Distance Teaching? American Revolution Guide Free For Summer

    WILMINGTON, NC, May 30, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- American Heritage Publications https://americanheritagepublications.com #AmericanHeritagePublications will launch its new Standards-based Interactive Teacher's Guide and coordinating Student Workbook, offering it for FREE through Labor Day. Accompanying audio production with well-known voice actors and a spectacular original music score wins 2020 Independent Press Award.

In order to help teachers and students thrust almost overnight into Distance Learning, professional writing and teaching team -- Thomas N. Mills #ThomasNMills and Beverly Mills #BeverlyMills -- are launching their unique, digital Teachers Guide and Student Workbook for The Gathering Storm in America. During the critical summer planning months, these guides will be offered free of charge until Labor Day and the beginning of the fall semester.

American Heritage Publications may be a small, independent press, but its founders have a long history of excellence in the fields of performance and education. Current and future products will appeal to general audiences, but are designed in particular for the educational market.

"We're absolutely committed," said Executive Producer and Distance Learning expert Beverly Manning Mills. "Launching our new guides now allows us to provide a dynamic tool right when teachers need them most. They'll be preparing for an autumn semester on screens that are needed for distance learning. But these programs can easily be transitioned into blended and classroom learning environments as well. Our 'new' history is based on compelling stories that bring history to life."

And for the general public, anyone who's a fan of "Outlander" Season 5 (STARZ, Prime Video), "The Crossing" with Jeff Daniels (A&E, Amazon) or "John Adams" with Paul Giamatti (Prime Video) will love the rich, historical detail and high drama of "The Gathering Storm."

"Understanding our national roots is critical to the future success of our country and of its citizens," commented co-founder and writer Thomas N. (Tim) Mills. "Students and teachers alike need a fresh take on the familiar old sayings and founding documents. They need a way to see the relevance of decisions and events of the past, as a way of bringing that history into meaningful existence today."

Indeed, "History Brought to Life" is the stated mission of the couple's company, American Heritage Publications. Two fully-produced audio productions of their plays prove their point. The Gathering Storm in America—whose web page includes an intriguing "Time line"—shows the forces at work before the original thirteen colonies reached the tipping point that would lead to the American Revolution.

An intriguing series of posts launch today on social media that pose key questions about the tumultuous early days of America. History buffs, teachers, students, and anyone interested can have fun testing their knowledge by following on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The playwright of the original offerings from American Heritage is Thomas "Tim" Mills. A life-long love of theatre, which began as a drama student, took him to New York City and landed him a spot at the renowned HB Studio, where he studied with Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen. As he continued to perform in theatres in New York and around the country, he also began writing and producing plays, eventually taking the helm of the famous Bird Cage Theatre at Knotts Berry Farm. It was here that he met his future partner, Beverly Manning, and began to create a series of plays about the founding of America that would reach hundreds of thousands over a period of years in one of the nation's iconic theme parks.

Co-founder Beverly Manning Mills is an expert in instructional design with a passion for developing interactive programs for students of all ages. Beverly created Adventures in Education tour programs at Knott's Berry Farm, and has been a teacher and developer of web-based educational curriculum for many years. Beverly has a profound understanding of how students learn, and of how best to create dynamic tools that engage students. "We started by offering audio productions of the plays," she explained. "But our goal was always to create accompanying curricular materials that will transform the experience of learning about American history for students all over the country."

Tim and Beverly Mills located a professional audio production company in Los Angeles to produce their audio plays. Haven Books Audio, established in 1997, has produced numerous award-winning audio books and audio dramas. The Gathering Storm in America Audio was just announced as the Winner of the prestigious Independent Press Award for audio. (#GatheringStorminAmerica) This audio is followed by the Independence Now! Audio. (#IndependenceNow)

They worked with audio producer and actor Mara Purl, who rounded up a stellar cast of voice actors for the project. "One of the marvelously unique aspects of the Mills' project is that every single character is a real historical figure," remarked actress Mara Purl. "I was truly honored to be cast as Mercy Otis Warren. She was a great friend of Abigail Adams, and was actually the first woman to record some of the key events of this crucial period in our nation's history. She was there. She saw it first hand, and shared not only her observations but also her feelings, and those of the other players on this world-stage."

Purl brought in the well-known composing team, Marilyn Harris and Mark Wolfram, to create an original score for the plays. By turns haunting, inspiring, joyful, and poignant, this unique collection of music has lately been released through Wrightwood Records as "Colonial Scenes: Music inspired by the American Revolution". The composers have distilled the musical essence from this pivotal time in the birth of the United States of America into a satisfying musical collection. Influences of marching, piping (both American & British), dancing in the salon, communicating sorrow, loss, nervous anticipation and remembrance, these musical selections bring you back to a time when saluting the Stars & Stripes meant freedom and independence...but it could also mean treason - and death!

Other actors include the following, with just a few of their many credits: (Alphabetical order)

Abbott Alexander: (stage) John F. Kennedy in Presidential Suite, Spoon River Anthology, Falling Upward!, (TV) Without a Trace, The Practice, and (Film) Karate Kid.
James Horan: (stage) Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, Dracula in Dracula, Richard in Richard III; (TV) Star Trek, 24, Criminal Minds, Lost, and (Film) Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood. James is also known for his portrayals of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.
Christopher Lowell: (Stage) Ben Franklin Live national and international performances.
Holger Moncada: (TV) Jane the Virgin, Hand of God, Scorpion, and (Film) Independents' Day, American Folk.
Donal O'Sullivan: (TV movie) The Apostle Paul: The Man Who Turned the World Upside Down; Mad City with Dustin Hoffman.
Eleanora Avakian Owen: (Film) The Busker, Intolerable.
Tim Byron Owen: (TV) Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, Superior Court, and (Film) The Hotel Franklin, Sam Steele and the Crystal Chalice.
Mara Purl: (Stage) Sea Marks, Mary Shelley In Her Own Words, Becoming Julia Morgan, and (TV) Days of Our Lives, and (Radio) Milford-Haven USA BBC radio drama lead character, (Voice Actor) multiple audio books and national radio commercials.

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