Traveling Players Presents Sea Changes: A Festival of Two Plays

March 15 - 16 & 22 - 23
Treasure Island — 3 pm
Orlando — 7 pm 
Traveling Players Studio
Tickets are $16 online, $20 at the door
703-987-1712

Tysons, VA— Tickets are now available for Traveling Players’ Sea Changes play festival, which runs weekends March 15-23 at their Studio in Tysons Corner Center.  Performed by Traveling Players students, the festival will breathe new life into satirical romances and scurvy sailors, with modern twists on two beloved novels. 

Towering champions of stories of adventure and grandeur, Robert Louis Stevenson and Virginia Woolf take center stage in these family-friendly adaptations.  A seafaring tale that is fun for the whole family, Treasure Island follows young Jim Hawkins as he is thrust into a world of adventure and pirates - much different from his predictable life at the Benbow Inn.   A must-see for any high school AP Literature student –  Woolf’s centuries-long love story, Orlando leaps off the page in this bold and comedic production of Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation. 

Want a sneak peek? In addition to the performances in March, Traveling Players is hosting a Meet & Greet in their Studio on February 28, which is open to the public, and will provide guests with the opportunity to learn what it’s like to be in a Traveling Players show through conversation with faculty & students, as well as a sneak peek of the shows! Light refreshments and drinks will be provided. Interested parties may RSVP here.

About the Plays

Treasure Island
Adapted by Todd Espeland from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
Recommended for ages 8+ | 60 minutes (no intermission)

An adaptation of the classic novel Treasure Island, this production features Jim Hawkins, a courageous youth who dreams of adventure outside of the Benbow Inn.  The closest adventures he gets are the seafaring tales from one of the Inn's guests, Billie Bones.  One fateful evening, Bones is given the Black Spot, a pirate death sentence.  Seizing his moment, Jim escapes with a treasure map that belonged to Bones amid a pirate brawl in the Inn.  Then Jim gathers a crew and sets sail for Treasure Island!  Only this crew of "honest sailors" seems to be less than trustworthy.  Perhaps even a little... scurvy?

Orlando
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl from the novel by Virginia Woolf
Recommended for ages 10+ | 90 minutes (no intermission)

In Sarah Ruhl's vibrant adaptation of Virginia Woolf's classic novel, we witness a young nobleman of the 16th-century journey through time and go through the pangs of love and heartbreak, delve into his poetic imagination, and dream of adventures beyond the court of London.  On a fateful night, two hundred years later, Orlando wakes up as a woman!       

What begins as a story about a naive and ambitious young man transitions into an exploration of time, history, and the paths we navigate in this journey we call life.  Every person we encounter informs the story of our lives; Woolf seemed intent on asking— what if that life lasted for four hundred years?  Who would we be?

The student actors featured in the festival receive professional training and direction, appropriate for their age and experience.  Treasure Island’s performers are in grades 4-7 while Orlando's performers are in grades 8-12. 

The casts and crew include the talents of: Oliver Barnes (Fairfax, VA), Eliza Cobb (Washington, DC), Kira Crandall (Falls Church, VA), James Cronin (Springfield, VA), Finnin Cullen (McLean, VA), Ina Dufault (McLean, VA), Charlotte Eastright (Washington, DC), Luke Eberst (Accokeek, MD), Charles Fisher (Sterling, VA), Alyssa Gokhale (Vienna, VA), Naomi Goldstein (Bethesda, MD), Maizie Klevan (Washington, DC), Carter Martinez (Laurel, MD), Faith Martinez (Reston, VA), Ainsley McDonald (Fairfax, VA), Sydney Peterson (Springfield, VA), Morgan Pletcher (Arlington, VA), Temmi Porter (McLean, VA), Nora Read (Arlington, VA), Aylin Sackett (Vienna, VA), Fiona Sarin (Great Falls, VA), Lexie Schwer (Chevy Chase, MD), Chloe Seaman (Fairfax, VA), Isabella Velazquez (McLean, VA), Kate Walsh (McLean, VA), and Donovan Wheelock (Washington, DC).

To purchase tickets and for more information about the show, please visit https://www.travelingplayers.org/performances/

Or call 703-987-1712

About Traveling Players 

Recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of 25 model “Summer Schools for the Arts,” Traveling Players is dedicated to training students in grades 2-12 in theatre.  Now in its 23rd year, the company has grown from a summer camp of 18 students to a year-round theatrical community engaging 1000 students annually.  Founded on belief in the imagination, wit, and honesty of teenagers, Traveling Players' programs help students find their voice through bold ensemble-based acting classes and theatre productions that emphasize connection and community. 

Students interested in training with the company can take classes year-round at the Traveling Players Studio in Tysons Corner Center, including their day camp for grades 2-5.  Over the summer, they also offer sleepaway camps & residential acting conservatories based in VA’s Northern Neck, right on the Rappahannock River.

In 2020-21, Traveling Players received the ArtsFairfax Arts Education Award.

To find out more about Traveling Players Ensemble, visit http://travelingplayers.org.