History
For more information, contact:
Glenn Ballard
Executive Director
glenn@yanetexas.org
Chris Espinosa
Texas History Comedy Game Show
Assembly Performance
Talk about the perfect supplement to your social studies lessons! Chris and Rocket Megabyte (his robot dog) blast the dust off Texas history as they take students on a trip through time and across the Lone Star State. Learning is reinforced when a few students play against each other and answer questions from the presentation. This program is based on his book, Rocket Megabyte’s Texas Adventure, and if you book it in Fall 2022, you will receive a set of his books for free, which is a fantastic supplement to Texas history lessons.
Grades: 3-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Literary Arts
Time Travel Bench
Classroom Residency
History “reseats” itself when your students take a trip through Texas history on the Time Travel Bench. Teachers can suggest the historical content, plot, and/or storyline as the basis for the script to reinforce areas that their students may be struggling with or have considered more important. At the end of the week, your students will have a rough draft of a script based on your Texas history lessons. After some editing and rehearsals, your students can perform for an audience of friends and family.
Grades: 3-5
Residency Length: 5 days
Participation Limit: 25 students per session
Connections: History, Literary Arts, Theatre
American Indians Before and After European Explorers
Classroom Residency
Through research and discussion, students will examine the lives of American Indians in Texas before and after the arrival of European explorers. They will draw on research and their imaginations to create an improvised scene about the interactions between American Indians and explorers. They will also begin writing the rough draft of an expository essay.
Grades: 4
Residency Length: 3 days
Participation Limit: 30 students per session
Connections: History, Cultural Competency, Literary Arts, Theatre
Texas Regions Travel Agency
Classroom Residency
For two to three days, your students are on the marketing team for the fictitious Texas Regions Travel Agency. Their “job” is to promote one of the four geographic regions in Texas. Students improvise a commercial that highlights the region’s attributes and explains why tourists should visit. They will also begin drafting the body of a rough expository essay to persuade people to choose a Texas region for their next vacation.
Grades: 4
Residency Length: 2- 3 days
Participation Limit: 30 students per session
Connections: History, Cultural Competency, Literary Arts, Theatre
American Indians Before and After European Explorers
Classroom Residency
Through research and discussion, students will examine the lives of American Indians in Texas before and after the arrival of European explorers. They will draw on research and their imaginations to create an improvised scene about the interactions between American Indians and explorers. They will also begin writing the rough draft of an expository essay.
Grades: 4
Residency Length: 3 days
Participation Limit: 30 students per session
Connections: History, Cultural Competency, Literary Arts, Theatre
Mark Shelton
Strike, Shake, and Scrape
Assembly Performance
Entertaining and Educational! The Strike, Scrape, & Shake Show™ is a high-energy, one-man assembly program featuring expert percussion performances by Mark Shelton.
Students will learn about the percussion family as they enjoy Mark playing Snare Drum, Hammered Dulcimer, Doumbek, Handpan, Handsonic, and more in this fast-paced 45-minute show. The audience joins in with a little body percussion as Mark talks about the history of percussion.
Grades: K-8
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Music, History
Soul Street
Takin’ it to the Streets
Assembly Performance
Catch the excitement as Soul Street Dance demonstrates how street dance has developed and evolved across cultures and how we can resolve conflict through dance.
From Brazil’s “Capoeira” to New York’s “Breakdance,” students learn about the varied styles of street dance and discuss the distinctive features and origins of each dance. Be prepared to learn about what can happen when modern street dance meets the classical music of 17th-century composer Antonio Vivaldi!
Grades: 1-12
Audience Limit: 450
Connections: Dance/Movement, History, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning
Dru Woods
Stories You Wish You Knew
Assembly Performance
This enthusiastic performance presents stories of real events and historical figures that are not the ones popularized in history books. Included are a story about a rather famous female stagecoach driver who posed as a man, a Texas man who was scalped but survived, several stories about the truth behind various inventions, and the truth about events such as the writing of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Grades: 4-8
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling
Texas Tales
Assembly Performance
This program includes two Aesop’s Fables “Texas Style”! Students will hear two of Aesop’s Fables with a Texas-style twist, as well as a Texas tall tale, legend, and fractured fairy tale. Through these stories, students will learn about the Texas state flower, tree, and other important things about our great state!
Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Literary Arts, History, Storytelling, Theatre
Mime and Masks
Classroom Residency
Explore the ancient art of mime through this engaging two-day residency led by storyteller and educator Dru Woods. As students are introduced to the silent world of mime, they will discover the challenge and fun of portraying a character, expressing an emotion, or telling a story by using physical movements alone. On the first day of the residency, Mrs. Woods will lead students through the history and use of mime in theater and will teach them the basic techniques of dramatic physical expression. The students will then create their own masks for a mime performance. On the second day, the students will compose an original mime skit and perform it for their classmates!
Grades: 6-8
Residency Length: 2 days, 60 minutes per day
Participant Limit: 25 per class
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, History
Tim Tingle
Native American Stories K-2
Assembly Performance
Stories told in this performance may include the following: “Grandma Spider Brings the Fire,” where Possum and Buz-zard tangle with fire until Grandma Spider teaches an important lesson; “First Robin,” in which a Lakota girl faces her troubles and gains self-assurance; “White Wolf,” the story of two Sioux children finding a mysterious protector; and “Coyote and the Rock,” a humorous Montana Salish tale which teaches respect for all. Storyteller and author Tim Tingle has written ten books based on the oral traditions of his native Choctaw Nation and his native Texas. His lively performances include Native American flute and drum music.
Grades: K-2
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning, History
Native American Stories
Assembly Performance
Stories told in this performance may include the following: “Crossing Bok Chitto,” a story of friendship and freedom as a young Choctaw girl aids an escaping slave family; “The Bowl,” a Navajo story of a hand of evil unleashed when a bowl is stolen from an ancient cave; and “Danny Blackgoat,” the story of a Navajo boy struggling to survive during the Navajo Long Walk and his meeting with an unlikely ally.
Grades: 3-5
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Storytelling, Theatre, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning, History
Elizabeth Kahura
Holidays Around the World
Assembly Performance
This program highlights Kwanzaa as it relates to other world celebrations, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and the New Year. This program involves interactions, pictures, music, dance, and poetry.
Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, History
A Day in Africa
Assembly Performance
Born and raised in Kenya, Elizabeth Kahura introduces the audience to Africa’s geographical features while highlighting the differences in cultures and lifestyles across regions. Students are reminded of the importance of embracing diversity and of how positive life values can be shared across cultures.
Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, History/Geography, Social/Emotional Learning
Margaret Clauder
Story of Thanksgiving with Anthropologist Annie
Assembly Performance
November only. The story of Thanksgiving from the Native American point of view. This show uses authentic costuming and Native American artifacts that the children can actually touch and see. Music, magic, and storytelling are used to highlight Native American culture. This show is a wonderful way to learn about the history behind the tradition of Thanksgiving, which began as much more than turkey!
Grades: PreK-3
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency
Julio Suarez
Math & Old Masters: Proportional Pastel Portraits
Classroom Workshop
Math and art are integral to famous portraits by da Vinci and Van Gogh, and will now be integral to portraits by your students! In this residency, visual artist and art educator Julio Suarez engages students in learning to draw the human face in proportion, copy a famous work of art, and use oil pastels to “paint” a portrait by an Old Master or Modern Artist.
Grades: 3-8
Workshop Length: 2 or 3 days
Session Length: 45 minutes per class daily
Participant Limit: 25-30 per class
Connections: Math, Visual Art, History
Hope Shiver
The Adventures of the Real Pecos Bill
Assembly Performance
This highly interactive and multicultural program presents several tall tales featuring the legendary character Pecos Bill and introduces students to the story of the real-life inspiration behind Pecos Bill, William Shafter, who was a commander of the Buffalo Soldiers in West Texas. Students in the audience can join the fun as they help Pecos ride the giant tornado, capture fried-chicken-eating bank robbers, and learn about American military history in the wild Texas West!
Grades: 1-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency
Git on Board! The Life of Harriet Tubman
Assembly Performance
Take a musical ride on the Underground Railroad to meet the heroic Harriet Tubman and learn of her early experiences as a slave. Highly acclaimed musician and storyteller Hope Shiver engages students in discovering how Tubman led fellow freedom-seeking slaves to hiding places along their path to safety in the North.
Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency
Sojourner!
Assembly Performance
Hope Shiver illustrates, through story and song, the life of the famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth. Her sensitive portrayal, often using Sojourner’s own songs and speeches to bring the story to life, inspires students to learn how laws are made and to explore the plight of enslaved people in the North, while clapping and chanting to the familiar spirituals of the time.
Grades: 5-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency
King Rhythm
Assembly Performance
Join soprano/storyteller Hope Shiver and percussionist David Keepman on a fantastic ride through African American history via popular musical styles. Selected audience members will join in the fun, donning costumes and pantomime, becoming loveable characters: Bluesy, Jazzy, and others. The program features lots of audience participation and is a year-round hit!
Grades: 1-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Music, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency