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Penny Russell Penny Russell has worked as a writer, director and performer with the Blue Sky Puppet Theatre since 1994. She performs with Good Life Theatre, with whom she just completed a three year run at Wolf Trap, and sings with the Swing Set Trio and the Roland Cumberland Orchestra. Past performing credits include Bread and Puppet Theater, The Other Opera Company, Adventure Theatre and The Puppet Company at Glen Echo. Penny has worked as a director and performer for Seize the Day: Mixed Abilities Performance, Quest 4 Arts, Camp Jabberwocky on Martha's Vineyard, Camp Tulgey Wood on Nantucket, and the Iona Community in Scotland. In addition to teaching and performing with InterAct Story Theatre, Penny is a teaching artist with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts and with ArtsStream. Puppetry Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Kelly King For over 10 years, Kelly has worked with teachers and students on adaptive movement bringing dance to all types of students. She has founded three dance programs, including the CityDance Center at Strathmore (2004) and Contradiction Dance (2007), led countless professional development workshops for educators nationwide, consulted for the DC Collaborative for the Arts and Humanities (2006-2008), and served St. Mary’s College of Maryland teaching all levels of improvisation, composition, jazz and modern dance (2006-2009). Currently, Kelly teaches beginners through professional levels of dance to students ranging from pre-school to senior citizens, including adults with disabilities. She also leads Moving Dialogues workshops to engage and empower non-dancers in the artistic process through their own writing and movement. As a trainer in arts integration, she also leads workshops designed to create the next generation of master educators. Dance Teaching & Performing Artist Back

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 this fall and the 2024-2025 school year. Please continue to check this website for new Information. ​ • Interested in bringing InterAct Story Theatre to your school or community event? 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! ​ • Our Next Wheaton Family Theatre Series event is October 5 & 6. FREE event for kids & families! • Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest info! Celebrating our 10th Anniversary Season of the Wheaton Family Theatre Series! This November! We welcome Story Tapestries featuring Jamaal "Mr. Root" Collier Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 2 p.m. The Wheaton Family Theatre Festival for kids and families is FREE and open to the public! No tickets or registration needed. Event held at Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 . In November we welcome Story Tapestries back to Wheaton Family Theatre Series. Their program features the dynamic Hip Hop artist Jamaal "Mr. Root" Collier. Jamaal's interactive and engaging Hip Hop-based performance is challenging, fun and entertaining! Each member of the audience has an opportunity to 'GET INVOLVED' with call-and-response, steady beat chants, pop quizzes, beat production and even some group dancing! Jamaal explains the importance of expressing yourself and explains how some legends of the culture have done the same. This performance is fun to watch but it's even better when you GET INVOLVED! Best for ages 4 and up. CLICK HERE to view Season 10

Scroll Down Wheaton Family Theatre Series Celebrating 10 years of the Series with a return of audience favorites To keep up on the latest news about InterAct’s Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 10 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! Season 10 Season 9 Season 8 Season 7 Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 3 Season 2 Season 1 < Back to Community Page Season 10: 2024—2025 The Wheaton Family Theatre Series is a FREE public performing arts series for kids and families. Let the celebration begin! We are honored to present our 10th Anniversary Season of InterAct Story Theatre's Wheaton Family Theatre Series. We are bringing back some amazing favorites for kids and families that celebrate the rich diversity of our arts community. In season 10 of InterAct Story Theatre's Wheaton Family Theatre Series we 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, Nora Roberts Foundation, and individual and corporate donors. Support also provided by a grant from the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Story Tapestries featuring Jamaal "Mr. Root" Collier Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, November 10, 2024 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. In November we welcome Story Tapestries back to Wheaton Family Theatre Series. Their program features the dynamic Hip Hop artist Jamaal "Mr. Root" Collier. Jamaal's interactive and engaging Hip Hop-based performance is challenging, fun and entertaining! Each member of the audience has an opportunity to 'GET INVOLVED' with call-and-response, steady beat chants, pop quizzes, beat production and even some group dancing! Jamaal explains the importance of expressing yourself and explains how some legends of the culture have done the same. This performance is fun to watch but it's even better when you GET INVOLVED! A Family Literacy Fiesta with InterAct's Ali Oliver-Krueger Books Alive Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, January 12, 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. This January, celebrate the start of the New Year as 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. Dancing Our Way Through Books led by Kelly King February 2025, dates TBD: Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday 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 folk tale 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. The Legend of Pufferfish Pat: A Tall Tale for Mad Times Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11 a.m. and Sunday, March 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. The Legend of Pufferfish Pat: A Tall Tale for Mad Times is a play set in the Old West, looking at how we deal with anger and other big feelings. When Pat gets angry, he blows up like a Pufferfish, which gets him a new name and a reputation that he doesn't want. With the little town of Gravy Gulch heating up for the annual gravy cook off, it's more important than ever that he keep his cool! Where can he go to find folks who might understand? The play is performed by actors appearing as a multitude of characters, with the whole audience becoming cowpokes and townspeople right from where they sit! . Happenstance Theatre: PREPOSTEROUS! Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 11 a.m. and Sunday, April 6, 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. InterAct Story Theatre welcomes back our friends from Happenstance Theater as these charming vintage clowns play circus animals, sing as a human calliope, do a classic circus mirror routine, invent a number of ridiculous “entrées,” perform live music, and execute a preposterous slow motion number involving a pie! All ages. KidStory Theatre Festival A theatrical celebration of stories written by kids for kids Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 11 a.m. and Sunday, May 18, 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. 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 over the years, 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: Award-winning world musician & composer Tom Teasley A Journey Around the World through Music Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 11 a.m. & Sunday, October 6, 2024 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 October, Tom Teasley, award-winning percussionist, world musician and composer returns to Wheaton! Tom dazzles audiences with an inspiring cross-cultural musical journey around the world, weaving ancient musical traditions with modern technology. A unique performance not to be missed! Great for all ages. Mail List

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

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

Erica Washington ​ ​ Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Tina Canady Tina Canady is a black, queer theater artist. Since earning her BFA in drama from NYU, Tina has worked with several theaters across Baltimore, including Single Carrot Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, and Submersive Productions, LLC, where she serves as an artistic associate. Tina is passionate about creating new works, arts integration and continuing to cultivate her black joy! When she's not performing or teaching, she can usually be found playing board games, laughing or buying new wacky socks! Drama Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Marshal Bailey Marshall Bailey (he/him) is a teaching artist and actor. At Salisbury University he studied both theatre performance and ecosystem biology. Shortly thereafter, he began doubling as a Teaching Artist and Education Coordinator for Compass Rose Theater. As both an educator and administrator, Marshall strives to make meaningful connections with his community by giving people the tools to explore their creativity and discover who they are. In addition to his work with InterAct Story Theatre, Marshall’s broad range of credits include performing, directing, teaching, arts administration, and technical production with such companies as Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Compass Rose Theatre, Drama Learning Center, and others. He hopes to one day bring together his passion for environmental stewardship and theatre craft to create a new form of theatre to help audiences build an empathetic relationship with nature. ​ Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Marian Licha Marian Licha is an actor/storyteller. She has performed at Arena Stage, Round House Theatre, at The Capital Fringe Festival and in New York theatres. She has performed her storytelling program “A Magical Journey into Latin America” at The Kennedy Center, The National Theatre, The Capital Children’s Museum, The Museum of American History, schools and libraries in the Washington, D.C. area. She has been a guest at the "New York’s Kids" radio show in NYC. Performances: Stories on Stage (2 programs), Frida Drama, Storytelling Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Erica Washington ​ ​ Teaching & Performing Artist Back

Pete Oliver-Krueger Pete Oliver-Krueger is a master carpenter, set designer, director, actor, and classical singer ...plus a product consultant and software engineer. As Technical Director for InterAct he is tasked with constructing the traveling sets for InterAct's main stage performances, designing special effects, and overseeing anything else with a technical component. As a product consultant and software engineer he mentors startups, large organizations, and non-profits in the DC metro area, teaching them how to do more with the resources they already have. He got his start at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, and his software architectures power multiple government agencies including the FDA, NASA, and the Pentagon. He has led many high-profile teams, including the relaunch of TD Ameritrade's new online trading platform, and the first DC Metro Trip Planner. Theatrical & Product Design, Multimedia Design CTO / Technical Director Back