Category: Events

Published: 13 September 2022

Read Time: 2 mins

The characters from four classic and recent children’s books are coming to the stage in Bath this fall! On October 23rd, Midcoast Literacy presents live Readers Theater performances for families at Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath.

The event will be held in partnership with Chocolate Church Arts Center on Sunday, October 23rd with two performances: 12:30pm and 3:30pm. The event will feature local, professional actors performing four children’s books sure to captivate families with children ages 4-10: Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard, Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, Grandma Drove the Lobsterboat by Katie Clark, and Bone Soup by Cambria Evans. Kids will have a chance to meet the actors following each one-hour performance. Tickets are $10 or $35 for a family (4-8 people) when purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased from the Chocolate Church box office or at: https://chocolatechurcharts.org/2022-23-events 

“This is such a fun way to share the love of reading with families,” said Daniel Burson, Midcoast Literacy’s Executive Director. “The actors doing creative voices and characters, with the illustrations from the books projected behind them, all creates a visually immersive experience of the stories for the children watching.”

Readers Theater is a style of performance that blends the reading aloud of a book with theatrical elements before a live audience. The cast of actors simultaneously narrates the story and brings added life to the characters through voice, expression, and movement. In Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard, the misbehaving kids in room 207 get a rude awakening when their teacher, Miss Nelson, is replaced by substitute Viola Swamp. In Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, working up the courage to take a big leap is hard, but Jabari is nearly almost ready to make a splash. In Grandma Drove the Lobsterboat by Katie Clark, when the waves get choppy, Grandma must take the helm to get the lobsters to shore in time for the big Labor Day lobster bake. And in the ghoulish re-telling Bone Soup by Cambria Evans, a hungry skeleton on Halloween night tries to get the other townspeople to contribute to his cauldron of soup.

Future performances in the Midcoast Literacy’s Readers Theater series will include both short story productions for adults and other productions of children’s books for a younger audience. Proceeds from the October 23 performances will support Midcoast Literacy’s Read Together tutoring program for kids ages 6-14 in midcoast Maine. Tickets can only be purchased from Chocolate Church Arts Center, either in-person at their box office or online at: https://chocolatechurcharts.org/2022-23-events