About This Program
Alphabetisimo: A Shadow Show and Workshop
Program Type
Assembly / Performance
Where do words and letters go, after we say them, do you know? Alphabetisimo is the story of a secret House of Light, where Letters and Words live, play, and create stories. Shadow letters turn into shadow characters, shadow characters come out of a shadow house and turn into flat colorful puppets. What do we do, if A -angel falls asleep and her W-wings fly away? Along with A-angel and B-boy, we go on a journey to find the wings. And of course, we will find them, and in the end, tired and happy Letters will return home and…fall asleep: Z-Z-Z-Z.
This is an experience that teachers and parents can continue in the classroom or at home to enhance reading skills and create meaningful and engaging storytime for children and the whole family. This program also introduces shadow puppets as an accessible resource for beginner English language learners. The program has elements of STEM for children—while practicing shadow theater they discover how light travels and ways to create different sizes of shadows. After the workshop, we also talk about different books about the Alphabet, silhouettes, shapes, light, and shadows.
Goals and Objectives:
+ Introduce shadow puppets as a literacy and science teaching tool
+ Introduce and/or recall the alphabet
+ Introduce object transformation (letters into characters) as a great problem-solving tool and a foundation for coding and decoding skills (basic reading and math skills)
+ Social-Emotional context: helping your friends
Alphabetisimo is 25 minutes long, followed by 35 minutes of shadow puppet creation and shadow theater workshop.
Testimonials
“I want to start off by saying Natasha’s performance in the workshop was wonderful. My students enjoyed it so much they have been begging to watch the video in order to experience it again. I would love to have had Natasha’s theater as a residency. There is so much we can do with the shadow theater. With literacy, mathematics, and science...everything. I love that she came with her own set of classroom management techniques. It was refreshing to see that happen.”
“Natasha created a friendly and inviting atmosphere in the studio, engaging families with young children in the process of making shadow puppets before the show. The project was age-appropriate and part of the literacy mission of the workshop. The children and adults were captivated by the puppet show. Afterward, everyone got a chance to become a puppeteer and try the puppet characters they created behind the stage. Natasha also demonstrated how parents can continue the experience at home and use shadow theater to enhance reading skills of their children and to create meaningful and engaging storytime for children and the whole family.”
"She was great, you could tell she really enjoyed performing for the audience, as well as enjoyed teaching the craft of shadow puppets. Awesome job!"
La Plata Branch Charles County Library