Performances

Video viewing tip: pause the video until its fully loaded, then click play.

The Room 15 Players are proud to present the following Reader’s Theater performances (podcasts atop and video at the bottom of page):

Podcasts:

Rikki Tikki Tavi, Rudyard Kipling’s classic short story from The Jungle Books. The adaption comes from Read Aloud Plays: Classic Short Stories. It stars Jordan C. as Rikki, Zach P. as Nag, TaylorRose T. as Nagaina. Emily H. and Enrique C. serve as Snake Charmers (narrators), Katie O. and Layne C. as Deezar and Darzee (the birds), Kolton R. as Teddy, Dakota C. as “Big Man” (Teddy’s father), and Dyani Z. as Alice (his mother). Amber N. plays Chuchundra the muskrat.

Lewis Hine Play Cover

Worked to the Bone: Lewis Hine’s Crusade to End Child Labor. This is both a play and a photo montage of Hine’s work. It pops up as a YouTube video. It stars Llobani D. as Lewis Hine, Paige B. and Itzel F. as historians, and Jonah S. and Grace M. as narrators, The story follows the plight of three child laborers. They’re played by Dakota M. (Leo), Sergio M. (Floyd), and Shelby S. (Martha). Jon M., Kevin A., Daisy B., Bryant B., and Chloe S. round out the cast.

.Argument at Mount Rushmore, from Read-Aloud Plays: Classic Short Stories. It stars Dylan K. as Abe Lincoln, Lance M. as Teddy Roosevelt, Kurtis G. as Thomas Jefferson, and Caleb R. as George Washington. Other cast members include Sebastian R. (Kevin), Beca L. (Ranger), Emily M. (Mom), Ana H. (Jenna), Alex R. (Ranger), and Lexi B. (Amber).

Nikolai Gogol’s classic short story, The Nose, starring Dylan K. as Major Kovolyov, Payton T. as Ivan the Barber, and Emily M. as Madame Nevsky. Additional cast include Luis D., Ana H., Chase P., Beca L., Julia Z., Tyler N., Leo A., and Samantha T. (For the 2023 stage production of The Nose, see “Videos” below.)

How Jackie Robinson Saved the World starring Caleb R. as Jackie, Chase P. as the Hot Dog Man, and Samantha T. as the Peanut Vendor. Additional cast members include Kurtis G. (Fan, Spectator, and Dodger), Dylan K. (Fan, Spectator, and Dodger), Ethan S. (Fan, Sports Announcer), Luis D. (Branch Rickey, Sound Effects), and Tyler N. (Pee Wee Reese and Titles).

The Girl Who Got Arrested
starring Ana H. as Claudette Colvin. Additional cast members include Nathan J. (Narrator), Rayna R. (Narrator), Jantz T (Historian, Police Officer), Megan W. (Historian), Destiny H. (Student, Neighbor), Courtney (Student, Neighbor), Andy C. (Attny Knabe, Student, Neighbor), Carson H. (Attny Gray, Police Officer), Nick C. (Bus driver, Titles), Layla C. (Mrs. Nesbitt).

Gabriel Grub. This spooky Christmas story by Charles Dickens stars Elizabeth H. as Gabriel Grub, the gravedigger. It also features Morgan B., Kendra R., and Logan B. as narrators, Samantha P. as the gypsy, Lilly C., Christina F., and Drew S. as townsfolk, Ryan D. as Rev. Pike, Kaitlyn H. as the singing child, Trinity S. as the Goblin King, Jordan L. as the goblin prosecutor, Kyrah C. as the goblin defense attorney, Olivia K. as the goblin witness, and Daniel D., Tucker F., Jeremiah W., and Kylie W. as goblins.

Freedom for the First Time starring Kaylee K. as Tyree Giselle B. as Tyree as an adult. Additional cast members include JoJo M. (Mama), Lexi B. (Little Sarah, Aunt Gert), Cole R. (Sweet Walter), Lance M. (Uncle Whit, Gen. Sherman), Ales R. (Marse 1), Leo A. (Marse 2), and Beca L. (Ole Missus).

Escape from the Blacking House. This original play about the youth of Charles Dickens was recorded in December of 2013. It stars Dylan S. as Charles Dickens, who narrates the play, and Tyler B. as Charles as a boy. Additional performers include Jacob S. (historian), Tristin C. (narrator), Hunter C. (John Dickens, Charles’ father), Elizabeth L. (Charles’ mother), Grace G. (Charles’ sister), Alex C. (Lamert), Blake (Mr. Henry, the pawnbroker), Kalli B. (Mrs. Tatham), Zack W. (Bob Fagen), Trevor N. (Poll), and Elijah I. (Thomas).

The Cardiff Giant tells the true story about how in 1868 the citizens of Cardiff, New York, discovered a ten foot tall petrified man buried on a local farm. Our play stars Dakota C. as Stub Newell, the farmer, and Emily H. as Lydia Newell, his wife. It also stars Zach G. as George Hull, the story’s villain, Jordan C. as Billy Houghton, and Bryant B. as Colonial George Wood. Every student in class had a part.

Richard Wright and the Library Card
starring Sebastian Vaughn as Richard. Additional cast members include Julia Z. (Narrator), Linzie M. (Narrator), Cody F. (Mr. Falk), Starr L. (Roxie), Sonja M. (Maggie), Jacob S. (Grandpa, Mr. Greenwood), Emily M. (Woman, Librarian), and Aaron C. (Mr. Jackson, Titles).

And here’s a podcasted interview with Mr. Lewis on the International Society for Technology in Education’s blog, Literacy Special Interest. The interview covers some of the brain research behind reader’s theater and other topics. Mr. Lewis was selected for the interview based on his work as both a practicing teacher and the author of dozens of plays for Scholastic.

Videos:

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Our 2022 performance starring Sydney R. as Mayor Burgermeister, Alexis W. as Baldrick, Jaidah P. as Marge, and Klaire H. as The Pied Piper. Other performers include Max, Haylee, Jaidah, Adan, Ryot, and Jonah as townsfolk, Sophia, Noah, Calin, Page, Declan, and Kohle as rats, and Brody, Valentin, Masen, Caroline, Peyton, Faalele, Carter and Piper as kids. Harmony handled the lighting.

The Nose Our June 2023 performance of Gogol’s The Nose starred Lexi Welburn as Major Kavolyov, Jaidah P. as Madame Nevsky, Declan H. as Ivan the Barber, Max R. as the Newspaper Clerk, and Klaire H. as The Nose. Another wonderful presentation by the same group who brought you The Pied Piper (above). Note, the play is in two parts due to a technical difficulty. A short bit in the middle is lost to us. Part 1 and Part 2.

Odysseus vs Cyclops, starring Bryant B. as Odysseus, Dakota C. as The Cyclops, and Paige B., Celina R., and Shelby S. as the Greek Chorus. Other performers include Tre F., Grace M., Llobani D., Kevin A., Kane I., Kolton R., and Daisy B. as Greeks, Crewman, and/or Sheep, and Enrique C., Dakoda M., and Chloe S. as Neighboring Cyclops.

The Monkey’s Paw, starring Jonah S. and Katie O. as Mr. & Mrs. White, Jordan C. as their son, Herbert, Jon M. as Sergeant-Major Morris, and Dyani Z., TaylorRose T., Kaycee M., and Amber N. as the narrators.

The Birth-mark, starring Zach P. as Prof. Aylmer, Emily H. as Georgianna, Samuel J. as Aminidab (and also party guest), Layne C. as James, and Itzel F. and Triana A. as party guests.

Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth. It stars Alex C. as Ponce de Leon, Jacob S. as Diego Columbus, Jordan L. as Taino servant, Kaitlyn H., Grace G., Kendra R., and Elizabeth L., as narrators and historians, and Tucker F., Daniel D., Hunter C., Tyler B., and Jeremiah W. as conquistadors.

Lewis & Clark and Birdgirl, starring Samantha P. as Sacagawea, Ryan D. as Charbonneau, Logan B. as Lewis, Blake B. as Clark, Christina F. as Historian, Kalli B. as the narrator, and Elijah I., Drew S., and Lizzy H. as natives.

How the Elephant Got Its Trunk, starring Maddy B. as Tembo the Elephant’s Child, Annie W. as the Bi-colored Python Rock Snake, Jaylee L., Owen M., Jazzy B., and Lilly O. as jungle animals, Gage L. as the Crocodile, and Devin C., Will M., and Alizebeth R. as storytellers.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit stars kids from the 2014-15 school year including Giovanni O. as Peter, Symphony K. as narrator, Aiden B. as Mr. McGregor, Diego E. as Roger Red Robin, Mya B.as Mrs. Rabbitt, Rose w., Vanessa B., and Kara H. as the other bunnies, and Yuri G., Molly S., and Sophia T. as the sparrows.

Fly Me to the Moon, about the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. It stars Kyrah C. as Young Tess, Trevor N. as Peter, Tristin C. as Dad, Lilly C. as Mom, Olivia K. as Grown-up Tess, Edwin P. as Buzz Aldrin, Dylan S. as Neil Armstrong, Morgan B. as Michael Collins, Trinity S. as Mission Control, and Zack W. as Walter Cronkite.

Eagles Over the Battlefield, a fun play about how the American Eagle became the symbol of the United States. From 2014.

This 16-minute version of A Christmas Carol was shot as a movie using a Flip camera and simple Movie Maker software. It stars Paige B. as Eleanora Scrooge, Sergio M. as Cratchit, Grace M. as Marley, Itzel F. as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Kevin A. as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Daisy B. as Scrooge’s niece, and the rest of the 2012 Room 15 kids in a wide-variety of roles. 

Anton & Grace Hopper (2014) stars Emma Z. as Grace, Josiah B. as Anton, Alyssa K. as Mrs. Hopper, Sophie Q. as Mrs. Brown, Rayden G. as Mrs. Marrow, Sideny L. as Principal Melba, Jaden F. as Mr. Klutch, Johnathan J. and Hailee H. as other students, and Haylee B. and Julian C. as the narrators.

Br’er Rabbit & the Gingercakes: The Musical (2016). We’ve done this one twice, once way back around 1999, and again in 2016. The 2016 version stars Olvia F. as Auntie Remus, Sidney L. as Brer Rabbit, Yuri Garcia as Brer Fox, and Allie B. as Brer Dog. Stayed tuned for posting of the ’99 version soon.

 

The Newsies Mini-Musical

Our 2019 Exhibition Project was one of the biggest challenges of my career. After weeks and weeks of incredibly hard work, the kids pulled it together and performed beautifully. The musical stars Annie W. as Aniela, Riley P. as Chubbs, and Luke L. as Sully. One of my favorite parts is the song “Sidewalks of New York,” which was choreographed by Courtney C.


Brer Rabbit, Sams Valley’s 3rd Grade Version from 1999

Remember, these are third graders booming out their fully memorized lines! Doug V. stars as Uncle Remus and Kelsey D. stars as Br’er Rabbit.

9 thoughts on “Performances

  1. Pingback: Plays in Action | MackLewis.com

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  6. I remember those. They were a lot of fun. Middle school is pretty fun but we don’t get to do anything like that. I miss you so much Mr.Lewis.

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