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New Stage Theater was present today at Simpson County Academy. They perform Androcles and the Lion for the elementary students. Students enjoyed the play and asked questions about the performers at the end.
People Bank was the sponsor of the performance.
New Stage Theater Announces Arts-in-Education Touring Productions for 2015-16 Season
JACKSON, MISS.—New Stage Theatre, a professional theatre located in Jackson, Mississippi, announces its productions for its Arts-in-Education statewide touring program available to schools, libraries and community centers during the 2015-2016 school year.
This season, New Stage will present Androcles and the Lion, Mississippi Talking: Scenes from Mississippi Writers and Walk, Don’t Ride!A Celebration of the Fight for Equality as touring productions. All productions are available for bookings through May 3, 2016. Both shows will be performed for Mississippi schools by the professional young actors company, a racially diverse company of four young actors who have recently graduated from college with degrees in theatre.
Androcles and the Lion is adapted by Kathryn Walat from Aesop’s fable. A singing mouse, an escaped slave, and a hungry lion form an unlikely trio of friends whose bond is put to the test in this enchanting and heartwarming 50-minute play. Androcles, an escaped slave from the city, makes his way into the jungle where he finds the Lion with a thorn in his paw. Risking capture, Androcles decides to help the Lion and the two become fast friends. But when the evil Emperor imprisons the two companions, it’s the tiny Mouse who reminds them all that friendships aren’t easily broken. Androcles and the Lion is best suited for elementary school audiences.
Mississippi Talking: Scenes from Mississippi Writers is an entertaining and moving show which illuminates the richness of the state’s culture in scenes gathered form the works of Mississippi’s finest writers. Audiences will be fascinated by this 55-minute theatrical view of Mississippi that joins comic and dramatic scenes selected from poetry, drama, short stories and novels by Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright and more. Mississippi Talking is best suited for middle school and high school audiences
Walk, Don’t Ride! A Celebration of the Fight for Equality by Peter Manos chronicles in words and song the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Events spotlighted in this 60- minute show are the Montgomery bus boycott, the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins and the Greyhound/Trailways freedom rides. In all of the movements, whites and blacks came together to peacefully protest segregation in America, often risking injury and death.
Without a doubt, just a couple of generations ago, these events changed the course of America and this dramatization of history illuminates for students the moments that helped shape American freedoms. Walk, Don’t Ride presents the historic events of the civil rights movement in an engaging manner. Students will be entertained as they learn important American history.
All touring productions will be performed by New Stage’s Professional Acting Company members Chris Ambrose, Colin Baylot, Allison Heinz and Briana Thomas. Androcles and the Lion will be directed by New Stage Education Director Chris Roebuck, Mississippi Talking will be directed by New Stage Artistic Director Francine Reynolds and Education Director Chris Roebuck, while Walk, Don’t Ride! will be directed by Kerri Sanders.
New Stage is offering the tours to schools and communities for $575 – $775, depending on travel distance. The price includes the performance and a post-performance question and answer session with the company. A comprehensive study guide for teachers and publicity material is provided prior to the performance. Various workshops for students and teachers are available with or without a performance. Workshops available include Basic Acting, Acting Shakespeare, Drama in the Classroom, Dramatizing Stories, Improvisation and Stage Combat. Integrating Drama into the Classroom, Stage to Literacy and Teaching Shakespeare Workshops are also available for teachers as staff development.
New Stage has a strong reputation for presenting quality performances and has been touring successfully to high school and middle schools since 1990. The tours travel throughout the state, from Clarksdale to Tate County to Gautier and most of the public school districts New Stage visits are to underserved audiences. During the 2014-2015 season New Stage performed The Reluctant Dragon and Walk, Don’t Ride! 74 times for 27 school districts. More than 24,000 students were delighted, entertained and educated by New Stage Theatre’s professional acting company.
Nina Grubbs, a teacher at Simpson County Academy in Mendenhall, said of The Reluctant Dragon: “Wonderful production values, great set and costumes, and great actors. We always find New Stage’s performances very educational. It is great to bring a story to “life.”
After seeing The Reluctant Dragon, Jordan Butler, a student at Northside Elementary School in Clinton, responded with, “I was amazed. I started laughing. My favorite part was the dragon and Saint George. I learned that you should not judge a book by its cover. The play was amazing and funny.”
When Walk, Don’t Ride! A Celebration of the Fight for Equality was performed at Water Valley High School, teacher Robbie Daniels said “Wonderful job! High quality, informative production. The sets and props told the story visually. The performers and costumes were well suited. Clear, well spoken and sung! I was impressed with the overall precise and clear way history was presented on stage.”
“The play was great. The actors really made me feel as if I were in the play. I loved each part of the play so I cannot choose a favorite scene” Ethan Wells, a student at Casey Elementary in Jackson, said after seeing Walk, Don’t Ride! A Celebration of the Fight for Equality.
On Thursday October 29th at 4:30 p.m., New Stage Theatre will offer a free preview of this season’s touring shows. Teachers will be treated to a scene from Androcles and the Lion, Mississippi Talking and Walk, Don’t Ride! A Celebration of the Fight for Equality as well as a brief presentation from Education Director Chris Roebuck on workshop and residency options we can bring to your school! The teachers will also be able to attend that evening’s performance of A Time to Kill at no charge. A fun and informative evening is guaranteed. For reservations for the free preview performance, call Education Assistant Betty Wong at 601-948-3533, ext. 233. Deadline for registration is October 22nd.
New Stage Theatre was chartered as a not-for-profit organization in 1965, producing its initial season in the winter/spring of 1966. Founded by Jane Reid-Petty with the assistance of the American National Theatre Academy and Actor’s Equity Association, dedication to professional excellence in theatre arts was part of the theatre’s original mission. New Stage’s education department was founded in 1989 and received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1995 for its efforts to introduce tens of thousands of young Mississippians to live theatre.
The New Stage Arts-in-Education touring program is sponsored by Entergy, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MS, The Selby and Richard McRae Foundation and The Chisholm Foundation.
For pricing, more information or to schedule a tour or workshop please contact Education Director Chris Roebuck at 601-948-3533 ext. 232 or education@newstagetheatre.com; or Education Assistant Betty Wong at 601-948-3533 ext. 233 or bwong@newstagetheatre.com.
