Main Street Theater

Houston, Texas

Main Street Theater, a 32-year-old nonprofit organization, inspires and challenges Houstonians of all ages and from all walks of life by offering intelligent and engaging productions on its mainstage; hands-on training and outreach opportunities through its Kids On Stage classes and camps; live productions; and dynamic learning experiences via its literacy-driven Youth Theater, Houston's most-attended theater for young audiences. Through these programs, Main Street Theater reaches more than 100,000 community members annually, the majority of which are children. The company produces plays and programs at two locations and off-site at schools and community centers.

Main Street Theater will tour William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice during the winter/spring of 2008. In addition to the play, Main Street Theater will offer educational activities including educational materials, talkbacks, and artist-in-residence visits. Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden will direct the production, which will include 10 professional actors. The play will be edited to a length of 1½ hours in order to allow for post-show interaction. The tour will be available throughout the state of Texas; ultimately, the company hopes to reach 10,000 middle- and high-school students from approximately 30 schools. All Title I schools will receive free admission. For artist-in-residence visits, the company will send teaching artists (not necessarily members of the cast) to conduct pre- or post-show visits to classrooms in order to expand on cultural and diversity issues presented in the play. For The Merchant of Venice a consultant with experience in this arena will be hired to develop teaching materials addressing the cultural biases in the play, and will train teaching artists in these materials for their work with students before and after the performances.

http://www.mainstreettheater.com/