UCA sets stage for performances, youth programs

CONWAY -- Youths not old enough to attend college will get a chance to enjoy live theater that's tied to their studies, through a series of plays performed by national touring companies at the University of Central Arkansas during the next academic year.

The performance series aims to promote an appreciation of the arts in children by making admission prices and transportation accessible to them. It also aims to link the performances to the children's academic studies, whether it be science, history or math.

This way, children "are learning while being entertained, and I can't think of a better way to learn," said Amanda Horton, director of UCA's Reynolds Performance Hall.

The current lineup opens Nov. 17 with the play Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas! performed by New York's Vital Theatre Co. Next up will be Walk On: The Story of Rosa Parks, performed Jan. 19 by the Ohio-based Mad River Theater Works. Doktor Kaboom in LIVE WIRE: The Electricity Tour! will be presented Feb. 5.

Doktor Kaboom blends theater and science in a comedy, which was co-commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for its world premiere last year.

"The arts can improve academic performance, enrich the lives of our students and enhance the cultural viability of a community," Horton said in a UCA news release.

The university has provided $25,000 to finance the presentations, called the Main State EdUCAtion Series, and it hopes a similar series can be repeated next year with money from donations and sponsors, Horton said.

UCA will take reservations from central Arkansas schools for kindergarten-through-12th-grade students on a first-come, first-served basis. The programs are open to any school, though UCA is targeting those in central Arkansas, Horton said.

The plays are aimed at different age levels, with the Fancy Nancy production intended for pre-kindergarten children through third-graders, so some day cares may want to participate, Horton said.

"We might end up doing some night performances," she added.

"Each one of these touring groups has its own experts that write educational guides, and they're going to give us educational resource guides in advance," Horton said. "Then, once the booking is made through the school," guides will be provided to teachers so they can incorporate that information into their curriculum before the students see the play.

"Exposure to the arts contributes to the overall social and cognitive development of children," UCA President Tom Courtway said in the release. "Performing arts provides students with a creative outlet of expression that can improve academic achievement, adapts to a wide variety of learning styles and develops diverse multicultural perspectives."

Students will pay $5 per ticket, and schools may apply for a limited number of ticket vouchers for low-income students. School groups will get one free adult chaperone ticket per 10 student tickets purchased. Additional adult tickets will be $10 each.

Among area educators on hand last week for the university's announcement of the program was Greg Murry, superintendent of Conway Public Schools.

"We are delighted that UCA has initiated this great opportunity for our students," Murry said. "We hope it will provide a great chance for us to allow our students to see quality stage performances that can uniquely fit into what our teachers are already doing."

Public and private schools are welcome to contact UCA about the program, Horton said.

"We had an email from a parent with a home-school organization," she added. "We'd like to each those schools as well."

Horton made no secret of another important purpose of the series.

"Our mission [at Reynolds Performance Hall] is building audiences," she said. "We're trying to introduce performing arts to our community and build arts for the years to come. This is a way of starting" with the very young and hoping "they will become active patrons" as they grow older.

State Desk on 05/11/2015

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