The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) announced the return of its Education and Outreach Tour, which will kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Schools throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are now able to reserve a slot on the tour, scheduled to run through March 11. This program marks PCPA's first multi-school tour since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

As part of the tour, four actor interns and a stage management intern will travel from school to school, presenting a performance of Breaking Through, a story by Francisco Jimenez, adapted for the stage by Leo Cortez.

The play follows a family's journey back into the U.S. after being deported to Mexico. The show's protagonist, a high school student named Francisco, discovers he has a passion for literature and dreams of going to college after graduation. But Francisco's aspirations clash with the wishes of his father, who fears college will bring financial ruin upon the family.

Bookings for the tour come with resources for teachers (of all grade levels), including pre-performance and post-performance lesson plans, activities, and class discussions about the play's content, as well as a link to a virtual study guide for students to download. Each performance of the show runs about 50 minutes, and is followed by a Q-and-A session, for students to ask the participating actors any questions they have.

For additional info on PCPA's Education and Outreach Tour, Breaking Through, and other upcoming programming hosted by the theater company, visit pcpa.org. To book a slot on the tour, call (805) 928-7731, ext. 3156, or email [email protected]. Δ