Mary Pope Osborne and Orlando Shakes in Partnership With UCF Join Forces to Bring Arts to Students

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the award winning Magic Tree House book series, will once again donate one Magic Tree House book to each Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) fourth grade student. This donation is made possible through Osborne's Classroom Adventures/Gift of Books Program. In addition, Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF will provide an on demand video of the company's 2017 production of Showtime With Shakespeare: A Magic Tree House Adventure to OCPS students (including 138 schools and approx. 14,500 students) with a post-show digital quiz and 'Magic Tree House Alive! Distance Learning Workshop' to be assigned to students with built in video homework for assessment. The theater previously partnered with OCPS to bring students this virtual production in April 2020.

"Despite the current challenges of distance learning, it's great to still be bringing books and the performing arts to classrooms across Orange County," Brandon Yagel, Education Coordinator at Orlando Shakes says. "These experiences play an integral role in inspiring students and joining arts with academia."

The Magic Tree House team created an exciting contemporary musical journey back in time to Elizabethan England where the book series' protagonists, Jack and Annie, meet William Shakespeare himself and help him Raise the Curtain on his play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Orlando Shakes production was filmed in fall 2017 in front of a live audience of students. Contemporary music and relatable characters help introduce young viewers not only to the genius of William Shakespeare - but inspires a love of live theater and hopefully an interest in coming to see a live production at Orlando Shakes as the theater reopens. The Magic Tree House book which students will receive is MTH Book #25, Stage Fright on a Summer Night, on which the show is based. "What a great way to inspire young readers to read and to make the beneficial connection between literacy and the arts," said author Mary Pope Osborne.

Students will be led through a video workshop presented by a theater teaching artist and be able to complete a post-show quiz to assess the educational impact of the experience. Orlando Shakes and OCPS have a long history of collaboration and service to the school and arts community.

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