Literature to Life

Imagine seeing one of your favorite books brought to life. That transformation is created with each performance of the Literature to Life series. The process combines a professional actor and verbatim selections from a significant American literary work. The result is an intimate and emotionally-charged performance.

Literature to Life was created for middle- and high-school students by The American Place Theatre in New York City. Working in collaboration with them, The Bushnell selected five shows from the roster and packaged them with additional material in a new series for adults. The 2007-2008 season will feature:

Teacher Man, from the memoir by Frank McCort, author of Angela’s Ashes (October 6, 2008) 
McCort and his students take us on a journey laced with humor and fueled by a heart of unlimited circumference.  Newsweek calls McCort’s book “…the best self-portrait of a public school teacher ever written.”

Flight, from the novel by Sherman Alexie (November 3, 2008)
Rejected by his Native American father at birth, orphaned by his Irish mother at six, a troubled teen is tossed from one foster home to another searching for his identity.  Seconds from committing a massive violent act, he is thrust back into time where he learns the meaning of terror, of why human hate, and of the redemptive power of love. 

The Beautiful Struggle, from the memoir by Lemon Anderson (December 1, 2008)
Against all odds, Lemon Anderson found passion and purpose.  A critically acclaimed poet (Def Poetry Jam / HBO), Anderson brings his jarring coming-of-age memoir to life amidst the most influential and prevalent cultural movement of our time – hip hop.

Warriors Don't Cry, from the memoir by Melba Pattillo Beals (April 6, 2009)
One of the “Little Rock Nine,” sixteen-year-old Melba Pattillo Beals tells the story of violence and discrimination as she and eight other African-American students integrated Central High School in 1957. 

Fahrenheit 451, from the novel by Ray Bradbury (May 4, 2009)
Set in a futuristic American city where literature is believed to be dangerous, a fireman’s job is to burn books. 

The Literature to Life series is sponsored by the SBM Charitable Foundation.