Six-year old Cory doesn’t want to live with this grumpy grandma she barely knows. Grandmother Autumn doesn’t much like the idea, either. She’s about to lose her home to foreclosure and is struggling to make ends meet. But what choice does she have? Cory’s dad has to find work, and this is the only solution for now.

As Cory and Grandmother Autumn work through the adjustments of their new family structure, a stray dog appears on the doorstep. It’s love at first sight for Cory, and positively the last straw for Grandmother Autumn.

In a delightfully surprising story filled with humor and heart, Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle reminds us love makes almost anything possible, even in hard times.

Click here for a sneak peek of Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle.

Themes

• Non-traditional Families
• Friendship
• Community
• Neighborhoods
• Diversity and Acceptance
• Responsibility
• Economic Hardship
• Grief and Loss
• Pets
• Animals

Curriculum Connections

• Fine Arts/Drama
• Understanding Neighborhoods
• Economics
• Social Responsibility
• Community Building
• Character Education

With lively action, rich music, evocative costumes, and just the right amount of humor, BATTLEDRUM offers young people a compelling point of entry into the complexities of the war that divided our nation. The production climaxes with a stirring drum line performed by the entire cast.

Duration:          55 minutes

Tickets and School Reservations Available NOW

Missouri History Museum Box Office: 314-361-9017

Missouri History Museum Website (scroll down to find Battledrum): mohistory.org

Ticket Prices:

$16 Adults
$14 Seniors, Individual Students, Military
$12 MHM Members, Groups of 10 or more
$  8  Special Rate for school groups

please note: schools need to call for reservations at the group rate and tickets (other than schools) may be ordered online.

Special Opportunities:

Visit the Missouri History Museum special exhibition, “The Civil War in Missouri.”

(FREE to school groups with advance reservation!)

Visit HEC-TV for special distance learning opportunities.

Click HERE for the January 5th episode of HEC-TV Live: Inside the Artist Studio: BATTLEDRUM, Drummer Boys and Civil War

Click HERE for the January 12th episode of HEC-TV Live: Inside the Artist Studio: BATTLEDRUM, Drummer Boys and Civil War

BATTLEDRUM Educator Guide

Timeless Themes:

• Courage
• Truth
• Self-Reliance
• Responsibility
• Determination
• Loss
• Diversity

Curriculum Connections:

• American History
• Literacy
• Character Education
• Drama
• Music

Edison box office hours:

Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
On performances the box office window opens one hour prior to curtain.

Edison box office location:

Edison Theatre
Washington University in St. Louis
Mallinckrodt Center
6445 Forsyth Blvd, Room 203
St. Louis, MO 63130

Map

Metro Theater Company and Edison Theatre partner once again to bring St. Louis audiences a powerful theater experience that illuminates American literature and sets the stage for courageous community conversations. Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal Award winning novel THE GIVER comes to life on stage in a riveting production you won’t want to miss.

Twelve year old Jonas lives in a perfect world, free of poverty, crime, war, and strife. When the Elders of the Community choose him to be the Receiver of Memory, Jonas starts a journey to uncover the truth of this place he has always called home. The more he learns, the more he realizes the Community has systematically given up much of what gives life its meaning: color, music, truth, and love. At the end of the story, Jonas faces a decision that will define him and, ultimately, set a course toward hope.

Production Guide

HEC-TV Review

Casting opportunities are generally limited to adult, professional, non-Equity actors.  All actors working with the company are paid.

Special opportunities for youth actors to be cast in mainstage productions come up from time to time.  Youth actors are not paid but instead receive scholarships to support their ongoing training in the arts.

Would you like to know when we schedule the next round of auditions?   Send an e-mail to Sarah Rugo (production manager) at sarah@metrotheatercompany.org, subject “Let me know about Metro auditions, ” and ask to be added to our audition list.  Please specify if you are a young actor (under 18) or an adult actor.  (Audition announcements will be made via e-mail only.)

Actors are welcome to send a letter of inquiry, resume, and headshot at any time to Carol North (artistic director) at carol@metrotheatercompany.org

As a professional theater company, we strive for the highest possible production quality.  Audiences deserve our very best whether we’re performing in a school gym, library, or somewhere else entirely.  To deliver our very best to audiences, we insist on a few requirements:

Space

• Our touring productions need a performing area that measures 18 feet by 18 feet and has 9 feet of ceiling clearance, at minimum.
• In addition, we recommend a 3-foot buffer between this performing area and the seating area for the audience.
• In order to ensure both the quality of the production and the safety of the actors and the audience, we require the performing area to be clear, clean, and level.
• Our actors need access to a separate, private space to change into their costumes.

Time

• Our actors and production manager need to arrive 90 minutes prior to the performance.  This time is critical for safe technical set-up and adequate actor preparation. This means we may need to arrive before your facility normally opens.  Plan accordingly, and if possible, arrange for us to have exclusive use of the space during that time.

In nearly four decades of touring, we’ve learned a few other things that will help audiences:

• SEE BETTER: When the audience and the actors will be on the same level, visibility is best when young audience members are seated on the floor, rather than on benches and/or folding chairs.
• HEAR BETTER: Bells, buzzers, and PA announcements during the performance distract everyone.  Also, please turn off loud heating and cooling blowers while the show is in progress.

If you have questions about our technical requirements or would like more advice on how best to prepare for our visit, please contact Sarah Rugo (production manager) at sarah@metrotheatercompany.org or 314-997-6777 x 108.

If your school or classroom will see — or already has seen — one of our touring productions, you can extend the learning for your students by using concepts and lesson plan ideas from our educator guides.  Best of all, we’ve already laid out in the guide exactly how these activities connect to your curriculum.

Click on the links below to access a specific guide in PDF format.

• Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle by Jose Cruz Gonzales

If you would like to see educator guides from past productions, please contact Karen Weberman (education director) at karen@metrotheatercompany.org or 314-997-6777 x 106.

We strongly encourage the use and duplication of our educator guides by anyone who wants to extend the experience of our live performances.  Please note, however, that all educator guides are the intellectual property of Metro Theater Company, and we expect to be credited accordingly, whether or not the guides are printed and duplicated exactly as they appear here.