Theatre and Storytelling

Two Pigs and T.H.E. Wolf
Assembly Performance

A fairy tale that promotes kindness, obedience, responsibility, and self-control comes to the stage, bringing the excitement of reading to life! Bullying and stranger awareness are also addressed in this interactive program. This story is not only hilarious but also emphasizes the benefits of making good choices even in the most difficult circumstances.

Grades: PreK-6
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Literary Arts, Reading, Storytelling, Theatre, Social/Emotional Learning

Doing What’s Right Can Never Be Wrong!
Assembly Performance

The Hare Sisters, Hee and Haw, have just returned home after a full day at school. Hee is very happy, and Haw is very sad. Reminded by wise words from their Maw, the sisters agree that using good words, kind words, and great words is how they should act, no matter what others say or do, because doing what’s right can never be wrong! This NEW Interactive program is filled with character-building prompts and word recognition lessons wrapped around well-known tunes (repetitive singing) for easy memorization.

Grades: PreK-2
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Music, Social/Emotional Learning

The New Little Red Riding Hood
Assembly Performance

This is a fractured fairy tale that emphasizes the importance of character traits as well as acknowledges the need for environmental awareness. Wanda Wolf, Granny Red, puppets, songs, lots of interaction, and more make this story a crowd pleaser for all ages!

Grades: PreK-5
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Science, Storytelling, Theatre

Cooking Up Fun with Idioms
Assembly Performance

We use idioms every day! They are integrated into our common day language. Our chef is cooking up some fun with idioms. It gets interesting and perhaps even a bit challenging when Letty Lou literally stops by and offers a hand, literally! This interactive program encourages students to delight in the English language. Figurative language can be fun – figuratively speaking that is!

Grades: 2-6
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Literary Arts, Theatre, Storytelling

Understanding Who Lives Under Your Roof
Assembly Performance

Award-Winning author and parent advocate, Linda Goldfarb, has teamed up with Storybook Theatre of Texas to offer parents and/or teachers in your school community tools to engage, equip, and empower their children/students. Linda’s co-authored LINKED Quick Guide to Personalities series is making a mighty powerful impact in communities across America. Now you have the opportunity to offer a taste of her engaging and life-changing personality, talk to your parents/teachers alongside your favorite entertainers, Storybook Theatre of Texas.

This tandem presentation is great for parent night, community outreach, PTO, or PTA meetings. More and more school communities want to connect better with the families within their neighborhoods, and this will make that happen. Linda’s engaging presentation, along with her written personality material and SBT’s live theatre, makes for an evening or event your parents will long remember and benefit from.

Grades: All ages including parents and teachers
Program Length: 45-60 minutes (can be tailored to your needs)
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Social/Emotional Learning, Theatre, Storytelling

King Rhythm
Assembly Performance

Join soprano/storyteller Hope Shiver and percussionist David Keepman on a fantastic ride through African American history via popular musical styles. Selected audience members will join in the fun, donning costumes and pantomiming to become loveable characters: Bluesy, Jazzy, and others. The program features lots of audience participation and is a year-round hit!

Grades: 1-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Music, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

The Adventures of the Real Pecos Bill
Assembly Performance

This highly interactive and multicultural program presents several tall tales featuring the legendary character Pecos Bill and introduces students to the real-life inspiration behind Pecos Bill, William Shafter, a commander of the Buffalo Soldiers in West Texas. Students in the audience get to join in the fun as they help Pecos ride the giant tornado, capture fried-chicken-eating bank robbers, and learn about American military history in the wild Texas West!

Grades: 1-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Git on Board! The Life of Harriet Tubman
Assembly Performance

Take a musical ride on the Underground Railroad to meet the heroic Harriet Tubman and learn of her early experiences as a slave. Highly acclaimed musician and storyteller Hope Shiver engages students in discovering how Tubman led fellow freedom-seeking slaves to hiding places along the way to safety in the North.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Sojourner!
Assembly Performance

Hope Shiver illustrates the life of famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth through story and song. Her sensitive portrayal, often using Sojourner’s own songs and speeches to bring the story to life, inspires students to learn how laws are made and to explore the plight of slaves in the North while clapping and chanting to the familiar spirituals of the time.

Grades: 5-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Holidays Around the World
Assembly Performance

This program highlights Kwanzaa in relation to other world celebrations such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and the New Year. This program involves interactions, pictures, music, dance, and poetry.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, History

Embracing Diversity Workshop
Assembly Performance

This program demonstrates how diversity enriches our lives by bringing together the resources and talents of many people for the benefit of all. The audience gets to participate through discussions, hands-on activities, and teamwork projects. Elizabeth demonstrates the similarities and differences between U.S. and African cultures and explains how positive values can be bridged across cultures.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Social/Emotional Learning, Cultural Competency

A Day in Africa
Assembly Performance

Born and raised in Kenya, Elizabeth Kahura introduces the audience to Africa’s geographical features while highlighting the differences in cultures and lifestyles across various regions. Students are reminded of the importance of embracing diversity and of how positive life values can be shared across cultures.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, History/Geography, Social/Emotional Learning

Folktales of Africa
Assembly Performance

Enjoy folktales and other stories from Africa. Learn about trickster tales such as Anansi the Spider, the clever hare, and the wise tortoise. The audience will participate in the telling of each story. Positive lessons will be gleaned from the wisdom of stories passed on from one generation to another.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning

The Colors of Africa
Assembly Performance

By exploring the meanings of African colors, Elizabeth explains how they convey different concepts and can serve as a form of communication. Through poems, stories, music, and dance, students learn how colors serve as symbols of power, loyalty, and attitude.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Social/Emotional Learning, Cultural Competency

The Jungle Walk
Assembly Performance

The concepts of adaptation, acceptance, and teamwork are highlighted in this segment through folktales, poems, music, and animal puppet shows. Elizabeth expands the ideas addressed in her program to encourage a more tolerant attitude towards cultural differences.

Grades: K-12
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Literary Arts, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning

The Sounds of Africa
Artist: Elizabeth Kahura

Explore African rhythms through drumming, dance, and song. Experience the African beat by playing a variety of African instruments and learn how music is a form of communication. Creativity and imagination come to life through this journey of sound and remind us that music is a universal language bringing cultures together.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Music, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Write What You’d Love to Learn
Assembly Performance

“Write what you know,” the saying goes. But based on Chris’s experiences writing both playful picture books and rigorously researched nonfiction, he encourages audiences to improve their own writing — or their students’ writing — by giving the not-yet-known a try. In his 30- to 60-minute presentation, Chris provides an overview of himself and his work as an author, reads from one of his books, and uses the book as a jumping-off point for further discussion with students about research, revision, and/or collaboration. Chris can also perform a full-day version to educators and librarians.

Grades: PK-up
Audience Limit: No size limit, but at least a 25:1 ratio of students to teachers or administrators must be present for the duration of the presentation
Connections: Literary Arts, Storytelling/Theatre, Social/Emotional Learning

Native American Stories K-2
Assembly Performance

Stories told in this performance may include the following: “Grandma Spider Brings the Fire,” where Possum and Buz-zard tangle with fire until Grandma Spider teaches an important lesson; “First Robin,” in which a Lakota girl faces her troubles and gains self-assurance; “White Wolf,” the story of two Sioux children finding a mysterious protector; and “Coyote and the Rock,” a humorous Montana Salish tale which teaches respect for all. Storyteller and author Tim Tingle has written ten books based on the oral traditions of his native Choctaw Nation and his native Texas. His lively performances include Native American flute and drum music.

Grades: K-2
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning, History

Native American Stories
Assembly Performance

Stories told in this performance may include the following: “Crossing Bok Chitto,” a story of friendship and freedom as a young Choctaw girl aids an escaping slave family; “The Bowl,” a Navajo story of a hand of evil unleashed when a bowl is stolen from an ancient cave; and “Danny Blackgoat,” the story of a Navajo boy struggling to survive during the Navajo Long Walk and his meeting with an unlikely ally.

Grades: 3-5
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Storytelling, Theatre, Cultural Competency, Social/Emotional Learning, History

Indian Ghost Stories
Assembly Performance

Stories for this performance are selected based on teachers’ requests to complement the specific curriculum. A good sampling of Indian ghost stories is always appreciated by the middle school audience. Recent books by Tim include Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner, and How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story.

Grades: 6-8
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Storytelling, Theatre, Literary Arts, Cultural Competency

Story of Thanksgiving with Anthropologist Annie
Assembly Performance

November only. The story of Thanksgiving from the Native American point of view. This show uses authentic costuming and Native American artifacts that the children can actually touch and see. Music, magic, and storytelling are used to highlight Native American culture. This show is a wonderful way to learn about the history behind the tradition of Thanksgiving, which began as much more than turkey!

Grades: PreK-3
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Reading and Rhyming with Mother Goose
Assembly Performance

Mother Goose encourages children to read nursery rhymes, write their own rhymes and practice rhyming words. Students will learn how to play the “Mother Goose Pretend Game” which encourages their imagination as they act out various rhymes. Rhymes come to life as Mother Goose’s delightful puppets, Lamby, Mary, Goosey, Itsy Bitsy, and the Stinky Baby help demonstrate the traditional rhyme and teach how the rhyme might become a parody. Audience volunteers will help act out several rhymes.

Grades: PreK-3
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Literary Arts, Reading, Theatre, Storytelling

Wild About Reading with Masai Maggie
Assembly Performance

Clad in safari-gear, Margaret performs the popular children’s book, Stand Back Said the Elephant I’m Going to Sneeze. Using her brilliant puppetry and ventriloquism skills, this book will come to life through various animal puppets. Children will learn about endangered species and interesting facts about animals and their habitats all over the world.

Grades: Prek-4
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Literary Arts, Reading, Science, Theatre, Storytelling

I Detect a Tale with “Imma Sleuth”
Assembly Performance

Margaret, a.k.a. Detective “Imma Sleuth”, will take junior gumshoes on an adventure to find a story in the library that she is supposed to tell. Using their powers of deduction, clues, a fingerprint matching book, and a secret code, the junior detectives will figure out which story Imma will finally tell! While hearing 3 exciting stories along the way, the Jr. detectives will find their list of suspects has dwindled down to just 3 possible choices. By breaking a secret code the name of the culprit book is revealed and Imma tells the story in the final bit of fun!

Grades: 3 & 4
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Math, Theatre, Storytelling

Let’s Read with the Bookworm
Assembly Performance

This program abounds with humor and even a little magic. Children will actively listen to 3 engaging stories including: “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble,” “Kat Kong,” and “Mean Soup,” In this lively presentation children will find out that ALL books in their library are magical and they have the key to let that magic out just by reading! Students will want to seek out other titles by the authors presented as the Bookworm encourages children to become Bookworms themselves! Webster the Dictionary puppet, with the help of Margaret’s brilliant ventriloquism, will help teach children proper book care as well.

Grades: PreK-4
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Literary Arts, Reading, Theatre, Storytelling

Señorita Margarita’s Fiesta
Assembly Performance

Celebrate Latino culture with Margaret Clauder, aka Señorita Margarita! Clad in a traditional Jalisco dress, her show features storytelling, “Martina the Beautiful Cockroach,” Latino arts and crafts including pinata and cascarones making, the dance La Raspa (the Mexican Hat dance), puppetry and ventriloquism.

Maria Rosita the puppet helps teach students “La Cucaracha” in a hilarious rendition of the song and Mariachi Loco, a trumpet-playing marionette will bring the house down when his pants fall off! Children will have a new appreciation for the Latin culture.

Grades: PreK-3
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, Cultural Competency

Weather Wonders with Meteorologist Maggie
Assembly Performance

A science program about weather, the water cycle, and clouds. Children will find it fascinating to watch the various magic tricks that demonstrate steam, evaporation, snow, and ice, as they learn about the water cycle, clouds, tornadoes, and electricity.

Cloudia the cumulonimbus cloud is Meteorologist Maggie’s puppet sidekick. She will come to life with Margaret’s skillful ventriloquism as the children learn about lightning, cumulonimbus clouds, and tornadoes.

Grades: 1-5
Audience Limit: 125
Connections: Science, Storytelling, Theatre

Animals Adapt
Assembly Performance

Folk tales and fractured fairy tales introduce students to specific animals. During the session, interesting facts about those animals and how they adapt to their environments are presented. Students work with the puppets for the stories and music.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Science, Storytelling, Theatre

It’s a Small World
Assembly Performance

Stories from a variety of cultures are featured in this engaging presentation. Each culture’s story is introduced with music from that culture. The stories and the cultures that they represent include: “One Wish”, Ireland; “Sweet and Sour Berries”, China;” The Story of Anneko”, Senegal; “How Rabbit Lost His Tail”, Haiti; “Dog Tails”, Iroquois; “Martina the Beautiful Cockroach”, Cuba; “How the Kangaroo Got Its Pouch”, Australia; and “The Peddler”, America.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Storytelling, Theatre, Cultural Competency

Say BAH to Bullies
Assembly Performance

Say “BAH” to bullying and learn suggestions for handling bullies and making wise choices. Stories, puppets, and music in which the students are integrally involved, make this a fun and educational experience.

Grades: K-2
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Storytelling, Theatre, Social/Emotional Learning

Stories You Wish You Knew
Assembly Performance

This enthusiastic performance presents stories of true happenings and people from history that are not the stories popularized in history books. Included are a story of a rather famous female stagecoach driver who posed as a man, a Texas man who was scalped but lived, several stories about the truth behind multiple inventions, and the truth about events such as how “The Star Spangled Banner” was written.

Grades: 4-8
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: History, Theatre, Storytelling

Texas Tales
Assembly Performance

This program includes two Aesop’s Fables “Texas Style”! Students will hear two of Aesop’s Fables with a Texas style twist, as well as a Texas tall tale, legend, and fractured fairy tale. Through these stories students will learn about the Texas state flower, tree, and other important things about our great state!

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: 200
Connections: Literary Arts, History, Storytelling, Theatre

Cinderella Meets the Muppets: Telling Fractured Fairy Tales with Puppets
Classroom Residency

This 5 day workshop is full of enthusiasm, excitement, and energy as students work on STAAR concepts of writing while following patterns! Students will develop writing skills, creativity, and an understanding of compare & contrast concepts while fracturing existing fairy tales. This hands-on adventure will have students analyzing, writing, and enhancing their stories through puppet building. The culmination of their work will be displayed through a puppet performance for their peers.

Grades: 2-3
Residency Length: 5 days, 45-60 mins sessions
Participant Limit: 25 per class
Connections: Literary Arts, Theatre, Storytelling

Mime and Masks
Classroom Residency

Explore the ancient art of mime through this engaging two-day residency led by storyteller and educator Dru Woods. As students are introduced to the silent world of mime, they will discover the challenge and fun of portraying a character, expressing an emotion, or telling a story through physical movement alone. On the first day of the residency, Mrs. Woods will lead students through the history and use of mime in theater and will teach them the basic techniques of dramatic physical expression. The students will then create their own masks for a mime performance. On the second day, the students will compose an original mime skit and perform it for their classmates!

Grades: 6-8
Residency Length: 2 days, 60 minutes per day
Participant Limit: 25 per class
Connections: Theatre, Storytelling, History

The Bully That Found His Beat
Assembly Performance

Life can be a challenge when you’re growing up and discovering who you are. Experience a performance about a young man looking to find his groove in the world, and the struggles he must overcome to truly shine the way he was meant to. This experience is a story about what it means to persevere through adversity. Youth will be motivated to become everything they want to be, regardless of the obstacles

Grades: 1-12
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Storytelling, Dance/Movement, Social/Emotional Learning

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Assembly Performance

Tom of Tom’s Fun Band uses music and comedy to make learning about preserving our natural resources fun and thought-provoking. Participants will learn how to reduce the amount we waste by making small changes every day. Reusing things is fun when participants are challenged to use their imagination! Finally, recycling will be explained and practiced in a musically interactive way.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit:250
Connections: Science, Music, Theatre, Storytelling

Adaptations and Ecosystems
Assembly Performance

Explore a variety of endangered species issues, including habitat loss, overhunting, pollution, and more. Human contributions to the causes and solutions of endangered species issues are addressed with an emphasis on empowerment and optimism. With a degree in zoology and an electrifying stage presence, Lucas Miller, the “Singing Zoologist”, creates songs and stories that somehow manage to be both outrageously fun and scientifically accurate.

Grades: 2-4
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Music, Science, Storytelling

Life Cycles
Assembly Performance

Learn about the metamorphosis of tadpoles, the migrations of monarch butterflies, the growth of bluebonnets, and more in this dynamic science presentation. Packed with dazzling images, hilarious songs, and, yes, a rapping honeybee, your primary grade students will laugh and move while they learn a wealth of new science terms and witness the growth of living things.

Grades: K-2
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Music, Science, Storytelling

Ocean Ecology
Assembly Performance

This program emphasizes ocean food chains/webs, photosynthesis, and conservation. Recommended for groups of 150-350. Features “I’m a Mako Shark,” “Living in a Wetland,” “We Can Bring Them Back,” and more. This program fulfills a wealth of TEKS and is a great review before the Science STAAR.

Everyone will have so much fun laughing and moving to songs about wetlands, ocean food chains and symbiotic relationships that they won’t even realize how much they’re learning.

Grades: 3-6
Audience Limit: 250
Connections: Music, Science, Storytelling

Communicating with Cartooning
Classroom Workshop

Students create original one-panel cartoons similar to those in Gary Larson’s The Far Side, illustrating a selected caption after practicing cartoon drawing techniques.

Grades: 3-8
Workshop Length: 45-60 minutes
Participant Limit: 25-30 per class
Connections: Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Storytelling

Author Talks
Workshop

Expressive Read-Aloud: Captivating readings that ignite students’ imaginations. TEKS & SEL Integration: Aligns with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, while promoting creativity and social-emotional learning. Storytelling & Writing Process: Simplifies storytelling and offers insights into the publishing journey. Interactive Engagement: Fun, hands-on activities that inspire creativity and active participation.

Grades: PK-6
Audience Limit: 150
Connections: Literary Arts, Storytelling, Social/Emotional Learning

Creative Writing Workshops
Workshop

Interactive Writing Activities: Engaging, creative exercises that help students turn their ideas into unique stories and poems. Collaborative Group Work: Encouraging all students to actively participate in the writing process while making it fun and enjoyable. Empowerment & Encouragement: Cultivating a love for writing and boosting confidence in self-expression.

Grades: 4-6
Audience Limit: 80 with (teacher support)
Connections: Literary Arts, Storytelling, Social/Emotional Learning

StoryTime with Ramblin’ Rita
Assembly Performance

StoryTime with Ramblin’ Rita: is a highly interactive children’s entertainment program great for preschool audiences. StoryTime with Ramblin’ Rita™ is a 30 minute program that includes 2-3 read aloud books, several songs or finger plays, puppets, and a flannel story or rhyme. Designed for children ranging from infants with their caregiver up to age 6, each StoryTime can be customized to fit the theme of your event.

Grades: PK
Audience Limit: NO Limit
Connections: Literary Arts, Social/Emotional Learning, Theatre/Storytelling

Ramblin’ Rita’s Texas Tales
Assembly Performance

Ramblin’ Rita’s Texas Tales is a 45-minute interactive storytelling show featuring a cowgirl storyteller. Each show features well-known folk and fairy tales with a Texas twist. Volunteers from the audience will help Ramblin’ Rita act out the story using costumes and props.

Grades: K-5
Audience Limit: NO Limit
Connections: Literary Arts, Social/Emotional Learning, Theatre/Storytelling