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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 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. • 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! • InterAct is casting! Visit interactstory.com/work-with-us , Casting call for our 2026-2027 Season. • Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and X to stay up to date on the latest info!

Looking for opportunities with InterAct Story Theatre? We want to hear from you! Work with Us Scroll Down Call for Performing Artists and Ensembles: Wheaton Family Theatre Series InterAct Story Theatre is looking for artists and ensembles interested in performing as part of the Wheaton Family Theatre Series, a free performing arts series for kids and families produced by InterAct. The series has included theatre, storytelling, clowning, West African drumming and dance, global percussion, opera, capoeira, and more, and seeks to reflect the diverse community of Wheaton back to its audiences. Performances take place on weekends in the fall, and last no more than 45 minutes. All programs will take place virtually, and must be family-friendly. Interested performers and ensembles should submit program information including program description, photo and/or sample video (if available), and performance fee rates to info@interactstory.com with the subject header Wheaton Submission. To learn more about InterAct Story Theatre and our core values of Humans treating Humans like Humans, visit our About Us page . Thank you! Casting call for 2026-2027 Season CONTRACT Non-Equity, $95 per performance and $18/hour for rehearsal. AUDITION DATES by Appointment Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 – 9 pm in Silver Spring Wednesday, July 15, 6:30 – 9 pm in Silver Spring Saturday, July 18, 9:30 – 2:30 pm in DC Auditions by zoom may be possible by appointment, depending on auditor availability. APPOINTMENTS To sign up for an audition time please fill out this form: Audition Form Please email ali[at]interactstory.com with any questions. SEEKING Actors for two productions: Not My Monkey (Educational tour in MD/DC/VA); KidStory Theatre Festival (in Wheaton, MD) PREPARATION Please prepare the sides (email to you after you sign up for an audition). Actors interested in Not My Monkey may be asked to engage in a short movement and/or improv moment. For some roles in Not My Monkey, you may be asked to sing 8 – 16 bars a cappella. 1. Not My Monkey Directed by: Ali Oliver-Krueger First Rehearsal: mid-February 2027 Performances: March 20 – late May, 2027 in locations throughout the DMV region (Average 2 performances a week, with time off for spring break) SYNOPSIS: Trouble under the big top! The new ringleader wants to do a good job leading her zany crew of circus folk, but there’s a new problem every time she turns around, and no one wants to pitch in or even try to get along. To make matters worse, the monkeys have broken loose and are wreaking havoc everywhere! How can a community work together to solve its problems, when everyone thinks it’s not their problem to solve? And how can the community work together to stop the monkey madness? Everyone in the audience gets into the act right from where they’re sitting, becoming part of the community of performers and townspeople who need to tackle this hair-raising problem. SEEKING: 3 actors. Actors with movement, clowning, improv, and TYA/teaching artist experience especially encouraged to audition! Actor 1: (Female or nonbinary, 20s, open ethnicity) Plays the Circus Leader, Tekla Żaba Actor 2: (Female, open age, open ethnicity) Plays Clown 2, The Bearded Lady (Delia the Dazzler; singing role), The Knife Thrower’s Wife (Agata the Adorable; Polish, offstage voice), Glenda, the Magician’s Assistant (non-speaking role)The Community Leader (lead facilitator in Town Hall Meeting open forum). Must be comfortable singing a short song. Actor 3: (Male or nonbinary, open age, open ethnicity) Plays Clown 1, Lion Tamer (Gunther Gebel Wilhelm, Austrian), Knife Thrower (Mariusz the Magnificent, Polish), The Magician (Alexy the Amazing, British) +++ 2. KidStory Theatre Festival Rehearsal Dates: 5 - 6 rehearsals starting late April 2027; exact rehearsal dates/times are based on actor and space availability. Performances: Weekend of May 15-16, 2026 in Wheaton, MD SYNOPSIS: All year long, InterAct Story Theatre artists create stories with kids, and invite them to share their epic stories with us. We’re choosing some of our favorite stories written by kids over the year, as we present a series of short plays and stories performed by professional actors. SEEKING: Four Actors (open ethnicity and gender) who are flexible, have good timing and are able to learn lines and adapt quickly. +++ Volunteer Opportunities We are always looking for volunteers to help during events and help with other projects at InterAct Story Theatre. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact at info@interactstory.com or fill out our mailing list form in our page footer and be sure to check the volunteer box!

Want to bring InterAct to your community? We want to hear from you! You can get in touch with InterAct Story Theatre in a variety of ways Contact Us Scroll Down Want to know more? Want to bring InterAct to your community? We want to hear from you! You can get in touch with InterAct Story Theatre in a variety of ways: Schedule a Program: Response Form You can fill out our Response Form , and we'll get right back to you about bringing InterAct Story Theatre to your school or center. Work with Us: To find out about open opportunities with InterAct Story Theatre, follow this link: interactstory.com/work-with-us . Find Us Online and Follow Us: Follow us on Facebook , Twitter or check out our [currently tiny] YouTube channel. Join Our Mailing List: To keep up on the latest news about InterAct Story Theatre and get reminders about our next program dates, join our mailing list . Call Us or Drop Us a Line: Email: info@interactstory.com (general mailbox) General office phone: (301) 879-9305 FAX (240) 491-9884 Send Us Snail Mail: If you need to send something by U.S. Mail, please send it to: InterAct Story Theatre 11510 Georgia Avenue, Suite 140 Wheaton, MD 20902 Mail List

Rabbits and Sharks! A reimagined retelling of a Japanese mukashibanashi (folk tale) by Ali Oliver-Krueger We hope you like this story! If you want to read it, here it is in English and Spanish . After you watch the video, check out these activities and discussion ideas in English and activities and discussion ideas in Spanish ! Talking about stories is a great way to practice reading, speaking, and language skills. Enjoy the show! ¡Esperamos que le guste esta historia! Si quiere leerla, aquí está en inglés y en español . ¡Después de ver el video, revise estas actividades e ideas de discusión en inglés y también en españo l ! Hablar de historias es una excelente forma de practicar las destrezas de lectura, conversación y el idioma. ¡Disfrute de la presentación! Rabbits & Sharks! Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Post-performance Activities and Discussion Talking with our family after watching a show is a great way to practice speaking, reading, and listening skills! Here are some questions and activities to try with your children in English and in Spanish . We'd love to hear your ideas, hear what you think, and see the pictures and stories you make! If you would like to share your thoughts, ideas, and art with us write to us at emailus@interactstory.com . Thank you for coming to our show online! ¡Nos encantaría escuchar sus ideas, oír lo que piensa, y ver las fotos e historias que hace! Si quiere compartir sus opiniones, ideas y arte con nosotros escríbanos a emailus@interactstory.com . ¡Gracias por venir a nuestra presentación en línea!

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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

Since our founding in 1981, InterAct Story Theatre has been dedicated to providing quality performances, arts-infused workshops and artist-in-residency programs for students, teachers and families throughout our region and across the country. About Us Scroll Down Our Vision and Our Mission Arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts! InterAct Story Theatre is a theatre for young audiences and multidisciplinary arts-in-education organization based in Wheaton, Maryland, an urban district just outside of Washington, DC. Our mission is to create meaningful, accessible, interactive theatre and arts learning experiences for kids and the people who love them--especially to those who experience economic, social, or geographic barriers to equitable arts access. We believe that every kid, every grown-up, everywhere deserves great theatre, whether or not you can get to a theatre building. We believe that everyone, everywhere can learn and grow through artistic creation and exploration. And we believe that the arts help foster communication and understanding in our communities, because the arts help us express our ideas, our hopes, our emotions and our experiences when words alone are not enough. We create and produce original theatre for young audiences (professional artists performing for children, youth, families, and communities); present arts programming in our local community; and design and implement innovative, engaging, effective theatre and arts-based educational programs for all ages and stages. In our educational work, we are dedicated to providing quality performances, arts-infused workshops and artist-in-residency programs for students, teachers and families throughout our region and across the country. As experts in arts education and arts integration, InterAct is committed to producing arts programs with artistic integrity and direct relevance to the educational objectives of the schools and community organizations we serve. Our merry band of performers and teaching artists weave their artistry in theatre and drama, music, dance, creative opera and filmmaking with content curricula for students and teachers of all ages. Statement on Equity, Justice, and Inclusion: InterAct Story Theatre believes in equity, justice, and inclusion for all. We believe our work is stronger by the many voices, perspectives, and experiences we bring to the organization and the field. We actively welcome and include all people regardless of race, socioeconomic class, color, national origin, religion, diverse perspectives, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, neurological or physical ability, veteran status, legal status, or education level. Our Core Values Humans treating Humans like Humans Our work at InterAct Story Theatre—on stage, in the community, in the classroom, and behind the scenes, are driven by these core values: Arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts People above things Be open, be transparent, be inclusive Compassion and respect above all InterAct Story Theatre creates performances and arts learning opportunities for all ages in: Drama and Theatre Applied Theatre Playwriting and Devising Improv for Actors Music Creative Opera Dance Creative Movement Media Arts and Technology Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Arts Redirect-Company InterAct Story Theatre Company Members Steve Barker Teaching Artist Lenore Blank Kelner Founder Drama, Creative Drama Ingrid Bork Performing Artist Jordan Brown Performing Artist Amber Coleman Performing Artist Kelly King Teaching & Performing Artist Dance Nancy Krebs Teaching & Performing Artist Music Marian Licha Teaching & Performing Artist Drama, Storytelling Anabel Milton Teaching Artist Ali Oliver-Krueger Executive Artistic Director Drama, Music, Opera, Storytelling, Puppetry Pete Oliver-Krueger CTO/Technical Director Theatrical & Product Design, Multimedia Design Penny Russell Teaching & Performing Artist Puppetry Tom Teasley Teaching & Performing Artist World Music, Drumming Khaleshia Thorpe-Price Stories on Stage Drama Emily Townsend Artistic Administrator and Literary Manager Creative Drama, Dramaturgy, Devising Erica Washington Teaching & Performing Artist Steve Wolf Design & Publications Manager Drama, Visual Arts Anchor 1

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

Performances & Assembly Programs. Online programs. InterAct Story Theatre has brought a wide variety of educational, interactive performances, plays, and assembly programs to schools, libraries, and community venues, all throughout the area, delighting children, families, and educators alike. Performances & Assembly Programs Since 1981, InterAct Story Theatre has brought a wide variety of educational, interactive performances, plays, and assembly programs to schools, libraries, and community venues, all throughout the area, delighting children, families, and educators alike. Many of these programs will be available virtual/online! Just look for the box saying Available Online! next to program listings. REQUEST MORE INFO Featured Plays for School Audiences InterAct Story Theatre is proud to offer a variety of performances tailored to children and young adults of all ages. Please scroll down and click through to check out our featured plays, storytelling and story theatre programs, and coming soon exciting new performance programs featuring music, dance, and "hybrid" multidisciplinary programs! Storytelling Performances Storytelling and story drama programs celebrating cultures from around the world. "Stories on Stage" programs combine storytelling, drama, and song to explore world cultures. Our gifted performers become a variety of characters while bringing a story to life. Students "get into the act" too by participating in this riveting experience. World Music & Dance InterAct has enchanted audiences for years with our story theatre productions, plays and storytelling performances. As we begin our fourth decade of arts for young audiences, we're celebrating the talents of our wonderful teaching artists and adding programs in Music, Dance and Multidisciplinary/Hybrid performances. We'll be adding more programs soon! Family & Community Programs All of our programs are available for evening or weekend events and family audiences. InterAct Story Theatre performances can be adapted for a wide variety of venues, including libraries, museums, community centers, arts centers and festivals. Please contact us for more information! Also, if you are interested in family programming, please feel free to check out our family literacy programs and community building programs! < Back to InterAct in Schools

About these residency sessions/videos: This virtual residency is a recreation of an in-person residency conducted with kindergarten students in Spring 2020. The residency was designed to integrate creative drama (story dramatization and responsive playmaking) with Math (Counting & Cardinality; Operations), Speaking & Listening, and Reading Literature. Like our other programs, our residency design process applies principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and best practices in working with students who are ELL/ESOL to create programming that is flexible and allows students to participate meaningfully in the least restrictive, most supportive environment possible. The original residency was 4 30-minute sessions long; virtual sessions were adapted and piloted with a planned structure of six 15- to 20-minute sessions in mind, based on the needs and scheduling constraints shared by our school partners. For the purpose of these review videos, each video fuses together what would be two 15-20 minute sessions into one 30-minute session, so reviewers can see the entire story or story-building process if they so choose. The six sessions of this residency are planned as follows: Session 1: What is acting? Warm-up; use voice, body, imagination to become a character in today's story; share first 1/2 of story; reflect, closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 2: Warm up; assess recall of the first half of the story, and reinforce recall as needed; share 2nd half of story; sequence the main events of the story; reflect; closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 3: Warm-up, introduce acting tools and skills chart (Imagination, Voice, Body, Imagination, Cooperation, Concentration), review story as actors; dramatize story using Group Role Drama or Simultaneous Drama as appropriate to needs, progress and skills of students; reflect, closing ritual, and transition to classroom teacher for next activity. Session 4 and Session 5: After warming up and reviewing acting tools and skills, the teaching artist leads students in students working together to create a new, original story based on the story we learned and acted out in sessions 1 - 3. In this residency, students create a sequel for "Rooster's Off to See the World", in which Rooster goes on a trip to a new setting. We create the first half of the story in session 4, the second half in session 5. Sessions close with reflection, closing ritual and transition. Session 6: Following the same basic procedure as Session 3, students dramatize the sequel they created. The residency closes with final reflection, ritual closing, and transition. Online Residency Submission for MSAC review: Rooster’s Off to See the World (K-2) Thank you for reviewing this online performance for addition to InterAct Story Theatre’s AiE Roster listing! InterAct Story Theatre has visiting performances for a wide range of educational and family audiences. This program was designed for students in grades PreK-1, some of whom are with a teacher in a classroom, and some of whom are at home with a family member. Advance Planning and Technical Preparation A Technical Rider outlining the program coordination and tech rehearsal process is uploaded below. In addition to this tech packet, partner organizations also receive access to asynchronous learning materials on InterAct’s web portal and/or Google Classroom for the workshop/residency, and links to feedback forms. CLICK HERE FOR TECHNICAL RIDER CLICK HERE TO WATCH "DAY 1-2" VIDEO: INTRODUCING THE STORY/DRAMA + MATH! CLICK HERE TO WATCH "DAY 4-5" VIDEO: CREATING A SEQUEL

One Gold Coin–Una moneda de oro Click Here to read the review by DC Theater Arts Five Stars! September 12, 2016 “My children loved the opportunity to sing, clap, create drum rolls, and otherwise become part of the story. InterAct does a great job of allowing children to actively participate in the theater experience, with interactive crafts set up in the lobby before and after the show and a list of discussion questions in the program for parents to use as discussion starters after the show...One Gold Coin – Una moneda de oro is a delightful show and I would highly recommend it to parents...” Click Here to read the review by Theatre Bloom Five Stars! September 12, 2016 “Working to serve the company’s mission of actively involving young audiences in the production in a way that is interactive, Director Ali Oliver-Krueger and her performance team of three achieve the high standard set by this statement and the result is a fantastical time for everyone in attendance. From pre-show Gold-Coin making activities to the chance to be a part of the plot by singing, gesturing, and other interactive moments, Oliver-Krueger ensures that everyone who sees the show gets the maximum InterAct Story experience from doing so.” Click Here to read the Preview by DC Theater Arts August 23, 2016 “It is an amazing opportunity for InterAct Story Theatre’s local artists to perform for their hometown community, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for local audiences to enjoy a play that has delighted thousands of children throughout the region.” < Back to Press

World Music and Dance World Music & Dance InterAct has enchanted audiences for years with our story theatre productions, plays and storytelling performances. As we begin our fourth decade of arts for young audiences, we're celebrating the talents of our wonderful teaching artists and adding programs in Music, Dance and Multidisciplinary/Hybrid performances. We'll be adding more programs soon! Drumming Through Time and Across Cultures with Tom Teasley (programs for grades PreK-12) Available Online! Join award-winning composer and world percussionist Tom Teasley on a unique journey through the history of percussion from around the world! Audiences travel the Silk Road from Italy to China and follow the Sugar Trade Route from Africa to the Americas. This program for all ages combines ancient instruments with the most recent advances in music technology, including digital looping. Audiences are captivated as Tom creates and records performances in real time, layering elements to create virtual percussion ensembles of up to five “performers”. Described in the Washington Post as “a percussionist in the widest and most exuberant sense of the word”, Tom is a two-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Theatre Award for Outstanding Sound Design and a three-time recipient of a Fulbright-Hayes grant for performances in the Middle East. For more information Contact us or request more info . Featured Plays Stories on Stage World Music Family Programs < Back to InterAct in Schools