Norristown Educational Theatre

On Sunday January 16, 2011, N.E.T.  presented the one-man show King of the Plains: The Life and Times of Buffalo Bill Cody.  Written and performed by Artistic Director, Gene Roland Frank, the performance blends history, literature, anecdotes and homespun charm into a short glimpse of one of the most iconic figures of the American West, Colonel William Frederick Cody, aka Buffalo Bill.

January 2011-May 2011  Community Arts Partnership:

Educating Communitites for Parenting and N.E.T. have created a pilot program for using role-play for the instruction of at-risk youth, specifically teen parents.  First Voices, a performance piece generated through the research from this partnership, was presented at the Wayne Arts Center as part of the annual Imagine Awards for ECP.

July 2011:

NET is chosen to present the First Voices role-play work at the National Conference of the American Alliance of Theatre and Education in Chicago at the end of July.

September 2011:

An expanded Community Arts Partnership begins with Educating Communities for Parenting.  NET to be involved in facilitator training, educational site visits, and workshop sessions.  Artistic Director, Gene R. Frank, PhD, asked to join Imagine Project Advisory Board for Educating Communities for Parenting.  Board comprised of representatives of education, social services, the financial services and the justice system across Philadelphia. 

September 2011:

Artistic Director, Gene R. Frank, PhD meets with Montgomery County Historical Society to discuss the commission of a one-act play based on an unsolved suspicious death in Norristown in the early 1900's.  The play's premiere is tentatively set for October/November of 2012

January 2012:

Three American Indian Tales: Storytelling Children's Adventure to be presented on Saturday January 21, 2012 at 1pm as part of the 3rd Independent Voices Festival held at the Montgomery County Cultural Center.

May 2012:

N.E.T. premiered Teen Voices,http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S70jrXFbE8o  in collaboration with Educating Communities for Parenting, as part of ECP's 2012 Imagine Awards.  This project was a year long partnership that culminated in a mixed-media presentation to the VIP audience in attendance for the awards.  The 2012 honoree was the United Way.

August 2012:

NET receives formal notification from the IRS that their 501 (c) 3 status has been granted.

Work begins on NET's newest educational theatre initiative, Shakespeare on a Shoestring.  Incorporating the original stories that comprised the basis for Shakespeare's plays with monologues and scenes from the canon, the theatre company is developing interactive performance presentations for the student and teacher on the stage and in the classroom.