The Tortoise & The Hare-A Musical
Available Dates: Sept. 14, 2007, & Various Dates
Age Group: Grades K-5
Cost: $575-$650

Aesop's fable is given a fun updated twist in this brand new musical. Bunni Hare always wins every race, so how will Thomas Tortoise compete? The famous sports reporter Howard Crow-sell will be there to call the play in this fantastic fable.

This performance is funded in part by a grant from the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with the National Endowment of the Arts and Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs.

Hobey Ford Puppets-"Rainbow Bridge"
Available Dates: Oct. 1-19, 20067
Age Group: Grades PK-3
Cost: $625

Hobey Ford, opens the door to these magical teaching tales that teach tolerance in the differences in people. These traditional stories from various cultural traditions (Native American, Puerto Rican and Norwegian) are brought to life through Hobey’s inventive use of shadow puppetry, rod puppetry and his own “foamies” style of puppetry. Hobe is well known for his storytelling skill. This performance is an excellent companion to the study of the solar system, fire safety, or native cultures.
Winner of puppetry's highest honor, the UNIMA Citation of Excellence, and recipient of three Jim Henson Foundation grants, Hobey Ford is known for excellence in puppetry performance and craft.

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Available Dates: Nov 14 & 15, (other dates available)
Age Group: Grades K-5
Cost: $575-$650 (according to audience size)

Francis P. Church's famous newspaper reply to an inquisitive little girl is imaginatively brought to the stage in this fast paced show which pays homage to classic holiday films of the 1930's & 1940's. A reporter must follow leads to find proof about the existence of
Santa Claus, realizing in the end that believing is proof enough.

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

The Gift of the Magi
Available Dates: Nov 14 & 15, (other dates available)
Age Group: Grades K-8
Cost: $575-$650 (according to audience size)

O'Henry's classic holiday tale...Jim and Della want to buy each other a present, but they have no money. Each must make a choice to sacrifice their most precious possession in the spirit of giving. This charming adaptation shows Christmas through the eyes of Irish immigrants in 1906 America and uses classic holiday songs throughout.

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

Woodland Tales
Available Dates: Jan 9, 2008 (other dates available)
Age Group: Grades PK-3
Cost: $1175-$1300

Requires 20’ x 32’ Space- Performed In The Round
Actors and audience sit together in the round, sharing the stories much as a tribe might have done around a campfire hundreds of years ago. Lively storytelling in an intimate setting and interactive audience participation make this a perfect first-time theater experience.
How did the turkey get his gobble? Why are the rabbit’s ears so long? How did the frog lose his teeth? For hundreds of years, Native American children have delighted in stories of how animals came to be as they are. Like Kipling’s Just So Stories, the Native American legends in Woodland Tales combine humor and wisdom to enchant the youngest among us.

Little Red Riding Hood
Available Dates: Jan. 28, 30 & 31, 2008
Age Group: Grades PK-4
Cost: $850

This beloved tale is brought to life with theatricality and beauty. The forest and animals come alive in this faithful retelling filled with movement, laughter and suspense.

Study Guide

Where the Red Fern Grows
Available Dates: Jan. 28, 30 & 31, 2008
Age Group: Grades PK-4
Cost: $950

What young Billy wants most in the world is a couple of coon hounds all his own, and when he saves up the money for them, the adventures begin. Join Ol’Dan, Li’l Ann and Billy as they outrun every hound and coon in the Ozark’s river bottoms and learn about the power of true devotion along the way.

Edgar Allen Poe- Master of the Macabre
Available Dates: Jan. 28, 30 & 31, 2008
Age Group: Grades 7-12
Cost: $1025

“I am Edgar Allan Poe!” This widely acclaimed play brings you not only the drama of Poe’s best-loved stories and poems, but also a look inside the life and mind of the “King of Horror” Audiences will experience the spine-tingling storytelling of Poe as they get to know the storyteller himself. This superb collection of tales is a performance of eerie intensity and spectacular staging guaranteed to chill and thrill!

Allan Wolfe-Storyteller of Poems
Available Dates: Jan30-Feb 1, 2008
Age Group: K-12
Cost: $650

Allan performs poetry from memory in the tradition of the Appalachian storytellers. His set is minimal, usually just a simple table and chair. He typically opens with a high-energy introductory poem, followed by a montage of shorter pieces in a wide variety of styles and subjects. Then he'll speak to the audience informally between clusters of poems connected by theme. One moment he will whisper a heart-felt story in verse. The next moment he will transform himself into a hungry Tyrannosaur driving a Volkswagen. He will rattle off a hip-hop piece and segue into a quiet sonnet. Then he'll pick up his guitar to add background to his spoken words, or sing a song about Emily Dickinson or Edgar Allan Poe. And from beginning to end, Wolf gradually reveals the mission he is on, urging audience members to be aware of the poems lurking at their elbows.

Glennis Redmond, Miss Poetic
Available Dates: Apr 28-30, 2008
Age Group: K-12
Cost: $650 Workshops: $275

Glenis performs original poetry that tells stories from her life, her family and her African-American heritage--teaching audiences to claim their place and respect their own story. She is also available for companion poetry workshops. This is one of our most popular performers who can tailor her show to each appropriate age group, including adults.

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

The Hundred Dresses
Available Dates: Sept. 27. 2007 (other dates available)
Age Group: 2-6
Cost: $1175-$1300 (requires 20' x 32' space)

Based on the Newbery Honor Book by Eleanor Estes
An endearing tale that focuses on the difficult issue of bullying and how mistreating someone because he or she is different from oneself brings as much harm to the bully as to the victim. Wanda Petronski, the new girl in room 13, wears the same faded blue dress to school every day, but insists that she has a hundred bright, shiny new ones at home. As Wanda’s story unfolds, her classmates learn the secret of the hundred dresses and with it, a lesson in tolerance, in taking responsibility and in living with the consequences of our actions.
When 'The Hundred Dresses' began I got the chills. I knew that those children in the audience were the children that needed to see it the most. The behavioral problems at the school are tremendous and yet they sat awestruck through the entire production. I was so touched and so hopeful. Hopeful that the students were touched as much as I was…" -Jillian Vukusich, Education Associate Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, Florida

Study Guide

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

Battledrum
Available Dates: may 9, 2008 (other dates available)
Age Group: Grades 5 & up
Cost: $1175-1300

More than two million boys of 17 or younger served on both sides of the American Civil War as infantry, buglers and drummer boys. The drum was an important means of communication for military orders in the field. Drummer boys often found themselves on the front lines of combat in the middle of smoke-filled battlefields. Battledrum tells the story of Rufus, a Confederate orphan adopted by a troop of Union soldiers, who eventually becomes their drummer boy. Based on a wealth of compelling stories of real-life children who fought the Civil War,
Battledrum explores a complex period in American history through the eyes of young people. A sweeping tale, indelibly etched through compelling characters, daring adventure, raucous comedy, stirring music and, of course, drums.
"Fifth graders are keenly aware of the contemporary world at war - and what stuns them about the American Civil War is the discovery that kids were actively engaged in battle. Their eyes widen and they gulp. You can tell they're thinking - 'it could happen.'" -Playwright Doug Cooney

Masked Messenger's "Little Big Frog"
Available Dates: Various Dates
Age Group: Grades K-6
Cost: $900

Faustwork Mask Theatre, who brought you The Mask Messenger, is proud to present its newest production, Little Big Frog, a play that utilizes masks, music, poetry, puppets, and physical comedy. The performance is approximately 50-60 minutes in length, and varies to fit the needs of individual sponsors and schools.
Little Big Frog is a fractured fairy tale, and a timeless morality play about developing tolerance for our differences, and the need for self-acceptance. The characters, both animal and human, learn to be happy inside their own skin. The main characters are Little Big Frog, his human friend Bud, and the benevolent and funky Fairy Frog Mother.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Little Big Frog has been “kissed with a kiss that nearly missed” and instead of turning into the Prince he yearns to be, he has simply become a really big frog. Bud is the inadvertent recipient of Fairy Frog Mother’s rusty magical powers, as he learns what it feels like to be an ant, a bug, a coyote, and more. When the princess fails give the kiss that will make Little Big Frog happy, he realizes that his little life in the small pond was not so bad after all.
Study Guide

The Masked Messenger
Available Dates: Nov. 5-9, 2007
Age Group: Grades 3-12
Cost: $900

The Masked Messenger is an engaging mix of monologue, physical comedy, and theatre, a tour de force solo performance that explores the artistic, cultural, and psychological use of masks throughout history.

This menagerie of nearly twenty characters, at times outlandish, at times tender, cuts to heart of human matters, and leaves audiences learning, laughing, and crying. In vignettes ranging from comic to poignant to bizarre, this performance expands the idea of the mask to include body language, makeup, clothing, and the many faces we all wear daily.

Included are oversized silent masks, half-masked characters that speak, and crawling creatures in masks worn on top of the head. There is quick-change artistry, an occasional celebrity appearance, and physical distortions that baffle the eye and tickle some sort of primal funny bone. Throughout the performance, audience members are surprised and delighted by the extent to which they become a vital part of the show.

Since 1983, Faustwork company members have performed over 3500 shows in theatres, festivals, and schools in 48 US states, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Study Guide

Sponsored in part by the
State of Florida Touring Grant

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Available Dates: Jan. 19-July 31, 2008
Age Group: Grades K-8
Cost: $575-$650

Mark Twain's first successful short story comes to the stage. Simone Wheeler is a reporter from Boston who comes to Angel's Camp, California to report on the gold rush. There she meets local legend Jim Smiley, a man who will bet on anything. Foot-stomping Gold Rush Music and Folk-Art Puppetry complement this terrific show.

Study Guide

Caribbean Sound
Available Dates: Various Dates
Age Group: Grades 1-12
Cost: $725

The Caribbean Sound Educational Program gives students an introduction to the magical world of steel drums and history of the instrument as well as the musical styles from the Caribbean. An educational and amusing look at the history behind steel drums beginning with the discovery of Trinidad and Tobago by Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the present.
Accompanied by a storyteller, encounter the enchanting sound of African drumming and rhythms, bottle & spoon bands of the early 1900’s, the great Tamboo Bamboo bands (an instrument made from large pieces of bamboo), metal drums from the 1950’s and finally combining all these elements with the modern steel drum, the instrument in use today.