Live theater at Odessa grade school on March 19 at 9 a.m.

NEWESD 101, the Northeast Washington Educational Services District of which the Odessa School District is a part, is the first region in Washington to be offered the unique opportunity to experience Book-It Repertory Theatre’s live performance in our schools. Book-It's touring performances are made possible through a generous gift from Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen in honor of Paul’s late mother, long-time teacher and theatre lover, Faye G. Allen.

For 23 years, Book-It has adapted literature for live performance. They have a resident main stage season for adults at their Seattle Center home, and they also tour to present children’s stories to schools, libraries and community venues. These are the performances that will be coming to the Odessa area.

Skippyjon Jones

by Judy Schachner

In Skippyjon Jones’ wild world of make believe, the hallway becomes the Nile, toilet paper becomes mummy wrappings and the living room is filled with Los Dinosaurios. This tiny Siamese kitten spends a lot of time in his imagination where he is sometimes a bird, a mouse or even a Chihuahua!

Grade K-6 will see the 45-minute performance, followed by a post-show question-and-answer session.

Normally, there are three categories of cost for these performances:

Category I: $200 for rural public schools with 50% or more students on free or reduced meals.

Category II: $400 for rural public schools with less than 50% students on free or reduced meals.

Category III: $575 for any other schools that are in the vicinity of the tour, but do not meet the other specified criteria.

However, the regular fee and all associated costs (travel, actor housing, per diem) are completely covered by the Allen’s generous gift.

For more information about Book-It, please visit: http://book-it.org/education/.

“This really is an opportunity to see the work of one of the most prolific arts education companies in our state. I hope you can all take part,” said Debbie Lahue, humanities director at the NEWESD 101 Center for Instructional Services in Spokane.