Heartsparkle Players, a professional improvisational theater company from Olympia, will perform at three Timberland libraries this October. Using their skills in acting, music and dance, the troupe will play back themes from the novel, "The Secret Life of Bees," as suggested by the audience.

The free performances are designed for a teen to adult audience. They are part of Timberland Regional Library’s Timberland Reads Together: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd, a program series designed to promote a shared reading experience, and to build community by exploring a book beyond its literary aspects and talking about its connections to real life. Other programs in the series continue throughout October. Listings are online at www.trlib.org and at all Timberland libraries.

Playback theatre is a style of improvisation, a spontaneous collaboration between performers and audience. People tell moments from their lives, or in this case, moments from "The Secret Life of Bees," and watch them re-created with movement, music and dialogue. Heartsparkle is dedicated to using interactive theater techniques as tools for community building and social change.