BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – From March through May, children in Pennsylvania and neighboring states will journey back in time to the 1890s and the beginnings of the National Park Service and meet the men who created the now familiar role of Park Ranger as the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble performs Park Protectors: The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers and the National Park Service in their school. With BTE’s time-tested, energetic storytelling style, imaginative props, and audience involvement, three Theatre In the Classroom (TIC) actors will transform elementary and middle school cafeterias and gymnasiums into the landscape of our first National Parks. Park Protectors, BTE’s 44th TIC tour, is an inspiring collection of stories, songs, and first-person narratives woven together to share the history of these Army Buffalo Soldiers, America’s earliest caretakers of America’s public lands, with students.
Park Protectors was conceived, written, and directed by Bloomsburg native and Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s inaugural Emerging Artist, Dante Green. This tour follows BTE’s tradition of bringing quality theatre to young people and developing and vitalizing their imagination by involving them, through active participation, in the theatrical arts. Shows are presented by actors in an animated story-theatre style, followed by a lively post-performance conversation with the cast. This tour’s actors are Brian Bond, Gabe Moses, and Meagon Williams.
For schools, a comprehensive study guide written from the same material as the script, provided before the scheduled performance, enables educators to maximize the educational value of the theatre experience by providing discussion ideas, related classroom activities, post-performance questions, and a bibliography.
Educators can download the study guide from BTE’s website: www.bte.org.
Park Protectors tours from March 20th through May 26. Booking dates for the 2023 tour are available.
Teachers, administrators, and parent-teacher organizations should call BTE’s School Programs Director, Paula Henry, at 570-458-4075 or e-mail [email protected] for more information or book a show.
Founded in 1978 as an artist-driven, community-based resident ensemble, BTE creates innovative work with local and national impact. Today, BTE produces a lively mix of classic and contemporary plays and original theatre education programs for all ages. For more information about our shows and programs, please see www.bte.org.