The Manton Avenue Project (MAP) will stage its next performance: May 5-8th. Performances will take place at 7pm on Thursday and Friday, and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, in the Blackbox at AS220 on Empire Street downtown. There will be a talkback following the Sunday performance. The Manton Avenue Project (MAP) is a non-profit organization that unites children living in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood with local theater professionals to create original plays together. The Manton Avenue Project’s mission is to nurture the unique potential of kids living in Olneyville through playmaking. Each of MAP’s out-of-school time programs is focused on playwriting education, mentorship, and bringing kids’ creative voices to the stage.
Happy Birthday, Old Faithful: The National Parks Plays is the culminating production of The Manton Avenue Project’s Playmaking program, an afterschool playwriting course held at MAP’s Clubhouse in Olneyville. Ten young playwrights, 3rd graders and 4th graders, have each written a play about a National Park. For this project, The Manton Avenue Project partnered with the Roger Williams National Memorial. The playwrights have been learning about National Parks and the history of the National Park Service. Each playwright is writing a short play set in one of the United States’ 410 parks. The resulting production will be directed and performed by local actors from Providence’s thriving theatrical community.