POTSDAM -- The Community Performance Series will close its Meet the Arts season with a dramatization of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," performed by the National Players.

The performances will take place Thursday, May 7 at 9 a.m. and noon in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. The general public is welcome to attend while seats are still available.

Now touring for its 65th consecutive year, the National Players will perform "To Kill a Mockingbird," the classic tale by Harper Lee. A sleepy, southern town confronts difference and justice, as seen through the eyes of six-year-old Scout. In the heroics of her father, the struggles of her friends and neighbors, and the threat of a boogeyman, Scout lives through the joys of childhood innocence and the pains of growing up.

National Players is a unique theatre ensemble that brings innovative productions to communities across the United States. Its productions engage audiences and examine the intersection between great works of literature and contemporary life. For more information, visit their website at www.nationalplayers.org.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" was this year's themed novel for the collaborative Page-to-Stage program, organized by CPS and the Rebecca V. Sheard Literacy Center at SUNY Potsdam. Now in its fourth year, the program kicked off with a professional development day at the Sheard Literacy Center, and included local secondary teachers, college professors, and students. The program began as a way to collaboratively develop cross-curricular methods of teaching. The CPS performances will conclude the program, allowing area students to reinforce what they have already learned with a visual interpretation.

"I cannot say enough about how fulfilling it is to collaborate with the Sheard Literacy Center and our local schools on the Page-to-Stage program. It is so exciting that we can be a part of educating our local students in such a different way, but while also meeting NYS academic requirements," said CPS Executive Director Amy Flack.

Single tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased in person at the CPS Box Office, located in SUNY Potsdam's new Performing Arts Center, or by calling (267-2277. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. The box office will open in Snell Hall prior to each performance.

For more information, visit www.cpspotsdam.org.