Books Alive!

Books Alive! is in its 13th year this year. Through a special partnership between The Theatre Guild Inc. of Morristown and the Hamblen County Department of Education, several thousand Lakeway area students have been educated and entertained in a unique way. The Books Alive! program which started during the 2007-2008 school year has blossomed into an anticipated annual event among elementary classes. Each Books Alive! show is a stage adaptation of a wildly popular children’s book.

Something interesting about our production is that it is truly designed as an experience for school groups. We build an entire educational program around a story. This process includes choosing a relevant, engaging children’s book, working with the author, creating accompanying curriculum that is based on Tennessee state standards, and producing it in a way that children learn about literature and drama from the experience. We also feature area students, often under the direction and guidance of Hamblen County teachers, so that from the stage to the audience, the whole production is education based.

Each class that attends our Books Alive! show receives books for their classes or libraries through our partnership with local book retailers as a thank you for attending.

Our past productions have included some favorites such as:

Winnie the Pooh
Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business
Miss Nelson is Missing
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
How I Became a Pirate
….and many many more!