1. art and entertainment
2. theatre

American Girl’s Fund for Children Family Series
The Gruffalo’s
Child
Adapted from the multi-award-winning book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
‘Aha, oho, a trail in the snow...’
Tall Stories Theatre Company (creators of the Gruffalo and Room on the Broom stage shows)
is proud to present this magical, musical adaptation of The Gruffalo’s Child.
The Gruffalo said that no Gruffalo should
Ever set foot in the deep dark wood...
But one wild and windy night the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warning and tiptoes out into
the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist… does he?
SAT, MAY 9, 2015 | Capitol Theater
The Gruffalo’s Child | OVERTURECENTER.ORG
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DOUBLE
YOUR
PASSION
MAKE A GIFT NOW!
overturecenter.org/makeagift
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JOHN MANIACI
Kids in the Rotunda
Free most Saturdays April through November
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OVERTURECENTER.ORG | The Gruffalo’s Child
Thank you for joining us at today’s
performance! We appreciate how
passionate you are for the arts.
By making a gift today, you will help
ensure that everyone in our community
has access to the arts—whether it
be through Overture’s Onstage Field
Trip program, Teaching Artist Training,
Community Ticket Voucher, Kids in
the Rotunda or one of our additional
community programs.
Also, all gifts received by June 15 will be
matched, dollar for dollar, up to a total
of $200,000. This match is made possible
by the extraordinary support of two Local
Legends- an anonymous donor in honor
of Overture CEO Ted DeDee and his late
wife Gail, and Ron and Deborah Krantz.
ABOUT THE SHOW
When Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler created
The Gruffalo’s Child as a sequel to their first book The
Gruffalo, it felt like a natural progression that Tall Stories
should develop a second Gruffalo show. Once again
we were faced with lots of challenges and decisions.
How could we transform a five-minute book into a
one-hour play while staying true to what the author and
illustrator created?
The Gruffalo himself has become a bit of an icon since
our first association with him – how could we live up
to the audience’s expectations? How would the fox,
the owl and the snake have changed since the first
production? Who would speak the lines from the book
this time? What kind of music should we write?
And then there’s the Big Bad Mouse, of course – how
would we create him on stage? Throughout rehearsals, we worked with the performers, designers
and composers to come up with the production which opened at London’s Polka Theatre in
autumn 2005. Since then, the show has continued to develop, with the input of many performers
and creative talents. The Gruffalo’s Child has followed in its predecessor’s ‘paw prints’ – and we
hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed working on it!
TALL STORIES THEATRE COMPANY
Tall Stories creates entertaining and imaginative performances for audiences of
all ages. The company is a not-for-profit organisation which tours the UK and
the world with its exciting blend of storytelling theatre, original music and lots
of laughs.
Since 1997, when Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell set up the company, Tall
Stories shows have performed all over the UK, and as far afield as America,
Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Poland and Taiwan. Snow White and The
Gruffalo have performed to sell-out audiences on Broadway, and Tall Stories
shows have been produced by local companies in Australia, Chile, Germany and Singapore.
Their production of The Gruffalo has been released on DVD by the Really Useful Group, and
a picture book has been published based on their show The Snow Dragon. In 2013, Tall Stories’
production Room on the Broom was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award for Best Family
and Entertainment Show. www.tallstories.org.uk.
The Gruffalo’s Child | OVERTURECENTER.ORG
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CREATIVE TEAM
Olivia Jacobs – Director / Writer
Olivia trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of London. Directing
credits for Tall Stories include: Emily Brown and the Thing (UK); The Gruffalo (UK inc. West End
& International tours inc. Broadway, Australia & North America); Room on the Broom (UK inc
West End & International tours); Mr Benn (UK & International); How the Giraffe got its Neck (UK
& International); Monster Hits (UK & International); Something Else (UK & International); Them
With Tails (UK); Mum & the Monster (UK) and Snow White (UK & International inc. Broadway).
Olivia was previously Artistic Director of Camden People’s Theatre where she directed The
Monkey’s Paw and The Necklace. She is joint artistic director and co-founder of Tall Stories.
Toby Mitchell – Creative Producer / Writer
Toby studied at Cambridge University and trained at Central School of Speech and Drama.
Directing credits for Tall Stories include: My Brother the Robot (UK & Poland), The Snail and
the Whale (UK, Poland, Hong Kong, Singapore), Twinkle Twonkle (UK, USA), Does a Monster
Live Next Door? (UK), Cat and No Mouse (UK), The Snow Dragon (UK, USA, Poland, Hong
Kong, Singapore), The Owl and the Pussycat (UK) and Alice and Mr Dodgson (UK). He recently
directed German-language productions of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child in Bonn. Other
directing/devising work includes: Monsters Got Talent, A British Guide to French Pop, The Island
of First Loves and The Egg. He is co-founder and joint artistic director of Tall Stories.
Bryony Shanahan – Associate Director
Bryony Shanahan is co-artistic director of Snuff Box Theatre. Directing credits include: Bitch
Boxer (Soho Theatre/UK tour/Adelaide Fringe Festival); Operation Crucible (Finborough
Theatre); Chapel Street (UK tour); You and Me (Greenwich Theatre/UK tour); The Altitude
Brothers (UK tour); Doctor Faustus (St Mary Magdalene Church, Paddington) and Babies
(Southwark Playhouse). Bryony recently won a BBC Performing Arts Award to work at the Royal
Exchange Theatre where she assisted on Sarah Frankcom’s Hamlet with Maxine Peake, and will
also develop new Snuff Box piece; Weald by Daniel Foxsmith. Her work as an assistant director
also includes Around the World in 80 Days (New Vic Theatre/Royal Exchange Theatre) and The
Gruffalo’s Child (UK & North America tour). Bryony trained on The National Theatre Studio
Directing Course and at East 15 Acting School.
Isla Shaw – Designer
Isla trained at Wimbledon School of Art & Swinburne University, Australia. For Tall Stories,
My Brother the Robot, Snail and the Whale, Mr Benn, Them with Frozen Tails, Twinkle Twonkle,
Something Else, How The Giraffe Got Its Neck, Does a Monster Live Next Door, Monster Hits,
The Gruffalo’s Child, The Gruffalo, Mum and the Monster & Snow White. A Midsummer Night’s
Dream & Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Jump & The Garden of Dreams (Live Theatre), La
Rondine (BYO Peacock Theatre), The Wedding Singer (Mark Goucher – UK Tour), The Taming
of the Shrew (Creation Theatre, Oxford Castle), The Barber of Seville (Denmark), Copenhagen
(Watermill Theatre), The Strauss Gala (Raymond Gubbay), Clown (Bristol Old Vic), Maria de
Buenos Aires (Norwich Theatre Royal & Tour), Neville’s Island (Watermill Theatre).
James Whiteside – Lighting Designer
Tall Stories credits include: The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, Room on the Broom, Snow White
and Mr Benn. West End credits include: Midnight Tango (Aldwych), Never Forget (Savoy),
Footloose (Novello and Playhouse), Holding the Man (Trafalgar Studios), The Female of
the Species (Vaudeville) and Calamity Jane (Shaftesbury). Other recent credits include: A
Marvellous Year for Plums, Wallenstein, Funny Girl, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Alice in
Wonderland and The Snow Queen (Chichester Festival Theatre); A Christmas Carol, Arcadia
and Grimm Tales (Library, Manchester); The Odd Couple, Moonlight and Magnolias and
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OVERTURECENTER.ORG | The Gruffalo’s Child
CREATIVE TEAM cont.
Twelfth Night (Perth Theatre);The Absence of Women (Lyric, Belfast), Salonika (West Yorkshire
Playhouse); and tours of Shaun’s Big Show and Guess How Much I Love You.
Jolly Good Tunes – Composers and Sound Production
Jon Fiber and Andy Shaw of Jolly Good Tunes have composed and recorded songs and sound
effects for theatre since 1997. Current show highlights include Emily Brown and The Thing (UK
Tour), What the Ladybird Heard (UK and international tour), The Gruffalo (UK and international
tours), The Gruffalo’s Child (UK and international tour), Mr Benn (UK tour), William’s Monster
(UK and international tour), My Brother the Robot (UK tour), Them with Frozen Tails (UK tour),
Something Else (UK tour), The Snow Dragon (UK and international tour), How the Giraffe
Got Its Neck (UK tour), Twinkle Twonkle (UK Tour), The Night before Christmas (UK tour), Don’t
Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late (UK and US tour), The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (UK and
US tour) and sound design for The Tiger Who Came to Tea (UK tour).
CAST
Sarah Kameela Impey – The Gruffalo’s Child
Sarah trained at Arts Ed. Her theatre credits include: ‘Nell’ in the national tour of The Curiosity
Shop, ‘Noor’ in Finding Noor and ‘Cinderella’ in Cinderella - a Fairytale with the Tobacco Factory
and Travelling Light. Sarah has also trained in basic Aerial circus with Upswing and Circus Space
and has appeared in features and shorts such as Halcyon Heights and Perceptions. She would like
to dedicate this tour to Thomas Hare, an incredible actor and writer who passed away in early
2013. A fund has been set up in his name ‘The Tommy Vine Fund’ and will provide financial and
physical aid for emerging young artists creating their own work.
Sally Ann Staunton – Mouse
Cumbrian born and bred Sally grew up (well she’s still a very little mousey 5’1”!) surrounded by
countryside – just like in the Deep Dark Wood! After graduating from the University of Central
Lancashire in Theatre Practice, Sally’s theatre credits include The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Tutti
Frutti National Tour in association with York Theatre Royal), The Confessional Booth at the
Henley Festival (Dot Comedy), Spit Nolan and Precious Bane (Interplay National Tour), This
Land (Zoo, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Hell and High Water (Mikron Theatre), Salsa Saved The
Girls (Old Red Lion), Much Ado About Nothing (Hackney Empire) and Final Farewell (Salford
Lowry). Sally’s also Fairy ‘Oshi’ for London based Adrenalin Dance.
Alex Scott Fairley – Predators
Alex studied at Jesus College, Oxford University. Recent credits include: Romeo und Julia
(Openhouse Theater, Vienna), Pool (Brockley Jack, London) Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Chorus
of Disapproval, Single Spies and Hello, Dolly! (all for Pitlochry Festival Theatre). Other credits
include; Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre, London); Doctor Faustus (Creation Theatre, Oxford);
An Inspector Calls (International Theatre, Vienna); A Capital Affair (Vienna’s English Theatre);
The Merry Wives of Windsor and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (both Guildford Shakespeare
Company); Mexican Hayride and Flahooley! (Both Sadler’s Wells); Enjoy! (York Theatre Royal)
and various pantomimes at the Millfield Theatre, London. Alex has previously toured North
America with Pigeon Party! Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! (Both Big Wooden Horse
Theatre); and with Tall Stories in The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom. Alex was also the
translator for Der Grüffelo (Junges Theater, Bonn).
The Gruffalo’s Child | OVERTURECENTER.ORG
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OVERTURECENTER.ORG | The Gruffalo’s Child
The Gruffalo’s Child | OVERTURECENTER.ORG
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CAMP
PAWPRINT
Camp Pawprint is a series of week-long day camps
held at Dane County Humane Society. Campers
ages 7 to 15 enjoy animal-related lessons and
activities while having fun with other animal lovers!
Activities include humane education
lessons, critter projects, group
games, and daily presentations
from local animal experts.
All campers spend time interacting with our
camp animals and getting hands-on experience
providing daily care and socialization.
Each week of camp runs 9am – 3pm and has a
different age group and theme. Before and after
care is also available.
DCHS’ upcoming camp officially begins
June 15 and runs through August 28.
DANE COUNTY
HUMANE SOCIETY
5132 Voges Road Madison WI, 53718
608-838-0413 x115
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