NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The New Rochelle Public Library invites middle school and high school students to be a part of an exciting theater experience in conjunction with New Rochelle’s 2015 Big Read of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
A Reader’s Theater Troupe is being organized for the May-June 2015 Big Read, during which the Troupe will re-enact vignettes from the book at various public events. The Troupe will begin with four workshops being offered at the library during school vacation week, from March 30 through April 2, from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm in the library’s Ossie Davis Theater. A drama instructor from the acclaimed Playgroup Theatre in White Plains will lead the sessions, which will involve theater skills, reading segments from the book, gaining confidence in reading aloud to the public, rehearsing and performing. Participating students will receive a financial stipend for attending an orientation session, the four workshops, and participating in at least three performances. This constitutes a commitment of about 25 – 30 hours after school or on weekends between the end of March and the end of June.
Readers Theater is best described as “team storytelling through narration”. It allows for dramatization of literature with ease. There are no sets, and costumes and props are kept to a minimum. The scripts are often read on stage, so memorization is optional. Interested students should contact Barbara Davis, Community Relations Coordinator at the New Rochelle Public Library, at 914-632-8254 or email her at bdavis@nrpl.org. Space is limited and students will be asked to complete a simple application.
New Rochelle’s 2015 Big Read of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer will be launched at a public kick-off event geared for the whole family on Sunday, May 3, from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The New Rochelle Public Library is one of 77 not-for-profit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2014 and June 2015. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with Arts Midwest.