AAA Discount available for RIC shows!

Frog Prince this Sunday!!

Kaleidoscope will be presenting The Frog Prince at the Saugus Senior Center on Sunday, May 10th! The show will begin at 2:00pm and the $12 admission includes an ice cream!

Moms get in FREE, so it is a wonderful Mother's Day activity for the whole family!

SYNOPSIS:
Splash! Young Prince Noble is having a really bad day - a smelly Gypsy woman is in love with him, he gets pushed down a well, and then he’s transformed into an icky green frog!

Now instead of traveling the land looking for a beautiful wife, he's short, green, and hoping to catch a fly for dinner!

Will Prince Noble learn a lesson in humility and win the lovely Princess Cassandra’s heart? Watch as plots twist, stories intertwine, and all the characters discover that Happy Endings can happen when you least expect them!

For more information on how to get tickets, check out our website!

(Photo: the cast of The Frog Prince from a recent performance.)

2009 Summer Series!!!

Kaleidoscope announces its 2009 Summer Series!!!

Roberts Hall Auditorium, Rhode Island College

Tuesdays at 11:00am

Tickets on sale next week!

Box Office: (401) 456-8144

July 7th - Aladdin

July 14th - Sleeping Beauty

July 21st - Snow White

July 28th - The Frog Prince

August 4th - Beauty & the Beast

August 11th - Little Red Riding Hood

August 18th - Cinderella

August 25th - Goldilocks & the Three Bears

The Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, CT

Wednesdays at 11:00am

Tickets on sale May 8th!
Box Office: (203) 265-1501

http://www.livenation.com/venue/chevrolet-theatre-tickets

July 8th - Aladdin
July 15th - Sleeping Beauty
July 22nd - Snow White
July 29th - The Frog Prince
August 6th - Beauty & the Beast (special Thursday performance)
August 12th - Little Red Riding Hood
August 19th - Cinderella
August 26th - Goldilocks & the Three Bears

The Cape Cod Melody Tent

Wednesdays at 11:00am

Tickets now on sale!!
Box Office: (508) 775-5630

http://www.melodytent.org/

July 29th - Snow White

August 12th - Cinderella

August 19th - Goldilocks & the Three Bears

The South Shore Music Circus

Thursdays at 10:30am

Tickets now on sale!

Box Office: (781) 383-9850

http://www.themusiccircus.org/

July 16th - Sleeping Beauty

July 23rd - Frog Prince

July 30th - Snow White

August 13th - Cinderella

August 20th - Goldilocks & the Three Bears

The Saugus Senior Center in Saugus, MA

One Sunday a month at 2:00pm!

Box Office: (781)230-EXPO

June 21st - Sleeping Beauty

July 19th - Aladdin

August 16th - Beauty & the Beast

Drop Painting - Part two!

The drop painting project went even better than expected!! We finished painting the Oasis drop and even started the palace drop! Laura will finish the third drop over the weekend and we will have three brand new drops for Aladdin!! The week was a wonderful experience for everyone involved and we hope to collaborate again in the future.

Here is a photo of the new completed Oasis drop! More photos of the painting process (and a sneak peak at the third palace drop) are available on Myspace!!

Drop painting!

All this week, volunteers from Kaleidoscope will be joining local Scenic Artist Laura McPherson to create a new drop for Aladdin! Laura is painting a total of three new drops for the production, which will open Kaleidoscope's 2009 Summer Series at Rhode Island College on July 7th!

All this week, we will be posting pictures of the drop as it progresses!

On DAY ONE, we stretched out the drop and stapled it to the deck. Then, we sprayed several layers of paint onto the drop to help it square up and settle. While waiting for our first layers to dry, we also did prep work in terms of the color pallete and the scale gridlines that will help us transfer the image Laura designed onto the drop. Finally, we continued to add layers of paint to begin the background color. The photo is how the drop looked at the end of Day One! For more photos, check out Kaleidoscope's page on Myspace.com!

Tomorrow, we will begin drawing the cartoon (outline) of the image!! Stay Tuned!

Goldilocks & the Three Bears

Goldilocks and her friends will be appearing at the Saugus Senior Center on Sunday, April 19th!!

The show will begin at 2:00pm and the $12 admission includes the show and a free ice cream cup!

The Center is located at 466 Central Street in Saugus, MA 01906. For more information, please email Grouptixne@aol.com or call 1-781-230-EXPO!

See you there!

For Rhode Island fans, Little Red will be performed locally next Sunday at the RI Home Show!

Performances will be at 12:00pm and 3:00pm. Also, between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm, both Cinderella and Snow White will be appearing! Check out the RI Home Show website for more information!

Little Red is off to NJ!

Kaleidoscope and Little Red Riding Hood are off to New Jersey this Saturday! Little Red will be performing at The Kelsey Theatre on the Mercer Community College in West Windsor. Showtimes are 2:00pm and 4:00pm. Call (609) 570-3333 for tickets!

For Rhode Island fans, Little Red will be performed locally next Sunday at the RI Home Show, with performances at 12:00pm and 3:00pm. Also, between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm, there will be appearances by both Cinderella and Snow White! Check out the RI Home Show website for more information!

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #9: More Fun Than A Swirlie

Greetings fellow friends of Kaleidoscope. Sorry I've been a stranger on the blog for a while, but as they say, life happens.

I've been grateful to be so busy with Kaleidoscope lately. Usually my stint starts and ends in the summer with the touring, with the exception of a show thrown in once in a while throughout the year. However I've been trying to make myself more available to the company when it comes to shows and am trying to audition more often. This month, I've been involved with showings of Little Red. Our first one was in Saugus, MA just last Sunday and we are gearing up for the big haul to New Jersey this Saturday. More on that next time.

I've also been doing some productions of B.U.L.L.Y. as of late. B.U.L.L.Y. is a very different animal in the Kaleidoscope Zoo. For those of you who do not know, we take this one out on the road during the school year and perform at various schools around the area. We were actually at two schools earlier today, in fact, and I know that there are more performances on the way. It's not just the scheduling that makes the show so different, but the nature of the show as well.

David has always made a point to have some lessons to be learned in the fairy tale musicals, both on and off the moral playing field. Little Red, for example, encourages the kids to not play around with real guns and not go anywhere with strangers, as well as present the fact that you don't need the nuclear "mom-dad-child" combo to be a family (Little Red's mother mentions how she doesn't understand Grandma needing a man around the house, to which Little Red responds "that's just silly"). B.U.L.L.Y. is based around morality, specifically the growing problem of bullying in our schools. As with a fairy tale musical, B.U.L.L.Y. makes clear statements on what the right thing to do is, but also it encourages the audience of youngsters to relay information back, primarily specific incidents of bullying.

To me, the idea that David wrote such a show is wonderful, and I know for a fact that it has gotten numerous praise from all over. This is exactly what theatre is supposed to be doing; it is a tool for social commentary and expressing the situations that face us today. Sometimes people don't truly understand the world around them until they see something happening in front of them. One might argue that the theatre may be showing things through an exaggerated lens. Perhaps its the fact that actors have to be "bigger" on stage in order to translate well to the audience, or perhaps it is a preconceived notion on the part of the audience. In truth, the stage is willing to face the tougher issues in a way nothing else can. Kaleidoscope has done just that by facing the reality of bullying in our schools.

Performing in this production has a special quality to it because it carries such an important message, and what works so well is that it doesn't feel like a PSA. The children are always into the show and get very excited very easily. More often than not they are attentive, and there are always interesting questions and comments coming from them. The fact that the teachers have just as positive a response to the show is a plus. In a way, it's because of the adults that the show even exists. It was the parents and teachers of our audiences that suggested a show be done concerning bullying. The fact that the show is successful is one thing. It means so much more that we are able to fulfill the request of our audience and offer them what they truly want to see.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Little Red this Sunday!

Kaleidoscope Theatre will be performing Little Red Ridinghood this Sunday at 2:00pm!!

This faithful recreation of the favorite fairytale has been set to music and is filled with songs, dance, beautiful costumes, and a message. In our version of the traditional story, Little Red learns important lessons about personal safety. As our wily old wolf says, "My 'tail' is a great tale to be told!"

The performance will be at the Saugus Senior Center in Saugus, MA.

Saugus Senior Center
466 Central St

Saugus, MA 01906

Tickets - $12 each includes free ice cream!!

For more information, please call 1-781-230-EXPO or check out ArtsBoston.org!

Kaleidoscopian Wins Rhode Island 'Poetry Out Loud' State Final!

Congratulations, Amber! Our own Amber Johnson has won the state poetry competition and will be going to Nationals in Washington, D.C. in April!

"Poetry Out Loud is a program sponsored nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and The Poetry Foundation in Chicago. Organized along the lines of the national spelling bee, Poetry Out Loud promotes competitions at the high school level throughout the country, with local winners going on to state finals, and from there to the national championship competition.

First place winner Amber Johnson from Providence will receive a $200 prize check and an all-expense-paid trip to compete at the National Finals on April 28th in Washington, DC. Classical High School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The second prize winner, Rachel Pontbriand from the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Pawtucket, will receive a $100 prize check, and her school will receive $200 for the purchase of poetry books. "

- Source: RISCA newsletter

Anti-bullying Program Worthwhile and Fun!

Kaleidoscope Theatre recently performed B.U.L.L.Y. at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School's Literacy Fair and there was a wonderful review written by JILL MARIE USSACH AND HARVEY B. USSACH of the New Bedford Standard Times!

"The second vivid lesson learned, on a Saturday, mind you, when kids could have been home playing and parents going about weekend chores, is what youngsters can do to stop bullies. By making friends, by understanding other students and not judging a book by its cover, youngsters can make each other feel wanted and included in learning, social and lunch groups, thereby depriving bullies of shy loners to abuse. A practical demonstration drove home the point to students. Each actor chose one pupil from the audience, five in all. They exchanged names and some likes and dislikes, then introduced each other to the crowd. Parents and fellow students learned that a boy really digs science. One girl likes to sing. Another girl likes gym. And another loves to play soccer. In other words, new acquaintances and friends are less likely to pick on each other."

To read the entire review, click here.

January Newsletter!

The January Newsletter has been released! If you are a subscriber and did not receive your copy, please check your spam folder! Newsletters can also be read online here.

In this issue:

1. Our School-Touring Shows
2. Upcoming Public Performances
3. Thank you, CVS!
4. Thank you, RISCA!
5. Camp Reservations Now Open!
6. Supporting Our Members

Here is an excerpt from this month's edition...

"Kaleidoscope is proud to announce the return of Aladdin to our

summer schedule! This fairytale will be remounted for 2009 with
the help of grant money from RISCA (Rhode Island State Council
on the Arts). Recently, Kaleidoscope was awarded a grant to
produce three new backdrops in collaboration with Laura
McPherson – the wonderful artist who created Cinderella's new
home last year!"

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #8: Me & Mr. Jones

While I realize that this isn't a traditional entry from me, I still thought this would be a great forum for what I have to say and that the Kaleidoscope family would appreciate something of this nature.

As some of you might have heard, music producer Quincy Jones was quoted in saying that the next conversation he has with our soon-to-be President Obama will be to beg him to have a Minister of the Arts as a government position, which is otherwise known as a Minister of Culture in other countries.

Obama has made it pretty clear that he supports the Arts in his platform, which is not necessarily good for just Kaleidoscope but as a nation as a whole. From what I understand, Obama is supporting the Arts through three main tactics:

1. He wants to expand public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations.
2. He wants to start Artists Corps, which is, from what I can tell, a sort of art-focused Peace Corps.
3. He is publicly championing the importance of arts education.

Already I am glad with what President Obama intends on doing and I hope it gets down. Support of the arts on a national level would hopefully mean support for Kaleidoscope in the long run, meaning Kaleidoscope could continue to serve the community in the many ways that it does. If the President-elect is a serious about the arts as he claims he is, then I think having a Minister of Culture/Arts would be something extremely worthwhile. Our nation is facing a lot right now and Obama is certainly going to be working hard, yet it is hard to say how high of a priority his Arts platform will be. Having a Minister of Culture/Arts might be just the thing to get things rolling for the Arts and still be able to focus on more prominent issues. In fact, I think there is almost a need to have things happening simultaneously because the Arts have helped our nation in the past and if utilized properly they can help our nation again. For a little history lesson, look up the Federal Art Project, which supported artists during the Great Depression.

The main thing I want to get at here is that Quincy Jones' remarks have sparked an online petition to get a Minister of Culture/Arts into our government. I think signing it would be very worthwhile and I hope everyone in the Kaleidoscope family agrees and will do so.

Here's a few links for you:

The Petition: Please consider signing.

Obama's call to arts: For those interested in Obama's Arts platform, here is an article from The Christian Science Monitor.

Thanks to all in advance who sign the petition. I wouldn't have asked you all if I didn't think it was important. I promise to get blogging about more Kaleidoscope stuff soon, including:

• Upcoming work on school tours
• Some more fairy tale musical performances, and finally (dun dun DUN)
• working on an audio script for Cinderella! That's right, David and Bobby liked my idea from my last post.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Hansel & Gretel!

Come check out Hansel & Gretel this Sunday, January 11th at the Saugus Senior Center in Saugus, MA! The show starts at 2:00pm. To reserve tickets, please call the Center at 781-231-4178.

Plot summary: When Hansel & Gretel go for a walk in the woods, they discover every child's dream - a house made entirely of candy! But when the house's owner, a silly witch named Grumpella Finklestink, discovers them, delight could turn into disaster...

Saugus Senior Center
466 Central St.
781-231-4178

The venue is also running a coloring contest... the winner will be given front row seats! To download the coloring entry, click here.

(Photo: Nikki Speciale as Gretel and Steven DiNobile as Hansel.)

(Photo: Meredyth Waterman as Mama and Mike Daniels as Papa.)