How Does Our Garden Grow? at Middletown and Phoenixville Libraries

My latest interactive theatrical storytelling event Dig! Plant! Water! Sunshine! Love! How Does Our Garden Grow is a big hit! I've been busy all summer sharing it with mostly camps and preschools. But tonite at 6:30 at the Middletown Library in Lima PA and next Friday at 10:00 a.m. at Phoenixville Library this show is open to the public.

Participants become crops (tomatoes, carrots, peas, corn, lettuce, strawberries, watermelon and flowers),
pollinators (birds, butterflies, bees), worms, farmers, scarecrows or predators (deer, groundhogs and stinkbugs) and together we create a beautiful garden. SO CUTE!

Afterwards each child makes their own little rabbit farmer puppet to take home.

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How Does Our Garden Grow at LaMott Library

 It has been a very busy first week of summer for ArtyPantz Interactive Theatrical Storytelling Events, done 6 shows in four days: 4 How Does Our Garden Grow?, 1 Hooray 4 Bugs! and one Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid. Tomorrow is another Hooray 4 Bugs!

All of the shows have been at preschools and are private. However the first open to the public performance of How Does Our Garden Grow?

is next Thursday, June 27th at LaMott Library at 11:00 a.m. It's at 7420 Sycamore Ave in Elkins Park, PA. 19027. Their phone number is 215-635-4419.

This will be my third visit to LaMott Library. It's a teeny weeny library with a big beautiful community center built around it.  So excited because I will be able to get some good pictures of this absolutely adorable new show. The kids are just loving it, as are the adults.

Creating the story, all that SEWING of costumes, and making props was worth every second. The show looks fantastic and everything functions perfectly! Some of the peas were picked out of their pods, but that just took some stitching and glueing to fix.

I have got to get a video of the farmers watering the garden with those cardboard watering cans! SO CUTE!!!!

It's a very happy time. :) How Does Our Garden Grow? show needs to get out there into more public venues, and that will be a marketing focus once the summer is over. In the meantime, lots of shows. Summer is always the busiest time for ArtyPantz.

There are some more How Does Our Garden Grow library shows in August, one at Middletown Library in Lima on Thursday August 8th at 6:30 p.m. and one at the Phoenxville Library Friday August 16th at 10:00. Both have limited space so you will probably need to make reservations.


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Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice at Baha'i School in West Chester PA

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny and windy day. Perfect for a visit to my local Baha'i School for a party! Here's a snap shot of a few of the participants as they were getting ready for The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid" Interactive Theatrical Storytelling Event. All together I think there were about 50 kiddos. It was a cozy group and they were all hams.

Afterwards my musician/music teacher friend and I met to work on our collaboration for the new show in the making How Does Our Garden Grow? So excited about this particular show.....busy today working on costumes....carrots to be exact!

Scarecrows for How Does Our Garden Grow?

Here are two of four scarecrows I'm in the process of making for How Does Your Garden Grow? They are both about 40" tall, on sticks! These will be the "cops" of our garden, keeping it safe from invasions of groundhogs and deer.....

I haven't made any dolls in years, and really enjoying making these...

Right now I'm just making a couple of each "character" in the story, because there are so many of them wanting to bust their way out of my imagination. Once I have the design down then I usually make four to six of everything. Right now I'm making a watermelon costume.......

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How Does Our Garden Grow?

The beginning of each year is always a time of reflection and making decisions about the future. I'm excited about creating my new interactive theatrical storytelling event about fruits and vegetables........

Dig! Plant! Water! Sunshine Love!

How Does Our Garden Grow?

 

I am collaborating with Sandra Ostrander, an elementary school music specialist to add songs and music to this and my other shows.....thinking ahead to making these stories into a series of illustrated children's books with matching CD's.

 

So, that will be the focus for the year(s) ahead. I have developed somewhat of a formula for creating these shows, and now need to create a formula for the books. They all have similar themes of love, unity and co-operation, which are cornerstones to the advancement of our civilization.

 

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Going on a Sleigh Ride at William Jeanes Memorial Library

Come on out to William Jeanes Memorial Library for "Going on a Sleigh Ride" interactive theatrical storytelling event tomorrow - Saturday, January 26th from 10:30am to 11:15am. 
 

Participants choose the characters they want to play and we all join together to create a fun story. THE SLEIGH WON'T MOVE UNTIL EVERYONE IS IN!

Cardinal Puppet Making Afterwards

 

 

The library shares the building with the Nicholas and Athena Darabots Center for Learning and is located at

4051 Joshua Road Lafayette Hill, PA 19444

 

  The event is free thanks to sponsorship of the Friends of the Library.
It is recommended for children ages 2-6. No sign up is required.  Hope to see you there :)

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Come Join the Rainbow is the CUTEST show ever

It's official! Come Join the Rainbow is the CUTEST show ever. It's been done five times in the past few days with rave reviews from kids, teachers, parents, and librarians Wednesday at  Royersford Library, Thursday at Upper Perkiomen Library, both in Pennsylvania and two shows today at Bradley Elementary School in Asbury Park New Jersey. It's a hit!

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patent for sale or for licensing

I've been working with a baby blanket I invented for the past couple of years, trying to get it up and running, out into the market place.  It's a really good design and I believe it could actually become the norm for how a receiving blanket is made.

I envision the blanket in hospitals as the first blanket a newborn goes into, and then throughout the first few months.

It's becoming increasingly clear that I do not have the resources to make this happen, so after considerable thought, I have decided to sell, or license the patent to an existing baby products company.

This is a big relief and now the attention can be turned to writing and illustrating a series of children's books based on my interactive theatrical storytelling events.

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ArtyPantz Booth at DVAEYC

The Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children Conference was great. The booth was just the right amount of busy enough that I was able to greet and meet most of the people who came in. New  friends and contacts were made for ArtyPantz storytelling events for the summer and beyond, and  about 70 teachers subscribed to the ArtyPantz newsletter. (If you would like to receive it, there is a place to sign up in the upper left hand corner of this blog.)

It was kind of interesting that most of the people there this year seemed to be predominately from the Philadelphia Public School District, such as from Head Start and the kindergarten programs though out the city. Who knows? I may be working with them at some point. We are talking about thousands of kiddos!

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Rainbow Skirt for Come Join the Rainbow

So happy that the skirt from Barefoot Modiste came in today, special delivery from Canada! Check out the colorful and creative store, full of beautiful skirts, dresses and more. Have been loving her beautiful clothes for some time now, and have had many of the skirts tagged as favorites.....then suddenly there it was. A rainbow skirt. Perfect costume for Come Join the Rainbow!. LOVE IT!

Come Join the Rainbow is being performed at various locations starting next week, most of them private schools but, as of today, will be in area libraries starting in June. The ArtyPantz Calendar is starting to fill up now, so it may be open to the public sooner than that.

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Big Rainbow Costume for Come Join the Rainbow

I have been busy remaking all the capelets for my most recent interactive theatrical storytelling event, 

Come Join the Rainbow.

The first show of the season is coming up next month.

I saw an interesting looking rainbow women's costume the other day while looking on ebay for a rainbow scarf to wear during the performances, and thought it would be fun to have it to give to a teacher to wear during the show. Kids always get a kick out of seeing their teachers dress up in funny costumes.

It just so happened that an online store and I were on the psychic hotline because that very day I recieved an email asking if I'd review any product they had, in exchange for them sending it to me. It was a costume store! I was tempted by some of the other stuff they had such as a fog machine, but came upon that very same costume I wanted!

It's actually called a Unisex Adult Rainbow Costume, although I can't really imagine a guy parading around in this. Oh wait, maybe I can......Haha!

Anyway, it's a bit wrinkled from being folded, stuffed into a bag and then mailed in an envelope, so I'm trying to steam those wrinkles out according to the directions that came in the package.

After trying it on once the neck seam came out a bit. It's going to get a lot of use so I reinforced the neck edge with extra sewing, and now good to go.

It may be more comfortable, hold it's shape and look  interesting to wear it on your back but haven't tried that yet.

I like it because it's nice and lightweight so will be easy to transport.

There's always at least one adult wherever I go who is a ham so will have no trouble getting somebody to put this thing on. It would be sweet to have them leave the room and then come in at the end with some kind of Ta Da moment.

They could be holding up the giant painted cardboard smiling faced sun that ends every ArtyPantz story, and shout out the words that go along with it "And then the sun came out and everyone was SO, SO happy!"

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Come Join The Rainbow Debuts at Bright Horizons SEI

So happy that Come Join the Rainbow, the latest in the series of interactive theatrical storytelling events is making it's debut this coming Wednesday at Bright Horizons at SEI Corporation.

Just finished making a cute batch of capelets with hoods and pom pom hoods, and the rainbow accordion book activity for after the show. Next step is to make a flyer for it, get it on the ArtyPantz website and spread the word.....hmmmmm!

So busy! Sending thank you notes out for the past few days, to all the places that have hosted ArtyPantz shows this summer. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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Extreme Makeover for Holy Mackarel the Fishing Boat

Holy Mackarel, the fishing boat for Mermaid Tales gets an extreme makeover.
And by the way, that steering wheel is actually a potholder, on a chopstick,
that slides into a plastic straw glued inside........!
The boat expands during the story to accomodate more passengers.

We realized today, as we set up for number 6 in our 65 bookings for this summer, that this is the seventh year for The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid, the interactive theatrical storytelling event that began as a cute little summer show for no more than 40 participants, and has now more than tripled into a huge production for 120. And there is a "sea"quel story "Admiral Giddy-up and the Seahorse Brigade to the Rescue" too.

More characters, costumes and props have been added over the years....now there are 35 mermaid tails, mermaid babies, 3 gigantic sharks, 12 medium sized sharks and 6 baby shark puppets, 2 octupusses (twins), 25 pirate hats and colorful hand painted wooden parrots, 25 Seahorses on sticks commanded by Admiral Giddy-up, 12 beautiful fish puppets, 12 drums, 6 gigantic handmade tamborines, and on and on.

It started out with just the humans talking, now there are scripts for everyone. It's so much fun, and afterwards everyone makes their own puppet to keep.

We are still using the original boat, Holy Mackarel, crafted from a refrigerator cardboard box. That boat has been dragged in and out of here and there hundreds of times. Yesterday my daughter gave it an extreme makeover and it looks better than new now. The next makeover will be Bald Beatrice herself, who has been stuffed in and pulled out of a Live Baby Mermaid jar so many times.........

Click here for a calendar of events for this summer....Many are in libraries, and therefore open to the public. Hope to see you and your family. It's for all ages, including adults.


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The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid in Ocean County NJ This Summer

So happy in general these days and happy today to have at least 10 bookings this summer in Ocean County New Jersey for The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid.


My husband and I just spent this beautiful morning meeting with a realtor on Long Beach Island to find a cozy, reasonably priced vacation abode as close to the beach as possible for two weeks.

Here's our place, Little Miss Sunshine, two houses from the beach. Yee Haw! We'll be down there for two weeks. LOVE the summer. LOVE the ocean......love mermaids, actually. )

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Art programs are considered to be the frosting on the cake and therefore the first areas to be cut in a struggling economy. The schools, camps and daycares I usually work with have been hit hard with enrollment deficits. Some are barely scraping by and others closed down.

Fortunately, because of my long standing relationship with children's librarians and the wide web they weave, I already have nearly 50 bookings for the summer for interactive theatrical storytelling events! and that is fantastic, because the money from this endeavor is financing the WrapADoodle swaddle baby blanket business.

In 2003 I had the idea to create an interactive theatrical storytelling event around the theme of mermaids........where people of all ages would come together, dress up in costumes, use puppets, play instruments, tell a story together and PLAY! After the show, they'd sit together and make a fun little articulated swinging tail puppet..........And so The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid came to be. And it just so happens the 2010 summer's library reading theme has to do with making a splash into reading. So, this particular show happens to be in the right place at the right time.

The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice has happened hundreds of times since it's humble beginnings. It started out with enough materials for 40 participants because that was the number of people the fire dept would allow in the space it began in, for two summers in Cape Cod. It has now become a traveling show and grown to 150 mermaids, fish, octupus, pirates, sharks and more.......!

Since then, a"sea"quel called Admiral Giddyup and the Seahorse Brigade was created. Then along came Hooray 4 Bugs, and a winter tale Going on A Sleigh Ride, and now working on Come Join the Rainbow. All of these shows are based on unity and cooperation, generosity and other virtues. Everybody participates! It's all happiness and fun for all. In fact, at the end of every show, a gigantic sun comes out and the words "And then the sun came out and everyone was so, so happy!".

I have big plastic cartons, colorful bags, boxes and rolling suitcases bursting with beautiful handmade puppets, props, costumes and percusssion instruments. I've got a folding boat called Holy Mackeral, a gigantic sun and a fun sleigh that expands to hold 70 kids! The entire collection gets bigger and bigger. And the shows go on.

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72 Rainbow Pixie Costumes in Progress

I'm happily holed up in my studio making cute little rainbow pixie capelet costumes for a new interactive theatrical storytelling event called "Come Join the Rainbow", a sweet and adorable story for preschoolers. I'm making 12 each of the six colors of the rainbow.....

Today is red.

This will be the fifth! in an ever growing series of interactive shows created to bring people together through the arts.

Each child will choose the color pixie they would like to be. They'll sing a call and response song and wave colored wands to make themselves into a large living rainbow. So cute! I can see it as clear as a bell. Can you?

Just as I am writing this now it's becoming clear that this story would really lend itself so beautifully to being photographed in action and made into a children's book. Time to call Bridget Armbrust Photography and get her on board! She took the pictures for the WrapADoodle website and did such a wonderful job.

Anyway, back to earth and the actual show, after the kids make the human rainbow, they'll go back to their classrooms and create a little accordion rainbow book to keep and take home. That can be part of the book too, directions for how to make the little rainbow book!

Come Join the Rainbow will be ready for booking by April 1st.

I have gotten so much use out of the mannequin above! It came without a face, so that was added pronto because it was creepy being stared at by a face with no eyes. It is about the size of an average four year old. The pixie capelets are made of fleece so they will stretch or not to fit the tiniest to the chunkiest....haha!

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The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid in Media

Come to the Middletown Library in Media, PA

for The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid Show,

a highly engagng 100% interactive theatrical storytelling event

with beautiful handmade puppets, props and costumes.

Family Entertainment for ages 4 and up!

Saturday November 7, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

Participants choose the characters they wish to portray

(mermaids, sharks, fish, seahorses, pirates and more)

and together we create a rip roaring sea adventure.

Puppet making afterwards!

The Middletown Library is located at

21 N. Pennell Road in Lima PA 19037

610-566-7828

(it's not too far from the Brandywine Penn State Campus)

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Seized by A Rainbow Idea

As some of you know, or maybe not, I have over 300 handmade puppets, props and costumes tucked into crates, suitcases and bags, and four stories in my head. I take various parts of this collection to schools, libraries, community centers etc. and conduct interactive theatrical storytelling events with people of all ages.

Participants choose the characters they wish to portray and then together we tell a story. Afterwards everyone makes their own puppet to take home! It's so much fun, super creative and happiness for all. The stories have virtuous themes such as generosity over greed, friendship, plus unity and cooperation.

I have two shows on the mermaid/ocean theme, one called Hooray 4 Bugs, and a winter tale Going on A Sleigh Ride.

I have an idea for a NEW show and am working on it now, so it will be ready in the spring. It is for ages 2 through 6 and is a call and response kind of singing story about all the colors of the rainbow. The kids will pick the color of the rainbow they would like to be. Each group of colors will sing a song to another group, asking them to join until all the colors of the rainbow are in!

I designed the CUTEST little capelet costumes with pointed hoods and pom poms and am in the process of making about 12 per six colors........out of fleece! Adorable! Fleece was on sale for half price so that was a good sign.......I bought a total of 36 yards......and that is alot of fleece.

Also working on getting The Interfaith Golden Rule Coloring Books into stores......

It's wonderful up here in the studio with the windows open. Great weather!

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Shows at the Beach Open to the Public Compliments of Firefly Gallery

Tomorrow after doing a show at a private camp in Pennsylvania I'm packing it up and taking

Hooray 4 Bugs AND

The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice The Baby Mermaid TO THE

Firefly Gallery and Island Teak on Long Beach Island in Surf City NJ.

I love the building because there is a gigantic mermaid mosaic on the outer wall.

If you're in the neighborhood, drop by on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. for the bug show and Friday at the same time for the mermaid show.

You can view slide shows of each of these shows in the left hand side bar of this blog!

15 Long Beach Blvd Surf City NJ 08008.

Space is limited so probably a good idea to call there for reservations 609-361-7700

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The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice the Baby Mermaid

If you're in the neighborhood, drop by the Glenside Public Library in Glenside PA

for an interactive theatrical storytelling event for the entire family!

Thursday July 23rd at 7:00 p.m.

215 S Keswick Ave

Glenside, PA 19038-4420

(215) 885-0455

Participants choose the characters they would like to portray and together,

using beautiful handmade puppets, props, costumes and percussion instruments

we'll tell a rip roaring tale about

The Capture and Return of Bald Beatrice, the Baby Mermaid

EVERYONE PARTICIPATES

Scroll down for a slide show on the left for a look sea.

The bottom picture shows kids making their own puppets after the show!

Hope to see you there!

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