Folktale Theatre
Ideal for school assemblies, library reading programs, museum events, school family nights and the like.
45 minute multicultural theatrical productions, full of nonstop action, American Sign Language, acrobatic tricks, physical comedy, slapstick, audience participation, imaginative props and a gigantic oversized book.
Folktale Choices for June 2008- May 2009
Creepy Crawler Critter Tales
Stories were chosen to highlight summer 2008 reading themes Catch the Reading Bug and "Wild Reads at Your Library" (Massachusetts). Each show will feature TWO of the following 20-25 minute folktales.
ANANSI GOES FISHING is an Ashanti tale from West Africa about the trickster known as Anansi, the original spiderman (in some stories he's a spider, in some a man, in others both). Normally he gets the better of the other animals, but this time Mr. Turtle outwits him.
FOLLOW THE BUZZ is our adaptation of the Japanese folktale sometimes known as "The Bee and the Dream". It tells of a poor man who undertakes a journey to make his dream come true, and finally finds good fortune in the place he least expects it. We present this story in the style of "living puppets", incorporating elements of classical Japanese drama, including masks and music. (NOTE: We've actually performed this story in Japan!)
PAUL BUNYAN AND THE BEESQUITOES deals with the legendary larger-than-life lumberjack from Minnesota and vicinity. We include some of the many whoppers spun about his mighty deeds, including his encounter with Babe the Blue Ox, and particularly his conquest of those pesky beesquitoes, which were half bee and half mosquito with a sting at either end. We get the whole audience involved in the fun of exaggeration!
COYOTE AND EAGLE is
a Native American tale from the Zuni tribe of New Mexico, one of the nature myths explaining the origin of the moon. Coyote, a popular trickster character in Native American lore, has a partnership and rivalry with the Eagle to rescue the sun, which has been
stolen by kachinas, leaving the world in darkness. And the consequences are not what they expected, but the results are beneficial. We offer volunteers from the audience a chance to portray kachinas.
Parts for kids from your community to play. Free 1/2 hour pre-show acting workshop included for up to 12 kids.
LIBRARY BONUS: At the end of library performances the performers encourage the audience to find and check out books related to the show.
Download a flyer to print and share with your favorite library or school. (PDF format) Get Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Quizzical Quests
Available thru May 2008
Choose from 2 of the following multicultural folktales:
The Golden Pitcher: a Mongolian fable about how appearances can be deceiving, an idea we emphasize with some comically deceptive irregularities in the English language. An excessively vain emperor who notices that he is getting gray hair tries to avoid the problem, first by ordering that all mirrors be broken, then by banishing all gray-haired people. But he learns the folly of his ways in an unexpected manner. (read the online version )
Simple Ivan: from Russia is one of the classic "noodlehead" stories found in many cultures, about a boy who follows the right advice at the wrong time, with hilarious results. This story is presented mostly in pantomime with musical accompaniment. (read the online version)
Luck and Money "La Suerte y El Dinero": a tale from New Mexico, dating back to the days when it was part of Mexico, and tracing its roots back to several Latin American cultures. A poor carpenter becomes a guinea pig to settle an argument between two rich men about which is more important – luck or money – but in the process he discovers that neither is as important as resourcefulness. Our presentation incorporates a recurring bit of playing "charades" with the audience.
The Fourth Question: a Chinese legend about sacrifice, pointing out how doing things for others often brings benefit to oneself. A poor young man sets out on a journey to find the sage who lives in the mountains, in order to find out how he can change his luck. Along the way, he meets others also in need of wisdom.
