Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis will take center stage in School Play at the Reading High School, 801 North 13th Street, Reading, on Monday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m.

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 Harrisburg, Lancaster, State College, Johnstown, Allentown, Schuylkill Haven, Montgomery County, St. Mary’s 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.

“School Play uses the voices of real students, parents, teachers and administrators to show the true impact of our state’s school funding crisis,” said Russell Diesinger, Exeter School Director and retired Reading School District teacher. “The performance clearly presents the need for a greater and more equitable state investment in our local schools. Please, join us for this free production and to learn more about this most important issue.”

“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.”

To learn more about School Play or to download production materials including a full script, log on to <www.childrenfirstpa.org/schoolplay>.

Berks-Mont News – September 29, 2015 – Read article online