The Illusion Factory

PAST SEASONS AT
THE ILLUSION FACTORY

2010-2011 Season

The Nightingale

By John Urquhart and Rita Grossberg
Based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen
Awards: AATE Distinguished Play Award

Something is amiss in the court of the Great Emperor of China. Obsessed by his worldly possessions, the Emperor has grown blind to the needs of his people and the real treasures of life. In this humorous adaptation of the classic fairy tale, ancient Oriental gods, the Nightingale, and the audience join forces to cure the Emperor of his possessive and grasping ways. The Nightingale is an important achievement in the often under-estimated but difficult genre of participation plays.
The Hat by Brian Way
Peter and his mother are hat-makers who make very rare and extraordinary hats. The most special hat of all is one made by Peter’s mother for Mr. Hump – a strange hat that creates many adventures for all. Each time Mr. Hump "removes" the hat, another appears in its place! The biggest problem can only be solved by Peter’s remarkable dog and of course, through help from the audience!

 

 

2009 - 2010 Season

 

 

If You Take A Mouse To School

Adapted from If You Take a Mouse To School
Text Copyright 2002 by Laura Numeroff.
Illustrations Copyright 2002 by Felicia Bond.
Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Enjoy Ernie Nolan's hilarious adaptation of the children's bestseller, "If You Take A Mouse To School". This play is about a young boy who takes a mouse to school, and how the day's events tumult into hilarity and hijinks! For preschool though grades five, the play is produced to teach sequential thinking, problem solving, and responsibility.

 

2008 - 2009 Season

 
Androcles and the Lion
By Aurand Harris (award-winning playwright for young audiences)

This play demonstrates a theatrical work in historical/cultural context. This famous Aesop, set in the style of Italian commedia dell'arte, teaches important lessons of friendship and kindness. Since unites of study cover Aesop and fables, this play opens discussion of the moral of the story, how slavery affected people in different times, and how friendship can help us to overcome these issues. In commedia tradition, a group of strolling players sets up their stage and gives a performance. Using authentic staging and stock characters in dommedia, Androcles becomes a colorful  theatrical experience. A comparison of these characters/situations can easily be made to various cultures and times, so students can identify these characters even today: the miser, the braggart, the young lovers.
The Mirror Man by Brian Way
A Toymaker has created a most unusual doll that, with the audience's help, can walk and talk. They are swept into a series of adventures by the Toymaker's reflection in the mirror. The happy conclusion to this internationally acclaimed, popular classic is one that involves the continuous, enthusiastic participation of the audience. This play is specifically chosen to meet the "creative expression and communication" content standards area by teaching youngsters to elicit their emotions, identify the difference between good and evil characters, and through audience participation, work cooperatively to advance the story. Examples of this include young children "wishing" the witch away, guiding the doll to safety, and reciting instructions previously taught to them. Through these activities, young children have listened, become involved, and are moved to actively help. Performed in-the-round, the play demonstrates an alternative type of staging.


 

2007 - 2008 Season

 

 
Winnie-The Pooh
A musical from the stories of A.A. Milne, runs January-June. Winnie-the-Pooh is Christopher Robin's fat little bear who whould like to drift peacefully though life, humming tunes and stopping frequently to eat "a little something". However, he finds himself involved in all sorts of frantic adventures, assisted by such friends as Eeyore, Piglet and Rabit. Milne's wit and charm mae this a delight for young children.

Celebrate Ohio

Comic and spellbinging vignettes take us through Ohio's history from the Northwest Territory into the new millennium. Students experiance Surveying 1785, Coonskin Library 1805, Johhny Appleseed 1814, Canal Days 1830, Annie Okley 1884, Soap Box Derby 1939, and the gameshow Buckeye Bucks 2007.

2006 - 2007 Season
Li'l Red by Richard Kinter
This "jazzy" musical versionof the fairy tale by Richard Kinter depicts the wolf as a "hip dude" in hilarious disguises, Li'l Red, a sweetie who has lost her glasses and can't see without them, and a keystone kops-like scene where everyone is dressed in granny nighties trying to save Li'l Red!
Snow White
Written especially for very young children as a first theater experience, the play combines storytelling and audience participatory theater, as children actually become the "Dwarfs" who fall in love with the beautiful Snow White.

 

 

 

 

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The Illusion Factory