by Janet Reed
by Special Arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Performed October 1-2, 1999
This hilarious, biting satire centers around a feisty, idealistic teacher whose frustration with textbooks unexpectedly lands her a job as editor of a fifth grade American history book. Ellen wants "to bring history to the people ... like Barbara Tuchman." She finds that creating this text is about selling to school districts while not offending any group. She becomes outraged when forced to omit a historical figure because he had a dicey background: he drank. Ellen gets little help from her ambitious assistant and her chic, bitter supervisor. And the V.P. of the department, a sleazy, sexist, sexually harassing incompetent, is no help at all. Ellen's last hope is that the author, famous historian Professor Gregory Chrichton, will come to her defense and show them all how to reach students with the book. In a wickedly funny climax, she confronts the business of education and learns the difference between selling textbooks and teaching children.
Cast:
Stephanie Kansa as Ellen Winston
Jon Hepner as Joel Braun
Melinda Preece as Megan Calembar
Christina Brown as Kelly Clark
Steve Fick as Dr. Gregory Crichton
Director: Kathy Foerster
Assistant Director: Lisa Jackson
Advisor: Kathy Foerster
Advisor: Dr. Don Jones