PLEASE NOTE:  The community performance of "1 1/2," scheduled for November 2nd has been CANCELLED.  Our touring schedule is fully booked, but if you have questions about this production, please get in touch via our "Contact Us" page.

The challenges faced by the young characters in the play  "1 1/2" are not unique to kids.   And the solutions lie in ALL of us — young and old — learning to talk in a real way about what makes it so difficult for children and adults to maintain a healthy weight, and how we can all work toward creating safe, empathetic places learn and live.

To help start those conversations, we will be offering a series of evening community performances of "1 1/2" FREE of charge, outside of our normal school day performing schedule, open to the public.  We encourage families (children ages 9 and up), educators, individuals, counselors, EVERYONE to come.  No reservations required. Please help us spread the word by sharing this information with friends, family, and colleagues.

Vancouver – Monday, October 17, 6:30 pm

Columbia Room
Vancouver Community Library
901 C Street
Vancouver, WA  98660

Salem – Wednesday, October 26, 6:30 pm

Anderson Auditorium
Salem Public Library
585 Liberty Street SE
Salem, OR  97301

Forest Grove – Wednesday, November 2, 6:30 pm

Tom Miles Theatre – Warner Hall
Pacific University
2043 College Way
Forest Grove, OR 97116

For more information about "1 1/2" and for additional resources, please click here:

http://etpnorthwest.org/productions/one-and-a-half

ETP is excited to announce that we are developing a brand new Artists-in-Residence program for the 2012-13 school year.   To help us shape content, structure, and how we bring something truly relevant and engaging to your school, we need your feedback.

Students will work with professional theatre artists to devise an original performance related to health and well-being.  As creators of the play, student actors will investigate wellness in the context of their own lives, their school, and community — sharing personal insights, conducting interviews and research to gain stories they will transform into a culminating performance.

We are seeking high schools in Portland to begin this journey.   Whether you're interested in hosting a residency or just have insights into the lives of high school teachers and students, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU!  We need your observations and expertise to ensure we are addressing the issues and ideas important to you and your students. Equally important to our mission is to serve the needs of your classroom, school and communities.  We value your voice—make it heard!

If you are not a high school teacher, but KNOW a  high school teacher, please help us spread the word by directing them here to our website.

Please take a moment to complete this brief survey to help us shape our early development of this project:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ResidencyETP

With more than 50 performances already scheduled, booking is well underway for the Winter/Spring tour of the original production, “1 ½.”  In development for over a year and a half, “1 ½” addresses the complex issues that surround the alarming escalation of childhood obesity: bullying, peer pressure, economic and social disparities that complicate positive decision making, and of course the importance of physical activity and making healthy food choices.

After pre-production readings at Earl Boyles Elementary and Scappoose Elementary, weeks of rehearsals in the studio, and a final dress rehearsal at Rieke Elementary, the “1 ½” team was well-prepared to kick off the tour at Concord Elementary on January 11^th.  Performing for over 200 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, the show took another leap forward.  

For the first time, two versions of a script have been written.  Both scripts will be touring this winter and spring, rotating from week-to-week.  This innovative approach has allowed the playwright to explore the same themes through the eyes of a variety of young characters who struggle with weight for very different reasons.  This structure will also make it possible to return to a school during the fall leg of the “1 ½” tour, giving teachers a brand new platform to revisit the important themes of the play with all-new stories.

With a uniquely interactive structure, “1 ½” offers students opportunities to reflect on and respond to the issues of the play “in the moment,” providing advice to adult characters struggling to prepare their children to navigate complicated choices.   To help facilitate the continuing conversation and exploration back in the classroom, a study guide, reading lists, and a variety of other tools are provided in the "Resources" section on the “1 ½” page.

Though many early tour dates have been booked, plenty of dates still remain.  With the new Educational Theatre Program website, launched this fall, online booking has become even simpler.  If you have any questions or require booking assistance, please contact Bridie Harrington:  Bridie@octc.org, 503-228-9571 x116.

Oregon Children's Theatre and Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program are proud to host a FREE screening of the award-winning documentary PLAY AGAIN.

A perfect compliment to "Texting the Sun," this intriguing, entertaining, and, in fact, IMPORTANT documentary explores the tension we all feel between the draw of the virtual world and the dwindling role of the natural world in our everyday lives.

WHEN:  Wednesday, November 3rd, 7:00pm
WHERE:  The Academy Theater, 7818 SE Stark Street

This documentary follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens. Play Again unplugs these teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no virtual reality.

For more about Play Again:

http://www.groundproductions.com/playagain/index.php

This project was made possible in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities (OH), a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OH’s grant program.

After a hugely successful tour last winter and spring, "Texting the Sun" will return this fall, hitting the road on September 14th for a ten week tour. Offered with optional pre and/or post-show workshops, "Texting the Sun" clearly struck a cord with students, teachers and parents during it's debut tour.

During the 2009/2010 school year, "Texting the Sun" performed 110 times at 98 schools, serving nearly 24,000 students. Teaching Artists (the "Texting the Sun" cast) facilitated 86 individual workshops.

With issues like cyber-bullying and body image showing up in the news with such regularity, now is the time to initiate thoughtful conversations with young people about how they interact with the media sources that surround them. Booking for this production is well underway.

A good selection of dates still exists, but the calendar is filling up quickly. Likewise, a limited number of workshops will be available by application. As one teacher noted last year: "This was such a great program! Thank you so much for helping start conversations about issues we are concerned about.