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Thu, 26 October 2006
We are back in our old stomping grounds, where we began our theatre careers, our film career (in Zephyr's case), our company, our family and our life on the road. This week we come to you from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, after performing at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center. Lake Shasta CavernsWe tell of our recent trip to Lake Shasta Caverns, discovered by Charles Morton in 1878 near Mt.Shasta. The caverns are situated by Lake Shasta, the second-largest manmade lake in the country--it covers five former towns and contains sturgeon up to 30 feet long! We took the three-part tour (boat, bus and shoe leather) of the caverns and discovered some of the most graphic rock formations we've ever seen in the many caves we've toured. Learn how to tell stalactites from stalagmites. We'll give you a couple of ways to tell them apart. And find out what helictites are. (No, they're not a frozen dessert on a stick, but they look like it.)
The Dragon of KrakowThe story of "The Dragon of Krakow" (sometimes known as "The Dragon of Wawel Hill" or "Krakus and the Dragon") is a folktale from Poland. We've been touring the country with this story since May 2006. Just a few more months to see it live on the west coast, as it will be closing in December to make way for our new production.
What happens when a young boy learns to deal with the trouble he has stirred up? A shoemaker's apprentice, egged on by peer pressure, awakens a sleeping dragon, which devastates the village and terrorizes the people. When the villagers are unable to defeat him, the apprentice realizes he must correct his own mistake, which he does with imagination and resourcefulness. More Dragon Stories brought to you by Tina Hanlon of Ferrum College. Happy Listening, Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr |
Thu, 19 October 2006
Oregon Shakespeare FestivalCostumes, props, sets, Shakespeare. What goes into putting together the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland? We tell you some of what we learned on the backstage tour at the Festival (a tour conducted by veteran Festival actor Rex Young), including an inside glimpse of the Elizabethan Stage (America's first Elizabethan theatre), the Angus Bowmer Theatre (named after the Festival's founder) and the New Theatre. Begun in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival runs 11 shows in three theatres from February through October every year. This year 82 actors protrayed 195 characters in close to 800 shows. Each actor plays 2 to 3 roles and understudies one to two other parts. And for every actor that you see on stage there are 4 people working backstage designing and building the costumes, sets, lights, and making the magic happen.
Zephyr Haunts Ashland and TumwaterScience Works Museum in Ashland offers hands-on educational (and fun!) exhibits for children, including the paper airplane launcher for flying airplanes they have been taught to make. A special exhibit of toys and games is coming soon, as is a Halloween haunted house which Zephyr helped design - having recently contributed his talents to a much larger attraction called Twilight's Terror in Tumwater, Washington. Romeo and Juliet(The Four Minute condensed comical version)William Shakespeare's classic tragedy about star-crossed lovers from dueling clans has roots in the Greek legend "Pyramus and Thisbe" (which he also invoked in "A Midsummer Night's Dream") and has inspired books, plays, movies and tv shows throughout the ages. Variations of this tale exist in many other cultures as well; a hit song on the radio in the Sixties called "Running Bear and Little White Dove" related a similar story involving Native Americans from warring tribes. "Romeo and Juliet" illustrates Shakespeare's extraordinary ability to transform a borrowed plot into something wholly original, and uniquely his own. And coming up for 2007 our own national tour of "Shakespeare Shazam", an introduction to the Bard's work. We act out passages from such Shakespearean masterpieces as "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Hamlet", in both the original version and modern English.
Happy Listening, Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr |
Thu, 12 October 2006
How do you tell the difference between a Sea Lion and a Seal? The ears are a dead giveaway. Bull Sea Lions weigh up to 2400 lbs and the cows are about 1/2 that size. Learn about Sea Lions and the Sea Lion Caves north of Florence, Oregon in this episode. Sea Lion CavesThe Sea Lion Caves was voted one of the top 10 places in America to go out of your way to see by USA Weekend. It's the largest sea cave in the world, within sight of the most photographed lighthouse in the world.
The Gingerbread ManA stop at the Gingerbread Village restaurant in Mapleton inspired us to tell the story of the Gingerbread Man (or Boy). He's running as fast as he can. He's running from the little old lady, the little old man, some threshers, some mowers, a cow, a pig, and a fox. Will anyone catch the Gingerbread Man? And what is a thresher?? More Act!vated:Next week is Teen Reading Week! So go read a teen, if you can. Happy Listening, Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza |
Thu, 5 October 2006
Our last podcast from Washington until who knows when? Join us this week to rock out in Seattle at the Experience Music Project under the Space Needle. Explore the Science Fiction Museum and do a double take at the Double Take Exhibit. We enjoyed the huge Queen Alien and memorabilia from Sci-Fi movies, TV shows and books; played the keyboards, electric guitars, and drums and sang our hearts out in the jam rooms; and we learned to look at art in new ways. Visit these awesome museums at the Seattle Center The Bremen Town MusiciansA worn out donkey decides to head to town to try his luck at being a musician. Along the way he meets a hound dog, a cat and a rooster and convinces them to join the act. Find out what happens when our troubadours meet up with a band of robbers! Will they get that record contract? Happy Listening, Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr |
