Looking Glass Theatre, celebrating almost 20 years of productions strengthening the voice of women in theater and the arts, proudly presents Three By the Sea, a playful new children's show written by Donna Latham, a recent playwright of the Looking Glass Writer/Director Forum. Julia Martin, a former Forum director, leads the production which opens Saturday, March 5 and runs through Sunday, April 10 with performances Saturdays at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for children 12 and under. Group tickets available; TDF vouchers are accepted. Running time is approximately 50 minutes without intermission; show is appropriate for ages 3-10.
Join Buccanner Bochephus Q. Fizziwater as he dives into a trio of tales about wondrous watery worlds telling the stories of "Paddy and the Mermaid," "Coyote's Moon" and "Foghorn Franny." Mermaids, grizzled ole sea dogs, surfer dudes, and ornery coyotes conquer the Seven Seas! Will Paddy be able to keep his Mermaid bride happy on the shore? Will Little Rabbit be able to keep Coyote in the river and avoid being supper? Will Foghorn Franny survive surfer culture to find her Pop? Each sea yarn - inspired by traditional Irish folktales, Native American and Mexican folklore as well as American tall tales - is performed in whimsical, story-theatre style with music, puppets and much more!
"Paddy and the Mermaid" is loosely based on T. Crofton Croker's "The Lady of Gollerus" published in his 1825 collection The Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. "Coyote's Moon" features recurring coyote and rabbit characters of traditional Native American and Mexican trickster folklore. "Foghorn Franny" boasts a superhuman ability - a huge voice - in the American tall tale tradition.
In a variety of roles, playwright Donna Latham has worked to bring literature alive for kids. As a high school drama teacher and director, an elementary school librarian and a storyteller, she has explored theatre and literature with kids of all ages. "Paddy and the Mermaid" received an Honorable Mention Award in the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild's Marilyn Hall Awards for Youth Theatre. A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Ms. Latham also writes books for young readers including her most recent works "Garbage: Investigate What Happens When You Throw It Away" and "Amazing Biome Projects You Can Build Yourself." She received the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award for "Fire Dogs." Her original script Do These Jeans Make My Butt Look Massive? received its first NYC production at Looking Glass Theatre as part of the semi-annual Writer/Director Forum in June 2010.
Director Julia Martin is a director and an acting and directing teacher. She has directed several theatre pieces in the Looking Glass Forum (earning Best Direction among other Forum Awards), NEUROfest, and the Untitled Theatre's 24/7 Festival in addition to writing and directing the short film, Aftermath. Her staged reading of Surfacing was nominated for Outstanding Overall Production of a Reading and Outstanding Performance of a Reading at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. As an actor, she toured internationally for years as a principal member of Ellen Stewart's Great Jones Repertory Company, starred opposite Mike Myers in the short film, Opposites Attract, and premiered the role of Jane in the Eve Ensler's production, Lemonade. Her current projects include her two young children. She is a graduate of the Columbia MFA theatre program where she studied under the tutelage of Andrei Serban, Anne Bogart and RoBert Woodruff.
LOOKING GLASS THEATRE - Looking Glass Theatre's mission is to theatrically and truthfully reflect a female vision on the stage while creating a community of artistic freedom. We fulfill this by presenting female directors' visions of original works or the classics and by staging new plays either written or directed by women. This includes children's shows and educational programming as well as our semi-annual festival of new works, featuring emerging women playwrights and directors, each season. In 2009 nytheatre.com said, "Looking Glass Theatre deserves kudos for consistently programming affordable shows for families that really are produced and staged with the youngest theater-goers in mind." The New York Times called Looking Glass Theatre's Adventures of the Puppet Princess "charming" and "especially amusing to children under 10...a substantial introduction to the culture of Bali." The New York Times also described our 2010 production of Betsy is Bored, Bored, Bored, Bored, Bored! as "a briskly paced romp through daydreams."
