Westport Country Playhouse Family Festivities Series Presents THE MIXED-UP FAIRY TALE

Westport Country Playhouse's Family Festivities Series will present "The Mixed-Up Fairy Tale," combining storytelling, familiar fairy tale characters, and circus skills, on Sunday, November 20, for two performances, at 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. Running time is approximately one hour.Produced by Page Turners' Adventures, a presentation of Theatreworks USA, the show is recommended for ages 4 to 8. Tickets are $20.

"The Mixed-Up Fairytale" features Riley Roam as Page Turner (a "Storyologist"), and former Ringling Bros. clown Kenny Mikey as her bumbling assistant. This Emmy Award-winning duo transforms kids in the audience into the heroes of a super-sized story that features juggling, stilt-walking, improv comedy, and larger-than-life props and costumes.

The show empowers kids to become readers and writers as they help Page Turner break a spell placed on Sleeping Beauty. The audience interacts directly with the performers, convincing Red Riding Hood to give up her cape, discovering the secret under grandma's bed, climbing a beanstalk, and retrieving a golden spoon from a 10-foot-tall giant. Circus meets storytelling in this slapstick steampunk adventure.

Riley Roam studied acting at the University of London, England, and graduated with a degree in theater from the University of Buffalo. After college, she began her career as a professional storyteller, touring schools from New York to Florida with Motion Potion. Her interest in educational entertainment led her to work as an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and host for Fox Kids for six years. She has also written, produced, and hosted segments for the Travel Channel, Scholastic, The International Reading Association, and PBS. When she's not performing, she spends her time writing books for kids and is the author of "The Great Pizza Contest."

Kenny Mikey started out as a certified pre-school teacher, moving into children's television for a stint as the Kids Club host for WMSN in Madison, Wisconsin, and improv comedy with the famed ComedySportz improv troupe. He attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College where he was handpicked to develop an original national touring show for The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, designed to inspire and motivate at-risk youth. He is an award-winning video producer, director, and editor, and studied Children's Television at Rockport College, Maine. He has created videos for Fox Kids, the Travel Channel, Scholastic, The International Reading Association, and PBS.

Family Festivities shows are presented on selected Sundays from November through April. Family Festivities Corporate Sponsors are Pitney Bowes and Northwestern Mutual. Family Festivities Partner is Darlene Krenz. The Family Festivities Series is also supported by the Westport Young Woman's League.

In conjunction with the Family Festivities Series, The Playhouse will once again host a book collection for Read to Grow, Inc., a statewide nonprofit organization that helps parents take an active role in their children's literacy development by providing free children's books to families with limited access and to community resources that serve them. At each Family Festivities performance, bins will be located in The Playhouse lobby for donations of gently used and new children's books which will be given to families and programs in the greater Fairfield County area through Read to Grow. During last season's Family Festivities series, The Playhouse collected nearly 300 books.

Everyone in the audience requires a ticket. For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), or view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).

About Westport Country Playhouse

The mission of Westport Country Playhouse is to enrich, enlighten, and engage the community through the power of professionally producedtheater worth talking about and the welcoming experience of The Playhouse campus. The Playhouse creates this relationship with the community and provides this experience in multiple ways by offering: Live theater experiences of the highest quality, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos, from May through November; educational and community engagement events and opportunities to further explore issues presented by the work on stage; special performances and programs for students and teachers with extensive curriculum support material;Script in Hand play readings throughout the year to deepen relationships with audiences and artists alike; the renowned Woodward Internship Program training program during the summer months for aspiring theater professionals; Family Festivities presentations from November through April to delight young and old alike and to promote reading through live theater; and the beautiful and historic Playhouse campus open for enjoyment and community events year-round. The value of the Westport Country Playhouse to all it touches is immeasurable.

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