Tom Arvetis' WALK TWO MOONS Stage Adaptation Published

Adventure Stage Chicago (ASC) has announced that ASC Founder and Producing Artistic Director Tom Arvetis' stage adaptation of Sharon Creech's award-winning novel Walk Two Moons is now a published play by Dramatic Publishing.

Tom Arvetis' stage adaptation of Walk Two Moons made its world premiere at Adventure Stage Chicago on Nov. 5, 2011. The play just finished a second run in Pittsburgh at the Prime Stage, and will open at Colorado's Midtown Arts Center this November.

ASC's production of Walk Two Moons was well received by both audiences and critics. The production was an honorable mention in Chicago Theatre Beat's Best Shows of 2011 and a critics' pick by both the Chicago Reader and Time Out Chicago Kids.

Tom Arvetis is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of Adventure Stage Chicago. His directing credits include the ASC productions Six Stories Tall,Augusta and Noble, And A Child Shall Lead, The Blue House, Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back and I Dream In Blues, a "blues-ical" he co-wrote with Chicago blues veteran Katherine Davis that was called "the sleeper hit of the season" by the Chicago Tribune. Other playwriting credits include a stage adaptation of poet Kenneth Patchen's radio play The City Wears A Slouch Hat. Tom is currently working on a new play that will make its world premiere at ASC in May 2014. The novel Walk Two Moons earned author Sharon Creech the 1995 Newbery Medal, as well as the United Kingdom Reading Association Award, United Kingdom's Children's Book Award, Austria's Literaturhaus Award and the Young Adult Sequoyah Award. The stage adaptation ofWalk Two Moons is Mr. Arvetis' first published play.

Adventure Stage Chicago creates dynamic and transformative theatre for young audiences that activates the imagination, inspires dialogue and strengthens community among families, educators and artists.

Adventure Stage has received numerous honors since its inception in 2004, including:

• Illinois Theatre Association's 2012 Award of Excellence in Theatre for Young Audiences
• Zeta Phi Eta WiniFred Ward Award for Outstanding New Children's Theatre Company from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education
• Two-time Finalist for the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award
• Participant in the New Visions/New Voices Festival at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington D.C.
• Four-time Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Access to Artistic Excellence Grant

Adventure Stage Chicago is a program of Northwestern University Settlement House, the oldest continually operating settlement house in Chicago. Throughout its 121-year history, the Settlement has remained committed to providing resources that empower neighbors to overcome the obstacles of poverty. Adventure Stage extends this mission by presenting Chicago's young audiences, educators and families with affordable artistic experiences that celebrate community and are rooted in performance.

Pictured: Tom Arvetis