Magical
Moonshine has a large selection of
productions for you to choose from,
everything from large, mainstage
performances that can be seen by
600-1000, to small shows for the home
party, library, classroom, cafe or
gallery. To help you find what you are
looking for, please select from the
following choices, or for personal help,
call 707-363-4573 or email mail@magicalmoonshine.org.
Fees vary
according to production and travel, but
there is something for most every budget.
For hundreds of years
puppet entertainers have roamed the
streets in countries all over the world.
They have sought to delight, amuse,
reform their audiences, as well as earn
their keep in society. Traditional puppet
characters such as England's Punch and
Judy, Germany's Kasperl, and France's
Guignol all evolved from humble folk
origins, nurtured by these street
performers.
In The Puppet Man, MMT's Michael Nelson
creates his own version of traditional
European street theatre. The performances
are colorful, lively, spontaneous and
ever-changing. In this unique
theatrical experience, the puppeteer,
puppets and audience respond to each
other to create the play together!
Great for Libraries.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Puppylocks and the
Three Bears
WHAT
IF? What if the
Three Bears were really Teddy Bears? And
What if Goldilocks was not a little girl
at all, but a golden, mischievous little
dog? That is exactly the case is this
very funny retelling of the traditional
fairytale. Watch this impish little dog
do everything wrong in the Bear's house
while the bears are off to the TEDDYBEAR
CIRCUS! Puppylocks is presented with
traditional Bohemian style marionettes on
a tabletop stage. It runs about 40
minutes and is highly recommended for
ages 3 and up. Live music and singing.
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Animalitos (The
Little Animals)
A collection of
Aesop's fables woven together in a
magical puppet dance. A rabbit starts a
race with a tortoise, but seeing that he
has plenty of time, he wanders off, and
gets involved with a fox who is trying to
court a crane with a romantic dinner for
two. With some clever tricks they manage
to get some food to serve but things go
awry when the fox talks the rabbit into
being the waiter for the meal. Meanwhile
the tortoise is getting closer and closer
to the finish line...
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Grasshopper and
the Ant
This performance may
be unlike anything you have ever seen
before. It is a recreation of
Victorian Miniature or paper
theatre. People have compared the
beauty and miniature size of the show to
a jewel; it sparkles with rich colors and
a universal story. The performers
have gone far beyond the simple Aesop's
fable of the grasshopper and the ant to
create a green-man cycle tale as in olden
times, a story that takes the audience on
a journey through the seasons, leading
them to a new understanding of their own
place in the cycle in nature.
Great for Libraries.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Armadillo's
Rancho
This story from
Argentina tells of a wealthy Fox who
tries to take advantage of a poor
Armadillo, making her work his garden for
him. He thinks he is getting the best
part of the deal, but the Armadillo is
smarter than he is at every turn and in
the end succeeds in setting things right
once and for all.
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Shipwrecked!
The Adventures of Miss Robin Crusoe
Miss Robin
Crusoe (pictured left) is the niece of
the famed Robinson Crusoe. Like her
famous uncle, she also finds herself
shipwrecked on an island...an island, as
it turns out, that has been visited by
pirates in the past. The
sumptuous backgrounds for the production
are the results of an artistic
collaboration with textile artist Meri
Vahl and are comprised of an array of
beautiful batiks and fabrics.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The California Bear
Flag Show
In MMT's The Bear
Flag Show, California history roars to
life with puppets of all shapes and
sizes, live music and song from the
California period, and good old fashioned
theatrical effects. Famous
historical characters such as Kit Carson,
John Fremont, and General Mariano G.
Vallejo were all involved in this
hilarious comedy of errors which resulted
in the short-lived (26 days)
"country of California,"
complete with it's own president and flag
(the first California Bear Flag).
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Cirque du Cafe
MMT's Cirque
du Cafe is a table top circus for
the whole family, where salt shakers do a
trapeze act, a wine bottle and a baguette
perform magic, a bread roll rides a pizza
cutter unicycle and a banana swallows
swords longer than it's body. This is
object theatre and puppetry and circus
and great fun!
This show was originally
designed for adult audiences in the cafe
setting, but since it opened in Spring of
2005 it has played very well in various
forms for family as well as adult
audiences, in a variety of settings, both
restaurant as well as theater.
With many acts, the length and age
appropriateness can be adjusted.
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Jaguar's Fountain
In the rain forests
of South America all living things sing
in harmony with each other. But then the
chords of disharmony sound as drought
descends upon the land. The greedy Jaguar
proceeds to force the smaller and weaker
animals to dig a well. Soon there is
water again in the rain forest and it is
controlled by the Jaguar. But there is
one animal in the forest who will stand
up to the Jaguar. He is the Rabbit. Armed
only with his humor and wits, he alone
dares to challenge the Jaguar and his
henchmen until justice prevails and the
balance of nature is restored. In The
Jaguar's Fountain the puppets and scenery
have their own musical sounds created by
a variety of hand crafted non-traditional
as well as traditional instruments.
Recommend for children ages 4 and up.
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The Recycling Show
The Recycling Show
focuses on the whys and hows of living on
earth in our age of consumption.
The entire stage for this show was made
from recycled materials. Because
recycling regulations often differ from
county to county, MMT researches
recycling facts and statistics for each
county before they perform this show.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Coyote Sings
In the Native
American story, Coyote Sings, the crazy
buffoon, Coyote tries desperately to
learn a song. This combined with his
bungling attempts to hunt for food and
impress all his neighbors with his
personal skills make for hilarious slaps
tick. Southwest motifs and designs and
Mexican folk tunes make this bilingual
show a very poplar addition.
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Cat That Walked
By Himself
Shadow
puppetry creates a mysterious and
wonderful world where color, light and
story enthrall adults and children alike,
belying its simplicity. Using both black
and illuminated shadows, MMT presents
literature and folktale inspired stories
from around the globe.
From the Rudyard Kipling "Just So
Stories", The Cat That Walked By
Himself makes a deal with the first
humans to share their cave on his terms.
Great for Libraries.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Fox and the
Condor
In this mythological
story from South America, there is little
food on the earth while in the clouds the
birds have much food. The Condor, the
king of the birds takes pity on a hungry
fox and carries him up to the clouds to
eat, but the greedy fox does not stop
eating until he falls from the cloud and
his belly bursts open, spreading seeds
all over the earth. It is these seeds
from which the plants on earth have
descended (so the tale tells us.)
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Br'r Rabbit and the
Number Nine Shoes
In this African
American trickster tale, the clever Br'er
Rabbit plays a trick on Br'er Bear, and
steals his fish from him. Br'er Fox
watches the whole trick, but when he
tries it himself his efforts end in
disaster. Once again Br'er Rabbit
survives by relying on his wits. The
story is told with large,
direct-manipulation puppets, live banjo
music and singing.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Dragon, Tiger and
Bear
This story is a
Southeast Asian Folktale from the Hmong
people. Long ago a wise, old man
lived with a Bear, a Tiger and a Dragon.
One day the animals all set out to try to
scare one another by seeing who could
make the greatest commotion. When the man
finally took his turn, he used his brains
to teach the others a lesson. He scared
the animals so badly that bears, tigers
and dragons will no longer live with
people. The story is presented with
shadow puppets, masks, and live music
played on a variety of SE Asian musical
instruments.
Great for Libraries.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Fox and the Elk
Make a Trade
In this story a fox
and elk decide that they are not happy
with the way they are made, so they
decide to switch arms and legs with each
other. The fox, now with very long arms
and legs, finds that she can no longer
hunt, and is in danger of starving. The
elk with the short fox arms and legs can
not reach the leaves on the trees that he
is used to eating. Both finally realize
that they were much better off the way
they were originally and in the end
exchange arms and legs again, happy to
have their old limbs back. The story is
humorously set to popular U.S. music of
the 50s.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Coyote Brings Fire to
the People
It is told that long
ago when the earth was new, the people of
California were cold because they did not
have fire. They went to Coyote for help
and he organized Bear, Mountain Lion,
Rabbit, Squirrel, and Frog to help steal
fire for the people. MMT presents this
native Californian folktale with shadow
puppets and music.
Great for Libraries.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Coyote and Grizzy
Bear
Native Americans of
the Western part of this continent tell
many stories about the trickster, Coyote.
In this story from the plains states,
Coyote plays a trick on the ungrateful
Grizzly Bear, thus saving the life of
Mountain Ram. Although presented as a
Native American folktale here, the theme
of this story is universal, and appears
in tales from many cultures around the
world. This folktale is told with masks
and Native American drum.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Br'r Rabbit and the
Lucky Rabbit's Foot
Once again Brer
Rabbit finds himself in a precarious
position when he thinks his luck has run
out and he seeks advice from Mammy Bammy
Big Money. Her magic shows him his luck
is in his wits and not in his lucky
rabbit's foot.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Grape Blessing
The Earth Mother,
represented by a graceful 14 foot tall
figure, leads the procession of musicians
and celebrants to the rustic altar, made
of barrels, burls and natural objects.
There She takes her place to preside over
the following ceremony:
First comes a symbolic creation of
Napa Valley (or Sonoma Valley, Central
Valley, etc.); great seismic forces shift
rocks, sand and wood in a symbolic
geological tableau.
Following is the purification of
the ceremonial grape knife, and the
harvest of the grapes, the crushing of
the grape to juice, and the offering to
the four directions. When the offering is
given to the Earth, the Spirit of the
Vines (an animated figure made of natural
grape vines) is awakened.
At his touch the bounty (and the bottle
on the altar) overflow, as red wine
fountains down over the altar in
abundance. The blessing is complete with
offerings of music and poetry shared with
the celebrants.
Recommended for adult audiences.
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Coyote Runs
Another Native
American folktale, Coyote Runs, Coyote
finds his efforts to fool his neighbors
backfire as he is outwitted by a lizard,
a badger, a rabbit and a rattlesnake. But
as always, Coyote prevails, himself
outwitting death to the joy of his loving
wife.
This story is told in a combination of
English and Spanish.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Br'r Rabbit and the
Goober Patch
Another trickster,
Brer Rabbit comes to us from Africa, but
has settled right in to American
Folklore. In this puppet tale, Brer
(short for Brother) Fox decides to plant
a garden, and Br'er Rabbit decides to
help himself. The fox decides to set a
trap for the rabbit but Brer Rabbit is
one rabbit who can take care of himself,
and Br'er Fox does not end up with the
prey that he bargained for.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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The Lion in the Well
This Afro-American
Br'er Rabbit story tells about how one
day a lion moved into the forest and
started eating all of the other animals.
Br'er Rabbit sets out to get rid of the
lion with his usual trickery, and
succeeds in getting rid of the l ion and
becoming the hero despite the lack of
help from Br'er Fox and the other
animals. This story is told as a story
within a story; a roving puppet
troubadour is telling the tale when the
"real" Br'er Rabbit stumbles
upon the play and begins to take over.
Complications ensue when the real lion
shows up instead of the puppet lion. Told
with live folk music and singing.
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
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Seasonal and
Special Programs
4th of July
Parade, City of Vallejo, California
July 4, 2007
Marked the 200th birthday celebration of
General Mariano Vallejo, who lived in
Sonoma, California. The city of Vallejo,
California is named after him.
To celebrate, the cities of Sonoma and
Vallejo commissioned MMT to make two
giant Vallejo puppets to walk in parades.
We made the puppets very light and airy
so the puppeteer inside would be as
comfortable as possible. By the
end, the puppet weighed about 17 pounds.
It also had a structure inside of it that
allowed the puppeteer to stand the puppet
on the street and rest, not holding the
weight of the puppet at all.
Orpheus Ascending
A one-run-only dramatic theatrical
production based on the myth of
Orpheus. Choreography and story
adaption: Michael Nelson. Music:
David Auerbach. Text: Steve
Tillis. Puppets: Michael Nelson,
Kamela Portuges, Lee Armstrong, Michael
Wick.
SEASONAL AND
SPECIAL OFFERINGS:
Magical Moonshine Theatre often
produces special seasonal and event
related offerings. Call for
info. 707-363-4573
December 2009: The Night
Before Christmas- This
handpuppet production was a recreation
and celebration of the very first
production that MMT performed in
1979. The premise is that a group
of puppets attempts to act out the Night
Before Christmas with mixed
success. As this show is a seasonal
offering, please call for availability.
Recommended for children ages 3 and
up.
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For more
information
about any of our programs or to secure a
date,
contact us at 707.363.4573. or
mail@magicalmoonshine.org
