NEFA National Theater Project Award Winner
Two Perspectives. Out of Bounds has two performance components anchored by the topic of cyber bullying. There is a full-length public performance for family audiences (middle school through adult.) There is also a companion youth outreach performance for school audiences.
Out of Bounds, Full-Length
What happens when you can’t protect your own kid from the cruelty of her friends? Alison is a single mother who spends a whole school year trying to fight her daughter’s bullies while being haunted by memories of her own experiences growing up. Humorous, thoughtful and honest, Out of Bounds weaves together video, drawn illustrations and interviews to tell the stories of kids stuck on the outside and the adults who feel powerless to help them.
Out of Bounds, Youth Show
The youth show tells the same story, focusing on the point of view of 14-year-old Amy and her peers. On a dare, Amy posted a picture of herself online that she shouldn’t have. Now that she’s transferred to a new school, she hopes she can make a fresh start. But when a rival finds the whole embarrassing history online, this time Amy has nowhere to run. Out of Bounds explores the vicious world of cyber-bullying in young teens.
The outreach production for youth audiences, Grades 5 – 9, is a companion performance to the full-length production and is designed to be to be presented on your stage (within the same set and light plot for both performances) or for in-school performances within minimal technical elements. Both school and community residencies can accompany this production.
The Out of Bounds project was built from interviews with teachers, guidance counselors, police officers, social workers, parents and kids, and with the support of the University of Iowa College of Public Health, the Injury Prevention Research Center, and the Iowa Arts Council.
Out of Bounds was commissioned by Hancher Auditorium (Chuck Swanson, Executive Producer, Jacob Yarrow, Programming Director). The Youth Version was produced by Hancher and toured to schools in Eastern Iowa in November 2013. The Full Length version was produced by Hancher in May 2014.
“This stunning play, crafted from real-life stories, is designed to not only bring this burgeoning problem out of the shadows but to spur a community dialogue seeking solutions to a very real problem that can haunt victims all their lives.”
– Diana Nollen, The Gazette
Excellent play! It really hit home about how bullying one person can affect so many others. The actors, puppeteers and visual displays were great.
– Hancher Audience comments
– Tweet from a Principal, Tiffin, IA
“My daughter’s bullies texted her after the show and apologized.”
– Mother of a 7th grader, Iowa City
“[My son] said, “Oh yeah, Dad, we saw a really good play at school today.” He liked the actors and the way they came out of character to talk about personal experiences… He also said that he thinks many kids have started to tune out anti-bullying messages that have become prevalent in schools in recent years. He thought “Out of Bounds” was way better at presenting the message that bullying has real and damaging effects.”
– Father of an 8th grade student, Iowa City
“After the show, I asked my students for feedback and their opinions on the production. The overwhelming majority of students really enjoyed the show! They shared comments like “All of that stuff happens in real life”, “Everything they talked about in the play is believable and better than the videos we watch on bullying in homeroom”, “I really liked how it was funny and seemed real.”
– 7th Grade Teacher, Iowa City
“I’ve seen a lot of shows like this, and this is by far the best one. Great work.”
– Junior High School Principal, Iowa City
The outreach production tells the same story, focusing on the point of view of 14-year-old Amy and her peers. On a dare, Amy posted a picture of herself online that she shouldn’t have. Now that she’s transferred to a new school, she hopes she can make a fresh start. But when a rival finds the whole embarrassing history online, this time Amy has nowhere to run.
The outreach production for youth audiences, Grades 5 – 9, is a companion performance to the full-length production and is designed to be to be presented on your stage (within the same set and light plot for both performances) or for in-school performances within minimal technical elements. Both school and community residencies can accompany this production.
Jan. 25 – 29 Smith Center of the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, NE
Feb. 1-2 Vilar Center for the Arts, Avon, CO
Feb. 3-4 PACE Center/Mainstreet Center, Parker, CO
Feb. 9 Perot Theatre, Texarkana, TX
Feb. 11 Graceland University, Lamoni, IA
Feb. 21-22 North Iowa Area Community College, Mason City IA
Feb. 23 Gallaghar Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Cedar Falls, IA
Feb. 25 Governors State University Center for the Performing Arts, University Park, IL
Feb. 29 – March 1 North Shore Center for Performing Arts, Skokie, IL
March 1 – 4 New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ
March 7 Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, Westhampton Beach, NY
March 9 Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford, MA
March 11 SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam NY
March 13 – 14 Smith Center for the Arts, Geneva, NY
March 14-16 Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
March 17 Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, Warren, MI
March 21-22 Union Colony Civic Center, Greeley, CO
March 24 – 25 The Lied Center of Kansas, Lawrence, KA
- The Story
- How Was It Created?
- Reviews and Testimonials
- Media Gallery
- Outreach and Engagement
- Performance Schedule
Resources
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Touring Inquiries
Holden & Arts Associates
Booking and Management Services for the Performing Arts
Michael Holden
P.O. Box 50120 Austin, TX 78763
Ph: 512-477-1859
Em: SK@holdenarts.org
Web: www.holdenarts.org