Mark Shelton

Strike, Shake and Scrape
Assembly Performance
Artist: Mark Shelton

Entertaining and Educational! The Strike, Scrape, & Shake Show™ is a high-energy, one-man assembly program that treats students to expert percussion performances from 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 gets into the act with a little body percussion as Mark talks about the history of percussion.

Grades:  K-8
Audience Limit:  200
Connections: Music, History

Chris Espinosa

Texas History Comedy Game Show
Assembly Performance
Artist: Chris Espinosa

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 answering questions from the presentation. This program is based on his book, Rocket Megabyte’s Texas Adventure, and if booked in Fall 2022, you will receive a set of his books for free, which is a fantastic supplement for Texas history lessons.

Grades: 3-5
Audience Limit:  200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Literary Arts

Time Travel Bench
Classroom Residency
Artist: Chris Espinosa

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 Teachers can suggest the historical content, plot, and/or storyline for the basis of the script to reinforce areas that their students may be struggling with, or have heavier importance on. 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
Artist: Chris Espinosa

Through research and discussions, students will examine the lives of the American Indians in Texas before and after the European explorers. They will use knowledge from research and their imaginations to create an improvised scene about the interactions between the American Indians and the explorers. They will also begin writing the body for an expository essay rough draft.

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
Artist: Chris Espinosa 

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 attributes of the regions and explains why tourists should visit. They will also begin writing the body for an expository essay rough draft 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
Artist: Chris Espinosa

Through research and discussions, students will examine the lives of the American Indians in Texas before and after the European explorers. They will use knowledge from research and their imaginations to create an improvised scene about the interactions between the American Indians and the explorers. They will also begin writing the body for an expository essay rough draft.

Grades: 4
Residency Length: 3 days
Participation Limit: 30 students per session
Connections: History, Cultural Competency, Literary Arts, Theatre

Soul Street

Takin’ it to the Streets
Assembly Performance
Artist: Soul Street Dance Company

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

The Spence and Paul Show

The Spence and Paul Show
Assembly Performance
Artist: Spencer Androli & Paul Haygood

Bring history, technique, skill, and life lessons to your students with the Spence and Paul Juggling Show! With a combination of 40 years juggling experience and several world championships and world records held, Spencer and Paul will give a dazzling display of their art form as they share how pattern, rhythm, sequence, and hand/eye coordination help to enforce important life skills such as discipline, dedication, perseverance, time-management, observation, self-confidence, and organization. This performance is great for any grade level and can stand alone or be part of a unit of study when combined with some of their workshops. *This program can be offered in English and/or Spanish.

Grades: All levels
Audience Limit: 300
Connections: Social/Emotional Learning, Movement, Math, History, Science

Juggling Mania
Classroom Workshop
Artists: Spencer Androli & Paul Haygood

Learn the basics of juggling 3 balls, and how to make your own, with incremental step by step guidance and examples from The Spence and Paul show. *This workshop can be offered in English and/or Spanish.

Grades: 3rd +
Participation Limit: 30
Connections: Social/Emotional Learning, Movement, Math, History, Science

Get Active with the Spence & Paul Show
Classroom Residency
Artists: Spencer Androli & Paul Haygood

Add an interesting skill to your P.E. curriculum as The Spence and Paul Show teaches the basics of juggling and more. Learn tricks such as the cascade, the reverse cascade, the shower, under-the-leg, behind-the-back, columns, etc. Advanced students can begin learning the basics of 4 and 5 ball juggling. *This residency can be offered in English and/or Spanish.

Grades: 3rd+
Residency Length: 5 days
Participation Limit: 40
Connections: Social/Emotional Learning, Movement, Math, History, Science

Dru Woods

Stories You Wish You Knew
Assembly Performance
Artist: Dru Woods

This enthusiastic performance presents stories of true happenings and people from history that are not the stories popularized in history books. Included are a story of a rather famous female stagecoach driver who posed as a man, a Texas man who was scalped but lived, several stories about the truth behind multiple inventions, and the truth about events such as how “The Star Spangled Banner” was written.

Grades: 4-8
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling

Texas Tales
Assembly Performance
Artist: Dru Woods

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
Artist: Dru Woods

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 to be used in 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

Hope Shiver

The Adventures of the Real Pecos Bill
Assembly Performance
Artist: Hope Shiver

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 get to join in 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
Artist: Hope Shiver

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 on their way to safety in the North.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Sojourner!
Assembly Performance
Artist: Hope Shiver

Hope Shiver illustrates through story and song the life of 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 slaves 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
Artist: Hope Shiver

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

Tim Tingle

Native American Stories K-2
Assembly Performance
Artist: Tim Tingle

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
Artist: Tim Tingle

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

Julio Suarez

Math & Old Masters: Proportional Pastel Portraits
Classroom Workshop
Artist: Julio Suarez

Math and art are integral parts of famous portraits by da Vinci, Van Gogh, and now will be parts of portraits by your students! In this residency, visual artist and art educator Julio Suarez engages students in learning how 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 in this residency.

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

Elizabeth Kahura

Holidays Around the World
Assembly Performance
Artist: Elizabeth Kahura

This program Highlights Kwanzaa as it relates to other world celebrations like Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and 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
Artist: Elizabeth Kahura

Born and raised in Kenya, Elizabeth Kahura introduces the audience to the geographical features of Africa while high-lighting the differences in cultures and lifestyles of various regions. Students are reminded of the importance of embracing diversity and also of how positive life values can be embraced from one culture to another.

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
Artist: Margaret Clauder

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 add some 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