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2009-10 STUDENT SERIES

We invite you to plan a field trip to the Higley Center for the Performing Arts during the 2009-2010 school year. We sincerely hope you will find at least one production that your students will enjoy and that you will find enhances your curriculum.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Student performances start at 9:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Performance length for most programs is 60 minutes unless otherwise noted.

The target audience information indicates for what grades the performance is most appropriate, but any grade level may attend any show if the teacher feels the performance should be experienced by his or her students.

Admission to all student shows is $5 per child. One teacher/chaperone is admitted for free for every 10 students. Other adults who exceed the 10:1 ratio are admitted for $5 per person.

RESERVATIONS:

1. Complete the appropriate reservation form(s) with the maximum number of attendees that you might bring.

2. Request a purchase order for the maximum number of attendees including the number of adults that exceed the 10:1 ratio.

3. Send the reservation form and PO to:

Larry Whitesell, Manager

Higley Center for the Performing Arts

4132 E Pecos Rd

Gilbert, AZ  85295

PAYMENT:

 An invoice will be sent to you requesting payment for the number of actual attendees based on a head count that will be taken when you arrive at the performing arts center on the day of the show.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Larry Whitesell at lwhitesell@husd.org or (480) 279-7195.

Special Presentation

Of Mice and Men – Nobel Prize Winner author John Steinbeck’s Theatrical Masterpiece

October 21, Wednesday 

CURTAIN TIME: 7:30 p.m. Running time: 2 hrs includes 15 minute intermission

A touring production of Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA.

This captivating tale chronicles the powerful friendship of two migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression as they toil to make their dreams a reality. As all too often happens, "the best laid schemes o'mice and men" go awry in this timeless American masterpiece. “Of Mice and Men delves into themes that are as much a part of human experience today as they were when Steinbeck wrote about them more than seventy years ago – the American Dream, friendship, duty, obligation, loss – and his characters come to life in a raw, earthy way that speaks to each of us on a personal level. Not to be missed…” Jim Quesenberry, Washington County News

Target audience: grades 7 – 12; English, Theatre Arts, American History, Humanities

Ticket Prices: $$28.50/$24.50 adults; $19.50 students 18 and under/seniors over 60

Student group rates are available for organized field trips. For groups of 15 or more, tickets are $16 per person including teachers/sponsors/chaperones accompanying the group. Extra credit for attending is strongly recommended for students who attend on their own.

Visit www.bartertheatre.com for pictures, video, reviews, study guide.

Strega Nona – Musical adaptation of Tomie dePaolo’s children’s story

Presented by Maximum Entertainment in association with Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences

October 30, Friday

The musical tale of a friendly magical witch – with a funny name – who strives to cure the ills of her tiny Italian town of Calabria. The town faces real problems when a local lug named Big Anthony sneaks a peak at Strega Nona’s magic book and uses her magical ways for selfish means. When Big Anthony fools with the magic pasta pot and can’t figure out how to turn it off, pasta threatens to engulf the entire town unless Strega Nona can save the day. This fantastical tale teaches that you can’t judge a pot by its pasta!

Target Audience: grades Pre-K –4

The Strega Nona pop-up book is available for check out at the HCPA

Read more about this production on line by visiting www.bsoinc.com/family/artist.php?artist=streganona

Wally’s Warehouse Waifs - Purveyors of Classic Jazz from Ragtime through the Swing Era and Beyond

November 4, Wednesday  This is a FREE concert!

In partnership with the Arizona Classic Jazz Society

Wally’s Warehouse Waifs share a joy for the music they play. Improvisation is what makes their kind of music special. The Waifs share not only extraordinary technical prowess, but their “hearts” and “souls” are all in the same place and their version of your favorite tune will delight you. Playing the music of the masters from the early New Orleans days through the Swing and the Big Band eras, they merge their magical mix of talents to create jazz in its purest form. What you’ll hear will be fresh melodic ideas moving from heart to horn – demonstrating why jazz was invented and what it was meant to be.

Target audience grades 5 – 12; History; General Music; Band

Cinderella – The rags to riches tale all children love

November 20, Friday

Performed by Great Arizona Puppet Theatre

Jealousy!  Romance!  Transparent footware!  Everybody’s favorite fairy tale comes to life in Great Arizona Puppet Theater’s CINDERELLA.  This show features elegant hand puppets, exciting special effects and lots of laughs.

Target audience: grades 2 & 3; Language Arts

To ensure an intimate experience for the audience, this show is in the Little Theatre. Reservations are limited to 180 per show.

Frindle – Andrew Clement’s novel brought to life

January 21 - Thursday

Clements describes the idea for Frindle as having come to him in the form of the thought, "What would happen if a kid started using a new word, and other kids really liked it, but his teacher didn't?" It doesn’t take long for frindle to take root, and soon the excitement spreads beyond Nicholas Allen’s school and town. Frindle doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. All he can do now is sit back and watch what happens. You are invited to sit back and watch with Nick! The book has received more than 35 awards and honors, including the Christopher Award, Georgia Children's Book Award, the Sasquatch Children's Book Award, the Massachusetts Children's Book Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Year 2000 Young Hoosier Book Award.

Target audience: Grades 3 – 6; Language Arts; General Music

More information about Fridle, including a study guide, is available on line: http://www.bsoinc.com/family/artist.php?artist=frindle 

Nobody’s Perfect – Despite first impressions, nobody’s perfect!

February 23 – Tuesday

Based on the children’s book by Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney

This is a Sign Stage on Tour production sponsored by The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour

Fourth grade is not easy, and after spending a year planning her "positively purple" birthday party, Megan finds herself at odds with new student Alexis. To Megan, Alexis has it all: beauty, brains, and athletics—she’s practically perfect in every way. Though Megan tries to be nice to her, Alexis is anything but friendly, making Megan wonder, "Does she not like me because I'm deaf?" When they’re forced to collaborate on a science project, Megan discovers Alexis’s secret. Based on the children’s book by Academy Award® winner Marlee Matlin (Best Actress, Children of a Lesser God) and Doug Cooney, this touching new musical—simultaneously performed in spoken English and American Sign Language—is an important reminder that despite first impressions, nobody’s perfect.

Target audience: grades 3 – 7; literature, language development, peer relationships, communication, and Deaf Culture

Learn more about Nobody’s Perfect on line at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/ontour/season.cfm

Tom Chapin – Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter for children

February 26 – Friday

This performance is sponsored by Equality Arizona

Tom Chapin has won three Grammy Awards for his family-focused songs and music. Chapin’s original songs are told in a fun array of musical styles and teach life lessons about inclusiveness, making healthy choices, tolerance, respect and the environment. Chapin’s family albums have been recognized with awards from the American Library Association, Parents’ Choice, the New York Music Awards, the National Association of Parenting Publications and Parents Magazine.

Target Audience: grades K – 3; all content areas

The Taming of the Shrew – The affirmation of affection

March 9 – Tuesday                    9:45 a.m. show only

The 2010 Education Tour of the Utah Shakespearean Festival Kate and Petruchio seem like the most unlikely couple to find happiness with each other. Through a tumultuous meeting, courtship, and mockery of a marriage, they come to terms with themselves, their expectations and their relationship. The madcap antics of all who surround them add to the merriment. “In its concern with disguises and transformation of character, The Taming of the Shrew winds up beyond its laughter, making a statement about the place and function of romance, love, and marriage in the larger contexts of social, moral, and cosmic order.” From Insights, 1991

Target audience: grades 6-12; English; Theatre Arts

Performance length approximately 75 minutes with a 15 minute post-show discussion with the cast and crew.

Educational materials including synopsis, characters and more are available on line at: http://www.bard.org/education/studyguides/thetamingoftheshrew/shrewaffection.html

Hotel Saguaro – An entertaining look at one denizen of the desert

April 16 - Friday    

Performed by the Great Arizona Puppet Theatre

Sammy Saguaro isn’t sure he wants to grow up to be a cactus until he finds out just how important a saguaro is to the Sonoran Desert.  This entertaining, award-winning show was developed with the help of Desert Botanical Garden by the Great Arizona Puppet Theater.

Target Audience: grades K – 3; English; Science

To ensure an intimate experience for the audience, this show is in the Little Theatre. Reservations are limited to 180 per show.