500 Words

Running Time: 40 min + 10 min Q&A | Grade Range: K & UP 

Touring: Currently not touring

Actors: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Lance is the smartest kid in grade six who never misses an opportunity to show off his vocabulary. His teacher assigns him a reading buddy, Sylvia, who is a daydreamer but now that she’s in grade three is finding it harder to hide that she never really learned how to read. All Lance wants to do when they are together is write for the story contest, not help Sylvia. But Lance can’t think of a story until Sylvia imagines a whole world for him of magic, heroes and adventure. Learning together the unlikely pair create a magical story neither could have on their own. In the end, Sylvia loses her fear of reading and Lance learns that the biggest word is not always the smartest word and that you really can’t judge a person without knowing them.

500 WORDS will capture everyone’s imaginations as they watch the story unfold. An ordinary classroom where Sylvia and Lance must meet for their reading lessons becomes a thousand different places as they create a fantastical new world and a new friendship.

Curriculum Connections: Creativity | Imagination | Literacy | Teamwork

Students are raving:

“The play was awesome because It had all of the character traits like Respect, Responsibility, Empathy, kindness and Caring, Teamwork, Fairness, Honesty, Co-operation, Integrity and Perseverance.”

“This play, 500 words, was wonderful! The set was very neat, and the story was great. I espically liked the part where the boy said “The downtown library” 

"I thought the play had a very well thought out story line, it was the perfect mix between humor and seriousness. It showed how important reading is, but that imagination is a big part too.”