Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Troupe To Tell KiplingTales

"How did the camel get his hump?" How did the elephant get his trunk?"

These and other critical questions will be answered as the Arkansas Arts Center's Tell-A-Tale Troupe presents Rudyard Kipling's The Just So Stories at 9:30 on Thursday, April 16, at Nevada School.

Adapted for the stage by P.J. Powers of the Arkansas Arts Center's Theatre, The Just So Stories is a collection of Kipling's whimsical 'nonsense' tales told through playful language.

In The Just So Stories, Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, looks through the eyes of a child to view the world with naivete and wonder. He captures the workings of a child's mind and his stories fulfill the child's insatiable demand to know the 'how' and 'why' of everything.

Born of a child's fascination with Kipling's stories, and driven by the child's imagination, the Tell-A-Tale Troupe's stories evolve, acted out by father and child, during the course of a day of adventure and play.

Everyday actions spark the beginning of a tale or become the impetus to move from one tale to another.

Kipling's verse is incorporated and his fanciful language is evident through narration and in dialogue between the characters. Simply put, it is pure delight of father and child on a carefree outing of adventure and play.

The performers are Jimi Brewi, John Isner and Laura Reynolds. The production is directed by Alan Keith Smith with original music by Lori Loree.

The Tell-A-Tale Troupe travels statewide performing three plays each year. Intended to be both educational and entertaining, the plays are often the first live theater experience for many school chil-dren. The Just So Stories, touring the state from April 6 through May 15, is the last production of the 1997-98 season.

The 1998-99 season offerings include Humpty-Dumpty, Rikki-tikki-tavi, and The Emperor's New Clothes. Bookings are already being accepted.

All Arkansas Arts Center touring programs are supported in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

State Services receives additional program support from the Stella Boyle Smith Foundation, Entergy, Southwestern Bell Foundation, the Brown Foundation, International Paper, Potlatch Corporation and the National Endowment for the arts.

In addition to the Tell-A-Tale Troupe, the State Services Department of the Arts Center also schedules the Artmobile, a 40-ft. mobile gallery and 13 different traveling exhibitions each contain- ing original works from the Arts Center's permanent collection.

Additional information about the Arkansas Arts Center's touring programs may be obtained by calling Ned Metcalf, state services director, at 1-800-264-2787.