The National Acrobats of The People's Republic of China
Monday, October 3, 2011, 9:30am & 11:30am
Recommended Grades: K-12

Direct from Beijing, The National Acrobats of The People's Republic of China bring an internationally renowned and award-winning troupe of performers on an exciting tour of the U.S. When we tell you that each individual acrobat in the company has trained intensively for a minimum of six years, you will find ample evidence of that rigor in the cavalcade of tumbling, handstands, balancing, juggling, and dancing in this riveting performance. Brightly costumed in colorful garb, these skillful artists use such everyday articles as chairs, tables, bowls, ladders, and bottles as props. Some are contortionists. Some drum while others dance. Some betray in their moves a strong connection to the martial arts. Among the most awe-inspiring acts is the plate spinning, in which performers balance plates on rods while doing tricks. They also dive. Flip through hoops. Juggle straw hats while perched upon each other's shoulders. Stack fifteen people on a bicycle. And more, more, more. You get the picture.

Visit www.cami.com/?webid=1928 for more information.

Snowflake, LaJoye Productions
Friday, October 7, 2011, 9:30am & 11:30am
Recommended Grades: PreK-12

A popular favorite on our Field Trip Series in prior seasons, Gale LaJoye's tender masterpiece “Snowflake” makes a return visit. Having encountered him before, who can forget the gentle street-dweller whose interactions with the world's castoff items make us question just what we mean by homeless? LaJoye has performed this singular work all over the globe – quite a journey for the character based on a man who lived on the streets of his hometown, Marquette, Michigan. Part vaudeville, part Chaplin, part Marceau, this work elicits laughs even as it moves us. What is it that makes Snowflake seem so universal? Perhaps the fact he never says a word but speaks volumes with his body and his face. From the moment he hops over the fence that bounds the lot he calls home, he enchants us with his comic timing, physical grace, invention, and heart. Someone has tossed a forgotten doll his way. Will he succeed in cheering up the sad “little boy?” Watch him try – and discover the magic this work can affect.

"Astonishing… a theatrical trip well worth taking."
- The Courier Mail, Australia

Visit www.lajoye.com for more information.

Water Is Rising
Monday, October 17, 2011, 9:30am & 11:00am
Recommended Grades:  PreK-12

From the smallest countries in the world – Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu – comes Water Is Rising, replete with thirty-six musicians and dancers. Situated not much above above sea level, these tiny nations may become the first cultures to be submerged by rising sea levels. For their U. S. tour, the artists – elegant, exuberant, forceful – perform songs and dances that express what nature and their ancestral past mean to them. Rich harmonies, language both poetic and metaphor-laden (translated for us!), and movement of incomparable grace are just some of the ingredients. Dynamic rhythmic accompaniment comes courtesy of open hands against resonant wooden boxes. Dressed in finely woven pandanus leaves, palm fronds, shells, and flowers, these Polynesian and Micronesian performers move in jaw-dropping synchronization. Their shared spirit and intense energy – gathered on one stage – truly convey the legacy of their various traditions. Too, the use of projections provides images of life back home – village, church, family, ocean, and lagoon. The beauty and vitality of the performance – coupled with the group's evident joy in performing it – communicates a moving faith in the future despite the effects of global warming.

Visit www.wac.ucla.edu/cip/tour/water-rising for more information.

The Magic School Bus, Bay Area Children's Theatre Company
Monday, October 31, 2011, 9:30am & 11:30am
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 9:30am & 11:30am
Recommended Grades: PreK-3

Seatbelts everyone! The Magic School Bus celebrates its twenty-fifth Anniversary with an all-new musical adventure. You know the books, of course. A hugely popular children's series written by Johanna Cole over a period of years, these entertaining books bring science concepts to light. Well, now the Bay Area Children's Theatre has mounted an all-singing, all-dancing, all-fun musical theater version of one of the more recent books – all about climate change. How current is that? Here's the dope: Ms. Frizzle’s students are putting on a play about global warming, and they need some cold, hard facts. The Friz and her reptilian sidekick, Liz, know just where to find them! This is no ordinary field trip, as a hop on the Magic School Bus takes the class and the audience on a whirlwind tour. From the arctic to the equator, they see telltale signs of climate change and learn how conservation, recycling and alternative energy can make a difference. Ms Frizzle and her class are up for the climate challenge. Curriculum Connections abound. To wit: Science, Weather, Environmental Issues, Observation, Cooperation and Teamwork, Communication.
Recommended for ages 5 and up!

Visit www.bsoinc.com/family/artist.php?artist=msb for more information.

Tomás Kubinek
Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 9:30am & 11:00am
Recommended Grades: 1-12

Gentle-spirited (and zany) Tomás Kubinek returns to the McCallum stage, his performances from prior seasons still fresh in our minds and hearts. Part daredevil, part Chaplinesque physical poet of the comedic, this trained acrobat makes us laugh until we cry. Of course we may feel like he belongs to us, but actually he tours the world. His run on Broadway sold out to rapturous audiences, earning the New York Times’ plaudit: “absolutely expert and consistently charming.” We concur! With the greatest of control he manages to get himself into some very strange positions – and then layers in some highly improbable feats. He balances, conjures, and clowns. Mines the absurd. Plumbs the profound. Draws on vaudeville, slapstick, circus, and physical theater, blending moments of poignancy with a razor sharp sense of timing. And we in the audience, far from passive observers, are brought into the act – or perhaps we should say the act comes out to us. Find out how – and fall under this artist’s lovely spell.

"Dazzling and amazing...Kubinek performs with grace and finesse, bestowing a beautiful gift for his audience."
-Theatrescope, New York

Visit www.kubinek.com for more information.

Ballet Folklorico De Antioquia, Colombia
Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 9:30am & 11:00am
Recommended Grades: K-12

Energy and excitement. Color and precision. That's Ballet Folklorico De Antioquia from South America. These twenty dancers and nine musicians create their own unique performance style from the rich diversity of Latin culture in Colombia. Here are carnivals, rituals, and celebrations. Here, too, are physical theater, contemporary music, and today's dance moves. What a festive mix. “We mean to be the best cultural ambassadors of our country,” they say – and are they! What part of the map have they not conquered – Asia, Europe, Mexico, South America? Now they've made it to our shores with this extravaganza of lights, music, and dance. Founded in the city of Medellin twenty years ago, this company intends to shine a light on the culture of that fabled land. Therefore, we encounter in short order festive and fiery traditional dances done in full, colorful regalia; dances whose figures invoke indigenous peoples and mythic creatures; and dances along more classical lines with all the rigor of ballet.  Viva!

Visit www.bfda.org for more information.

Sylvester and The Magic Pebble, Enchantment Theatre Company
Monday, February 27, 2012, 9:30am & 11:00am
Recommended Grades: PreK-3

Produced by the Enchantment Theatre Company, this musical tale draws upon the beloved children's story by the same name, written and illustrated by William Steig. (He also wrote Shrek – but you knew that.) In this musical version of that work, we meet Sylvester, a winsome donkey, who picks up a shiny red pebble. You will have guessed – as he is shortly to learn – that the pebble is magic. Over the course of the work, the pebble spins a heartwarming story that reveals to Sylvester the true importance of family and friends. The original book received the coveted Caldecott Medal for children’s literature – and it has been engaging the imagination and captivating the hearts and souls of children for some time. In this theatrical production, Sylvester learns that magic works very well sometimes — he can turn the rain on and off! — but it can also work against him — when he transforms himself into a rock to escape a hungry lion. How will he escape from the rock? How will his loving family ever find him? Will he ever get home? Enchantment Theater Company, a groundbreaking producer of original theater for children, brings all its signature elements to bear – projected scenery, animation, masked actors, puppets, and dance. Original music, ranging from jazz to blues to classic rock, helps tell the story. Dancing squirrels, comic dogs, a trio of duck puppets and a marvelous dream sequence are just some of the highlights. Who will love Sylvester? Everyone from young children all the way up to their grandparents — anyone who believes in happy endings.

Visit www.bsoinc.com/family/artist.php?artist=sylvester for more information.

Jason and the Argonauts, Visible Fictions
Monday, April 2, 2012, 11:30am
Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 9:30am & 12:00pm
Recommended Grades: 3-12

Back by popular demand, Visible Fictions brings its wildly imaginative version of the Jason myth to our stage for a third go-round. You know the story. Jason’s uncle kills Jason’s father and usurps the crown. Thinking to rid himself of Jason as well, he sends him on a life-threatening quest to fetch the Golden Fleece. In short order, the lad rustles up a dab crew of heroes to man his ship, led by the redoubtable Hercules. And all these characters are played by – two actors from Scotland. Well, they have a little help from a trunk full of kids’ action figures. Wonderfully witty, wryly comic, broadly slapstick, the production nonetheless succeeds in creating a surprising degree of suspense.  Credit the classically trained actors and their inventive director.  How will the sailors slip past the lethal Clashing Rocks? How will they recover from the loss of two of their own? How will Jason succeed in wooing the sorceress Medea – or is it the other way around? And what will happen when Jason returns home and confronts his evil uncle? Utilizing hair-trigger timing, deft staging, and finely-tuned language amidst the minimalist trappings (a regular feature with this troupe), these artists take us on a journey of the imagination.

"Sophisticated and altogether winning take on an ancient Greek myth. The audience greeted it all with giggles, guffaws, cheers and applause."
-New York Times

Visit www.visiblefictions.co.uk for more information

Twinkle Twonkle, Tall Stories of London
Monday, April 9, 2012, 11:30am
Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 9:30am & 11:30am
Recommended Grades: PreK-3

Suppose you could visit outer space just by extending your telescope and climbing out onto its end? Magically, that is just what Stella's little brother Ryan does (we hear some wishing on stars is involved). Thus is set in motion this charming adventure from England's celebrated children's theater company, Tall Stories. McCallum Theatre audiences will recall their “Room On the Broom” from last season. Designed for folks aged four and up, Twinkle Twonkle melds Mother Goose with intriguing science concepts like gravity and the Big Bang Theory. Yet the learning never feels labored. Songs abound – and the actors, skilled at creating characters kids can relate to, reach out to audiences interactively. Masters of their own unique brand of physical theater, Tall Stories tours the world from Broadway to Asia – to the far reaches of outer space where young Ryan and his sister find the constellations Great Bear and Little Bear have been joined by something that looks suspiciously like his teddy.

A marvelous adventure… a world of wow and wonder.
-Birmingham Post

Visit www.tallstories.org.uk for more information.