PLAYTIME STORIES OPENS FOR 2016 SEASON ON JUNE 18

Gloucester Stage Company proudly launches the 2016 season of  Playtime Stories, an engaging combination of children’s stories, live performances and interactive events for ages 3 and older, onSaturday, June 18 at 10 am at Gloucester Stage, 267, East Main Street, Gloucester. Playtime Stories offers young children the unique opportunity to experience the fun and magic of live theater as they watch their favorite books come to life onstage. Following the performance audience members will be invited to join the Playtime Stories Company in fun and interactive workshops relating to the story. Each Saturday the Playtime Stories Company, consisting of members of Gloucester Stage’s apprentice company, veteran Youth Acting Workshop students and special guest narrators. The company performs a children’s story against the backdrop of the story’s illustrations followed by a weekly series of dynamic interactive events related to the story. According Youth Acting Workshop Director and Teacher Heidi Dallin, “We had a great response to the Playtime Stories program last summer. It is a terrific way for YAW to reach out to younger audiences to spark their excitement in live performance. Many of the veteran YAW students in the Playtime Stories Company have been involved in the YAW program since they were 5 years old and now they will inspire the next generation of YAW students!” Each week Playtime Stories explores different stories ranging from classic fairy tales to new stories to works by local authors. The books for June 18 are the classic Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends: Thomas Goes Fishing, Based on The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch. Upcoming books to be read and performed by the Playtime Stories Company include The Three Little Pigs and The Little Red Hen on June 25; Curious George and Little Bunny Foo Foo on July 9. Other Stories planned for July include Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Rumpelstiltskin, and the Dr. Seuss classics, The Lorax and What Pet Should I Get?  All Playtime Story performances are held at 10 am at Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Admission is $5. For more information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visitwww.gloucesterstage.com