B Street Theatre School Tour's Fantasy Festival XXV Hits The Road 3/14-6/10

This week The B Street Theatre School Tour production of Fantasy Festival XXV hits the road. This is the 25th year that elementary and middle schools students throughout northern California have submitted original plays to B Street's annual playwriting contest for young people. Out of over 150 plays submitted, just five have been selected for the 25th anniversary tour. The winning plays are now being performed by the B Street Theatre troupe and are already entertaining and enriching children at school assemblies. The shows will be performed at 155 assemblies in over 104 schools in northern California between March 14 and June 10, 2011.

The winning plays are The C.I.A. - Cosmetics in Action written by Hailey Abraham of Marina Village Middle School, El Dorado Hills; I Lost My Mind by Gavin Thompson and Megan Kelley of Loomis Grammar School, Loomis; Pig and Lion by Jesus Gomez and Veronica Sanchez of Bates Elementary School, Courtland; Mishap in New York by Amber Durazo and Quiera Nixon of Sutterville Elementary School, Sacramento; My Substitute Teacher by Dakota Anno Johnson also from Sutterville Elementary School.

The resulting show incorporates all five short scripts to create a fast-paced and highly entertaining production officially targeted at grades Kindergarten through 8th, but succeeds in grabbing the attention of older students and adults in the audience too. The writing this year has been especially imaginative, taking on-lookers on a wild journey of espionage, romance, time travel, losing your mind, and out of the ordinary substitute teachers! On a more subtle level are themes such as team building, trust, peer pressure, loyalty, trust, and anti-bullying.

"You were very, very inspirational, and targeted your audience absolutely perfectly." - Judy Kelly, teacher, Arlene Hein Elementary School

"The kids were over the moon!" - Carolyn Cowles, Principal, Placer Elementary School

More about B Street Theatre: Since bursting into the Sacramento scene, B Street Theatre continues to keep critics raving and audiences coming back for contemporary productions ranging from popular classics to first time debuts. The two-theatre playhouse on B Street in Midtown is home to Mainstage, B3 and Family Series, each created to house quality theatre for audiences year-round. Recognized as one of Northern California's top professional theatres, B Street Theatre has produced more than 100 new plays, 60 of which are world, national, West Coast, or regional premieres.