St. Marys Area School District to Host Free One-Night Show on October 13th
St. Marys (September 18, 2015) – Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis will take center stage in School Play at the St. Marys Area High School, 977 South St. Marys Road, on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 7:00 PM. The free one-night local showing of the play, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews at sold-out performances last April at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, is part of a statewide tour that will include showings in Montgomery County, Reading, Harrisburg, Lancaster, State College, Johnstown, Allentown, Schuylkill Haven and Erie.
The timing of School Play could not be more relevant as the two-month-old budget standoff continues in Harrisburg, 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.
“This play presents – through the voices of students, parents, teachers and administrators – how the state’s school funding crisis touches people’s lives,” said Brian Toth, Superintendent of St. Marys Area School District. “It takes us beyond the dollars by illustrating what investing in education means to our children.”
“We are putting human faces to this critical issue so people understand why education funding matters,” says 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.”
Seating for School Play is available on a first come, first serve basis. To learn more about School Play or to download production materials including a full script, log on to www.childrenfirstpa.org/schoolplay.
