Eckerd Theater Company

2008-2009 Touring Productions

Traveling throughout the State of Florida and to venues as far away as Canada or the banks of the Mississippi, ETC has been a proud ambassador of Ruth Eckerd Hall and The Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute and is the resident professional theater of Ruth Eckerd Hall’s 182 seat Murray Studio Theater.

Click here for 2008-09 Brochure.

VOTE?

By Eric Coble
Commissioned by Eckerd Theater Company

For grades 6 and up
On tour August–November 2008

Curriculum Connections: Civics, Social Studies, History, Theater Arts

Illustration by Carl Cowden III

Election Day 2008.
Eighteen-year-old Nicole Harrison registered to vote when she got her driver’s license but has no intention of casting a ballot today. Why bother? Too many things to do. As her friend argues about the need to voice an opinion, Nicole suddenly slips back through time, back into the midst of the Revolutionary War! Nicole battles to return to her own time while her compatriots battle for the very right she so casually dismisses.

Vote

Tossed through time from one historical event to
another, standing beside women, minorities and
young people, all demanding and claiming their rights, Nicole participates in changing the face of democracy as we all learn just how many shoulders we’re standing on every time we step into a voting booth.

Produced by special arrangement with DRAMATIC PUBLISHING, Woodstock, Illinois

Interrupting Vanessa

By Colleen Neuman

For grades 2–5
On tour December 2008–February 2009

Curriculum Connections: Language Arts,
Theater Arts, Health, Character Counts

Click here for video

ETC in the News!
Click here for a story about Interrupting Vanessa on tour in Florida’s panhandle.

Illustration by Carl Cowden III

When 10-year-old Vanessa comes home from school each day, her mom seems too busy
to listen to her stories. She tells Vanessa to do her homework and to clean up that “junk” in her room. Junk! Her beloved stuff is not junk! Vanessa retreats to her room to share knockknock jokes with her imaginary dad and create amazing inventions from the stuff she’s collected. But today is different. Today, Vanessa’s mom has invited Timmy Fibbins to visit. Timmy, who throws up every day at school! No one talks to Timmy Fibbins! The start of this unlikely friendship leads Vanessa to a decision that will change her world forever. Interrupting Vanessa takes an imaginative look at how hard it is to make a friend and how hard it is to lose one. It allows us to laugh while confronting difficult issues like bullying and the loss of a parent and it reminds us that none of us are alone.

THE GREAT ALPHABET ADVENTURE

By Julia Flood

For grades pre-K–3
On tour March–May 2009

Curriculum Connections: Language Arts, Science,
Theater Arts, Health

Click here for video

Illustration by Carl Cowden III

When a thunderstorm knocks the power out, Alex is bored. No video games? No TV?!
An unlikely visit from his new neighbor, Zora, sparks an adventure through the alphabet in which Alex discovers the wacky and magical possibilities hidden within the world of books.

Filled with audience participation, colorful and surprising characters, and all the
suspense of a treasure hunt, The Great Alphabet Adventure engages everyone from the
youngest pre-schooler to parents and grandparents as it explores the value of friendship
and the joy of reading. A wonderfully entertaining event for the whole family!

Eckerd Theater Company is a resident program at The Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute
at Ruth Eckerd Hall

Eckerd Theater Company is funded in part by: