Interactive Folktale Theatre

Kristin Pedemonti combines storytelling, theatre and literature to create educational and entertaining programs which feature multicultural folktales from around the world. The goal is to build bridges and foster understanding between cultures through storytelling. Every show includes audience participation, everyone “gets into the act” both onstage and from their seats using simple costumes, call and response and dialogue to participate. Every performance is as educational as it is entertaining and ties into curriculum standards, multiple intelligences and also gives those differently abled an opportunity to shine. Programs are suited for children ages 4 and up, except where noted.

Kristin has performed for thousands of children and adults at hundreds of locations throughout the mid-Atlantic, as well as in New York City in Central Park, at the UN Child Care Center, Cornelia Street Cafe, Scandinavia House, Governor’s Island, and in New Orleans and Virginia. She has donated programs for 33,345 children throughout Belize, Central America through her volunteer project Literacy Outreach Belize; you can learn more about this project by clicking Literacy Outreach Belize. She has also performed in San Miguel Duenas in Guatemala; Thorpe, England; Paris, France; Vullo and San Sebastiano, Italy; Malardalen University in Eskilstuna, Sweden, Vasterberg Folk High School in Storvik, Sweden, and Cosmopolitan School in Berlin.

Watch her in Action:
Elephant’s Secret performed in Bogota, Colombia at Artes Sin Fronteras as part of Storytelling Festival Quiero Cuentos

  • Programs promote LITERACY.
  • Explore the world through interactive folktale theatre; connect cultures through stories and emphasize our similarities while valuing differences.
  • Teach Character Education and treating each other with respect and kindness. Programs focus on issues affecting all schools such as bullying and acceptance.
  • Participants help tell the tales – simple costumes and dialogue provided.
  • Programs tie into school curriculum standards connecting to language arts, teaching English as a second language, social studies, history and science .
  • Programs utilize all of the Multiple Intelligences: linguistic; use of language, patterns, call and response, kinetic; ie. dance within a story, interpersonal; working together as a group to create the story, intrapersonal; understanding oneself better through the stories presented, visual; brightly colored costuming, musical; songs and instruments from around the world.
  • Programs provide an opportunity for those differently abled to shine. Time and time again, students with various learning challenges or different abilities volunteer to participate onstage. Teachers are often amazed that students with severe ADD, Autism, Learning Delays, and other challenges succeed through story.
  • Folktales featured from the entire world! Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America. Thus students can see themselves in the stories and their cultures being valued.

Current programs include:

  • African Tales/Safari: Tales from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and an imaginary safari participants learn fascinating facts about elephants, giraffes, hyenas and more; did you know it takes a baby elephant over 2 years to learn how to use the thousands of muscles in it’s trunk?! It’s true!.
  • Australian Outback: for ages 6 and up. Aboriginal Dreamtime Tales and a Walk-about featuring facts about kangaroos, dingoes, tazmanian devils and more!
  • Belizean Legends and Myths: for ages 8 and up. Tata Duende, Anansi stories and several written by Belizean Youth, a great program as the kick-off for Preservation of Culture Through Story-Writing!
  • Character Education: for ages 5 and up. Participants use Process Drama to address issues such as bullying.
  • Earth and Environment Tales: Let’s Get Green through Stories that illustrate the value of the Earth.
  • Invention Innovation: for ages 6 and up. Stories of real life inventions often featuring Toys; the hula hoop (originally from Egypt!), popcycle, frisbee and more.
  • It’s a Bug’s Life; Insect Stories: Anansi from Africa, the Brazilian Beetle, the Tarantella from Italy and insect facts to astound. I will even eat fried crickets or mealworms!
  • Harvest Tales: travel to the American South for Pea Pickin’ and some Brer Rabbit.
  • Kindness and Compassion Tales: learn valuable lessons through tales and true stories, value others as you value yourself, build bridges between cultures and understand each other.
  • Latin American Tales: Travel in Belize, Guatemala, Chile, Ecuador and Peru through story. Soon to be added Colombia! Tales all collected on world travels!
  • Multicultural Trickster: Travels with Tricksters, Coyote, Rabbit, and Fox are featured.
  • One World, Many Stories: Travel the Globe Through Story and Dance. Learn how we are all connected through our stories. Did you know there are at least 1500 different Cinderella Stories? Did you know that animals in different countries speak Different languages?
  • Peace Stories: ages 5 and up. Tell tales together that illustrate Peace throughout the world, also great as a jumping off point for discussion.
  • ‘Round the World with Rabbit: Did you know Rabbit is a Trickster in African, Asian, European, Native American, Central, North and South American Tales? Rabbit may be small, but she is Mighty!
  • Strong Girls Stories: ages 5 and up. Stories featuring women and girls who did not wait for “Prince Charming” but used their own brains to save themselves and, often, others! Participate in an ancient Incan Tale in which a girl saves the sick Prince! And more…
  • Tales to Tingle Your Spine: for ages 8 and up. “Real” ghost stories and things that go bump in the night.
  • Urban Legends: for ages 8 and up. “Real” urban legends from around the world; Chubacabra, La LLorona, the Hitchhiker, and more.
  • Note: Custom programs available for a small fee.