a home. The house is not all she hoped for and her family doesn’t understand her need to write, but the colorful neighbors and their stories of loss and longing fill her days with a rich wealth of human experience. As Esperanza and her friends begin to experiment with high heels, makeup, and boys, she watches the older girls and women struggle with their relationships and lack of identity, and is both fascinated and repelled by her approaching womanhood.

Her poetic writings about her experiences and those of her immigrant family and neighbors are humorous, poignant and timely. Your students will identify with Esperanza’s struggle to break away from her roots and grow past her childhood home to become the writer she must.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 90 minutes (No Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square’s New Andy Boss Thrust Stage

OCT NOV

2014 Student Matinee Performance Dates

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

4* 11 18

22** 5* 12 19

23** 6* 13 20

24** 7* 14 21

*One matinee per day: 11:30, 12:00 or 12:30 **One matinee per day: 9:30, 10, 10:30, 11, or 11:30 BOLD = Two matinees per day: 9:00-10:30 or 9:30-11:00 and 12:00-1:30 or 12:30-2:00

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

A Hilarious Romp Through Shakespeare’s Most Beloved Comedy

Terry Hempleman* and Courtney Peterson*

NOV 12 – DEC 19, 2014

Recommended Grade Level: 7 –12

By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE; Directed by JEF HALL-FLAVIN THE SETTING: Athens and the Surrounding Forest SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Shakespeare, English Literature, Verse Drama, Elizabethan England, Theatre THE STORY: Treat your students to this delightful and romantic romp through the forest with Titania, Oberon, Puck, the young lovers, and those crazy townspeople who are rehearsing a play. In this inventive version of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedy, nine actors play all the roles, transforming from lovers to fairies to mechanicals. Our student audiences have been delighted with this passionate, youthful, and accessible rendition of Shakespeare’s classic.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 2 ½ hours (Including Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square Proscenium Stage

MON sponsored by

WED

THU

FRI

12

13

14

2

3

4

5

8

9

10

11

12

15

16

17

18

19

NOV DEC

Park Square Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest

TUE

2014 Student Matinee Performance Dates Mid-morning matinees – call for times

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

A Contemporary Take on Youth, Identity and Inter-Generational Healing

Gabriel Murphy and Linda Kelsey*

DEC 16 & 17, 2014

Recommended Grade Level: 10 –12

By AMY HERZOG; Directed by GARY GISSELMAN THE SETTING: Manhattan, Present Day SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Intergenerational Familial Relationships, Sociology, The Bike Culture, Grief and Loss, Character Study, Theatre, Contemporary Dramatics Literature THE STORY: In the middle of the night, 21-year-old Leo arrives on his grandmother’s doorstep. Jobless, aimless and apparently alone, Leo has traveled across the country on his bike. Vera is happy to see her grandson, but she knows something is amiss. The two should be able to find common ground—Leo has inherited Vera’s hippie ways—but they find nothing that connects them. Just when their seven-decade age difference threatens to drive them apart once and for all, a terrible secret from Leo’s past surfaces. In what the New York Times calls “a beautifully rendered portrait,” a young man and an older woman bridge a generational divide and rediscover a family’s heart. Filled with youthful characters your students will identify with, this contemporary drama will prompt interesting discussion.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 1 Hour 40 Minutes (No Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square’s New Andy Boss Thrust Stage

DEC

TUE

WED

16

17

2014 Student Matinee Performance Dates Mid-morning matinees – call for times

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

Carolyn Pool* and Shanan Custer

JAN 13 & 14, 2015

Recommended Grade Level: 9 –12

By CAROLYN POOL and SHANAN CUSTER Directed by MATT SCIPLE

THE SETTING: Various Locations, Present Day AREAS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION: The Power of Friendship, Devised Work, Creating Original Work, Acting, Theatre, Writing Comedy THE STORY: This original comedy performed and written by well-known Twin Cities actors Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool is an honest and silly look at why we drink coffee (and other things). It’s a quirky showcase of funny, sometimes serious vignettes of family and friends, mixed with music that mines the everyday humor that flows with coffee. Described by critics as an “unequivocally lovely show; funny, true, relatable,” this 2013 Ivey-Award winning production “…brims with charm!”

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 1 Hour 40 Minutes (No Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square’s New Andy Boss Thrust Stage

TUE WED

JAN

13

14

2015 Student Matinee Performance Dates Mid-morning matinees – call for times

Megan McClellan, Brian Sostek

FEB 3 & 4, 2015

Recommended Grade Level: 7 –12

Written, Directed and Choreographed by BRIAN SOSTEK and MEGAN McCLELLAN

THE SETTING: Any Big City in East Coast America, 1930s SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Dance, Boxing as an Cultural Metaphor, Iconic Characters of Classic Film and Radio, Devised Work, Creating Character through Physicality, Comedy, Theatre THE STORY: A “brilliantly, cleverly funny” romantic comedy that brings boxing and ballroom dance head-to-head in a match made in heaven. This two-person tour de force of rapid-fire dialogue, high-energy dances, ridiculous puppetry and playful pugilism tells the rags-to-riches story of an immigrant apple seller tricked into becoming a boxer and the dance hall dame with a score to settle who takes him under her wing as they swing their way to the championship. “A masterful production…a beautiful blend of theater, comedy, puppetry and dance.” —Minnesota Monthly PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 75 Minutes (No Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square’s New Andy Boss Thrust Stage

2015 Student Matinee Performance Dates

FEB

TUE

WED

3

4

Mid-morning matinees – call for times

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

A Masterful Adaptation of Alice Walker’s Unforgettable Novel

Regina Marie Williams* and Aimee K. Bryant*

JAN 27 & 28 FEB 4, 10, 11 & 13, 2015

Recommended Grade Level: 1 0 –12

Based upon the novel written by ALICE WALKER and the Warner Bros./ Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture; Book by MARSHA NORMAN Music and Lyrics by BRENDA RUSSELL, ALLEE WILLIS and STEPHEN BRAY Directed and Choreographed by LEWIS WHITLOCK III; Musical Direction by REV. CARL WALKER

THE SETTING: 1930s Georgia SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: The Novels of Alice Walker, Jazz, Ragtime, The Blues, Gospel Music, Adaptation, Women’s Rights, The Jim Crow South, Domestic Violence, 1930s Georgia, Musical Theatre THE STORY: Raised by an abusive father and married off at the age of 14 to a callous local farmer, Walker’s heroine, Celie, has known only hardship and cruelty. Her sole joy in the world is the letters she receives from her sister Nettie. But when sassy nightclub singer Shug Avery comes to town, Celie is awakened to the redemptive power of love which promises to lead her through healing into joy. With a jubilant score of roof-raising gospel, jazz and throaty blues, The Color Purple is a testament to the power of hope. Treat your literature, theatre, social studies and music students to this deeply moving adaptation of one of America’s most beloved novels.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 2 ½ hours (Including Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square Proscenium Stage

JAN sponsored by

TUE

WED

27

28

FEB

THU

FRI

4 10

11

13

2015 Student Matinee Performance Dates Mid-morning matinees – call for times

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

FEB 19 – MAY 1, 2015

A Passionate, Youthful Rendition of Shakespeare’s Greatest Love Story

Recommended Grade Level: 7 –12

By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE A New Adaptation; Directed by DAVID MANN THE SETTING: Verona, Italy SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: Shakespeare, Tragedy of Fate, Iambic Pentameter and Blank Verse, The Chemistry of the Teenage Brain, Images of Dark and Light, Symbolism, Rhetoric THE STORY: Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall passionately in love. Children of mortal enemies, they marry in secret, hoping to convince their warring parents to yield to their powerful love and lay aside their hatred. In a terrible series of events, Juliet’s cousin kills Romeo’s dearest friend and when Romeo avenges Mercutio by murdering Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, all hope for their love seems lost. This 90-minute adaptation staged on our new 200-seat thrust stage will bring the passionate struggle and beautiful language of Shakespeare’s greatest love story vividly to life for your students.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 90 minutes (No Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square’s New Andy Boss Thrust Stage MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

19

20

24*

25*

26*

3

4

5*

FEB MAR 16

MON

APR 13

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

7*

8*

9*

10*

14

15

16

17

6*

20

21

22

23

24

27

28

29

30

1

10

11

12

13

17

18

19

20

MAY

2015 Student Matinee Performance Dates sponsored by

Two shows per day at customized start times: 9:00–10:30 or 9:30–11am and 12:00–1:30 or 12:30–2pm *One matinee only, call for times Call for ASL Dates

Park Square Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

A Moving Account of the Heroic Young Girl Who Would Not Be Silenced by Hatred

Kathryn Wind* and Peter Thomson*

MAR 2 – MAY 15, 2015

Recommended Grade Level: 7 –12

By FRANCES GOODRICH & ALBERT HACKETT; Directed by SCOTT RUBSAM THE SETTING: Amsterdam, Holland, 1942–1944 SUGGESTED AREAS OF STUDY AND DISCUSSION: The Holocaust, World War II, Jewish Religion and Culture, German Language and Culture, Genocide in the 20th Century: Rwanda, Darfur–the First Genocide of the 21st Century THE STORY: In this account of eight Jews hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Anne Frank emerges from history as an inspiring and intensely gifted young woman. Your students are sure to be moved by this important story of a young woman whose imagination and whose hope would not be stifled by her confinement. The hiding and arrest of the Frank family will help bring the realities of the Holocaust more directly into your classroom.

PERFORMANCE LENGTH: 2 ½ hours (Including Intermission) LOCATION: Park Square Proscenium Stage

MON

TUE

6 13 20

7 14 21

11

12

APRIL MARCH

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

2 9

3 10

4 11 25

5 12 26

6 13 27

30

31

MAY

WED

THU

FRI

1 8 15 22 6 13

2 9 16 23 7 14

10 17 24 8 15

2015 Student Matinee Performance Dates Most matinees 10 am – some later by arrangement; Call for ASL dates

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

Deepen their learning with an IMMERSION DAY

Enrich Your Trip With One or More of These Experiences Added to the Show BUILD A MOMENT (All shows except Romeo and Juliet) In this large group demonstration, students will witness theatrical moments come to life as the production team illustrates how the collaborative process works by showing scenes at different stages of production. This half-hour program combines presentation of design concepts, discussion with actors, and the performance of theatrical moments by cast members who reveal the secrets of the trade.

Cost: $400 minimum or $6 per student.

(We will work to find partner schools for smaller groups.)

UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF SHAKESPEARE (Romeo and Juliet only) After students become a living line of iambic pentameter and see Shakespeare’s verse from the inside, they will explore interpretation as professional actors perform the same Shakespeare scene with multiple intentions chosen by the audience.

Cost: $400 minimum or $6 per student.

(We will work to find partner schools for smaller groups.)

TALK WITH THE ACTORS After being ignited by a great show, your students will be ready to talk. To keep them learning, book a post-show discussion with the actors.

Cost: $200 minimum or $1 per student.

Coming back to the classroom following the Immersion Day our students were ecstatic! They felt they had been part of something very magical.

—Linda Wallenberg, Teacher, Eden Prairie High School

SMALL GROUP THEATRE WORKSHOPS Unarmed Stage Combat Through a series of stretching and movement exercises, students will become tuned in to the body’s natural flow and use it to learn the techniques of stage combat.

Acting: Making the Invisible Visible Students will explore the invisible world of feelings and ideas through movement and acting. Through exercises in concentration, living sculpture and mime, students will literally be able to “see” as well as feel how action gives shape and power to the imagination.

Stage Makeup, Special Effects Students will learn to create illusions and special effects such as gashes, wounds and bruises with stage makeup from a professional makeup artist.

Improv! Improv! Improv!

Through games and exercises students learn to free up their instincts, take risks and be brave in the world of comedy improvisation. They’ll have fun working in the style of Brave New Workshop.

Acting Shakespeare Students will experiment with the tools actors use to explore and interpret Shakespeare’s verse. Then, performing short bits of text, students will lift the text off the page and bring it to life with conviction and relish.

The Actor’s Voice: Shakespearean Insults After learning how to warm up and stretch their voices, students will have a ball hurling Shakespeare’s colorful insults at each other.

Mining Shakespeare’s Text Students discover how actors use clues in Shakespeare’s language and verse to make choices as they act a scene from his work.

This active workshop will give students new insight into why Shakespeare wrote the way he did, and how theater artists interpret his plays.

Small Group Workshop Cost: $120 minimum or $6 per student Full Immersion Day Cost: Approximately $12 plus ticket per student

VIEW OUR IMMERSION DAY TRAILERS and get further information at parksquaretheatre.org (click on Education, Immersion Days)

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

MORE THAN A FIELD TRIP

An evening of theatre during the day We put our top talent on stage and treat your students with exceptional care, offering them the same amenities as our evening audiences.

From literary classics to thought-provoking

new plays – get them talking Engage your students and open their minds to new ideas and contemporary culture with a range of powerful productions.

Unique connections between students and artists Our Immersion Day activities will ignite their love of theatre and literature, prompt deeper connections to the text, and invite richer classroom discussion.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS Phone 651.291.9196 Online parksquaretheatre.org

(Click on Education, Student Matinees)

STUDENT TICKETS $14 / CHAPERONES FREE* / FREE BUS PARKING

(The Color Purple $18)

STUDY GUIDES FOR TEACHERS, BY TEACHERS Classroom-ready materials from scenes to read aloud to primary source documents that illustrate cultural and literary context. (All shows except 2 Sugars, Room for Cream and Trick Boxing) EASY PLANNING AND TRAVEL We help you with drop off, pick up and nearby lunch options. Bus greeters welcome your students and guide them to the theatre. We guarantee performance running times.

LARGE-GROUP LOGISTICS AND LAST-MINUTE SMALL GROUPS We customize your experience and anticipate your needs. *one per every 20 students

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

STUDENT SERIES

Cover Photo: Regina Marie Williams* and Aimee K. Bryant* *Member, Actors’ Equity Association | Brochure photography by Petronella J. Ytsma & Terry Gydesen

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota.

theatre for your students. ( yes yours. )

MAR 2 – MAY 15, 2015

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

FEB 19 – MAY 1, 2015

ROMEO & JULIET

JAN 27 & 28 FEB 4, 10, 11 & 13, 2015

THE COLOR PURPLE

FEB 3 & 4, 2015

TRICK BOXING

JAN 13 & 14, 2015

2 SUGARS, ROOM FOR CREAM

DEC 16 & 17, 2014

4000 MILES

NOV 12 – DEC 19, 2014

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

OCT 22 – NOV 21, 2014

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

OCT 22 & 29, 2014

33 VARIATIONS

2014 –2015 STUDENT SEASON

Braille

Large Print

651.291.9196 | parksquaretheatre.org/education

408 St. Peter Street, Suite 110 Saint Paul, MN 55102-1130