MINNEAPOLIS — Monsters have one job, and it’s to be SCARY! “Booga booga booga!” But as hard as he tries, Leonardo can’t scare even a mouse. When the other monsters laugh and make fun of him, Leonardo searches for the most scaredy-cat kid in the world to try and scare the tuna salad out of him! Manual Cinema breathes innovative life into this beloved story (and its doubly charming sequel), magically using hundreds of puppets to create a movie before your very eyes. Will Leonardo finally become the scary monster he dreams of being? Or will he discover something even better to be?
Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems, Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster, premiers at the Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) today and runs through March 9.
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster at the Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) (Photo credit CTC)
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster uses hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, two-dimensional props, furry monster puppets, and songs to bring Mo Willems’ books to life. Manual Cinema wanted to re-create the experience of holding one of Mo’s book pages, which are big, bold, colorful, and full of visual rhythm, with a playful use of scale. Like all Manual Cinema productions, you’re invited to watch the big screen like a traditional movie, or to watch the artists below as they create the story in real time.
Latino News Network had the chance to speak with Maydi Díaz (Stage Manager, Live Video, Sound and Light Cueing), who is part of the creative team and production staff.
“I fell in love with the crafts-making of theater. Theater is not just what you see people doing on stage. One of the goals that I have with doing “Leonardo” is giving kids that lightbulb moment that I never had as a kid: an entire side of theater that could be my job,” Díaz said about showing children the work she performs.
Díaz grew up in San Juan, PR, and currently resides in Chicago. Her earliest memory of performing is as a dancer in a children’s production of “Zorro.” Education brought her to Chicago. Díaz has a BA in Arts Management and MA in Theatre Production. “Growing up, I did not know that my current job existed,” she said. “I did not know this was an option of what I could do. By never having met someone who actually did that for a living and did that for a job, it meant it seemed out of reach.”
The adaptation of Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster is by Sarah Fornace and Drew Dir, with music, lyrics and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter. The production is directed by Sarah Fornace.
In addition to Mo Willems, Sarah Fornace, Drew Dir, Ben Kauffman, and Kyle Vegter, the creative team and production staff for Leonardo! A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster includes Liz Breit (Hand & Rod Puppet Design), Mieka Van der Ploeg (Costume & Wig Design), Trey Brazeal with Nick Chamernik (Lighting Design), Megan Alrutz (Dramaturg), and Maydi Díaz (Stage Manager, Live Video, Sound and Light Cueing).
The cast of Leonardo! A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster features Karly Gesine Bergmann (Sam, Puppeteer), Leah Casey (Kerry, Puppeteer), Lily Emerson (Narrator, Character Voices, Musician), Kevin Michael Wesson (Leonardo, Voice, and Puppeteer), and Lindsey Noel Whiting (Leonardo, Voice, and Puppeteer).
“It’s ultimately a story about friendship, which I really love and speaks to a lot of people,” said Díaz. “Friendship, discovering who you are, trying to understand who you are in every stage of your life is something we are all going through constantly, not just as children as adults too.”
Tickets can be purchased at childrenstheatre.org/Leonardo or by calling the ticket office at 612.874.0400. Ticket prices start at $15.