Bright Star Theatre Partners with National Park Service

Bright Star Touring Theatre based in Asheville, North Carolina is partering with the National Park Service to provide performances for National Park patrons in 2016. The company was awarded a federal contract to create an original play entitled The Black Experience in the Heartland. This hour long play will commemorate over four hundred years of Black History in the Midwest and will include key figures such as George Washington Carver, Abraham Lincoln and The Buffalo Soldiers. The play will tour from February to August, 2016 at notable National Parks and Historic Sites including The Brown Versus Board of Education National Historic Site in Kansas, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in Arkansas and Mount Rushmore. The partnership coinsides with the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service and is intended to draw diverse audiences to National Parks in honor of the Centinnial.

Emmy Award winning actor David Ostergaard founded Bright Star thirteen years ago in order to provide meaningful, engaging theatre to young audiences and families. Bright Star has since grown to become one of America's largest and most reputable touring theatre companies. They offer a wide variety curriculum and character education-based programs ranging from The Velveteen Rabbit to Heroes of the Underground Railroad. The company performs regularly everywhere from National Theatre in Washington DC to The Savannah Black Heritage Festival and they were part of diversity training at the Federal Communications Commission in 2015. They also visit schools, libraries and museums across the country and will serve nearly 1,400 audiences this year. The company is well known for their renowned Black History series which includes interactive, honest portrayals of historic figures and events including Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, Jackie Robinson, The March on Washington, The Freedom Rides and more.

Bright Star is committed to providing professional theatre to audiences at an affordable, all-inclusive rate. Information about all of their interactive shows, including videos, photos, study guides and more is available online at www.brightstartheatre.com.