Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By JOE BUTKIEWICZ; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, January 08, 1999 Page:
Years after he was a lad in elementary school, Rand Whipple recalled
reading “these short pungent stories. Sort of popcorn for the mind.”
The stories were from “Aesop’s Fables” and years later, Whipple hasn’t
forgotten the lesson. The professional actor, who specializes in mime and
creative movement, has presented several of “Aesop’s Fables” to school groups
for a decade.
On Sunday at 2 p.m., Whipple will present five of the fables as the first
show in the KIDS ARTS performances at the Wyoming Valley Montessori School in
Kingston.
“The show is about 10 years old,” said Whipple. “We do educational shows
and shows for general audiences. I was looking for something that could
involve both mime and movement.”
A. Elizabeth Dowd- who with Whipple was a member for the Bloomsburg Theater
Ensemble- scripted the stories, which Whipple said are freely adapted and
designed to involve the audience.
“In one piece they’re up on stage acting with me,” said Whipple, who
performs the tales with just a few props, costumes and a backdrop of giant
Tinkertoys.
“There’s a lot more comedy,” said Whipple comparing the performances to the
written tales.
But the lessons remain. “Aesop didn’t just tell these stories because they
were good stories,” Whipple said. “There were in response to the problems
people had.”
The 45-minute-show on Sunday will include “The Monkey and its Shadow,” “The
Milkmaid and Her Pail,” “The Crab and its Mother,” “The Wind and the Rain and
“The Fox and the Grapes.”
The program, age appropriate for pre-schoolers through elementary-age
children, will begin at 2 p.m. in the School’s Great Room. KIDS ARTS shows are
free and open to the public.
Throughout his 20 career, Whipple has performed in 11 countries on four
continents, He became involved in movement theater with the Northwestern
University Mime Company and later studied acting with the late renowned acting
teacher Alvina Krause in Bloomsburg. There he helped found the Bloomsburg
Theatre Ensemble and later, Learning Tomorrow.
The latter introduces school audiences to the arts through performance,
workshops, and computer software. One of those performances, “Aesop’s Fables,”
was developed 10 years ago.
“It’s been around so long,” said Whipple, “because it works so nicely.”
About the series
The KIDS ARTS Series will continue this season with two more shows:
On Sunday, Feb. 7, storyteller Alan Irvine will present “Tales From Around
the World.”
The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble will present the final show in the series,
“On the Westward Trail: Stories of the American Expansion” on Sunday, March 7.
If you go
WHAT KIDS ARTS featuring `Aesop’s Fables.’
WHERE Wyoming Valley Montessori School, 851 West Market St., Kingston.
WHEN Sunday, 2 p.m.
ADMISSION Free.
INFO 288-3708.