Activated Stories

The Tar Baby is a classic African-American story from slavery days, inspired by a similar story from Africa, presented especially for Black History Month (February).

Read along script

The Tar Baby is a trickster tale about the Rabbit (often called Brer Rabbit), who is a recurring character in these folktales. The story is a study in irony, because (spoiler alert) first the Rabbit gets into a jam only by putting up too much of a fuss and becoming unnecessarily angry; and then he gets out of it by pretending to fear something he really loves. It's like stepping into quicksand, getting stuck because you struggle too much, and then getting your enemy to help you out of it by convincing him you really don't want out.

We come to you from Boca Raton, Florida, as we get ready to make appearances at the Davie/Cooper City Library in Davie. (We guess Cooper City lost the coin toss.) It's one of our presentations funded by Target grants, for which we are ever grateful. And we discuss our recent adventure at the Brevard Zoo and Treetop Trek in Melbourne, FL.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Fox) and Kimberly (Narrator, Rabbit)

Winter has officially begun. And in honor of the season of Christmas trees, hot chocolate, ice skating, and heavy traffic at the mall, we bring you a story about winter – and summer – from the Acoma tribe of Native Americans in New Mexico. More specifically, it's a story about the changing seasons, and the importance of cooperation and balance.

We come to you from Greenville, SC, where we've been welcoming winter every year for the past few years. Looking forward to Florida next month and wishing you the jolliest of holidays.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Summer.Chief) and Kimberly (Narrator, Winter, Daughter)

"The Crocodile, The Zebras and the Hyena" is a story that we adapted from a traditional tale related by Likua Kambembe, an African storyteller. He's a member of the !Xun (We dare you to try to pronounce it) Council of Elders, and helps direct the Kulimatji Project, which preserves the tribe's folklore.

This is an origin story; i.e., a story that's intended to explain how something originated.  In this case, it's about how the crocodile came to hide in the water and ambush other animals.

We come to you from Greenville, SC, after a busy couple of weeks presenting performances and workshops for school and library residences, thanks to Target grants. And we returned for our third engagement at The National Theatre in Washington, DC.

Happy Listening and Happy Thanksgiving!
Dennis (Narrator, Crocodile, Zebra 2) and Kimberly (Narrator, Rabbit, Kangaroo, Zebra 1, Hyena)

From Uganda comes this tale about how two jungle critters who were once friends became foes, and in the process tells why frogs have no tails and why lizards have puffy cheeks. It seems appropriate because like the frog and the lizard, we recently swung on a rope from a tree when we went ziplining in the back yard of some friends near Lima, NY, where we recently performed.

We come to you from Abington, MA, where we've been geting into the fall spirit by performing at a haunted attraction, as we love to do at this time of year.  And we ask your help in finding a couple of stories requested by a young fan who left us an absolutely adorable message.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Frog) and Kimberly (Narrator, Lizard)

"Talk", from Ghana in Africa, is a cumulative tale (meaning that phrases are repeated and added to as in "The House That Jack Built") about what happens when inanimate objects start to talk. For one thing, you feel like you're in a Disney movie. But also, this story could be considered a fable about how earth-shaking events affect everyone, no matter what their occupation or social status. Or a fable about how some people consder something weird, and others find it normal. Or just a plain fun story.

We come to you from West Warwick, Rhode Island (It's a suburb of Providence like everything else in Rhode Island), where we've been helping our son Zephyr get ready to open his own haunted house for Halloween, as he's dreamed of doing for years. We'll also be performing at this and/or another haunted house as our schedule allows.

The summer season has wound down, and now we're winding up for fall -- we have a busy scheule coming up, thanks to 12 Target grants. We hope to see you at a show.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Farmer, Net, Bather, Stool) and Kimberly (Narrator, Yam, Dog, Tree, Branch, Stone, Weaver, Fisherman, Chief)

From Jewish tradition somewhere in Eastern Europe comes this charming and inspiring tale about... well, charming and inspiring tradition. As popularized by the picture book of the same name by Phoebe Gilman, this story tells of a gift made by a grandfather for a grandchild (in Gilman's version, the child is a boy; in our version, she isn't) -- and subsequently remade several times. It begins as a blanket, then as it is worn out, it is transformed into smaller and smaller items. In the process, it delivers a yarn (pun intended) about preserving one's heritage and being resourceful with available resources.

We come to you from Chicopee, Masachusetts, near Springfield -- birthplace of basketball and Dr. Seuss (at nearly the same time). We wonder if Dr. Seuss was a bouncing baby boy. Anyway, we recently took a jaunt down to Connecticut, where we attended some live theatre. First, we saw the musical "LMNOP" in Chester, Connecticut. Adapted from the novel Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (a former college classmate of Dennis), the story is a sort of satirical modern fairy tale about a country where letters of the alphabet are banned one at a time, making it very hard for people to communicate. It's a fun story especially for language lovers, and the production was outstanding, with a cast of great singers.

We also attended two performances in New London by the National Theatre of the Deaf, whom we've been wanting to catch in action for years. We saw two performances of the same show so we could carefully observe the sign language used by people who use it every day. They did an entertaining presentation of fables and comic skits. Like many of us in theatre, they make something from nothing -- or at least almost nothing.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Grandpa) and Kimberly (Narrator, Mother, Girl)

* Read along as you listen to the story

(Photo: Nathan Hale Schoolhouse in New London, CT)

"The Lion and the Three Cows" is a fable from Afghanistan – the first Afghani story we've ever presented – about discord and mistrust, standing together versus falling alone. We come to you from Virginia, where we're doing a return engagement at 4 libraries before moving on to North Carolina and New Jersey.

We've just finished our Midwest stint, after which we zipped across country to Baltimore to attend the annual convention of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) in order to talk to principals about our assembly programs and residencies. The convention was held right downtown, next to the waterfront berthing the historic ship USS Constellation, next to Camden Yards where the Orioles were swatting at baseballs, and near the birthplace of Babe Ruth. 

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, White Cow, Lion) and Kimberly (Narrator, Black Cow, Brown Cow)

"Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" is a story from Africa that explains this little mystery. Perhaps knowing why they do it will make it a little more tolerable this summer, but we doubt it. This is an example of a cumulative tale, which means the plot keeps repeating and building -- think of "The House the Jack Built" and similar poems and songs.

And while we're on the subject of insects that sing, we mention cicadas, those elusive insects that hide underground and only emerge every few years -- some species only appear once every 17 years!

We come to you from Joplin, MO, a town we were last in two years ago, volunteering with the recovery effort after the devastating tornado hit. We're happy to see that the town has been mostly rebuilt and is thriving.

We've just opened our 25th summer tour, premiering our new show in Rio Vista, CA, then dashing off to Hope, AR. We have several more shows in Arkansas and one in the Chicago area before heading to the East Coast.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Lizard, Rabbit, Lion) and Kimberly (Narrator, Mosquito, Snake, Crow, Monkey, Owl)

Episode Links:

It's a sneak preview of Tops and Bottoms, one of our new stories for the upcoming season, and aren't you lucky to be hearing it now? Hailing from Scandinavia, this is a variation of a popular tale in many cultures, including the Southern U.S., where it was often passed down by African-Americans, and it has been published in a popular picture book.

The story is of a type known as a trickster tale, which generally involves a smaller and weaker animal getting the better of a larger and stronger one. Examples can be found in Native American lore, which often features the Coyote Trickster.

We come to you from Portland (the one in Oregon, not the one in Maine – or Nebraska, if there is one there), having come up from Los Angeles and vicinity since last we met. We presented several shows in the Bay Area and Northern California (including the second and third of our school residences funded by Target).

Despite our sometimes hectic schedule, we managed to find time to take a simulated parachute jump at iFly before taking the long drive up the coast and through the redwoods to Oregon and Washington. All while rehearsing, sewing, composing music and making props for our new production opening next month.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Bear) and Kimberly (Narrator, Fox)

In honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival and Frog Month (you do celebrate that every year, don't you?) we bring you "The Two Frogs", a fable from Japan. We come to you from Holbrook, Arizona as we make our way back to the West Coast. Along the way, we visited The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa NM, The Mesalands Dinosaur Musuem in Tucumcari NM and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR.

Catch an upcoming show live on stage in Los Angeles, Irvine, Palo Alto, Modesto,  orTiburon, California in March and April.

Find out how to bring Act!vated to your school for free for two days.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Osaka Frog, Boy) and Kimberly (Narrator, Kyoto Frog, Mother, Collector)