Adult Theater Troupe Performs the Work of Fifth Grade Playwrights
In a collaboration designed to teach kids about environmental issues, theater and expressive freedom, a professional acting and directing troupe teamed up with fifth graders from PS 123 in Bushwick and produced original theater, together.
Back in January the Bushwick Theater and the Superhero Clubhouse got together and began holding workshops for kids from PS 123. The Superhero Clubhouse is a professional theater troupe which specializes in performances focusing on environmental issues.
The captain of the Superhero Clubhouse, Jeremy Pickard commented on the scripts that the children wrote during the workshops.
“They’re mostly experiencing story-telling through film so a lot of their ideas are epic, spanning years, battling natural disasters, riding ships that are thrown by tsunamis. There are lots of journeys, lots of adventures, lots of explosions.”
Not only did the students learn about the nuts and bolts of theater from performance experts, they were also exposed to current environmental issues such as global warming and littering from environmental experts.
When the kids had the basics of theater under their belts they were then given the opportunity to express themselves theatrically through playwriting. The skills they learned from the experts gave them the ability to express themselves creatively.
“They take those limitations and run with them as far as they can go” said Pickard. “They really embraced the freedom when it wasn’t this strict school structure.”
Performances will take place at the Big Green Theater at the Bushwick Starr at 207 Starr Street, Brooklyn, on April 28 at 7pm and 4pm and on April 29 at 4pm. Tickets are $12 and free for residents of Bushwick and children under 18.
