CURRENT PROJECT
DONNA BUMP - IT'S BUMPIN' TIME!
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We have 12 performances in SCHOOLS in Yolo & Solano Counties
and ONE show for the PUBLIC on October 30th at 2 PM |
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This show teaches kids to take care of the planet, and each other. But that's just the secret benefit.
it's a funny show with lots of physical comedy for the kids to laugh.
It has been quite interactive at the schools - as the kids uproariously boo the villain!! We see lots of kids in the school district who have never seen a show - and we love it when we hear a kid in the audience say out loud "I think I'm gonna like this!" after the 2nd scene just ends. Yay! Nature's Theater is all about planting seeds for kids to see themselves as heroes for the Earth with kindness for others.
it's a funny show with lots of physical comedy for the kids to laugh.
It has been quite interactive at the schools - as the kids uproariously boo the villain!! We see lots of kids in the school district who have never seen a show - and we love it when we hear a kid in the audience say out loud "I think I'm gonna like this!" after the 2nd scene just ends. Yay! Nature's Theater is all about planting seeds for kids to see themselves as heroes for the Earth with kindness for others.
with villains! |
Best friends |
and silly characters |
Great Audiences!
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CONFERENCES & Collaboration
Podcast with Educated by Nature - about Nature & Story
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In the fall of 2015, Nature’s Theater teamed up with The Nature Kids Institute and Australian based Nurture in Nature to present techniques on how to engage kids in Nature with STORY, EXPLORATION AND PLAY.
The focus of the interactive conference helped educators, naturalists and parents learn innovative tools and philosophies that stimulates a child's sense of wonder, imagination and play. |
Getting kids outside with Story, Exploration and Play
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Additionally, an experiential component allowed each conference participant to feel what a child might feel--when engaged in a Nature's Theater story or free form exploration.
The conference took place in Melbourne. Demand for the conference created mini-conferences in other Australian cities and a special presentation of a Nature's Theater Story in New Zealand.
To set-up a presentation for your conference, contact us at:
Following up on the success of its last play, Nature’s Theater was asked by YSAQMD (Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District) to write and produce a new stage show for elementary school students.
The Air Quality board wanted the kids to learn alternative methods to automobile transportation and the effects of excessive consumption. The Kids from Planet Earth was created, a fifty minute, comedy where the heroes of the story realized how their actions could make a difference. They learned they could walk or use a bike more often, buy less stuff and reuse and recycle what they have. In Northern California, a talented cast of kids ranging in age from 6-20--and a smattering of adults--performed the play at 12 elementary and middle schools with more than 3,600 children in attendance. As a side note, at the end of each show kids from every school wanted to know how they could become a Kid from Planet Earth. 
The Cool Davis Foundation requested a theatrical show for their annual festival - a show that would educate kids about making healthy food choices.
Enter stage left, JUNKY’S LAST STAND. This romping musical play looks at the benefits of eating organic food, reducing one’s sugar and fat intake and treating animals humanely. Junky, the Junk Food Master, is on an all out campaign to convert kids into junk food slaves. But thanks to the efforts of Tommy Zucchini, defender of the fruits and vegetables, and the all seeing Seymour, the kids have a fighting chance. JUNKY’S LAST STAND featured a cast of teenagers and elementary school aged children that got the attention of kids and adults alike. Weeks after the show, parents contacted Nature’s Theater to share how their children were positively affected by the experience. One parent wrote, “after watching your show, my child asked that I buy a 5 pound bag of carrots every week.” Even the mayor of Davis said, “Every school kid in Davis should see this show.” 
A cast of kids, teens and young adults performed THE SEARCH FOR KING CARBON for more than 1,500 elementary school children at five different schools in Yolo County. Nature’s Theater was funded by YSAQMD (Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District), COOL Davis, and Tuleyome to teach kids practical solutions on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home.
With playful humor, THE SEARCH FOR KING CARBON helped kids learn what they could do: turn off the lights, don’t buy cheap plastic stuff, and walk or bike instead of being driven everywhere. After each show, a question and answer segment reinforced what the children had experienced. They asked questions like, “How exactly do trees eat CO2’s?” and “So if I turn off the lights, I make less CO2s?” and “How can I become an actor in one of these shows?” The youth were tested before and after to gauge their understanding of the problem and what they could do about it. The tests revealed for every question, their understanding of climate change increased. Several school teachers approached organizers after the show and said it was the best assembly their school had seen. |
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SAC WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL
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2) Contacted a science teacher at Sacramento Waldorf High School who realized the subject of the story and the service component were part of the 11th grade curriculum; she offered the entire junior class to the project. Thirty-six teenagers learned and then performed the outdoor walking version of THE SEARCH FOR KING CARBON at four elementary schools in Davis, California. The four casts led seven interactive outings on school grounds for more than 400 children.
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3) A fifth cast of teenagers and younger kids rehearsed and performed a stage version of THE SEARCH FOR KING CARBON on the festival day, 10-10-10.
The cast performed at the Veterans Memorial Theater in front of a full, engaged house of over 300 people. At the end of the project, the teen performers felt they had really made a difference. One seventeen year old said, “The little kids just loved it. And we were teaching them stuff. I want to do this again.” As a side note: the Davis festival was part of a global climate change initiative--coordinated by 350.org—with participation in over 180 countries and more than 7,000 events. |
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elk grove - laguna creek watershed
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UC DAVIS STEBBINS COLD CANYON
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After years of success providing diverse Nature programming to local communities, the Nature Outings program at Stebbins Cold Canyon—a UC Davis Reserve, wanted to offer programming for children.
Nature’s Theater brought in a full catalog of stories that fit perfectly with the wild and scenic trail in the canyon. More than twenty different outdoor quest stories, two hundred outings total, were run in the canyon introducing thousands of children to everything from birds to water conservation to learning about the planets in the solar system. Children return to ask about the well being of their favorite characters from previous trips, and parents glow about the effects the programming has on their youngsters. One family shared a story about how they began a recycling program at home after their 5 year old returned from a Nature’s Theater outing and said, “we have to do it, it’s important.” 
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