HALLOWEEN GALA: The KIDS Shows
Some Reflections from
JEFF GERE
NSN Gala Planning Committee
KIDS SHOWS in the AFTERNOONS The committee agreed: start with preschool chills, and grow more scary and tense for the older kids. Oh yes, get more spooky, but be fun. I think we’ve succeeded with some really great performances here. So here is a peek into the program being brewed up for Halloween weekend Let me introduce the artist in the two SPOOKY KID SHOWS to you here.
I’ll share a peek into the ADULT Spooky shows in a few more days…. as a treat!
SATURDAY Oct. 31 – 3pm (Central Time)
Little Shivers FAMILY SHOW (3pm Central US Time)
Jeeva Raghunath (India) – 5 Boney Skeletons
Stephen Gashler (Utah) – Queen of Flies
Liz Weir (Ireland) – The Bengal Lancer
Dan Kelin II (Hawaii) – Half Boy & Dog
Donna Washington (North Carolina) – Habbiyas
Anne Glover (Canada) – Inuit String Figure
Roger Jenkins (Singapore) – The Strange Visitor
JEEVA RAGHUNATH (India) has a ton of fun singing/chanting her original song, “Five Boney Skeletons” (like monkeys on the bed) – Young kids will love this infectious song!
STEPHEN GASHLER (Utah) is a new voice to me (but in Utah, he’s HUGE!) What if bugs were vengeful? From adults to kids, this story will “get” you! It is a great joy to meet this ‘new’ talent through his work. Hello Stephen!
I’m so pleased to present DAN KELIN II to you. He’s the Education Director for the Honolulu Theater for Youth. That means Dan has taught drama in schools daily for twenty years (and has the voice and energy for it.) He spent five summers teaching in the Marshall Islands. At night, they tell stories. He’ll tell one of those tales (filmed on-stage) in each of the kid’s shows. Dan wants me to tell you: he thinks both his tales are for adults. We’re getting into some dark shadows here… but he makes it so fun, and he shares island culture: Ulu is breadfruit. But what is a Half Boy?
DONNA WASHiNGTON here treats us to a classic cautionary tale, Habbiyas! Dog lovers may find the frank violence in this folktale disturbing. Others will love it.
ANNE GLOVER (Victoria BC, Canada) uses string to tell tales. In this Inuit tale, the Spirit of String Figures makes a chilling challenge. Oh, she leaves time for the words to sink in! This is very good… and very chilling! Filmed live, we hear the crowd groan.
ROGER JENKINS (Singapore) I know Roger as the affable, witty, sincere patriarch of the Singapore storytelling scene (he’s a co-founder of the Federation for East Asian Storytellers- FEAST.) But HERE, Roger just goes OFF! He’s a rabid Scot (and a lonely little lady.) Oh, he WORKS that Zoom! A powerhouse, over-the-top tell.
SUNDAY Nov 1 – 3pm (Central Time Zone)
Little Pumpkin FAMILY SHOW (3pm Central US Time)
Mary Jo Maichack (Massachusetts) – 2 songs
Karin Amano (Japan/ Georgia) – Ohana & Umbrella Kapa
Elizabeth Dodds (Utah) – Scritch Scratch
Lilli Rodrigues-Pang (Australia) – Tia Mizeria
Dan Kelin II (Hawaii) – Katia Bites
Joel ben Izzy (California) – The Green Hand
MARY JO MAICHACK (Mass.) starts with a fun song (thanks Doug Lipman) laced with Halloween riddles, and then another: Hearse Song. Here is perfect ‘trick or treat’ yucky candy. Mary Jo was in my ‘Storytelling Videos’ workshop a few NSN Conferences ago. She finally made one, and sent it to me at the exact time we were putting this program together. Eerie… like it was ‘meant to be.” So Mary Jo begins the show.
KARIN AMANO (Japan/Georgia) blew me away in ‘Connected’ (Asian American tellers.) Here she is again with her restrained, whacky characters; again, we see another master workin’ that Zoom frame! Get ready for a creature (kappa) that can stttrrreeeeetch its neck!
ELIZABETH DODDS (Utah) is another new face to me. Ah, a delicious long bridge with an old lady, a troll, & creepy sound effects… ssccrriiitttch ssccrrraaatttch. This is a perfect ‘kid suspense’ tale, and we are in good hands.
LILLI RODRIGUES-PANG comes from a ‘world-derived’ bloodline (El Salvador, Palestine, Portugal and Scotland) to grow up and live on Australian soil. So here’s a bilingual tale of fooling Death on the ‘Day of the Dead’, si? Lilli’s physical animation is almost overwhelmed by the keening whines of cicadas in the trees surrounding her. There is something special here.
DAN KELIN II is right: this Micronesian tale is NOT for little kids. But oh, Dan tells it so exuberantly, so explosively, so live on stage a decade ago (vintage footage!) Notice the live video on one side of the stage, and a sign interpreter on the other. So hold on. Be thankful you’re so CLOSE to him on your screen and so FAR from him too.
JOEL BEN IZZY takes us to an Italian summer camp to scare the kids with the Green Hand- delicious fun. Of COURSE things go wrong! And Joel is so affable in his spooky roll… almost.
NSN’s GALA: Register & Come
(YES, you can review all the recordings if you miss the shows.)
Please share the Gala flier with friends.
Quarantine Halloween? NEVER! NSN’s GALA
Halloween Weekend!
‘Pay-What-You-Can’ option for all events,
Suggested Whole Weekend Pricing:
$75 Members, $100 Others (of All Kinds), or pay per show too.
This is an NSN Fundraiser. Thank you.