TEXARKANA, Texas - The Theatre for Young Audiences program may not put students in Perot Theatre seats in the near future, but it will bring plays to schools virtually for youth to see.
The Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council's TYA roster this year includes three youth-oriented productions that schools and students within a 100-mile radius of Texarkana may register to see, said Alisha Tarbill, TRAHC's TYA coordinator and education assistant at the ArtsSmart Institute for Learning.
"We have pivoted to a virtual experience for TYA this year due to all of the CDC guidelines and all of the precautions that schools are taking, which doesn't allow for field trips this year for almost all campuses. That whole theater experience and getting to go out on the field trip just wasn't possible," Tarbill said.
However, they sought for a way to still make it happen.
"We wanted the kids to still have access to educational theater, so we had to do a lot of talk and negotiation with the theater companies because they were all shifting to virtual due to the fact that they couldn't tour this year," Tarbill said. "And so we came up with a lineup to offer the schools so their kids could still have access."
Pre-recorded live theater productions are the solution, shows meant for an audience of pre-K to middle school. TRAHC's TYA program offers schools and campuses two-week access to each show. Videos are password protected, and schools get study guides and other resources to use in the classroom.
"They can present it any way they want. If they want it to make it a viewing, say in the cafeteria and have all the kids come, rotate out," Tarbill said about what schools can do. Or schools might break it down to several viewings over two weeks.
"Of course, all of the Theatre for Young Audiences shows are educationally-based, so they have educational components that tie into different subjects so that they are gaining something from it," Tarbill said. "They get to see the live theater and talk about the creative part of it and the expression and get to see that, but they also get the educational components, too."
TYA didn't want the students to miss out on this. There's something missing, however, and that's the magic of children in the Perot.
"It's very sad that the kids don't get to come in and we don't get to see their faces light up when they walk in the Perot Theatre for the first time," Tarbill said, noting, though, that there wasn't a safe way to make a Perot visit happen.
"We're taking it to them since they can't come to us," Tarbill said. "And while it is sad I'm really glad that we have this to offer them and they kind of have an alternative to keep theater and educational theater in the mindset."
Theater will look different this year, but it's still a part of their lives.
The three shows are: "Miss Nelson Has a Field Day" at the end of January (kindergarten through 5th grade), "We the People" at the beginning of March (4th through 8th grade) and "Pete the Cat" the last two weeks of April (pre-K through 3rd grade).
These shows are available to campuses within 100 miles of Texarkana. They're also available to homeschool families and groups individually.
(For more information, contact Alisha Tarbill at [email protected] or 903-792-8681.)