THE BLUEBERRY BALLADEER MAKES ITS WORLD PREMIERE!!!!!

The Blueberry Balladeer

PENOBSCOT THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
THE YOUTH TROUPE, WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
of
THE BLUEBERRY BALLADEER

Penobscot Theatre is thrilled to present an original work for children! PTC’s Youth Troupe will perform The Blueberry Balladeer for four performances on April 26th – 29th at the historic Bangor Opera House.

Beekeepers, dragons, pageant queens, dogs, and gnomes are all part of The Blueberry Balladeer, a fantasy-filled romp through a locally based tale. Set in the blueberry fields of Washington County, Maine, trouble lurks in the rocky valleys and fields. An ancient pestilence known as the Willisoggle has eaten the Blueberry Balladeer, who for centuries has sang her annual lullaby to protect their crop. Now the farmers, beekeepers, and berry pickers must unite and stop the Willisoggle before it devours the country side of all the harvest!

The Blueberry Balladeer is the culmination of PTC’s Youth Theatre Winter classes, which exposes children to the theatre-making process. Through collaboration and creativity, PTC’s Youth Troupe focuses on using theatre as a vehicle to teach young people to act strategically and compassionately.

Andrew Frodahl, author of PTC’s The Velveteen Rabbit (now a finalist in New York’s Children’s Theatre Festival) has once again penned an original work for children. Written for students to perform, The Blueberry Balladeer has a cast of over 30 emerging performers between the ages of 4 and 13, who bring to life a range of larger than life characters.

The process has given them the unique opportunity to originate roles never before seen on stage. Students have worked with professional directors and designers as well as directly with the playwright to craft this original production. “It is a truly unique and rare experience,” says Jasmine Ireland, PTC’s Director of Education and Outreach who directs Blueberry, “to be a child on the ground floor of a new literary work! It is just an adorable script!”

Additional programming around Blueberry will take place at the Maine Discovery Museum, where, during the course of the production, youth workshops will be offered relating to Maine’s blueberry industry and at the Columbia Street Baptist Church, where a blueberry brunch is being offered on Saturday, April 28th at 11am and noon. Call Karen at 947-6618 to reserve a limited seat. Proceeds from the breakfast will create PTC summer camp scholarships for at-risk youth.

Performances of The Blueberry Balladeer are April 26-28th at 6pm and Sunday, April 29th at 2pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Call Penobscot Theatre Company’s Box Office at (207) 947-3333 or visit www.penobscottheatre.org

See you at the theatre!