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Mad River Theater Works visits Mid-Ohio Valley

PARKERSBURG — As part of the Artsbridge Artists-On-Tour program, Mad River Theater Works of Zanesfield, Ohio, will perform in elementary schools in Wood, Pleasants, Jackson, Doddridge, and Ritchie counties in West Virginia and Belpre City Schools and Warren Local Schools in Ohio, on Sept. 25-28.

The performance is suggested for fifth- and sixth-grade students.

Mad River Theater will present its newest play “Freedom Riders,” which explores valiant and courageous personalities behind one of the most critical chapters in the history of the civil rights movement.

The play demonstrates the importance of working together to affect change and specifically how non-violent protest was used to combat the cruelties of segregation. Set in 1961, 15 years after the United States Supreme Court had outlawed segregation, bus companies and cities throughout the South still enforced a rigid system of separating black and white citizens, Artsbridge noted.

Freedom riders, both black and white and mostly young Americans, decided to travel together on buses that crossed state lines purposefully disregarding the hateful segregation practices that were still commonplace in so many parts of the United States, Artsbridge said. The unforgettable heroes and the facts behind the events portrayed in “Freedom Riders” are essential to a full understanding of the civil rights era and American history, Artsbridge said.

The characters in the play are fictional. However, the playwright drew heavily on the stories of three real-life freedom riders: James Zwerg, Diane Nash and Bernard Lafayette. The play is one act, approximately 55 minutes with five performers and contains live music.

Study guides are provided for teachers through Artsbridge prior to the production.

Funding for Artsbridge arts education programs is provided in part by The West Virginia Commission on the Arts, Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, The Ross Foundation, Fenton Foundation Inc., The Bernard McDonough Foundation, Highmark, Peoples Bank and by contributors to the Artsbridge Fund.

The schedule of performances includes:

* Sept. 25: Belpre Elementary School at 9 a.m. and Warren Middle School at 1 p.m.

* Sept. 26: Wood County Schools in the Blennerhassett Auditorium at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

* Sept. 27: Doddridge County Schools, West Union, at 9 a.m. and Ritchie County Schools, Ellenboro, at 1 p.m.

* Sept. 28: Pleasants County Schools, Belmont, at 9 a.m. and Jackson County Schools, Ripley, at 1:15 p.m.

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