Drama of Education Funding Hits the Local Stage in School Play – Reading School District to Host Free One-Night Show on October 5th
READING (September 30, 2015) – Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis will take center stage in School Play at Reading High School, 801 N. 13th St., at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5.
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. Marys and Erie.
The timing of School Play could not be more relevant as the three-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 and the issue of equity in educational funding touches every community and every one of us,” said Russell Diesinger, Exeter School Director and retired Reading High School teacher. “Opportunity, equal opportunity, is about hope. The future of our children, no matter what their socio-economic status, deserves our attention.
“I cannot imagine a Pennsylvania without the opportunity for our kids to have the hope and the means to have a brighter and more successful life than their parents. If we stand together, we can help to ensure that every child has the promise of a productive life,” Diesinger said.
“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.”
Free tickets for the one-night performance will be available at the door. To learn more about School Play or to download production materials including a full script, visit www.childrenfirstpa.org/initiatives/school-play/.
BCTV.ORG – September 30, 2015 – Read article online