White Pines to Host Free One-Night Show on October 2nd at 8pm

Montgomery County Community College to Host Free One-Night Show on October 3rd at 7pm

PHILADELPHIA (September 30, 2015) – Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis will take center stage in School Play at The White Pines Place on 7908 High School road in Elkins Park at 8:00 pm on Friday, October 2nd and the Montgomery County Community College Blackbox Theatre at 1313 Morris Road in Blue Bell at 7:00 pm on Saturday, October 3rd. The free local performances of the play is part of a statewide tour that will also include showings in Erie, St. Marys, Johnstown, Schuylkill Haven, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, State College, Bryn Mawr and Allentown.

The timing of School Play could not be more relevant as the budget standoff in Harrisburg approaches three months, with new funding for education at the top of the agenda. The documentary-based live theatre production from playwrights Arden Kass and Seth Bauer, commissioned by Public Citizens for Children and Youth, uses the real voices of more than 100 Pennsylvanians to dramatize funding inequities among school districts across the state.

“White Pines is based in Cheltenham Township, which has long prided itself in the excellence of its public schools,” said Benjamin Lloyd, Founder of White Pines Productions. “That’s one reason why we are so excited to present School Play at the White Pines Place. Great public education is the hallmark of great communities.”

Michael Whistler, Assistant Professor and Coordinator for the Theatre Arts program at Montgomery County Community College added “School Play tackles an issue that is fresh in the minds of people not just in Montgomery County, but across the entire state. We are honored to host this vitally important production here at the Blackbox Theatre and we hope everyone who cares about public education will come out to see the performance this weekend.”

“We are putting human faces to this critical issue so people understand why education funding matters,” said playwright Arden Kass. “We want to use the unique abilities of live performance to reach people in a way that’s different from news reports and speeches. By cutting through the numbers and political arguments, we will help discover ways to make things better for our children and communities.”

Tickets for the free one-night performances are available at www.childrenfirstpa.org. To learn more about School Play or to download production materials including a full script, visit www.childrenfirstpa.org/schoolplay