In April, author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson shared his insights about education and peace building with an enthusiastic Edutopia webinar audience. I caught up with him again in New York a few weeks later, where he was honored with a prestigious literary award called Literature to Life. Fittingly, he used the gala occasion to turn the spotlight on young people.

Before the honor was bestowed, Mortenson had the opportunity to be a spectator of his own life story as American Place Theatre staged a one-man show based on his book, Three Cups of Tea.

Books Come Alive

Seconds after the house lights dimmed, the sound of air-sucking gasps broke the stillness. Audience members squirmed in their seats, looking for the source of distress. It took them a moment to figure out that the labored breathing came from a lone figure wearing a headlamp. He made his way toward the stage as if he were an oxygen-starved climber descending from the treacherous heights of K2. And so began actor Curtis Nielsen's one-man show based on Mortenson's bestseller. It traces the mountain climber's true-life saga of becoming a builder of schools and advocate of literacy in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Students across the country will have the chance to experience this dramatic reenactment in the coming months through a unique program of American Place Theatre. For 15 years, this nonprofit company has been introducing young audiences to works by major American authors. Past recipients of the Literature to Life award include Ray Bradbury, Toni Morrison, Tim O'Brien, and others.

The theatrical events based on their books are not readings, emphasized Wynn Handman, co-founder and artistic director of APT. Rather, as he explained during remarks at the gala, "the moment is found and lived as the actors inhabit the role." APT teaching artists work closely with classroom teachers to turn these productions into opportunities for deep engagement with literature.

A Hero in Education

For Mortenson, it's an honor to be selected for the Literature to Life award. He humbly accepted the award from Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts who considers Mortenson "a personal hero." But more significantly, the selection means that his story can travel farther than he is able to do. Although Mortenson visits more than 100 schools annually, he receives requests from many times that number. Now, school groups eager for a "Dr. Greg" encounter have another way to make that happen.

Why is this story worth spreading? For many students, Mortenson's saga becomes the inspiration for their own good works. Some 4,500 schools have taken part in a service-learning program called Pennies for Peace, which incorporates Three Cups of Tea into a standards-based curriculum for grades K-12. Countless others find their own way into community service.

Wherever he goes, Mortenson says, he encounters young people who have embraced service. That was true at the recent gala. Students from two New York schools who had taken part in APT programs also gave short performances. Afterwards, Mortenson asked them about their community work. Each student had something to offer, whether it was helping at a soup kitchen, tutoring peers, or planting trees. Such youthful activism inspires Mortenson. He has taken to calling today's young people "the Greatest Generation," and predicts that their efforts will "make the world a better place."

In the village schools that Mortenson has helped launch in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the learning program incorporates theater, storytelling, and other arts. "The arts are the soul of any nation," Mortenson said. For children who have endured the trauma of war, he has even seen the arts lead the way to healing.

Creating Lifelong Readers

Yet in the U.S., funding for arts education is threatened in many communities. American Place Theatre is helping to fill this critical gap with a celebration of distinctly American stories. APT reaches some 30,000 students annually. The majority are children growing up in poverty, often with no books at home. APT has found that, after a school performance, 85 percent of students want to read or re-read the book they have watched come to life.

Has your school participated in APT's Literature to Life program, and how did your students respond to the experience? We'd love to hear your observations on the power of children experiencing live literary performances.