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InterAct Story Theatre’s Wheaton Family Theatre Series is a free, monthly performing arts series that runs each year fall through spring. Season 11 of Wheaton Family Theatre Series. Scroll Down Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 11: 2025—2026 To keep up on the latest news about InterAct’s Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 11 and get reminders about our next program dates, join our mailing list . We also invite you to check out our past seasons 1—10 by clicking on any of the season buttons! Season 11 Season 10 Season 8 Season 7 Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 3 Season 2 Season 1 < Back to Community Page Season 9 The Wheaton Family Theatre Series is a FREE public performing arts series for kids and families celebrating the rich diversity of our arts community. In season 11 of InterAct Story Theatre's Wheaton Family Theatre Series will present a series of interactive family events, for the Wheaton community, in theatre, dance, storytelling and world music completely FREE to the public! Thanks to the partnership support of Highland Elementary School and support from a plethora of community members; and funding from Maryland State Arts Council, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and individual and corporate donors. KidStory Theatre Festival A theatrical celebration of stories written by kids for kids Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. All year long, InterAct Story Theatre artists create stories with kids, and invite them to share their epic stories with us. This May, we’re choosing some of our favorite stories written by kids, as we present a series of short plays and stories performed by our InterActors. We can’t wait to see what kids dream up each year! Best for ages 4 and up. Past programs: InterAct Story Theatre's Encore Performance Bobtail Bong Bong A Monkey's Tale Saturday, October 18 & Sunday, October 19, 2025 Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. Bob the Monkey is the smartest monkey in the land, and they want everyone to know it! Bob the Monkey wants what they want and they want it NOW! But...why is everyone mad at Bob? Bob didn’t do anything! In this interactive forum theatre experience for kids and families, audiences follow Bob’s madcap misadventures and help Bob figure out where they went wrong and got in trouble monkeying around. Led by InterAct Story Theatre’s Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger, audience members make suggestions about how Bob could do things differently, and watch Bob and friends role play out their ideas. Can Bob flip the script and turn things around? Can Bob make things better by making better choices? Does it work? What happens next? Best for ages 4 and up. Happy Theater: The Light House Saturday, November 15 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. An interactive storytelling show with shadow puppets. On an island in a faraway sea, a little girl tends a lighthouse and never ever smiles…Until one day, when she must set out for the horizon beyond the sea! With live ukulele tunes, a ticklish octopus, and a little help from the audience, this interactive shadow puppetry tale celebrates kindness, magic adventures, and friendship. Inspired by the artist’s collection of lighthouses, this show by Happy Theater is about finding your own light, and how your light can help even faraway friends through a hard time. Best for ages 4 and up. Dancing Our Way Through Books led by Kelly King Saturday, January 10 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. Join Kelly King, InterAct Story Theatre teaching artist and founder of Contradiction Dance Theatre and The Movement Movement as we'll explore a kid-friendly story through creative movement and dance. Kids get to practice reading skills while moving, dancing, and sharing stories with our families and friends. No prior dance training needed...just bring your body and get ready to move. What a fun way to dance away the winter blues! Best for ages 3 and up. Books Alive with InterAct Story Theatre's Ali Oliver-Krueger Saturday, February 7 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. This February, InterAct Story Theatre’s Artistic Director, Ali Oliver-Krueger leads kids and adults in exploring a favorite folk tale together through movement, drama, and song. Everyone’s a part of the story in this Family Arts Workshop! Best for ages 3 and up. InterAct Story Theatre's Jewel the Great Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. InterAct Story Theatre's new play for elementary-age children and their families. Jewel is new to the small mountain town of Highview, where she struggles to fit in and make a name for herself. How can she get everyone to see her the way she wants to be seen? And what can she do when nothing seems to work, and everything she tries seems to blow up and make things worse? Children in the audience participate right from their seats, becoming members of Jewel’s community and helping Jewel along the way with problem solving. Best for ages 5 and up. TAHIRA The Storyteller Saturday, April 18 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2 p.m. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. TAHIRA isn’t just a performer; she’s a tapestry artist, intricately weaving tales and melodies into experiences that ignite hearts and minds. TAHIRA’s high-energy performances are more than entertainment; they’re journeys of human brilliance revealed through laughter, tears, and the unifying power of music. With every song and story, she champions the arts as a catalyst for social change, lighting the way to a brighter future. All ages. Mail List Past programs:

Arts are for everyone ... and everyone learns through the arts! InterAct Story Theatre is a multidisciplinary arts-in-education organization and touring theatre for young audiences. InterAct Story Theatre Arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts! interacting with our communities local performances, family workshops and community events interacting with students & learners arts education and arts integration programs for students and teachers interacting online interactive performances, school programs and community programs presented through virtual/online platforms May 16 & 17, 2026! Wheaton Family Theatre Series CLICK HERE to View Season 11! KidStory Theatre Festival A theatrical celebration of stories written by kids for kids Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 2 p.m. For kids & families at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. All year long, InterAct Story Theatre artists create stories with kids, and invite them to share their epic stories with us. This May, we’re choosing some of our favorite stories written by kids, as we present a series of short plays and stories performed by our InterActors. We can’t wait to see what kids dream up each year! Best for ages 4 and up. New * Now * Next • Stay Tuned! We're busily planning for next fall and the 2026-2027 school year. Please continue to check this website for new Information. • Wheaton Family Theatre Series InterAct Story Theatre celebrates Season 11 with our KidStory Theatre Festival May 16 & 17, 2026. FREE events for kids & families! • Interested in bringing InterAct Story Theatre to your school or community event next season? We’re selecting now for classes and events. Click here for information on KidStory Theatre , our annual May stage festival and drama-based writing program celebrating stories written by kids for kids! • Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and X to stay up to date on the latest info!

Khaleshia Thorpe-Price As an artist, she co-wrote A Journey with Jazz, an interactive performance experience for young audiences, for the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts. She perform in this production with the Wolf Trap Jazz Trio. She has served as the host for the Music Box Family Concert Series with members of the BSO at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and has directed performances in the Folger Shakespeare Children's Festival. She has worked in arts education since 2000. As a teaching artist, she has facilitated residencies and workshops for children and adults for many arts organizations including Wolf Trap, Arena Stage, Young Playwrights Theater, Young Audiences of Maryland, Folger Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare Theater Company and M-NCPP. As an arts manager, she as coordinated workshops and residencies for thousands of students and educators in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. She has partnered with many organizations including the United States Department of State, the National Portrait Gallery, and ZERO to THREE to provide unique arts learning experiences for all ages. In addition, she has managed enrichment and academic afterschool programs for D.C. Public Schools. She earned an MA in Arts Management from the University of Central Florida and a BA in Theater Arts from Morgan State University. Drama Stories on Stage Back

Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops. Early Childhood. Available Online! EARLY CHILDHOOD These are just a sampling of the many workshops we do for early childhood populations each year. All of these workshops can be expanded into a 2-, 3- or 4-day classroom residency . Providing children repeated exposure to arts-integrated learning experiences can help build and reinforce literacy skills and a host of developmental skills. Stick with one art form to create a deeper, sequentially structured learning experience or mix and match workshops to give your students a variety of arts experiences. The choice is yours! REQUEST MORE INFO Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops We are constantly designing new workshops! In fact, most of the workshops you see here were originally designed because someone asked us, "Hey, InterAct...can you do a workshop on ___________ to address __________ objective?" WE LOVE THIS. It's really our favorite thing to do. The answer is almost always, "Sure. Let's put our heads together and see what we can create!" So, if you would like an arts integration experience for your students that you don't see here, please contact us or request more info so we can design something for you! Music & Creative Opera Grades PreK-1 SONGBUILDING Students sing songs and even create an original song together as they are introduced to various musical instruments and musical styles. This workshop is led by veteran InterActor Nancy Krebs. Maximum 50 students (2 classes) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-1 LET'S SING A STORY Students explore a book or folktale through music, drama and movement. This workshop is led by InterAct's General Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger or a staff artist trained in creative opera techniques. With advance notice, we can tailor a workshop to meet your specific theme, content area or curricular objective. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-2 A MUSICAL JOURNEY TO WEST AFRICA A taste of West African culture is explored thorough games, dances and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Dance Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DANCING OUR WAY THROUGH BOOKS An InterAct dance artist leads students in a movement experience rooted in age-appropriate children's literature or multicultural folk tales. This dynamic approach to reading comprehension and emerging literacy also gives students a chance to practice locomotor and non-locomotor movement, personal space, and gross-motor skills. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DANCING THROUGH THE CURRICULUM Let us design a workshop to fit your theme, content area, or curricular topic! Drama Grades PreK-1 Available Online! STORY CAN THEATRE Students are mesmerized as they observe a story brought to life with miniatures and toys. The students then dramatize scenes from the story. The workshop stresses oral language and emergent literacy skills. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! BOOKS ALIVE Books come to life as students explore an age-appropriate children's book or folktale in this literature-based creative drama experience designed to promote literacy skills, comprehension, and oral language skills. Note: Books Alive workshops can be developed to connect with almost any theme or curriculum area, with advance notice and planning time. Please contact us for more information! Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! BOOKS + MATH = DRAMA Students learn fundamental math skills through this literature-based creative drama workshop. With advance notice, workshops can be designed to meet a specific math indicator or benchmark. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 30-45-minute session. Grades PreK-2 Available Online! DRAMA BY DESIGN: CURRICULUM-BASED DRAMA WORKSHOPS Let us design a workshop to fit your theme, content area, or curricular topic! Early Childhood Elementary School Middle & High School Students < Back to InterAct in Schools

Available Online! A variety of classroom workshops integrating drama, dance, and music into classroom curricula for grades preK through high school. All workshops are designed to meet state standards and objectives in both the art form and the content area being addressed. Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops InterAct Story Theatre conducts a variety of classroom workshops integrating drama, dance, and music into classroom curricula for grades preK through high school. All workshops are designed to meet state standards and objectives in both the art form and the content area being addressed. Scroll down for a sampling of some of our workshop offerings for different age and grade levels. Or, contact us or request more info about designing a classroom workshop for you! Many of our classroom workshops can be expanded into 2, 3- or 4-day artist-in-residence programs. See our page of Classroom Residencies for more information . REQUEST MORE INFO Early Education Elementary School Middle & High School Students < Back to InterAct in Schools

Emily Townsend Emily Townsend (she/her/hers) has worked as a teaching artist throughout the Washington metropolitan region, for organizations ranging from the Sitar Arts Center to the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where she spent a season interning in the Education Department. Also a passionate musician, she has spent the last several years singing with some of the leading symphonic choirs in the area, and has performed with world-class conductors and orchestras both in Washington and internationally. Emily has been a featured guest artist with 1928 and the New Resonance Orchestra. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Maryland, College Park in Theatre History and Performance Studies, specializing in historical Shakespearean performance. Emily currently manages and contributes to Two Hours' Traffic, a website devoted to theatrical reviews and criticism for the Washington DC region and beyond. Creative Drama, Dramaturgy, Devising Artistic Administrator and Literary Manager Back

Online Professional Development for MSAC review: Responsive Playmaking Thank you for reviewing this virtual professional development session for addition to InterAct Story Theatre’s AiE Roster listing! InterAct Story Theatre has a wide range of professional development options for educators, artists, and nonprofit organizations. About this workshop This virtual professional development workshop is the first in a series of three sessions, with asynchronous learning in between through materials provided by InterAct Story Theatre on our web portal & Google classroom. The virtual workshop submitted here is Day One of this three-day program, and is intended as an overview of the strategy. Prior to the session, participants completed a short pre-workshop survey, and this workshop was tailored based on the results of the survey. This iteration of professional development of Responsive Playmaking is conducted by InterAct Story Theatre’s Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger with a cohort of teaching artists, classroom educators, and veteran InterAct Story Theatre artistic staff members engaging in continuing education. A Technical Rider outlining the program coordination and tech rehearsal process is uploaded here, as well as the slides of the Powerpoint. In addition to these materials, participants receive a pre-workshop and post-workshop survey as well as access to asynchronous materials through our web portal, our Google Classroom page for this workshop, or the workshop Padlet (in place of a traditional printed teacher packet). CLICK HERE FOR TECHNICAL RIDER CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO CLICK HERE FOR SESSION 1 POWERPOINT SLIDES

The Hero of EVERYTHING Click Here to read the review by Sarah Shah with DC Theater Arts September 26, 2022 “A delightful way to spend an hour with a young person on a weekend.” < Back to Press

Kelly King Dance Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Season 1 of Wheaton Family Theatre Series Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 1: October, 2015 through February, 2016 The Hero of Everything October 2015 Kids and adults become superheroes for a day in this play about the importance of teamwork and the problems of trying to be The Captain of EVERYTHING. Diane Macklin November 2015 Have a hoppin’ good time with Master Storyteller Diane Macklin, sharing legendary tales of America’s folk heroes through this interactive, storytelling program for all ages. Drumming Through Time and Across Cultures December 2015 Join award-winning composer and percussionist Tom Teasley on a unique musical journey around the world, following the Silk Road from Italy to China and the Sugar Trade Route from Africa to the Americas in one unforgettable performance! Story Tapestries January 2016 Get ready to dance, sing, wiggle and giggle with the Giggling Wiggling Bookworm, Arianna Ross. Eat your fill of stories as the bookworm in you finds a new, exciting story to share. One Gold Coin - Una moneda de oro February 2016 An interactive, bilingual play for kids and families inspired by a Latin American story about the power of kindness and giving. One Gold Coin — Una moneda de oro tells the story of a great healer who comes to a village in El Salvador with a magical gold coin. Audience members "get into the act" right from their seats, singing, acting, and becoming the villagers of Regalo who see the coin pass through many hands as it works its magic. Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 3 Season 2 Season 11 To keep up on the latest news about InterAct’s Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 11 and get reminders about our next program dates, join our mailing list . We also invite you to check out our past seasons by clicking on any of the season buttons! < Back to Community Page Season 7 Season 8 Season 1 Season 9 Season 10

The Legend of Pufferfish Pat A Tall Tale for Mad Times Click Here to read the review by DC Theater Arts September 13, 2017 “The goal of The Legend of Pufferfish Pat was to create a work in which families can hear characters share their tips and ideas for managing angry feelings and see characters modeling different anger management strategies. But don’t tell the kids that. The kids will just know that they are having fun!” Click Here to read the review by DC Theatre Scene September 14, 2017 “The most impressive aspect to the piece is the clever manner in which various themes are subtlety reenforced....Also impressive is the manner in which a secondary theme regarding gender plays out. Without preaching or knocking a brick wall onto the audience, the script also makes a point of encouraging us to embrace choices outside of traditional gender expectations.” Click Here to read the review by MD Theatre Guide Five Stars! September 13, 2017 “Pufferfish Pat was a Top Five Show of the Week , Pufferfish Pat is charming and funny with versatile actors!” Click Here to read the review by Theatre Bloom Five Stars! September 11, 2017 “Ali Oliver-Krueger’s play is smart, simply put. It teaches a lesson without feeling preachy or pedantic, and it is easily accessible to kids of all ages, even relevant to adults! The words and descriptions that Oliver-Krueger uses to accurately express what it feels like to have an anger attack are vivid and extremely relatable. Oliver-Krueger expresses the importance of anger being a normal human emotion and the fact that it can be healthy to feel it while acknowledging the fact that there are healthy ways in which it can be expressed. She manages to do this in a fashion that is accessible to young audiences without feeling too childish and it makes the story full of heart and great learning opportunities.” < Back to Press

Artist-in-Residence programs, or residencies, combine a series of workshops and a performance to create an in-depth arts-based learning experience for students and teachers. Available Online! Arts Education & Arts Integration: Artist-in-Residence Programs Artist-in-Residence programs, or residencies, combine a series of workshops and a performance to create an in-depth arts-based learning experience for students and teachers. As arts integration specialists, InterAct Story Theatre conducts many residencies each school year, connecting the arts with learning objectives in a variety of subjects in preK-12. The following pages list just a few sample residencies that we have conducted in the past. A number of these residencies were designed or adapted especially to suit the needs of the partner school. REQUEST MORE INFO Artist-in-Residence programs for students of all ages and their teachers Artist-in-Residence programs, or residencies, combine a series of workshops and a performance to create an in-depth arts-based learning experience for students and teachers As arts integration specialists, InterAct Story Theatre conducts many residencies each school year, connecting the arts with learning objectives in a variety of subjects in preK-12. The following pages list just a few sample residencies that we have conducted in the past. A number of these residencies were designed or adapted especially to suit the needs of the partner school. Interested in how an InterAct residency can infuse the arts into your learning objectives? Please contact us or request more info ! Sample Residencies Most of the residencies InterAct Story Theatre leads in schools and learning spaces are individually designed or adaptive residencies: We partner with teachers and schools to talk about what your goals are, and then design a residency to meet those needs. Here are just a few of the residencies InterAct has led recently connecting drama, dance, music and creative opera with content curricula. For more information, please contact us or fill out our response form ! Sample Early Childhood Residencies These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs, or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! Available Online! Books Alive! - a creative drama approach to foster language and emerging literacy skills. Available Online! Responsive Playmaking: Creating Curriculum-Based Theatre in the Classroom - In this project-based residency, students explore a curriculum topic, a text or set of texts, a theme, or an event as actors and theatre-makers, and then work together to devise or create an original scene, drama, play, or story inspired by what they’ve learned. All stories, plays, scenes, and dramas created in this residency are submitted for consideration in InterAct Story Theatre’s KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written for kids by kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors in the annual Festival! Available Online! Books + Math = Drama! - students explore selected math concepts through age-appropriate literature and creative drama. Available Online! Penny's Puppets - students build literacy skills and gain hands-on experience with different types of puppetry. Available Online! Creative Arts for Early Childhood - Mix and match among our many early childhood workshops to create a multidisciplinary arts residency for your students Available Online! Sing it! Dance it! Act it! - an exploration of a text through music, dance and drama. Available Online! Dancing Through the Rainforest - exploring the flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest through dance and creative movement. Available Online! OPERAtunities for Reading - a creative opera residency designed for early childhood populations And more! Please contact us or fill out our response form for more details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. Sample Residencies for Elementary School These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs , or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! Available Online! Responsive Playmaking: Creating Curriculum-Based Theatre in the Classroom - In this project-based residency, students explore a curriculum topic, a text or set of texts, a theme, or an event as actors and theatre-makers, and then work together to devise or create an original scene, drama, play, or story inspired by what they’ve learned. All stories, plays, scenes, and dramas created in this residency are submitted for consideration in InterAct Story Theatre’s KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written for kids by kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors in the annual Festival! Available Online! The Play's The Thing - This classic InterAct residency is based on one of our featured assembly programs. Students attend a performance of one of InterAct's featured plays, and then participate in creative drama workshops in which they explore the themes of the play. This residency connects with curriculum standards in Reading Literature, Writing, and Speaking & Listening as well as fine arts standards in Theatre. Available Online! Books Alive! - Students explore text through creative drama, and develop original scenes extending the themes/plot of the text. This residency can be adapted to connect with curriculum standards in Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text, as well as standards in Speaking & Listening, Writing, and Theatre. Available Online! The Folktales Project - Students explore select folkloric traditions, and develop their own folktale incorporating both elements of good story structure and conventions of folklore. Available Online! History Alive! - Students explore historical events through creative drama, in a process that enables students to develop more understanding for the human factor behind key historical events, people, movements and eras. Requires advance notice of topic and planning. Available Online! Reader's Theatre - A creative drama approach in which students develop and perform a readers' theatre script. Available Online! OPERAtunities for Writing - A creative opera residency designed to promote writing skills. Available Online! Playbuilding - An extended residency project in which students devise original performance pieces. Available Online! Creating a Colonial Village - Students examine appropriate text and data sources to explore colonial occupations, and then use acting tools and skills, technical theatre and design ideas, and simple craft materials to transform their classroom into a colonial village. And more! Please contact us or fill out our response form for more details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. Sample Residencies for Middle and High School These are just some examples of residencies we’ve designed and implemented over the past few years. Contact us or request more info for any of these programs , or if you would like us to design something especially for your learning community! Available Online! Exploring Shakespeare's Themes - expanded from the single workshop to offer a more in-depth exploration of a select Shakespearean play. Available Online! The Underground Railroad and the Civil War - Students explore issues surrounding the Underground Railroad and Civil War through the creative drama strategy of tableaux. Available Online! The City Dionysia/Greek and Roman Mythology - Students explore Greek mythology and theatre through creative drama, tableaux, and theatrical design. Available Online! Novel OPERAtunities - students explore key thematic issues of a select novel and create original operatic arias or scenes in this residency designed to foster text-to-self connection and an understanding of character traits and motivations. Available Online! OPERAtunities to Make History - students explore key events and eras of history through creative opera. Available Online! Devising Original Theatre - an extended artist-in-residence program in which a teaching artist works with a group of students to develop and perform a short original piece. And more! Please contact us or request more info for details, or ask us how we can design a residency for you. < Back to InterAct in Schools