Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) October 27, 2013
During the 2013-14 school year, over 20,000 elementary students and adults in the Ventura and LA Water Districts will learn about the importance of wise water use from the most educational (and funniest) cast of pirates you’ll ever meet. The Water Pirates of Neverland: Oceans 3 1/2 is a multimedia program – based in live theatre – that actively engages students and their parents on important concepts in water conservation. The program is being sponsored by the California American Water Company and enables schools to sign-up for the performances and curriculum completely free-of-charge.
Produced by The National Theatre for Children (NTC), The Water Pirates of Neverland uses a unique combination of interactive learning techniques that include an entertaining all-school assembly performed by professional actors, classroom curriculum, digital educational games and homework assignments. It teaches elementary students and their families about the importance and uses of water, how water gets polluted and what each person can do to save and conserve water. “It’s the combination of live theatre, student workbooks and educational games that makes this program so effective," says Kimberly Smith, Conservation Specialist at California American Water. “The classroom activities get students thinking intellectually about how they can use water wisely. And seeing someone playing a funny “pirate” who’s giving them real tips on what they can personally do? That’s golden. It grabs them on an emotional level and really solidifies our conservation message in their minds.”
And the message doesn’t stop at the classroom door. The students take their activity workbooks home and share them with their families, helping build good household habits around water usage. “Obviously, as a water utility company, this is really important to us,” emphasizes Smith. “It [water conservation] is a very serious matter. But with NTC, we’re able to put these fun, funny characters, performed by great actors, right on stage in front of the students to deliver the important information in a way that’s really memorable.”
Using a variety quick costume changes, the two professional actors who perform The Water Pirates of Neverland play a multitude of characters from the inept pirate “Captain Doorknob” to the wise denizens of the deep “Pierre Cleauseau” and “Toni the Flipper.” Each performance is action-packed with high energy comedy and hilarious audience interaction. “The world is changing at ninety miles per hour, but we maintain that live theater is still and always will be a powerful teaching tool,” affirms Ward Eames, president of NTC, an organization that has been bringing programs with important environmental messages to U.S. schools for over 35 years.
About California American Water
California American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water, provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to more than 600,000 people throughout California. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With corproate headquarters in Voorhees, NJ, the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 16 million people in 35 states and Ontario and Manitoba, Canada. Our professionals are committed to customer service, operational excellence and the delivery of high-quality, reliable drinking water, safe and effective wastewater treatment and release and other water-related management services. More information can be found by visiting: http://www.amwater.com/caaw.
About The National Theatre for Children
NTC is the largest touring educational theatre company in the world. Since 1978, NTC has successfully tackled one important issue after another including: financial literacy, electrical safety, water conservation, health care, smoking prevention, recycling, wise energy use, renewable energy, nutrition, and bullying prevention, (to name a few). Our educational outreach programs are entirely underwritten by corporate, non-profit and governmental sponsors who want to be associated with delivering healthy-living messages to students and their families. NTC performs approximately 7,000 times a year throughout the country, actively engaging 2.8 million students and parents through its programming. http://www.nationaltheatre.com