Ashlee K. Thomas needed a way to connect the arts and sciences for her drama students in a way that traditional plays couldn’t.
The answer, it turned out, was bees — time-traveling bees, to be exact.
Ashlee wrote a play where time-traveling bees performed hip-hop on a quest to save the planet. The folks at the Adrienne Arsht Center thought it was a pretty good idea.
About 30,000 Miami-Dade elementary school students will see Ashlee’s first commissioned play, The Busy Bees’ Great Adventure at the Arsht Center. It’s part of the center’s Learning Through The Arts Program.
The story follows four honey bees on a quest to learn about the threats to the environment, including their own possible extinction. The Arsht and Miami Dade public schools worked together to build a whole curriculum around the show.
It’s a way to teach environmental literacy to kids growing up in one of the most sensitive areas in the country.
Plus, for a lot of the kids, it’ll be their first exposure to live theater. Thomas worked with Jairo Ontiveros at the Arsht to bring this musical to life.
On the Oct. 10 episode of Sundial, we spoke to Thomas and Ointiveros about making art with a purpose.
On Sundial's previous episode, we spoke with Stéphane Denève, the artistic director of the New World Symphony. He told us about his journey with music, which started with hiding in the back of a chapel. Also, we'll take a look at what we can expect from the orchestra this season.
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
