OAKLAND CENTER Troupe brings magic of theater to area kids

The plays are geared toward specific age groups.
L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Oakland Center for the Arts' professional tour group, Magic Carpet Theater, will begin its fall season with two brand new plays written by artistic director Robert Dennick Joki.
This troupe performs for elementary and middle schools in 10 to 15 counties in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania, reaching about 40,000 kids a year. Jane Midgley and Jennifer Kuczek are the group's only other members.
"Our touring starts in mid-October and goes through the school year, but we also do summer performances, and visit libraries and community events," said Midgley.
"Our school programs are all audience interactive -- the children participate in telling the story," she added. "We offer 30-minute workshops after school performances, limited to a classroom size of 20-30 kids, and include theater games and teacher study guides. We always make sure there is a lesson for the kids."
Fairy tales
Joki has written plays geared toward specific age groups. The pre-school to grade 4 play is called "The Dragon and The Princess."
"It is the story of a young fairy-tale prince searching for his princess," said Joki. "He has a map and goes to all these different kingdoms, but keeps meeting the wrong princess. He meets Cinderella, but she is into cleaning. She has her own line of 'Magic Pumpkin Cleaners.'"
"Then he meets Sleeping Beauty, but he can't get her to wake up. He throws a bucket of water on her, tries to get a bee to sting her and finally kisses her, but she's not the right one. Eventually he goes to the dragon kingdom, and realizes that the princess is the dragon, but a pretty one, who plays with her handmaiden. There is an unlikely ending to the story, and the lesson the kids learn is that you can't judge a book by its cover."
Two classics
The grades 5-8 play is called "Rip and Ichabod," a combination of two classics by Washington Irving.
Any school or other community organization seeking information about booking Magic Carpet can call The Oakland at (330) 746-0404.