Magical Moonshine Theatre
Schools and Libraries
(Michael & Valerie Nelson are designated California Arts Council Artists in the Schools for 2008-09, teaching puppetry, drama and theatre to California Content Standards - workshops available)
Educational, California Standards-related programming to enrich students lives and schools' curricula.
(scroll down page for contact info.)
Assembly Programs: Multicultural (some bilingual Spanish/English and non-language dependent)
Art, Literature, Social Studies, History, Science Based Programs
Winner of 3 UNI Awards (including a 2008 UNI! the highest national award for excellence in puppetry)
Rated "Exemplary" by California Arts Council Theatre Panel (their highest rating)
Excellent Quality and Professionalism (with many return visits)
Schools Rate Our Programs "Best We Have Ever Had."
Almost 30 Years Experience in Schools (plus teaching experience at pre-k through college level)
Audience Appropriateness of Programs: Mostly K-6, with some K-8 and limited 9-12 and preschool programming.
2008-09 PDF Catalogue of School Programs - This link takes you to a PDF catalogue that you can download for printing or viewing (with dial-up internet connections this may take several minutes)- includes photos and descriptions of school assembly program offerings, ISS (an elementary student creative writing program), and Puppet Fridays! (a fundraising opportunity for schools)- Or you may click here for the online version:HTML version Catalogue of School Programs.
Funding Information (About funding possibilities for MMT performances) We work with a number of funding organizations in California such as SPECTRA, Arts Council Napa Valley, Lov-Newark, Children's Creative Project and others who offer funding support for our school programs. For more information on what is available in your area call us now at 707-363-4573.
NEW Preschool and Library Program for "few-year-olds" --"Little Elephant Has A Ball."
Library Programs - (Programs of special interest to libraries.)
Giant Mariano Vallejo Puppets (The general celebrates his 200th birthday!)
ISS - Magical Moonshine's Inspiring Student Stories, This original program developed in the Napa Unified School District is an in-school writing inspiration program for elementary students, with strong tie-ins to the California Frameworks. Designed to help inspire students to write, this program augments and assists teachers by providing inclass workshops as well as the goal of possibly having the students writing produced as a puppet program. An overview of the program is provided in the Catalogue of School Programs, above. This link takes you to more indepth detail about the program.
Kids' Project Pages - Fun puppet and mask projects for kids in the classroom or at home.
QUOTES FROM EDUCATORS ABOUT MAGICAL MOONSHINE ASSEMBLIES:
"Wow!! What a Great show! I especially enjoyed the use of English and Spanish. The singing was superb and the story line engaging at all times. The folktale led us to a discussion about human rights, oppression and greed." teacher, second grade
"Absolutely great! The children were entranced! Music, puppets, staging, singing, performance, all were great! We especially enjoyed the way the two languages were inter-mixed to tell the story in such an effective way. Five Stars!" teacher, first grade
"This is an exceptional group. My class was entertained with the story and songs. We loved it! It fits in perfectly with our study of folktales." teacher, fourth grade
"Fresh, clever dialogue, moves along... Positively continue offering this show to Junior High." teacher, eighth grade
Other General Interest Items
Benjie Nelson Puppets - (Benjie Nelson, son of Magical Moonshine founders Michael and Valerie Nelson still performs with his parents, but also has his own solo productions, Including the UNI Award winning "Fowl Play.")
More information on Magical Moonshine Theatre - (including online press kit, frequently asked questions, calendar of events, funding information, the new Cirque du Cafe fun catalogue, our music and storytelling CDs and cassettes, and more.
Links (including other MMT pages like the Kid's Project Pages (bookmark it to go directly there after you have found all these great, free projects), our Gallery of Puppets, MMT Director Michael's other artistic projects, and various puppetry websites of interest.
Magical Moonshine Theatre, Box 1258, Vallejo, 94590, U.S.A. - tel: 707-363-4573
Click here to send us an Email: mail@magicalmoonshine.org