SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL Runs 4/18-5/16 At Main Street Theater

Sideways Stories from Wayside School April 18 - May 16, 2009- Main Street Theater - Chelsea Market

"I love this story!" says Theater for Youth Producing Director Vivienne M. St. John. "It was one of my favorites as a child and still is!" Based on Louis Sachar's Wayside School novels, Sideways Stories from Wayside Schools is a truly magical world where anything can - and does! - happen. Performances are on Saturdays, April 18 & 25 and May 2 & 16 at 1:00pm and 4:00pm. May is Texas Writers Month, and Main Street is proud to be showcasing Texas author Louis Sachar's work.

Performances are at Main Street Theater-Chelsea Market, 4617 Montrose Boulevard in the Museum District. Ticket prices for public performances are $10 for students and seniors and $12 for adults. Tickets are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office at 2540 Times Blvd. in Rice Village, via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at www.mainstreettheater.com. Group rates are available. No children under 3 are admitted in the theater (including sleeping babies).

Special performances and rates are available for school matinees. Call 713.524.9196 ext 101 or visit the website.

Wayside School is sideways. That's how the builder built it. Instead of making thirty classrooms side by side, he built them one on top of the other, which explains why all kinds of crazy things happen there - especially to Myron, Bebe, Leslie, Rondi and Dameon, who attend class on the thirtieth floor. You'll also get to meet Mrs. Gorf, the meanest teacher at Wayside School, the delightful Mrs. Jewls, and Louis, the yard teacher. And, if you're curious, you might get to find out what happened to the nineteenth floor!

Recommended for Kindergarten and up.

Louis Sachar's first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, was accepted for publication during his first week of law school. (While attending college, he had worked at an elementary school, where he was asked to be the "Noontime Supervisor" to watch over the kids during lunch. He played games with the kids and earned the nickname, "Louis, the Yard Teacher" - a character who became a mainstay in his Wayside stories.)

Sachar has written numerous books for children, the most popular being Holes, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, and the Wayside series.

He has received many awards for his books, including the Children's Choice from the International Reading Association (1979) and Children's Book Council (1979) for Sideways Stories from Wayside School and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the Newbery Award for Holes.

Mr. Sachar resides in Austin with his wife, Carla.

John Olive is a widely-produced playwright, a screenwriter and a novelist. Plays include Standing on My Knees, The Summer Moon (winner of a Kennedy Center Award For New Plays), The Voice of the Prairie, Killers, Tell Me a Story in the Dark, and many others. Since 2000, Olive has enjoyed a productive relationship with Seattle Children's Theatre, having written adaptations of Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Johnny Tremain, Our Only May Amelia, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and, most recently, his original version of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Two new SCT projects are in the works, including a mystery set in ancient Egypt.

Olive lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Mary, and their son, Michael.

About the Production

Director Mark Adams returns as director after directing If You Give a Pig a Party earlier this season. The cast includes Alison Coriell, Jennifer Gilbert, Meghan C. Hakes, Alan Hall, Jessica Knapp, Caroline Menefee, Andrew Ruthven, and Micah Stinson.

The design team includes Liz Freese (set design), Frank Vela (lighting design), Macy Perrone (costume design), Andrew Harper (sound design), and Richard Solis (properties design). Caroline Scott is the Production Stage Manager.

Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and its Theater for Youth. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 14 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.

Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors' Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

 

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