Very Hungry Caterpillar comes to Walton Arts Center

Saturday, Nov. 22 11:00am
Tickets are $10-$16

Ages: 4-7
to purchase tickets:
http://tickets.waltonartscenter.org/production/view.asp?id=3141&x=13&y=9

I took Maeve to see this show two years ago when she was 1 ½. The puppetry is excellent and mostly done in black light. Maeve was mesmerized by the slow storytelling and the very expressive puppets. She sat in her seat for ½ of the performance before needing to walk up and down the WAC auditorium steps. I can't wait to take her (now 3 1/2) and Rowan (almost 2) and watch their experience of the show.
I’ve known about Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia since grad school. One of my mentors and professors, Graham Whitehead, was the former Artistic Director. The company has been around for a long time and has an excellent reputation. Definitely read the books before (and after) the show. Their mission is to excite young readers and inspire their literacy experience.
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia has adapted for the stage, three of Eric Carle’s stories: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Cloud, Mixed-up Chameleon. Two puppeteers operate several puppets at once. They wear black clothing and masks to be invisible. The puppets and scenery are designed to look like Eric Carle’s drawings and pop-out on the stage through the use of black-light. This purple light makes anything black disappear and anything with color on it stand out. The puppeteers use body movement, rhythm and precise timing to create the characters of Caterpillar, Cloud and Chameleon. Mermaid Theatre chooses challenging books to adapt, writes original music and hires professional puppeteers in the hopes to acquaint young spectators with the visual and performing arts as with the pleasures of reading.

>http://www.mermaidtheatre.ns.ca/

The website for Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia (see a video clip and photographs of the performance).

>http://www.eric-carle.com/slideshow_paint.html Learn how Eric Carle paints his tissue in the illustrations of his storybooks.

>www.atozteacherstuff.com

Excellent resource for lesson plans on making books with students. >www.familycrafts.about.com/od/puppets/

Instructions for making lots of different kids of puppets with simple materials.

I will be teaching Family Workshops both before the show: 9:30-10:30am and after the show 12:15-1:15pm. The cost is $5 a person. We'll be using our bodies and voices to play in the stories and making puppets. To learn more or buy tickets - go to:
http://tickets.waltonartscenter.org/production/view.asp?id=3713&x=6&y=14

See you at the theater!

Jason and the Argonauts at Walton Arts Center

When we decided to open The Trike, we knew that we'd have to build slowly and start with the Academy classes and events for the first year. During this first year, we hope to earn the trust of our families, the community and raise the money to produce professional Theatre for Youth in our Trike Playhouse season. We expect to open the Trike Playhouse in the Fall of 2009.

IN THE MEANTIME...

I want to tell you about a few shows that are coming to Walton Arts Center this year about which I am very excited! I'm going to use this blog to tell you about Jason and the Argonauts coming Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7pm. Tickets are $8.

The show is produced by Visible Fictions, a wonderful Theatre for Youth company out of Scotland. While at Seattle Children's Theatre, I had an opportunity to spend some time with the Artistic Director and director of "Jason" - Dougie Irvine - while Visible Fictions collaborated with us on their production of The Red Balloon. I admire this company a lot. I love the way this the productions respect the audience (young and old alike), transports through well crafted acting and simple stage storytelling (sometimes with puppets or media). Each play is different. Yet all seem to bring bring a sense of humor to the stage and a depth that touches the heart. When we are creating our touring shows for Trike - I will be modeling much of what I do after Dougie's work with his company.

Click on the Blog Title above to go directly to Walton Art Center's website for show and ticket information.

Visible Fictions is one of the United Kingdom’s leading theatre companies. Working with only the finest artistic talent, they create professional performances that are innovative, memorable and relevant to its audience.
In Scotland, they have collaborated with BBC Panorama and co-produced with BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 4. In the United States, Visible Fictions was the first Scottish theatre company to perform on Broadway. They have collaborated with The Seattle Children’s Theatre and The Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles and are delighted to be co-producing with Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company.
The play unfolds through two actors, a handful of action hero dolls and a set that transforms into multiple locations. Douglas Irvine loves a good adventure and Jason and the Argonauts has been one of his favorites since he was young. In order to tell the story using only two actors, Douglas enlisted the help of playwright Robert Forest. Along with the two actors and a set designer, the team improvised moments in the story, wrote a script, improvised some more, re-wrote the script, created a model of the set, improvised again, finalized the script, built the large set, rehearsed for four weeks and the went into performance. You can learn more about the development process and see photos at:
http://www.webplay.org/story_board.php

I will be leading a Family Workshop at Walton Arts Center from 5:30-6:30pm before the show. If you'd like to meet the actors, see back stage, play in the story of Jason and the Argonauts and learn more about the Visible Fiction play development process - please join me. Click on this link to buy a ticket:

http://tickets.waltonartscenter.org/production/view.asp?id=3709&x=10&y=6

Every chance we get - The Trike is connecting our Academy curriculum to shows that are coming to Walton Arts Center. In Story Drama this Fall, I took one class to focus on The Gruffalo (which came to Walton Arts Center earlier in October) and Virginia has been teaching acting principles to our 3rd-5th graders through the Jason and the Argonauts story. We will be doing the same in the Winter/Spring for Walton Art Center's productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Stellaluna & Magic Tree House - The Musical.

Week 2 Underway!

Virginia's Intro to Acting students practice their concentration skills.

In Story Drama this week, we made Midnight Sky pictures and hung them in our MooSEUM. Then we packed our astronaut bags, built a rocket and took a trip to the moon. Our book was NO MOON, NO MILK.

I'm sitting with Rowan on my lap as I write this blog entry. We've had our second day of classes, our month-long classes during the week-days start this week and our wall will be built by Saturday - Thanks to Rustin & Jake at Mainstreet Builders. We are creating events for each of the Trike Academy age groups: Conservatory: Virginia is beginning to market our Trike Night for Teens (premeiring Oct. 18) a chance for the drama teens in the area to gather, eat and impov - with the intent to perform during Trike Night Live (TNL) on Nov. 2. Marie is working out the details for a Project Play event for the whole family which, in December, will transform The Trike into a Artic Adventure full of kitchens to cook in, snow mounds to climb through, mail boxes to fill with letters and ice holes in which to fish. And I'm planning on leading a couple of interactive family workshops based on some of the Theater for Youth shows coming to Walton Arts Center this Fall. Christa is the managing queen - working her creative talents keeping all of us on track for marketing, development and academy deadlines.

We've got such a great team of people assembled and so many fun things planned! Can't wait for you to come check us out.

First Academy Classes!

Saturday, Sept. 27 was so much fun. We had students signed up in each class and have heard that more will be registering by next Saturday. I taught The Gruffalo in the Story Drama classes (3 1/2 - 4 1/2 & 4 - K) and in the treasure trunk class the students became Adventurers and rescued a piece of the lost map from the sleeping dinosaur.

Here's the students as The mean, horible Gruffalo. & The Adventurers capturing the map from the Dinosaur.

Here are the students as mice looking for nuts in the forest. They don't know that a fox is right around the corner.

Here's a picture of us at the beginning of each class unpacking one of our drama tools: Imagination.

more later...

Giving Thanks!

• With only a few more days until classes start, we have a lot for which to be thankful.
  


• 1. We have a logo and it's whimsical, risk taking, professional and fun. It's us. Thanks to the generous designers who gave us this gift.


• 2. We have had donations this week: 40 chairs, a couch/loveseat/ottoman, desk, and possibly even a wall.


• 3. We had 7 students in our Story Drama open class. Our first students and the class was a hit!


• 4. We have 3 founding families who have donated $1000 so far to support establishing the company - only 7 more to go.

Thank you!

Planning the Party!

As we're slowly moving into the space - I am overwhelmed with a mixture of joy and dread. Joy: that this theatre is really happening, the community is supporting it, folks are slowly registering for classes, we have two board members and performance projects are swimming around in my head. Dread: it feels like the team and I are planning a huge party, activities, decorations, food and do not know if anyone will show up. I guess this is all a part of starting a new venture.
We are in "Getting the Space Ready" mode. We're going to be doing it in a few stages:

Stage One - to be completed by Monday, Sept. 22

1. Clean space (carpets to be cleaned at the end of this week)
2. Activate window space (class description/theatre description/photos)
3. Hang Tricycle outside the space - under the awning
4. Hang colored material/poster board from ceiling to create a boarder in space
5. Define classroom area with tape/chairs
6. Set up lobby with desk/chairs/table
7. Create shelves for storage areas

Stage Two - To be completed by Nov 1? or when we have the money
1. Students paint personal bricks in back Green Room
2. Build wall to define classroom space ($)
3. Hang mirrors on back of wall ($)
4. Hang curtain over mirrors ($)
5. Hang curtain on other side of room ($)
6. Paint walls black (bottom half - chalk board black and upper half- regular black paint) ($)
7. Build stage blocks (wood/labor/paint) ($)
8. Build lighting structure ($)
9. Purchase stage lights and board ($)

What am I missing?

Registration is OPEN!

We've signed the lease on our space and registration is open! Now, we're working on getting the word out to parents in Bentonville, Rogers, Bellavista and the surrounding cities. Our marketing budget is small - so we're looking for the most bang for our buck. Christa, Molly and I got our kids together late last week and took some photos for our Fall marketing materials. It's amazing how creative we can be when push comes to shove. Once we get classes going, we'll have a professional photographer come in an take photos for our marketing materials. Until then, Cat, Hunter, Maeve and Collier will have to act for us (which isn't hard!). Let us know if you have a group that you'd like to send a flyer to. We'll have two - one with all the classes (ages newborn-18yrs) and one with only the Project Play (newborn - 6 yr. and Adult) and Dramatic Play (3 1/2 - K). We're going to have an ad and article in Peek-A-Boo as well as send a message to all the Moms clubs. We've planned a GREAT PARTY!!! - now we just have to get the word out so that folks will come. This is more nerve wracking than I thought.

Back to School Advice

I always get excited when school starts. I remember when I was in grade school and how excited it felt laying out my NEW back to school outfit the night before as well as my NEW backpack full of freshly sharpened pencils, paper, notebooks and brand new folders. It was all mine! My path was clear and after a quick kiss to Mom and Dad, I was off. There was a buzz in the air as the new year began.
I felt the buzz again this week - but in a different way. We toured my daughter's T/TH preschool tonight and next week she and her brother will be at their respective "schools". We've had college girls nannying for the past year and a half so I want to arm the kids with a good transition plan. I know that both of them "panic" when I leave them with a babysitter these days and definately want me with them. I hung out with Marie Vukin this week (our Project Play Director) and she gave me very helpful advice:

• Use a calendar to mark the dates when kids will be going to school - this makes time concrete
• Read the book The Kissing Hand and follow what the characters to in the book to ritualize the good-bye
• Create a special greeting when you see each other
• Pinpoint something that will excite her/him about going to school (i.e. "When you get there you're going to have time to play dress-up!")
• Let child know when you will be picking her/him up (i.e. "After lunch, you'll take a nap and then I'll be there to pick you up.")

I am so excited to have Project Play apart of Trike. Marie is a remarkable resource for our community and I'm thrilled that she will be teaching the Baby Buds class (0-36 mo.) Monday's from 10:30-11:30am and the Great Pretenders class (3yr-6yr) on Wednesdays from 10:30-11:30am. If you are interested in taking one of these classes but M/W does not work in your schedule -please let us know. We are interested in your feedback so that we can offer classes at the time when you can come. I know that we are already planning on a Saturday 4-week class for those parents who work full-time during the week.

Happy beginning of school to all the Moms and Dads out there. I'll be bringing the kids to Marie's Monday class - can't wait to see you there!

Morning News Article about WAC Arts With Education Institute

Click on the above title to get you to the Morning News Article. Richard participated in the Institute and accurately describes what it was like to be there!

I have been involved in professional Theater for Youth since grad school. When I graduated in 1995, I always knew that I wanted to be an artistic director of a professional theater for youth - like my mentor Scot Copeland of Nashville Children's Theater.
I continued to follow that path at First Stage Children's Theater in Milwaukee. Then I took a job at Seattle Children's Theater as the Director of Education Outreach. There I learned how to manage a budget, hire staff, develop curriculum and train teaching artists and classroom teachers.
When I moved to NWA 4 1/2 years ago - I brought both my loves (Theater for Youth performances and Arts in Education) with me. I see the two intertwined - each guiding the learner to other for deeper learning. This week-long workshop with Sean and Melanie filled in the missing pieces for me:
How do I help audience and learners understand the process of the art form so as to feel deeply connected to the end result - whether a theatrical performance or a "last day sharing" in an 8-week class? ...DOCUMENTATION
How can I as a teaching artist continue to bring Arts Integration (and that style of classroom learning) into a Theater Training Program?...READING/LITERACY
How can I help students and audience members reflect on their experience?...THINK/FEEL/TRANSFORM REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How can I make a more permanent commitment to the growth and development of our students at Trike?...PORTFOLIO
How can we create a theater-wide culture of cooperation and individual growth?...SEAN LAYNE'S ARTS BASED CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TAUGHT BY ALL TEACHING ARTISTS IN DRAMATIC PLAY AND THE CONSERVATORY

Very exciting!

Exciting Academy Class Updates!

"You cannot teach humans anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves." --Galileo

Last week, a few of the Trike Team (myself, Virginia & Justin Scheuer & Megan Mayo) attended Walton Arts Center's AWE (Arts With Education) Institute. Sean and Melanie Layne, both national workshop presenters for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art's Partners in Education tour, taught the week-long training. Walton Arts Center offers AWE each summer for local teachers to learn new ways to incorporate arts into their existing curriculum. As a result of this engaging, kinesthetic, inspiring week of learning, the Trike Team and I have solidified a "Trike Academy" class methodology.

Elizabeth Murfee writes about the benefits of arts integration in Eloquent Evidence: Arts at the Core of Learning. Trike also believes that:

• The arts are serious and rigorous academic subjects. They are an essential aspect of human knowing.
• The arts have far-reaching potential to help students achieve education goals.
• Reading, writing and math skills can be enhanced through the arts.
• Creativity is naturally developed through the arts.
• Student engagement and persistence improve with an arts-based curriculum.
• High-risk students are engaged through the arts.
• Understanding of one's self and others expands with arts education.

Basing our instruction in these beliefs, we have decided that each of the Trike Academy classes will include:

• Portfolio for each student. We want students (and their families) to be members of Trike for a very long time. Portfolios are one way we can "invest" in each student. This folder will hold a copy of student work while they are taking classes at Tricycle Theater for Youth. Portfolios will be made available to students and parents at all times.
• Documentation of process. This will help show the outside community, the students' process during a particular class or project, make the learning process visible for students and create a tangible memory to share with others.
• Reflection. Done at the end of each class, students will take the time to really think and ponder about what they have experienced.
• Integration with other core curriculum. In addition to meeting National Arts Standards, we want to bring in reading and literacy objectives as well. We also thought that it would be fun to create full-on arts-integration curriculum during our week-long summer camps (Science/Drama - Wizards and potions) (History/Drama - "Magic Tree House) (Art/Science/Drama - Still Life paintings) etc.
• Arts Based Classroom Management. At AWE, we learned a technique from Sean Layne that takes the foundational elements of acting such as concentration, cooperation, and collaboration and creates a structured process that will become the basis for establishing a cooperative learning environment. Through this process, we see students establishing a sense of self-control, accountability, and team building in the classroom. This Classroom management style will be used in the Dramatic Play and Conservatory classes.

Registration opens AUGUST 15 and our first class begin SATURDAY, SEPT. 27. Once we begin, I will have images to post and more documentation to share.

Check out our upcoming classes at http://www.triketheater.org/

AND REMEMBER - WE PLAN TO BEGIN PRODUCING A FULL SEASON OF THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES IN THE FALL 2009.

Stepping Out at Bentonville Farmer's Market

We were at the Bentonville Farmer's Market this past Saturday (July 26) and had a fabulous turn out. I especially want to thank all the families who came out to play with us after reading about it in our newsletter. Christa and I were featured in the Benton County Daily Record this past Friday - and a bunch of folks had read about us there. IT WAS HOT! But the Puppet Play, Sand Play and Drama Workshops were a hit! Many people signed up to get our newsletter and a number of people expressed their willingness to volunteer. This event reminded me why we are starting this theater in Bentonville -

because we have the opportunity to serve a need for the growing number of Bentonville based families who want performing arts experiences for their children. The excitement around our tents was palpable. Downtown Bentonville Inc. has invited us back any time we want.

One story - there was a little boy who was very focused on the Sand play - carefully choosing characters with which to play out the story in his sandbox. His mother was amazed at the level of concentration that he demonstrated since he has Aspergers Syndrome. She is now very interested in participaing in our Project Play classes.

Another story - the drama workshop photo you see is being taught by Megan Mayo - a very talented young woman who is leaving in a few weeks to get her MFA in Theater for Youth from Florida State - a wonderful program. I taught earlier and there are very few photos of me because for most of the workshop I carried Rowan (my 1 1/2 yr old) on my back in a carrier. This is not new for me - since I've "worn" him and taught since he was 6 weeks old. At 9am I started with 1 girl and ended up enticing 6 more girls to join us - including my 3 1/2 yr old daughter - who has never taking a class from me (yet!). I always love when kids who want to watch first - decide to jump in and play - it feels very rewarding to have them trust me enough to try some new activities.

We're going to open registration for the classes Mid August - and I'm excited to see the registration numbers and start getting folks into volunteer.

Our Future Home 120 S. Main St. Bentonville

Christa and I are currently working with the leasing agent of this space. It's a 1600 sq ft. - long - rectangle - and 1/2 block south of the Square - just down from Java on the Square and right next door to the Convention and Business Bureau. It's an old store front with lots of possibilities.

Right now it is a blank slate that will work really well for our classes, Trike Nights and small performances. It's not perfect (the one bathroom is in the back) and we will only be able to fit around 50 people max into the space because of fire codes. BUT - it is perfect for what we want to do now and will help us be a major player in the Downtown Bentonville experience and growth conversation. In a few years - we will want to build/move into a larger space with a 250 seat theater/shops for building sets, props and costumes and more classroom spaces. I feel confident that with the help of our "Trikesters" - members of the Trike family - we WILL make it happen.
If you happen to be walking through downtown - take a look into the space and let us know what you think.
We'll make sure to have a fun party/open house as soon as we sign that lease!

Getting Started

Well, we're off! I'm so glad that you've joined us for this exciting ride! We're starting a professional Theater for Youth in Bentonville, AR. In this blog, I'll be chronically my journey, introducing the folks involved and the programs we're doing.

First, here's a little bit about what we're doing:

Tricycle Theater for Youth (The Trike) is the premier not-for-profit professional theater for youth located in the heart of Bentonville, AR. The Trike provides relevant, audience-driven professional Theater for Young Audiences to NWA and quality creative learning activities and a theater training conservatory through three equal programs:

Trike Playhouse: In the future, we will producing 5-6 shows a season in a permanent 200-250 theater. The Trike will employ theater professionals (actors, designers, and technical staff) and also casts young actors ages 10+. The plays will reflect the different age groups within 2-18 years and the various racial and ethnic groups within our NWA community. Production enhancement programs help audiences personalize and make relevant the theater experience: performance guide, youth and family workshops and an interactive lobby.

Trike Academy: The Trike’s youth education program serves students ages 1-18. Programs include: Summer & Spring Break Drama Academies, Year-round Project Play, creative drama & theater conservatory classes, Summer youth productions, High School Young Company and Internships.

Three Phases of Trike Academy:
1. Project Play – (1-3 ½ yr)Parent & Child playgroups, classes, music, & art Bringing “play” back into the family.
2. Dramatic Play- (3 ½ - 2nd grade) Story Drama, Treasure Trunk, Movement, Art & Music Strengthening foundation for structured imaginative play.
3. Conservatory – (3rd-12th grade) Acting, Scene Study, Improv, Design, Directing, Audition, Movement, etc. Training program for new and experienced theater artists and art patrons.

Trike Shop: The publishing/consulting wheel of the company, The Trike Shop offers a way for people to make The Trike process work in their own lives through: Teacher professional development, Teaching Artist training, Performance Guide materials, show related merchandise and “play-in-a-box” kits.

We are in the process of incorporating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and are seeking interested working board members. Our company is led by me, Kassie Misiewicz, Executive Artistic Director, and Christa Davis, Managing Director.

For more information - please contact me at:

kassie@triketheater.com