Evanced Solutions, a library software developer, has enlisted Young Actors Theatre (YAT), Indianapolis’ oldest independent youth theatre, to tell the story behind Wandoo Planet, an online world that helps kids discover their interests to promote reading success.
The “Save Wandoo” play is a hero’s tale about one person who chooses to see the world instead of being lost in the clouds, and in doing so, sparks a revolution.
With a by-children-for-children approach, YAT is utilizing live youth performance to introduce the world, premise and characters of Wandoo Planet to audience members. On March 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Indianapolis Artsgarden, 110 W. Washington St., YAT will act out the story of Wandoo Planet through a script written and performed entirely by the children. They will also act out Kathryn Otoshi’s book, Zero.
“Our mission is to instill confidence, creativity and discipline in youth through the art of theatre,” said Justin Wade, executive artistic director of YAT. “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to write and perform a play about Wandoo Planet. We want audiences to be moved, engaged and inspired to save Wandoo Planet by empowering themselves to follow their own interests.”
“I was truly blown away when I read the script for the Wandoo Planet play,” said Rob Cullin, president and co-founder of Evanced Solutions. “The Young Actors Theatre has done a great job of bringing the story of Wandoo Planet to life. Through our platform, we want children to become life-long readers through the discovery of their deepest interests in much the same way YAT hopes to empower confidence and creativity through performance.”
Currently in open beta release, Wandoo Planet is a kids’ reading engagement software platform that suggests topics and activities that other kids have found interesting—from “Twilight” and unicorns to dirt biking and superheroes—then asks kids if they love, like or dislike what they see. Once children identify a few interests they love or want to explore further, their very own interest sapling begins to sprout into an interest tree with each individual branch representing one of their interests. The branches then start to bud with suggested kid-friendly content that directly relates to their interests. The more kids read and explore, the larger and more lavish their interest trees become.
To learn more about YAT, visit yatkids.org. For more information about Wandoo Planet, visit evancekids.com/wadooplanet.
