The next grant is another visit to the Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes. This time, the fourth graders will be going to watch the production of “Seedfolks.” The play is based on the Newberry award winning book of the same name. It is a play about an immigrant neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, and about creating a jewel of a garden out of a terrible eyesore in the immigrant neighborhood.
Once the students return to the classroom, they’ll make comparisons between the book and the play. They will also work on rewriting portions of the play and discuss their understanding of the world around them.
The production is put on by the Childrens Theatre Company of Minneapolis.
From the DLCCC website:
Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) of Minneapolis is proud to present Seedfolks, a world premiere developed by CTC through the new play development lab. Based on the Newbery Medal-winning book by Paul Fleischman,Seedfolks is about an immigrant neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio that is transformed by a community garden. Actor Sonja Parks embodies the eleven distinct voices of Gibb Street in this enthralling, one-woman production.
Seedfolks begins when nine-year-old Kim plants the first seeds in the rat-infested, vacant lot next to her apartment building. They are six lima bean seeds, planted in honor of the father she never knew. Slowly, each member of the community finds a reason to plant their own seeds, resurrecting a derelict lot and uniting a fractured neighborhood. The story consists of 11 different narratives around the shared experience of creating a true neighborhood jewel out of what was an eye-sore.
