Will you crack the case?

Green Thumb Theatre and BC Summer Reading Club invite young people across BC to read a new script and try their hand at solving a mystery crafted by two professional playwrights. Selected submissions will be featured at an online reading event with 12 professional actors.

VANCOUVER – BC Green Thumb Theatre and BC Summer Reading Club proudly announce their first partnership to present: Misadventure at the Lighthouse. This original script, written by celebrated writers Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith, has been created especially for BC Summer Reading Club participants, and the program’s 2021 mystery theme: ‘Crack the Case!’.

The script, available at no charge online, will have the original ending excluded, allowing young people to decide how they would finish the story and crack the case. The project invites participants to work solo or team up with friends and family to write an ending, and also create visual art based on the story.

The script’s original ending, along with a few selected submissions, will be featured at a live online play reading event. Directed by Ming Hudson, the reading will feature 12 professional actors who have been on stage with Green Thumb, Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, and Stratford, and have also appeared in a host of internationally broadcast TV shows, films, and animations.

The play reading is free to attend and will take place on August 18 at 2PM PDT, on the BC Summer Reading Club YouTube page.

This is an exciting new endeavour for Green Thumb Theatre. The theatre hopes that this project will create an accessible way for young people across the province to creatively and collaboratively engage with theatre and storytelling.  

“During this time, the live-arts industry is hurting so much, and our ability to deliver high calibre theatrical experiences to youth has been hampered” said Green Thumb Theatre Artistic Director, Rachel Aberle. “So, it is an immense pleasure and privilege to be able to connect with such extremely talented artists and create something fun and interactive for young people all across BC to enjoy and take part in.”  

“This is an important opportunity for the BC Summer Reading Club to partner with Green Thumb Theatre” adds Chris Middlemass, BC Library Association President. “Together we will deliver unique and interactive programming for kids across the province. It’s a privilege to be part of such innovative programming.”

Misadventure at the Lighthouse, which takes place on an unnamed gulf island, follows competitive Annie who is determined to win this year’s Annual Island Scavenger Hunt with her best friend, Kim.  Annie’s plans go awry when she has to host her cousin from the city and her younger brother Stevie and his faithful dog Rooster are suddenly nowhere to be found! After meeting a collection of eccentric characters around the island, a puzzling disappearance occurs, and it’s up to Annie and her friends to solve the mystery and save the day. Misadventure at the Lighthouse is recommended for readers ages 8 and up.

Registration for BC Summer Reading Club is now open, and the program begins on June 28. Full details and submission deadlines available at bcsrc.ca/greenthumb or at your local library.

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Media Images

Media Contact: Georgia Beaty, Education and Outreach Coordinator: outreach@greenthumb.bc.ca

Available for interviews: Artistic Director Rachel Aberle, Director Ming Hudson, Playwrights Michele Riml & Michael St. John Smith.

About Green Thumb Theatre

Founded in 1975, Green Thumb Theatre is a force within the field of Theatre for Young Audiences, not only in British Columbia, but across the country and throughout the world. Green Thumb Theatre creates, produces, and tours plays that explore social issues relevant to the lives of children, youth, and young adults. Green Thumb provides theatre that celebrates the language and stories of today’s generation and culture to stimulate empathy, debate, and critical thinking. In their more than 45-year history, Green Thumb has performed for over 4 million people and has toured to every province and two territories in Canada, 36 US States, and 11 countries overseas. Original plays commissioned by Green Thumb have been translated into 9 languages and produced by more than 200 theatre companies worldwide.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to commissioning Misadventure at the Lighthouse, the company has adapted one of its hit shows into a free colouring book for more than 20,000 elementary students across the province, and produced a digital live broadcast of the play STILL/FALLING, which looks at adolescent mental health, for secondary schools.

Learn more at: www.greenthumb.bc.ca

About BC Summer Reading Club

The BC SRC is a free public library literacy program that connects school-aged children and families to their local library and encourages children to discover a love of reading. The BC SRC reaches more than 173,000 children and their families. In 2020, in the wake of the global pandemic, the BC SRC launched a brand-new online reading tracking app along with a summer’s worth of online activities for children and their families to explore. The program is made possible by generous funding from the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs and CUPE BC. The BC SRC welcomes the participation of all children and their families and seeks to provide an accessible and fully inclusive program. All children are invited to join the BC SRC by visiting their local library.

Learn more at: www.bcsrc.ca

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