[NEohioPAL]Tri-C West offers Free Theater Performance for Kids

[Gielgud33 at aol.com]

Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus Theater Dept. and Magical Theater Co. Present Just So Stories

This Christmas Season Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus Theater Department will host several free performances of Just So Stories, presented by Magical Theater Company.  

Just So Stories is an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling stories about how the world came to be.  This production utilizes several storytelling conventions; the use of a narrator, the use of drumming, and the use of masks.  The actors act as Narrators telling the stories and assuming characters.  The actors use the djembe, a traditional African Drum worn over the shoulder, to coincide with the dramatic needs of the stories.  Other instruments used are bongos, bamboo sticks, a sweet potato, rain sticks, maracas and raffia.  Finally, the actors use the idea of mask, in all its forms, to enact the stories.  These uses include Animal pieces worn on the head and body, mounted animal pieces on poles, and shields and poles.  The stories included are The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo, The Elephant’s Child, That Cat That Walked by Himself, and How the Camel Got His Hump.

About Rudyard Kipling:

Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India in 1865.  Kipling traveled the world and eventually went to live in England where his short stories gave him the reputation of the literary heir to Charles Dickens.  Some of his most famous stories include, Captain Courageous, The Jungle Books, The Man Who Would be King, The Phantom Rickshaw, and Just So Stories.  

There will be four free performances for elementary schools on December 6th at 9:30 and 11:30 and December 7th also at 9:30 and 11:30.  In addition, there will be a public performance for children and adults at 7:30 on December 6th. Adults are 5$ and all children under 12 are free. All performances will take place on the Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus Theater Mainstage.  For reservations and additional information please call the Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus Theatre Box Office at 216-987-5536.