Election year

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Bright Star and Virginia PTA Meet in Richmond

We’re pleased to announce that, for the first time ever, we will be attending the Virginia PTA  Leadership Training and Annual Conference.  In fact, I’ll be packing up my vehicle and preparing for tomorrow’s trip as soon as this blog is complete! The 2016 Conference will be held at the Richmond Marriott Downtown and will take place July 14th through the 16th.

For several years, Bright Star has had a great relationship with Virginia schools, visiting the state dozens of times each year and often returning to the same schools year after year. In fact, yesterday I had an opportunity to talk with one of our PTA sponsors in Northern Virginia who has booked us every year since I started working with Bright Star four years ago. They will be bringing us back this year for one of our Black History Programs.  It is always such a pleasure to have a continuing relationship with PTA members who are seeking great programs for their local schools.

I hope to meet many more wonderful PTA members at this week’s conference and find more great schools that we can visit year after year!  If you will be attending the Virginia PTA Conference this week, please stop by and see me at Booth 49.  I’ll be there with lots of great information about all of our 2016-2017 shows which include Anti-bullying Adventures, Science Shows, Black History Programs, Literary Classics, Holiday Celebrations and more (even a show that I am incredibly excited about which covers the founding of the U.S. and how elections work–with a game show format)!

Richmond, Virginia here I come!

Erin Schmidt, Director of Development

in Anti-Bullying / History

Time to Find the Perfect School Assembly

This is an exciting time of year at Bright Star.  We’re gearing up for our 2016-2017 season of professional, touring productions and this year we have 50 amazing plays to plan for, including 7 brand new shows: Alice in Wonderland, Bullysaurus Rex, One Noble Night, USA to Z,  Holiday Songs: Music Around the World, Building Stories and Gus Goes Green: A STEM Adventure! That’s a lot of costumes, props and sets!  We cannot wait to finish up our T-Rex Costume, our Cheshire cat and our Patriotic Prizes for USA to Z, which is a game-show-themed program about our government and elections (just in time for the big election in 2016)!

With the school year wrapping up, administrators and teachers have a chance to plan their assemblies for the following year. This means that we have a chance to reconnect with some of our favorite sponsors from all across the country–and beyond. Just today, we’ve had the joyful opportunity of speaking with school sponsors in North and South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee and even Germany! There have been many smiles and great conversations about which of our 45-minute plays will best suit their school’s needs. Some of the sponsors we’ve spoken to today have been choosing Bright Star shows every year for several years and we’ve received so much positive feedback about the quality of our performances and how their students excitedly await another visit from Bright Star actors. Some have even been taking advantage of our special rate for bringing in 4 different assemblies throughout the year for $2500 ($625 per assembly). It is truly a joy to help schools find the perfect program for every occasion; whether it’s an anti-bullying show to kick off the school year, a holiday celebration, a Black History program, a literary classic or a STEM show.

We look forward to hearing from even more of our loyal sponsors and, of course, from schools who are bringing in their first Bright Star play. It’s going to be another great year of bringing professional theatre to young audiences everywhere!

Erin Schmidt, Director of Development

in Anti-Bullying / History

Elect USA to Z for Your Next School Assembly

Our newest original 45-minute production was created just in time for the 2016 election year. USA to Z is best suited for grades 3rd through 8th. The production covers a variety of lessons within American government and civics, including the three branches of the government, The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. Later, the production delves into caucuses, delegates, the electoral college, swing votes and more! The play navigates the sometimes challenging system using clever scene-work, light-hearted comedy, and a very exciting game show element which encourages audiences to recall the details of what they have learned. Guiding this fantastic journey through the American political process are two patriotic hosts, Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam. David Ostergaard, the Founder of Bright Star, says he hopes the humor of the show will help audiences stay engaged, “We wanted to make this show as fun and interactive as possible.  We hope audiences will leave feeling good about their role as a citizen of the United States.” So what do ya say? Wanna play USA to Z?

in History