THEATRE WEST VIRGINIA RECEIVES GRANT FROM GREATER KANAWHA VALLEY FOUNDATION
$4,500 grant will help fund TWV’s Educational Touring Company for the 2011-2012 school year
(November 1, 2011) – Theatre West Virginia, who for fifty-one years has produced the outdoor dramas “Hatfields & McCoys” and “Honey in the Rock” near Beckley, will educate and entertain students this school year with ‘Parker in the Park: The Natural Science Musical,’ which will allow children to discover the wonders of the environment in an interactive musical experience! Book by Chris Walsh, music and lyrics by Billy Brennan. Originally produced by Theatrebam Chicago.
Theatre West Virginia received $4,500 from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation to help with the costs of the building of the set, props, costumes and to help pay the designers and director for Parker in the Park: The Natural Science Musical.
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation grants funds to the following categories: arts and culture, economic development, education, health, human services, land use, recreation, and other charitable areas of interest. The Foundation celebrated its 45th birthday in 2007 and continues to provide for the community. For more information on The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation visit their website at www.tgkvf.org/.
TWV’s Director of Marketing, Kandace Acord, states “This is such a wonderful component of Theatre West Virginia’s programming. Being able to present live theatre is an honor and privilege that we hold at a very high regard. Many students are seeing live theatre for the first time and it’s so crucial that we keep this programming alive. We appreciate the grant from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation because they are enabling us to keep doing what we love to do!”
Parker in the Park: The Natural Science Musical is an entertaining and exciting show geared toward elementary aged students. “It’s the busiest week at school, the final days before the largest celebration of the year – the Festival in the Park! Join Parker and his friends as they discover ideas for exploring science and nature with their buddies Billy, Kayla and Courtney. Join them as they sing and dance through the city park while learning about bees, trees, sprouts, seeds, the earth’s orbit, photosynthesis, conserving energy, cicadas, butterflies and protecting our environment.”
Theatre West Virginia’s professional touring companies have been educating and entertaining audiences in West Virginia and surrounding states for more than 30 years and more than 2,160,000 students have seen a TWV touring show.
The study guide for Theatre West Virginia’s touring company performance is available online at http://www.theatrewestvirginia.com. This free printable guide is a fun way to prepare students for the performance and/or create discussion post-performance.
For more information regarding this performance, please contact the offices of Theatre West Virginia by calling (304) 256-6800 or (800) 666-9142 or visiting us online at www.theatrewestvirginia.com. Mailing address is P.O. Box 1205, Beckley, WV 25802.