Act One School Series

We are delighted to present the 2025–20265 Act One School Series season. The Act One School Series provides curriculum-linked, performing arts enrichment activities for students in grades K-12.

Review the event descriptions below, determine what programs work for you, and submit the order form.

Mokoomba

Tickets $1
October 10, 2025, 10am
Grades: 5-12
Pasant Theatre

Mokoomba is a six-piece band from Zimbabwe, born at the border with Zambia where the Zambezi River meets the legendary Victoria Falls. The band's unique sound is a fusion of the different cultures and influences of the region, combining traditional rhythms with contemporary Zamrock: the Zambian music genre combining traditional African music with rock.

Social Studies, Word Culture, Music, Geography

Kurbasy: Songs of the Ukranian Forest

Tickets $1
October 23, 2025, 10am
Grades: 5-12
Pasant Theatre

The idea of culture as a cosmic living organism is central to Kurbasy, whose folk-based multimedia performances vibrate in tight vocal harmonies, resonant lyrics, distinctive instrumentation, and dreamlike visual imagery. Kurbasy’s sonic-theatrical explorations of Ukraine’s rich trove of songs, lullabies, and legends conjure beliefs and rituals, channeling contemporary connections to an archaic past.

Social Studies, Word Culture, Music, Geography

Dog Man: The Musical

Tickets $1
October 31, 2025, 9:30am and 1pm
Grades: 1-5
Cobb Great Hall

Based on the worldwide bestselling hit series by Dav Pilkey, Dog Man: The Musical is a hilarious and heartwarming production following the chronicles of Dog Man, who with the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime? Find out in this epic musical adventure featuring the hilarity and heart of beloved characters from Dav Pilkey.

Run time is approximately 70 minutes. 

Language Arts, Literacy, Multicultural Education, Science, Theatre

Sonia De Los Santos: A Celebration of Latin America

Tickets $1
January 8-9, 2026, 9:45am and 12:30pm
Grades: K-3
Pasant Theatre

It’s hard not to smile when Sonia is sharing some of her favorite things: migrating birds, friendship, chocolate, growing up in Mexico, and realizing her childhood dream of moving to New York. Her songs are inspired by various Latin American rhythms like huapango, cumbia, salsa, and festejo, as well as the North American folk traditions from the United States.

In this upbeat and joyful concert, Sonia De Los Santos and her band invite audiences to enjoy a delightful collection of original songs sung in Spanish and English.

Music, World Cutlure, Language, Social Studies

Cirque Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque

Tickets $1
January 22, 2026, 9:45am and 12:30pm
Grades: K-7
Cobb Great Hall

The stage comes alive with vibrant colors, scenery, and costumes, reflecting rich African traditions and contemporary flair. Dazzling circus arts intertwine with the sounds of live Afro-Jazz music, percussion beats, and the soulful melodies of the kora, a West African string instrument.

Afrique en Cirque celebrates the strength, agility, and joy of young Africans. Get ready for an unforgettable journey with Cirque Kalabanté as you are swept away into the heart of Guinea through a mesmerizing blend of acrobatics, music, and dance.

World Culture, Music, Dance, Social Studies, Circus Arts

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Tickets $1
February 10, 2026, 10am
Grades: 6-12
Cobb Great Hall

For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education, dedicated to inspiring and growing jazz audiences throughout the world. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to cities around the world. 

From swinging rhythms to soulful melodies, every performance is a celebration of the spirit of jazz and its enduring influence. 

Music, American History, American and World Culture

Sally: A Solo Play

Tickets $1
February 18-19, 2026, 11am
Grades: 9-12
Pasant Theatre

SALLY—a powerfully moving, one-woman drama set at Monticello in the days before Thomas Jefferson’s death—is a Wharton Center Original Production. Sabrina Sloan, Hamilton’s Angelica Schuyler, brings to the stage a determined Sally, who performs and inhabits Thomas Jefferson, his daughter Martha, and Sally’s brother, James. Amid mounting family tensions, Sally must fight to ensure that Jefferson’s long-ago promise to free their own children from slavery at the age of 21 will be kept.

Playwright Sandra Seaton’s work has been performed around the country, from the Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Opera, and Carnegie Hall to the Glimmerglass Festival. She is the winner of the Mark Twain Award from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.

Hannah Ryan, former resident director of Hamilton on Broadway, brings her inimitable magic to these much-anticipated performances.

American History, literature, social studies

National Geographic Live: The Untold Story of Sharks

Tickets $1
February 27, 2026, 11am
Grades: 7-12
Cobb Great Hall

Sharks have roamed the planet’s waters since before the dinosaurs, but only recently have we begun to understand the lives of these powerful predators in the ocean. Fifty years after Jaws shocked audiences in theaters, we open the National Geographic archives to reveal the true story of 20th-century women leading shark science and dive into the cutting-edge conservation work of shark researcher and National Geographic Explorer Jess Cramp. Swim alongside her under the vibrant waters of the South Pacific to find out what it truly means to save sharks.

Natural Sciences, Geography, Zoology, Ecology

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!

Tickets $1
March 12-13, 2026, 9:30am and 12:45pm
Grades: Pre K-2
Pasant Theatre

It's not easy being the Pigeon—you never get to do ANYTHING! But when the Bus Driver has a crisis that threatens to make her passengers (gasp!) late, maybe that wily bird CAN do something. Featuring a script written by Mo Willems, an innovative mix of songs, and feathers, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! is sure to get everyone's wings flapping.

Photo by Jeremy Daniel. Cast in photo L-R: Sarah Hogewood, Wesley Slade, Bryce Hayden, Sonia Roman, Markia Nicole Smith, Arturo Hernandez.

Communication and Language Arts, Music, Literature, Theatre

Hare & Tortoise

Tickets $1
March 19-20, 2026, 9:45am and 12:30pm
Grades: K-4
Pasant Theatre

Two unlikely friends, the Hare and the Tortoise, meet for the greatest race on earth. A race with a nail-biting, seconds-ticking, medal winning-end, that will determine who is the quickest of all: the excitable Hare or the wise Tortoise.

The story bursts to life in sunny spring, moves through a playful summer, and concludes in the snowy frost of winter! Enjoy this charming adaptation of Aesop’s fable about friendship, opposites, and growing up.

Literature, Music, Theatre

Circa: Humans 2.0

Tickets $1
April 15, 2026, 9:45am and 12:45pm
Grades: 2-12
Cobb Great Hall

Ten bodies appear in a flash of light. They move in harmony for a fleeting moment and then descend into a sinuous trance. Towers grow and decay, bodies leap and are caught, as physical limits are pushed to their extreme. Can we ever find a perfect balance or is adapting to constant change the only way forward?

A symphony of acrobatics, sound, and light, this is next level circus by Circa. Humans 2.0 is intimate, primal, and deeply engaged with the challenge of being human.

World Culture, Music, Dance, Social Studies, Circus Arts

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Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
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