If you are a class mother, a teacher or a school administrator looking for productions to bring to your students, check out the schedule of Pushcart Players, an esteemed professional drama troupe producing shows aimed directly for students:
Pushcart Players, the Verona, NJ-based professional theater company for young audiences, will extend the availability of its musical hit, Let Freedom Ring, through the 2011-12 school year.
Let Freedom Ring (formerly known as American Sampler) is a fast-paced theater program which offers a fresh, new approach to telling the story of Colonial America and pleases a wide range of students and teachers with its familiar folk songs, high energy staging and colorful costumes and settings. The story spans K-8 History and Social Studies with strong curriculum connections—from the arrival of the first settlers in 1620 to the new wave of immigration at the turn of the 19thto 20thCentury. This spirited musical review is a celebration of our nation’s birth and development,and brings history to life in an inspiring, informative and highly entertaining theater piece. Engagements for the coming school year are now being scheduled.
Pushcart Players is an ensemble of professional (Actors’ Equity Association)actors dedicated to enriching, enlightening and inspiring young people through the introduction and presentation of quality theatre and arts in education programming. Pushcart is in its 37thseason, has traveled over 2 million miles to serve more than 8 million children and their families. Based in Verona, NJ, this dynamic and highly acclaimed touring company brings the power of the arts to life in schools,theatres and community centers throughout the nation and abroad.
Pushcart is well known for presenting productions filled with fun, facts, magic and wonder; and for bringing “a little bit of Broadway” to schools and local theaters throughout NJ and beyond.Pushcart productions provide young audiences with an excellent introduction to theater and the arts along with lessons rich in character development and human values. All presentations are accompanied by a study guide for teachers and a question/answer session with the cast immediately following a performance.
Pushcart Programs Feature Many Ways To Amplify The Theatre Experience And Gain Literacy In The Arts
- Fully mounted, costumed and orchestrated productions
- Question/Answer/Assessment Discussion with cast following performance
- Study guides and resource lists for teachers and parents
- Classroom visits by Pushcart artists and technicians
- Playbills, posters, photos, fliers, news coverage
- Innovative workshops and residencies
- Long term arts-in-education programs culminating in student performances
- Pushcart Players will work with sponsors to ensure that all persons can have access and benefit from our programs. A large print version of our brochures, study guides and support materials are available. Arrangements can be made for sign-interpretation and audio-description at performances.
All Pushcart programs foster arts basic to education as described in "National Standards for Arts In Education" and "Goals 2000" and are shaped by Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and the SCANS Report. All programs offer students the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving and self-discipline.
In addition to Let Freedom Ring, many other Pushcart productions continue to be available for the coming (2011-12) year. Selections may be viewed by downloading Pushcart's current brochure from www.pushcartplayers.org. Pushcart’s wide range of Arts In Education programs such as Creative Drama Workshops,Teacher Training and Professional Development Workshops, Kids Do Broadway After School Programs and many others are also available and may be tailored to suit the needs of any school or organization upon request.
Representatives from schools and other sponsors of theater and arts in education programming interested in previewing or booking a performance or arts workshop should call "Pushcart" at 973.857.1115 or write to "Pushcart," 197 Bloomfield Ave., Verona, NJ 07044. Further information, such as Pushcart’s current brochure and study guides to all programs, may be obtained by sending an e-mail to information@pushcartplayers.org, by visiting the Pushcart website:www.pushcartplayers.org or by calling 973.857.1115.
