Elementary School Outreach

Theater for Kids at Portland Stage
Bringing Professional Theater Education to Your School!

Theater for Kids is excited to bring “Play Me a Story” to the Portland Public Schools through the exciting new Culture Club - Portland partnership. “Play Me a Story” is an interactive reader’s theater and acting workshop for elementary school students. To set the scene, Portland Stage Affiliate Artists perform a staged reading of two popular children’s books plus a classic poem. Following the reading, our actors will work with up to eight classroom groups in workshops based on the stories and poems. Workshops will engage and inspire students through vocalization, games, improvisation and movement.

Theater for Kids brings high-quality performances and workshops directly to your school, increasing student’s exposure to the arts. Play Me a Story meets State of Maine Learning Results and Common Core Standards objectives, including both Performing Arts/Theater and Language Arts. Our outreach program brings children’s literature to life, and then gives kids the opportunity to do the same during the workshops.

The logistics are straightforward and designed to work in any school auditorium or gym. Readings are presented to the whole school and last approximately 20-30 minutes. Illustrations from the books are projected behind the actors to further engage the audience. Our projection system is compatible with your school’s screen or we can project the images onto a large blank wall.

After the reading, selected classes will work with the actors that they have just watched perform. The acting workshops run for 45 minutes and can be taught to as many as eight classrooms total. Participating classes are chosen by the principal based on teacher’s feedback and interest.