Shawdowbox Live Reaches Out with Student Programming

The Shadowbox Live Academy is dedicated to bringing the performing arts to high school students across Central Ohio. And the popular new show, Evolutionaries, a rockumentary style tribute to Prince and David Bowie, provided another opportunity to do exactly that.

Over the last week, Shadowbox Live performed three 45-minute matinee versions of the show for Columbus City School high school students, who were bussed in to the theater during their normal school hours.

"It's always an opportunity we try to take advantage of when we have an age appropriate show," says Stacie Boord, Executive Director for Shadowbox Live. "And Evolutionaries is a perfect production for high school students. The music is still rocking and relevant, and with the deaths of David Bowie and Prince fresh in their minds, the students can relate to the subject matter."

The matinee shows were performed for 625 students from 12 different area high schools including East High, Independence, Walnut Ridge, Centennial, Mifflin, West High, Columbus North International, Linden McKinley, Fort Hayes, Columbus Alternative, Northland, and Marion Franklin.

After each matinee, the students participated in a talk back session, giving them the opportunity to pose questions to the creative minds and metaperformers behind Evolutionaries.

"The students were truly out of their minds with excitement at the end of the performances," says Boord, "and that made them very open to asking questions. The wonderful part of opening that dialogue is it really gets them thinking about the message of what they just saw as well as what it means to make performing arts a career choice, as opposed to simply enjoying a show."

Evolutionaries will continue to run at Shadowbox Live on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and select Sundays, through May 25th. For more information, go to www.shadowboxlive.org

And if you are a parent with younger students registration is now open for the next round of the Shadowbox Play Café, a multi-week improv class that teaches the basics of stagecraft skills for kids age 8-13. Powered by #Hashtag Comedy and Shadowbox Live, the workshops take place on Sundays at 11:00 AM.

Registration is open for Spring, Summer and Fall sessions. For more information please contact Amy Lay at amylay@shadowboxlive.org.

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