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Read reviews about past events and articles about our work at InterAct Story Theatre. Press Scroll Down Click on any of the items below to read reviews about past events and articles about our work. Read review for The Hero of Everything Read review for Bobtail BONG BONG Read review for Voytto Tech Read reviews of The Legend of Pufferfish Pat Read reviews of One Gold Coin Article: "Take Ten with Ali Oliver-Krueger Article: "Accessible Arts"

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

Culturespot MC "Accessible Arts" by Karen Shafer March 29, 2017 “What I really loved, what really excited me, was being able to teach through the arts, being able to really connect with kids and reach kids who might not get a chance to see things like theatre and opera if we don’t bring it to them.” “ …Even in the midst of a negative situation, [InterAct] creates something positive…” “Such experiences can help children learn empathy and communicate more effectively. ” < Back to Press

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

Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops. Elementary School. Available Online! ELEMENTARY SCHOOL These are just a sampling of the many arts-integrated workshops we do each year. All of these workshops can be expanded into a 2-, 3- or 4-day classroom residency in which the students explore the content area in depth through the arts. This allows us to provide a sequentially structured arts learning experience so we can really maximize student learning and create a deeper, more meaningful arts experience. 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! Drama Grades PreK-5 Available Online! BOOKS ALIVE Books come to life as students explore age-appropriate text from children's literature or folklore through creative drama, and dramatize the text in their own words. Books Alive workshops can be designed to fit a variety of themes, topics, world cultures or curricular goals. Please contact us with your questions and ideas! Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades K-5 Available Online! RESPONSIVE PLAYMAKING & PLAYBUILDING Through a variety of creative drama and short-form devising techniques, participants investigate a text, theme or curriculum topic as artists, and then collaborate in devising a short story, drama, or theatre piece in the classroom (or virtual classroom!). This is a great way to foster collaboration, social emotional skills and 21st century skills through theatre while building content knowledge. Responsive Playmaking can also be booked as a residency with multiple sessions with or without a sharing or informal performance. All stories are submitted for InterAct’s annual KidStory Theatre Festival, a celebration of stories written by kids for kids...and the best of the best are performed by professional actors at our festival in May!. The workshops are modified for varying grade levels. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 4-5 Available Online! A VISIT TO A COLONIAL VILLAGE The classroom is transformed into a colonial village as students take on their roles as colonists, each with a colonial occupation. Students learn and share information in-role about their occupations and display their wares in this fun and informative creative drama experience. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 60-minute session. Grades 4-8 Available Online! GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY Students explore mythology, the gods of Olympus, and the some of the cultural influences behind Greek and Roman mythology. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 60-minute session. Grades 3-6 Available Online! TALL TALES: STORIES OF WESTWARD EXPANSION Tall Tales are exaggerated stories about the taming of America's West. Students dramatize key moments of a Tall Tale and explore its relationship to our nation’s growth. Maximum 25-27 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. DRAMA GAMES FOR THE SCIENTIFIC BRAIN Students build content knowledge and vocabulary through experimentation and drama gaming. The workshops are designed to meet specific benchmarks and indicators. Please contact us so we can design a workshop for you! Recent workshops have dealt with such topics as Motion and Force; Tectonic Plates and Earthquakes; The Digestive System; Atoms and Elements. Music & Creative Opera Grades 2-6 OPERABUILDING Students learn the basic elements of opera and explore how opera uses music and drama to tell a story. InterAct's General Director Ali Oliver leads students through this lyrical adventure. Maximum 25 students (1 class) per 60-minute session. Note: This innovative and exciting workshop can be expanded into OPERAtunities for Writing, a 3-5 day residency linking creative opera with Writing and Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text. Grades 3-8 SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF WEST AFRICA Students are introduced to the instruments and sounds of West African music. Students play instruments and learn chants and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 3-8 DRUM CIRCLE Students are given a hands-on multicultural experience by teaching them the basics of African palm drumming. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Dance Grades 2-6 OPERABUILDING Students learn the basic elements of opera and explore how opera uses music and drama to tell a story. InterAct's General Director Ali Oliver leads students through this lyrical adventure. Maximum 25 students (1 class) per 60-minute session. Note: This innovative and exciting workshop can be expanded into OPERAtunities for Writing, a 3-5 day residency linking creative opera with Writing and Reading Literature or Reading Informational Text. Grades 3-8 SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF WEST AFRICA Students are introduced to the instruments and sounds of West African music. Students play instruments and learn chants and songs. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Grades 3-8 DRUM CIRCLE Students are given a hands-on multicultural experience by teaching them the basics of African palm drumming. Maximum 25 students (1 class) for each 45-minute session. Early Childhood Elementary School Middle & High School Students < Back to InterAct in Schools

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

Season 3 of Wheaton Family Theatre Series Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 3: October, 2017 through May, 2018 The Town That Cried Avalanche October 2017 The tiny mountain town of Avalanche, California is rocked with controversy: how can they balance the need for progress with taking care of the environment? And how can they even talk about it when everyone is mad at each other? Can they come together to save the town--before the mountain comes tumbling down? Inspired by Montpelier Elementary’s Grand Prize winning story at InterAct’s 2017 KidStory Theatre Festival. Best for ages 5 and up. Lesole’s Dance Project:Zulu, Gumboot and Street Dances from South Africa November 2017 Dance your way to the tip of the African continent! Experience three different African cultures through dance, from traditional Zulu village dances through modern moves with a South African flair. Founded in 2003 by native South African dancer Lesole Maine, the company has performed to acclaim throughout the U.S. and locally at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, Smithsonian and area schools. All ages. A Family Literacy Fiesta: Books Alive! January 2018 InterAct Story Theatre's Artistic Director Ali Oliver-Krueger leads kids and adults alike in a fun-filled, interactive afternoon bringing stories to life through drama. We'll act, sing, and dance our way through a rollicking story, and maybe even create some stories of our own! A Family Literacy Fiesta: Dancing Our Way Through Books February 2018 Explore a kid-friendly folk tale through creative movement and dance. Led by Kelly King, founder of CityDance Center at Strathmore and Contradiction Dance, kids get to practice reading skills while moving, dancing and sharing stories with our families and friends. What a fun way to dance away the winter blues! Best for ages 3 and up. Little Red Riding Hood March 2018 Seymour Barab’s funny and sprightly one-act opera delights youngsters as we follow Little Red Riding Hood’s merry jaunt through the woods to Grandmother’s house. Join us for InterAct Story Theatre and Victorian Lyric Opera Company’s fresh take on this classic children’s opera...and watch out for that sneaky Big Bad Wolf! Best for ages 4 and up. Skher Brown and the Dancing Warriors Ensemble April 2018 Capoeira Angola is a unique Afro-Brasilian art form that draws from dance, martial arts, music, and stories of distant lands. But it’s more than that--it’s a cultural doorway into the world of others both like us and different from us! Skher Brown and the Dancing Warriors mesmerize audiences with acrobatic choreography and transport students across the Atlantic Ocean to learn about this unique culture. All ages. 2nd Annual KidStory Theatre Festival May 2018 A theatrical celebration of stories written by kids for kids! All year long, InterAct Story Theatre artists create stories with kids, and invite kids to share their epic stories with us. Each May, we choose the best of the best and transform them into short plays, musical numbers, and vignettes performed by our InterActors. Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 10 Season 2 Season 1 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! < Back to Community Page Season 7 Season 8 Season 3 Season 9

Season 5 of Wheaton Family Theatre Series. Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 5: October, 2019 through February, 2020 Season 6 Season 10 Season 4 Season 3 Season 2 Season 1 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! < Back to Community Page Season 7 Season 8 Season 5 Season 9 Bobtail BONG BONG: A Monkey’s Tale October 2019 In this interactive forum theatre experience for kids and families, audiences follow Bob the Monkey’s madcap misadventures and help Bob figure out where they went wrong and got in trouble monkeying around. 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? Kofi Dennis & Performing Arts Center for African Culture November 2019 In honor of beloved InterAct Story Theatre Artist and Ghanaian Master Drummer Kwame Ansah-Brew, join Kofi Dennis and members of Performing Arts Center For African Cultures (PACAC) as they bring an exciting morning of rhythms, dances, and songs representing a variety of cultures across Africa. All ages. Preposterous! A Happenstance Clown Circus December 2019 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. Literacy Fiesta! January & February 2020 In our Literacy Fiesta programs, kids and adults are part of the story as we celebrate books and stories through drama, music, movement and dance! Join us and leave those winter blues behind! Add to Mailing List

Professional Development Residencies. Arts Coaching Residencies. Student Residencies PLUS Professional Development Workshop(s). Available Online! Professional Development Residencies REQUEST MORE INFO Arts Coaching Residencies--I Do, We Do, You Do Available Online! In these popular and effective residencies, an InterAct teaching artist works hand-in-hand with classroom teachers. They plan lessons together integrating drama with the on-going curriculum. The teaching artist demonstrates a lesson and on succeeding visits co-teaches with the classroom teachers. The design of this residency follows the guidelines for best practice procedures for effective staff development. The residency has been implemented successfully in school systems nationwide. Please contact us or request more info for details. Student Residencies PLUS Professional Development Workshop(s) Available Online! Many of our Professional Development workshops can be combined with student workshops to create an extended artist-in-residence experience that benefits students and teachers alike. This is often a great first step for schools and teachers who would like to explore arts integration in the classroom: An InterAct professional development workshop on a particular strategy, followed by a series of student workshops in which InterAct artists apply that strategy in the classroom, modeling the strategy for teachers so they can see it come to life with their students. Interested in knowing more? Please contact us or request more info for details. < Back to InterAct in Schools

Season 2 of Wheaton Family Theatre Series Wheaton Family Theatre Series Season 2: October, 2016 through May, 2017 The Legend of Pufferfish Pat: A Tall Tale For Mad Times October 2016 A brand new tall tale looking at how we deal with anger and other big feelings. The play is performed by three actors who become a variety of characters, with the whole audience becoming cowpokes and townspeople. Kwame Ansah-Brew and Fritete Drum and Dance Ensemble November 2016 An exciting morning of rhythms, dances, songs, and chants with a clear mission of representing various ethnic groupings in Africa! All ages. Cantaré ¡Feliz Navidad! A Latin American Holiday Celebration December 2016 Enjoy songs and stories from Latin American holiday traditions: villancicos from the Andes, festejos from Peru, parrandas from Puerto Rico, African chants from Brazil, Hanukkah songs from Spain and more! All ages. A Journey Around the World through Music March 2017 Celebrate Music in Our Schools Month with Tom Teasley, award-winning percussionist, world musician and composer. An inspiring cross-cultural musical journey around the world, weaving ancient musical traditions with modern technology. Silly Smarts and Other Stories from Japan April 2017 Ali Oliver-Krueger, Artistic Director of InterAct Story Theatre, will join us for a special interactive performance of Mama-San Stories, weaving stories from her Japanese-American childhood with traditional Japanese mukashibanashi (Long-Ago Stories) in this funny and heart-warming east-meets-west story theatre experience. KidStory Theatre Festival May 2017 A theatrical celebration of stories written by kids for kids! All year long, InterAct Story Theatre artists create stories with kids, and invite kids to share their epic stories with us. Each May, we choose the best of the best and transform them into short plays, musical numbers, and vignettes performed by our InterActors. We can’t wait to see what kids dream up each year! Best for ages 3 and up. Season 6 Season 5 Season 4 Season 3 Season 10 Season 1 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! < Back to Community Page Season 7 Season 8 Season 2 Season 9

Donate to InterAct Story Theatre Arts are for everyone ... and everyone learns through the arts! Every year InterAct is able to bring quality arts programs and arts-based learning experiences to more and more children, youth, and families, thanks to the generosity of donors just like you! With your one-time or recurring donation, you not only get the satisfaction of knowing you put a smile on a child's face and helped empower learning through the arts, you may also qualify for a tax deduction! InterAct Story Theatre Education Association, Inc. is a Section 501(c)3 nonprofit and your contribution may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes We hope you'll consider supporting our work by making a donation to InterAct Story Theatre. You can make a one-time donation or recurring gift by credit card through the webform on this page. If you're interested in making a donation by check or making an in-kind donation of goods or pro-bono services, please contact us ! Every little bit helps! We will put your donation to work right away bringing fantastic arts and education programs to children, families, educators and community members throughout our area. Thank you! Make-a-Donation-Top-Page Thank you to our Funders, Donors and Supporters! InterAct Story Theatre Education Association’s arts-in-education programming is made possible due to the generous support of our funders, donors, supporters, and volunteers. Thank you so much to these caring communitarians, and to those who choose to support our work anonymously. You help us bring our vision to life, and make sure arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts! Visionaries Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County Citrix Podio Greater Washington Community Foundation & The Arts Forward Fund Adriana Hernandez Ali Oliver-Krueger Peter Oliver-Krueger Maryland Humanities Maryland State Arts Council Suzanne Milton (in honor of Anabel Milton and the teaching artists who keep InterAct going!) Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Nora Roberts Foundation Matthew Williams Champions The Biosophical Institute John Carlock (in honor of Anabel Milton) Shoshana, Izi and Eric Colchamiro Mirza Donegan Karen Donelan (in honor of the Milton Family) Blair Eig Julie Fitzgerald Cynthia Hallberlin Rozann Hassell The Henry D. Kahn and the Laura Primakoff Charitable Fund (in honor of Anabel Milton) Adriana P. Hernandez Craig & Eileen Hollander John Jeffries Lenore Blank Kelner Jerry Kickenson The Milton Family (in memory of Jeff Hassell) Kathy and Randy Pherson (“Ali, you Rock!”) Maureen Roult Emily Townsend Rick Westerkamp The Westerkamp Family Adam Wise Steven Wolf Denise Young Advocates Mary Beth Bauernschub Valerie Baugh-Schlossberg Nora Benitez Eowyn Ellison Nancy C. Grant (in honor of Suzanne Milton) Terri Grant Susan Hutner Catherine Huntress-Reeve Vickey Kirkpatrick Marianna Martindale Laura Marvel Anabel Milton Sheri Moreen Mia Bell Porter Matthew Poti Nell Quinn-Gibney Hydeliza Revilla Maureen Roult Danielle Sultan Charles Vilade Kiersten Whitehead (in memory of Susan H. Drumm) Jenny Windstrup (in honor of Emily Townsend, "because she's a rockstar") Kent Woods Donate If you would like to support our mission by making a donation, you can make a one-time donation or recurring gift by credit card through the webform at the top of this page . InterAct Story Theatre Education Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your financial contribution is deductible to the fullest extent permissible by law. Thank you!

InterAct Story Theatre’s arts education programs are going online and into the virtual classroom! Interactive performances, school programs, and community programs presented online through virtual/online platforms. InterAct Online Scroll Down Interactive online programs for the virtual classroom or virtual stage InterAct Story Theatre’s arts education programs are going online and into the virtual classroom! Looking for ways to keep students engaged in the virtual classroom or at home? Seeking out online programming that makes classroom learning more interactive? On the hunt for culturally responsive arts education options, or teaching artists with expertise in working with students with varied abilities, students with Limited English Proficiency, and students who just need to be active...even when they’re sitting in front of a Chromebook? Look no further! InterAct is here to help! In response to requests from educators and parents, we’ve been adapting a lot of our workshops, residencies, and performances for virtual/online instruction! Available Online! Look for the box saying “Available Online!” next to program titles. And if you don’t see what you’re looking for, ask us about designing a program just for you and your students! One of our favorite things to do is to design programs with our partners...in fact, many of the programs you see on our website were originally designed in response to requests by parents, teachers, and kids. All programming is designed from a framework of Universal Design for Learning and creating child-centered, child-driven arts learning activities. Contact us or fill out our response form to talk with us about how InterAct can design or present a virtual/online program for your school or community. Virtual/online offerings available include: InterAct in the Community Performances & Assembly Programs Arts Education & Arts Integration: Classroom Workshops Arts Education & Arts Integration: Artist-in-Residence Programs Out of School Time Programs Staff Workshops & Training Professional Development Residencies Parent-Child Workshops and Family Literacy Events AND we’re cooking up some new and creative online programs—including new versions of some of our interactive plays—so check back with us or join our mailing list to stay in the loop with the latest information! < Back to InterAct in the Community