Historic Little Red Wagon Launches 2007 Season
June 6, 2007
Top row, left to right: Falko Schilling, Rachel Elias. Bottom row, left
to right: Kelsey Bevins, Julia Robertson, Josiah Parsons
A clever tortoise, a frisky sheepdog, and a lovable family on summer vacation
are gearing up to delight audiences with UNH’s Little Red Wagon’s
36th season. The tour kicks off June 12 in Shapleigh Maine.
The Little Red Wagon, the nation’s oldest performing arts program
for children, visits libraries, recreation centers, town greens, schools,
and other public and private venues throughout the New England States.
This summer the program offers two different show selections. For pre-school
audiences, the troupe will perform caravan style, with red T shirts and
a puppet stage in “Truckin’ with the Wagon.” Conceived
and directed by Red Wagon alum and UNH lecturer Sarah Marschner, “Truckin’ with
the Wagon” aligns with the New Hampshire Library Association’s
summer reading theme.
“It’s all about the kids,” says Marschner, who created
the show to include as much movement and participation from the audience
as possible.
This year’s audiences will meet a family on a road trip throughout
the Northeast, and participate in their adventures at the shore, the mountains,
the lakes, the forests and everything in between.
The second selection is a National Endowment for the Humanities “We
the People” Bookshelf Selection for 2007-2008. Geared toward the
school-age child, “Don’t Count Your Chickens Until They Cry
Wolf,” is a scripted musical production of Aesop’s famous fables
featuring the Tortoise and the Hare, the Fox, and offers a rousing number
featuring the sun and the wind.
Audiences will enjoy colorful costumes, beautiful sets, and irresistible
animal puppets. Directed by UNH theatre and dance lecturer Carol Jo Fisher, “Don’t
Count Your Chickens Until They Cry Wolf” by Carol Lynn Pearson is
produced by special arrangement with Anchorage Press Plays. Fisher also
designed the set and costumes.
Little Red Wagon performers are multi-talented actors who take part in
all aspects of the tour, including set up, break down, and driving thousands
of miles in their famous Red Wagon trucks. This year’s five member
troupe hails from Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut and represents
not only UNH but also Skidmore College and Duke University.
The tour runs June 12 through August 10. For more information go to
www.unh.edu/theatre-dance/wagon.html.
The Little Red Wagon, part of UNH’s Theatre Resources for Youth
(TRY), provides programs to promote theatre and enhance education and culture
in New England communities. In 1966, TRY was established through a federal
grant in cooperation with the New Hampshire Commission on the Arts to provide
performances and workshops in children’s theatre. TRY has been instrumental
in the introduction of theatre education into the public school system
as a supportive tool for reading and learning.
To schedule The Little Red Wagon or for more information, contact Nancy
Pearson, director of marketing and communications, at 2-2150 or at n.pearson@unh.edu.
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