Outdoor Shows

The following shows can be presented outdoors.

Animalitos (the little animals)- -A collection of Aesop's fables woven together in a magical puppet dance. A rabbit starts a race with a tortoise, but seeing that he has plenty of time, he wanders off, and gets involved with a fox who is trying to court a crane with a romantic dinner for two. With some clever tricks they manage to get some food to serve but things go awry when the fox talks the rabbit into being the waiter for the meal. Meanwhile the tortoise is getting closer and closer to the finish line.....

The Armadillo's Rancho- This story from Argentina tells of a wealthy Fox who tries to take advantage of a poor Armadillo, making her work his garden for him. He thinks he is getting the best part of the deal, but the Armadillo is smarter than he is at every turn and in the end succeeds in setting things right once and for all.

The Fox and Elk Make a Trade- -In this story a fox and elk decide that they are not happy with the way they are made, so they decide to switch arms and legs with each other. The fox, now with very long arms and legs, finds that she can no longer hunt, and is in danger of starving. The elk with the short fox arms and legs can not reach the leaves on the trees that he is used to eating. Both finally realize that they were much better off the way they were originally and in the end exchange arms and legs again, happy to have their old limbs back. The story is humorously set to music reminiscent of pop tunes of the ‘50s.


The Fox and the Condor- In this mythological story from South America, there is little food on the earth while in the clouds the birds have much food. The Condor, the king of the birds takes pity on a hungry fox and carries him up to the clouds to eat, but the greedy fox does not stop eating until he falls from the cloud and his belly bursts open, spreading seeds all over the earth. It is these seeds from which the plants on earth have descended (so the tale tells us.)


Coyote and Grizzly Bear- Native Americans of the Western part of this continent tell many stories about the trickster, Coyote. In this story from the plains states, Coyote plays a trick on the ungrateful Grizzly Bear, thus saving the life of Mountain Ram. Although p resented as a Native American folktale here, the theme of this story is universal, and appears in tales from many cultures around the world. This folktale is told with masks and Native American flute and drum.

Coyote Sings- In the Native American story, Coyote Sings, the crazy buffoon, Coyote tries desperately to learn a song. This combined with his bungling attempts to hunt for food and impress all his neighbors with his personal skills make for hilarious slapstick. Southwest motifs and designs and Mexican folk tunes make this bilingual show a very popular addition.

Br'er Rabbit and the Number Nine Shoes-In this African American trickster tale, the clever Br'er Rabbit plays a trick on Br'er Bear, and steals his fish from him. Br'er Fox watches the whole trick, but when he tries it himself his efforts end in disaster. Once again Br'er Rabbit survives by relying on his wits. The story is told with large, direct-manipulation puppets, live banjo music and singing.

Brer Rabbit and the Goober Patch-Another trickster, Brer Rabbit comes to us from Africa, but has settled right in to American Folklore. In this puppet tale, Brer (short for Brother) Fox decides to plant a garden, and Br'er Rabbit decides to help himself. The fox decides to set a trap for the rabbit but Brer Rabbit is one rabbit who can take care of himself, and Br'er Fox does not end up with the prey that he bargained for.

The Jaguar's Fountain- In the rain forests of South America all living things sing in harmony with each other. But then the chords of disharmony sound as drought descends upon the land. The greedy Jaguar proceeds to force the smaller and weaker animals to dig a we ll. Soon there is water again in the rain forest and it is controlled by the Jaguar. But there is one animal in the forest who will stand up to the Jaguar. He is the Rabbit. Armed only with his humor and wits, he alone dares to challenge the Jaguar and his henchmen until justice prevails and the balance of nature is restored. In The Jaguar's Fountain the puppets and scenery have their own musical sounds created by a variety of hand crafted non-traditional as well as traditional instruments.

Does That Scare You?- MUST BE NIGHT/DARK TO BE PRESENTED OUTDOORS -a Southeast Asian Folktale from the Hmong people. -Long ago a wise, old man lived with a Bear, a Tiger and a Dragon. One day the animals all set out to try to scare one another by seeing who could make the greatest commotion. When the man finally took his turn, he used his brains to teach th e others a lesson. He scared the animals so badly that bears, tigers and dragons will no longer live with people. The story is presented with shadow puppets, masks, and live music played on a variety of SE Asian musical instruments.

Coyote Brings Fire to the People- MUST BE NIGHT/DARK TO BE PRESENTED OUTDOORS -It is told that long ago when the earth was new, the people of California were cold because they did not have fire. They went to Coyote for help and he organized Bear, Mountain Lion, Rabbit, Squirrel, and Frog to help steal fire for the people. Magical Moonshine Theatre presents this native Californian folktale with shadow puppets and music.

The Recycling Show - Educational and entertaining, this show demonstrates the whys, wheres and hows of recycling using puppets and actors. Done in three parts, the play begins with a puppet skit on garbage and how it can mount up over the years. Part two allows our puppet with the waste problem to go back in time and start over, learning to recycle (with help from the students in the audience). Our “recycologist” and the puppet analyze a bag of garbage, sorting into recyclables, compostables, etc. In the third part of the show the puppet (and audience) get to play the Recycling Game Show where they demonstrate (and reinforce) their knowledge of waste and recycling.

The Puppet Man

The Puppet Man is a hand puppet presentation done in a very traditional, European style.  With the puppeteer (Michael) wearing the walk-around stage, the presentation consists of a variety of humorous skits, sometimes requiring audience members to help out or make suggestions to help the puppets solve problems.  This presentation can be geared to few-year-olds or older, elementary aged children.  Different themes can often be accomodated.

Little Elephant Has A Ball

This table top presentation was designed for the Puppets In Preschool Conference at Contra Costa College, and was The created to be developmentally appropriate for preschool audiences.  In the story, Little Elephant finds a ball, but when she goes to play with Monkey and Zebra, she discovers that they are much better players than she is and at first would rather play without her.  With the prodding of Lion, animals learn how to play together and appreciate each one's different  skills the with the ball.  This funny and tender the ukelele and singing with children learning the songs and show includes live music on hand plays to join in, as well as helping the animals figure out how to solve their problems.