Theatre for Young America to Bring THE TOUGHEST KID IN THE WORLD to Kansas City Schools
By: Tyler Peterson Jan. 09, 2015
Theatre for Young America, in partnership with Kansas City Kansas Public Schools and Arts Partners (a division of Kansas City Young Audiences) will tour The Toughest Kid in the World 2015 to all eight Kansas City, Kansas middle schools from January 26, 2015 through February 3, 2015. The play will be presented to 6th graders in the school system.
Written by Gene Mackey, this play uses music, songs and engaging action to address the subject of violence and bullying. The play is designed to equip young people, with the means to counter aggressive encounter with more reasonable tools to avoid conflict. It is updated every few years to reflect the various forms of conflict today's children face, whether it is through personal confrontations or experiencing bullying by means of social media. In the play, TK's hard up-bringing has made him an angry youth. He believes a person needs to be tough to survive. But TK learns that confrontation can sometimes cause real damage. When he accidentally injures someone he respects, TK begins to accept that there might be different ways to deal with conflict. Constructed as a "play with a play", TK learns from Coach and his fellow cast members that there are ways to employ more effective and inventive coping skills when dealing with confrontation. He discovers that many arguments need not escalate if we use the right tactics. In the process TK learns to define "tough" for himself and to reject violence.Videos