American History teachers have it tough: It can be daunting to teach nearly 250 years of our country’s history, not to mention the pre-colonial era, in one academic year—or, sometimes, in just one semester! That’s the lesson the traveling troupe of actors from TheatreSquared learn in their production of “The History Show”, on tour now to schools around Arkansas.

“I think this might be a good time to tell you that we’ve been getting a little frustrated with the amount of material we’re supposed to cover in a 45-minute show,” says Mykenzie Gordon to the audience at the top of the show, after the actors have spent the first five minutes of the production running quickly through the pre-history of America.

Don’t worry, though – the actors, with the help of playwright and director Morgan Hicks, manage to handle the abundance of material in the most educational and entertaining way possible.

“History is a huge subject, and we actually call that out in the script,” notes Hicks, an original T2 company member and currently its Arts Engagement Director. “That’s part of the joke - how preposterous it would be to try to cover all of U.S. history in a 45-minute show. We had so many ideas about what we wanted to do and whose stories we wanted to tell.”

For Hicks, making the most of the 45 minutes the T2 traveling troupe has in the various school gymnasiums, cafeterias, and theaters around the state was a priority.

“The most important thing for us was to find a way to engage our audience and to tell them something important about the idea of history beyond the names and dates and facts,” she notes. “How does something become history? Why do we accept it? Who is included? Who is omitted? And how can that conversation feel important but still fun?”

T2 Learning Programs Manager Sarah Tan says another trick to engaging younger audiences is personalizing the subject matter – helping them see the link between American history and their own lives.

“I think history can sometimes seem like a dry subject when you're younger,” she says. “Especially when there's an emphasis on dates and names, as the show alludes to. This performance, however, activates those moments in history in a playful and comedic way—making familiar events in history just that little more palatable. The performance's interactive element also encourages students to think about how and why history from hundreds of years ago still matters to them today.”

Indeed, there is ample evidence to show that learning is boosted when information is presented on stage — in fact, TheatreSquared participated in a study performed by researchers at the University of Arkansas and detailed in “Education Next” that showed that students’ knowledge was “significantly enhanced, above and beyond what they learn by reading those works or by seeing film versions.” For example, 87 percent of students who watched a T2 production of Hamlet — versus 45 percent of those who simply read the play or saw a movie version of the play — could correctly answer the question “Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?” The students’ ability to remember details from the plot wasn’t the only place knowledge was enhanced — their vocabulary was boosted as well. Of those who saw the T2 production of A Christmas Carol, 93 percent knew that humbug meant “nonsense or a trick” while just 62 percent of the control group answered correctly. Studies like this one have been replicated over the years and show the critical benefits of this kind of educational theater programming.

In addition to Gordon, a Fort Smith actor, the cast includes Tre’ Widley from North Little Rock, Ryan Lynch from Bryant, and Hannah Hill from central Arkansas—all who play versions of themselves on stage. All four have performed in front of youth audiences before and say the experience can be incredibly rewarding.

“A lot of the time when I get to perform for kids, they’ll tell me it’s the first time they’re getting to see live theater,” says Widley. “And so they tend to show their excitement a lot more.”

“They’re not afraid to express themselves,” agrees Hill.

“They’re so much more interactive and a lot more vocal during performances,” says Gordon. “They’ll express how much they love it in the moment.”

All four actors are recent college graduates, and they bring a youthful enthusiasm to the stage. That, coupled with Hicks’ witty script, frequent pop culture references, and the cast’s propensity to break into song, make The History Show appealing to its Tik Tok-wise audiences.

“I think the show appeals to our teen audience because they get what we are doing on a deep level,” says Hicks. “They recognize the metaphor, and it resonates with them. We also tap into a brand of humor that is irreverent without being dismissive. We definitely fine tune and update and try to keep the show funny (and, sometimes, intentionally corny) in a way that appeals to a teen audience (who are arguably one of the toughest crowds you can play to).”

T2’s educational programming started soon after the company was founded in 2005; Hicks says the first school tours started in 2010. The first iteration of “The History Show” was in 2012, and the script has been updated several times since then.

“We love the show and everything that we are able to talk about in a short show, but we definitely learned that we always want to be reflective of the evolution of language, especially around inclusion,” she says. “I feel like revisiting the script every four or five years allows us to keep the best parts while staying fresh.”

Due to generous support from the Windgate Foundation, Simmons Foods, the Arkansas Arts Council—an agency of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism—and the National Endowment for the Arts, any school in Arkansas can request a visit from the touring production, and it’s absolutely free. Currently, says Tan, there are 46 schools on the schedule, the farthest over 300 miles away from T2’s home base of Fayetteville. It’s Tan’s job to plot the route.

“We've organized the tour by region and will be spending a week or so in each region in Arkansas,” she says. “Once the school selects their preferred dates, I do a little puzzle magic and determine the tour stops based on the teacher's requested preferred time, date, and of course, the distance between schools.”

Hicks has sat in the back of a crowded auditorium many times, absorbing the reaction of the teenagers around her to her play as it’s performed on stage. She says there’s ample evidence to show the history lessons are hitting their mark.

“At the talkback after the show this morning, a student asked if we are planning to do a sequel where they can spend more time talking about the things that get mentioned in the play but don’t get enough,” she says. “We have to rush through some chapters. They definitely want to hear more about the role of women in history.

“I think the best [Theater for Young Audiences] shows can teach new things without being condescending or talking down to their audiences. I have so much respect for teenagers, and I know they are smarter and more engaged than a lot of people often give them credit for being. They are also much cooler than I am…so when I get to sit in the audience with them and see them enjoying the show, I know I have met them at that high level that they are on. It feels like an honor to be invited to a conversation with them. And it is so much fun to be back doing that in person!”

TheatreSquared Kicks Off “The History Show” Tour