UPCOMING SEASON

YS Kids Playhouse–Summer 2010 Season!!!

2010 Season Auditions begin Saturday May 8, 2010

The Conference of the Birds by Peter Brook; Directed by John Fleming Original Music by Neal Kirkwood Puppets and Mask by Tristan Cupp and Pierre Nagley.

The Conference of the Birds is a new jazz musical based on the 12th Century Sufi fable by Farid ud-Din Attar. The story recounts the longing of a group of 30 birds, led by a hoopoe, who journey toward the mystical land of Simorgh. Each bird has a special talent and significance but, one by one, they want to drop out – each offering an excuse why they are unable to endure the journey. When they finally arrive in the land of Simorgh — all they see there are each other and the reflection of the thirty birds in a lake.   The YSKP production of The Conference of the Birds is a musical adaptation of the acclaimed 1970’s play by Peter Brook. It will feature both hand-held and large puppets and have Sufi dances and movement inspired by G.I. Gurdjieff.

Performance Dates:  Thursdays thru Sundays only (July 8 – July 18)

Haroun and the Sea of Stories Adapted by Louise Smith from the novel by Salman Rushdie (for actors 9-12 years). Directed by Lenard Petit.

This is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived.  Haroun Khalifa lives in the country of Alifbay, in a city so sad its inhabitants have forgotten its name.  In spite of the permeating sadness, Haroun’s father, Rashid, is extraordinarily cheerful. Rashid is a renowned storyteller.  He knows so many stories and tells them so brilliantly that he is known as the “Ocean of Notions” and the “Shah of Blah.”   One disastrous day, Rashid’s storytelling dries up. Desperate to help his father, Haroun finds his way to Kahani, Earth’s second moon kept invisible by a P2C2E — a Process Too Complicated To Explain.  Kahani is home to the Ocean of the Streams of Story, the source for all storytellers who subscribe, via a P2C2E, of course.  The process is controlled by the Walrus, Grand Comptroller of Gup, a land of perpetual sunshine.   Unfortunately, Khattam-Shud, the despotic leader of the dark and silent land of Chup is polluting the Ocean of the Streams of Story. Haroun, his father and a remarkable cast of curious characters — Iff, the Water Genie; Butt the Hoopoe; Mali, a Floating Gardener, just to name a few — lead the way in a brave attempt to save the Ocean.   Haroun and the Sea of Stories is adventure, allegory and fantasy in a beautiful mix of word-fun, puns and rhyme.

Performance dates: Wednesdays thru Saturdays only (July 28 – August 7)