COLORADO SPRINGS — Pairing science lessons and story writing workshops, Theatre Across Borders has teamed up with Colorado Springs School District 11 in order to provide a hands-on learning experience to 64 fifth graders from Martinez Elementary.
The acting group, based out of Colorado Springs, was founded in 2020 and is dedicated to, "Creating theatre in unexpected places throughout the Pikes Peak Region in order to connect, inspire, and grow together."
Since the Spring of 2022, a large part of TAB's ongoing programming has revolved around a program called Science to Stage, which is operated in partnership with D11 and specifically, Martinez Elementary.
Fifth-graders study a science topic through interactive workshops, acting games and creative problem-solving. They then use that knowledge to develop the plot, setting and characters of a brand-new play! Professional actors take their show on tour across the city [and multiple schools]. Science to Stage promotes arts-integrated learning for creative classrooms.
Since the program started, TAB has produced plays with the help of dozens of fifth graders that delve into the mechanics of simple machines, and the skeletal structure of the human body, and now (in November of 2023) they're tackling the inner workings of volcanoes in the collaborative production of "Volcano Island."
Each play includes ideas from all students involved in the creation process, which ultimately results in the productions being as fun as they are educational.
Theatre Across Borders hopes to expand the program into even more schools and districts in the future, hoping to bring fun and interactive learning to as many students as possible.
If you're interested in learning more about TAB, you can visit their website and if you'd like to catch their public showing of "Volcano Island" on November 11th, you can find that information here.
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