Assembly programs are live performances for PreK-12 grade audiences that are available through YA in a variety of mediums from traditional dance to film making. Book your assembly program today!
Assembly programs:
Are a wonderful way to introduce students to an artistic discipline and culture
Are 45 minutes in length and have a maximum audience size of 250 students unless otherwise specified
Have been developed in compliance with the Maryland Essential Learner Outcomes for the Fine Arts
Naturally connect to different areas of the curricula, and these connections can be deepened through the use of our Teacher Guides. (View sample teacher guide.)
To Schedule an Assembly Program:
Call 410.837.7577 ext. 15 or download, complete, and email this form to donna@yamd.org.
Note: Mileage, if applicable, will be calculated at the time of booking.
For a complete program description, including curriculum connections, please use our searchable database.
language arts & theatre ASSEMBLIES Artist with this symbol (k) are Maryland State Arts Council
(MSAC) approved. MSAC funding may be available.
kBaltimore Shakespeare Festival
A Midsummer Night’s Dream A solo performer of the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival delivers a wild story full of magic spells, fairies, and mistaken loves. Full of fights, chases and the secret meetings of lovers, this play solidly withstands the test of time. In Kimberley Lynne’s adaptation of this 400-year-old script, the actor tells the crazy, funny story of rebellious lovers, arguing fairies, and nighttime pranks in the woods. Students are incorporated into the storytelling, silently portraying the roles as they are directed. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $323; Back-to-Back Program - $430
Clowning Around with Shakespeare This production opens with Shakespearean clown, Will Kemp, preparing to audition for the newly crowned King James I, backstage at Whitehall Palace in April 1603. Kemp performs a series of funny Shakespearean monologues for the students prior to his supposed royal audition. He includes the students, pulling them into the acting area to portray the minor roles. The goal of the play is not only entertainment, but also serves as a fun introduction to Shakespeare in preparation for the student’s middle school instruction of his work. Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $323; Back-to-Back Program - $430
Mondo Shakespeare, Jr. This fast paced production features scenes (“Romeo & Juliet,” “The Taming of the Shrew,” etc.), sonnets, and songs from Shakespeare and integrates them with fun facts and history about the Elizabethan era while focusing on the theme of identity. The scenes are chosen to match the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum for what is studied at the middle school level. This interactive show is a great introduction to Shakespeare, his words, works, and music. Grade Level: 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $525; Back-to-Back Program - $735
kEric Beatty
The Adventures of Detective Dictionary Eric Beatty portrays comic private eye Detective Dictionary out to solve some of the mysteries of the English language. This original play is a blend of storytelling, acting, and inventive theatrics. It explores language arts subjects including spelling, reading, phonics, homophones, homographs, rhymes, and onomatopoeia. Each mystery is structured around a different word-based format and includes audience participation. Grade Level: 1-5
Fee: Single Program - $325; Back-to-Back Program - $525
Blackhawk touring artist/limited availability
A Warrior’s Tale Blackhawk will take you on a journey with the stories that influenced and changed his life. Learn the story of “The Wish List,” a secret his grandfather taught him of how to turn dreams into goals and goals into reality. Discover other important lessons in “Tukelo and the Ghost,” “Columbus Didn’t Discover America,” and “Tonto and the Lone Ranger.” The program also includes Native American music and Q&A, allowing the audience to deepen the connection between Blackhawk’s stories and their own lives. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $425; Back-to-Back Program - $675
kGayle Danley
Soul Portraits Singing one moment, whispering verse the next, her ever changing expressions and movements show the emotional energy she beams into the audience. Gayle Danley is slammin’! This poet’s interactive performance deals with contemporary issues important to the young. It exposes children to poetry that is, to quote Gayle, “cathartic, moving and, above all, real.” Gayle explores grief and healing, the people who touch our lives, gratitude, and understanding real beauty. Grade Level: 4-5; 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $570; Back-to-Back Program - $840
kLinda Fang
Stories From Ancient China In this storytelling program, Linda Fang takes her audience on a journey into the remote past of China. Using her uncanny ability to assume three roles at the same time – storyteller, actress, and director – Linda makes her audience an integrated part of the program. All students are involved as listeners and sound-effect providers; some are assigned roles in the performance and are given costumes to wear. Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
Chinese Sticky Rice and the Chinese New Year Linda Fang offers this program in January and February at the time of the Chinese New Year celebration. Students will gain insight into the Chinese culture as Linda tells stories about how the Chinese New Year celebration got started as well as several other witty, humorous, heartwarming stories about food and the Chinese New Year traditions. The show is also appropriate for other occasions. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
My Teacher Confucius Confucius, the great Chinese teacher and philosopher, comes alive in this unique storytelling program. Yan Lu, the first student of Confucius who followed his teacher as they roamed from state to state for fourteen years, tells the stories about his life with this great man. Witty, humorous, and thought provoking, the stories will show you the unconventional way Confucius taught his students, his tremendous contribution to history, education, and philosophy, and how he applied his teachings to the way he lived. Grade Level: 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
Jali-D
Rhythm and Rhymes for Wise Young Minds Instantly engaging, Jali-D enters the room drumming and rapping, encouraging the audience to join him in a call and response chant. Jali-D teaches students how to use their own creativity to write raps to enhance poetry, learn multiplication tables, or spelling words. He demonstrates how powerful positive words can build self-esteem and inspire wise young minds. Grade Level: 1-5
Fee: Single Program - $350; Back-to-Back Program - $525
kCarolyn Koerber
The Flying Tortoise – A Nigerian Trickster Tale In this African trickster tale, puppeteer Carolyn Koerber introduces students to a world very much like the earth just above the clouds. The star of this story is a tortoise named Mbeku who thinks he deserves the best of everything and tricks the other animals into giving him the lion’s share of the food . . .until one day when other characters plan a few tricks of their own. This trickster tale shows children how a small creature uses his wits to survive. It celebrates determination and ingenuity. At the same time, it reinforces the importance of respectful behavior in society. Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
Knee High Stories – An African-American Fable In this African-American fable from Alabama, Carolyn uses puppets and storytelling to weave the tale of a very small man who learns that his height is not a measure of his worth. Set in the Okeefenokee Swamp, this story also gives students a glimpse into our endangered swamps and wetlands. Students develop their listening, comprehension, and critical thinking skills as they watch and discuss with the artist the elements of puppet theater – set design, puppet-making and manipulation, and problem solving. Grade Level: PreK-5
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
The Widow and the Fishes – An Indonesian Folktale from the Island of Java Puppeteer Carolyn Koerber takes your students to a land of tall bamboo, rice paddy terraces, and volcanic peaks in this ancient tale. This program introduces children to a culture where kindness and compassion are valued above all else and greed is deplored. By acting as a bridge between the students and the puppets, Carolyn helps the students understand the story’s foreign characters and pulls the children across a wide chasm to a world of very rich and very poor. After the story, Carolyn helps students to explore the creative elements that go into building a puppet play. Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $600
kMark Lohr as MR. Jones
Classic Comedy This is a fun and exciting show with underlying educational themes, where MR. Jones and the audience share center stage! It is an action-packed performance including slapstick, juggling, plate spinning, and more. The assembly is based on the “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” theory! MR. Jones’ creative problem solving skills will leave them howling with laughter! Grade Level: PreK-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $525; Back-to-Back Program - $675
Hooked on Books MR. Jones, a mild mannered “everyone,” sits down to enjoy an afternoon television program. He is interrupted by a public service announcement that makes him aware of the epic battle between TV and reading. By reading books and applying trial & error, he learns reading is a fun, exciting way to gain new skills, see new places, meet new people, and experience more channels than any TV could ever have! Watch as MR. Jones discovers a new interactive passion – reading! Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $550; Back-to-Back Program - $750
kDebra Mims
My Grandmother Told Me: A Tribute to African-American Women Actress Debra Mims transforms into Grandmother Sally Kathryn Mims who is searching through an old trunk in her attic. Each item she pulls out sparks a memory of days past and of courageous Black women and their struggles to be free, to vote, and to get an education. Using monologues, poetry, and songs, Debra leads the audience in this highly interactive walk through an important part of America’s history. Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $350; Back-to-Back Program - $525
Grandma’s “Cautionary” Tales Actress Debra Mims transforms into Grandmother Sally Kathryn Mims to tell students stories her grandmother once told her. These interactive stories are an entertaining mix of ghost, folk, and “cautionary” tales found in African, African-American, and Caribbean literature, each coming with their own message and lesson to be learned. The program ends on a note of triumph that informs the audience so they can use positive thinking, problem solving skills, and action to make choices to overcome a bad situation. Grade Level: 1-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $350; Back-to-Back Program - $525
Quest: Arts for Everyone
Road Signs Road Signs demonstrates the direct link between physical theatre and literacy. The show is an entertaining mixture of story theatre, mime, A-B-C stories, poetry, and songs performed in American Sign Language (ASL). Road Signs has appeared before standing room only audiences in India, South Africa, Romania, Austria, and Mexico. The Asian Age newspaper raved, “To say that Road Signs was a series of short pieces acted, mimed, signed and danced, would be like saying a sentence is a string of words.” Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $500; Back-to-Back Program - $790
kArianna Ross
Monkey Tales Storyteller Arianna Ross reveals that animals certainly are the smartest creatures. In these delightful Asian versions of “Aesop’s Fables,” it is the creatures that teach us about Indian culture, geography, and history. Students will leave the program dancing like a monkey, roaring like a tiger, and slithering like a snake. Grade Level: PreK-K; 1-6
Fee: Single Program - $380; Back-to-Back Program - $570
Immigrant Quilt Arianna Ross helps students travel back in time to Senegal, Russia, and England to hear historical stories of immigration to the United States from the 1600s to present day. Many communities still believe in the power of a quilt to tell their story. They believe that each square is a piece of the family history and without one piece the tale would be incomplete. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $380; Back-to-Back Program - $570
The Fastest Plane: Around the World in 45 minutes Arianna Ross will take your students around the world in 45 minutes through this multi-lingual program. Together Arianna and her audience may dance through the streets of America, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, or India. Discover the similarities and differences in geography, culture, history, and language between these diverse countries. Students leave the program wanting to read more tales and tell more stories. Grade Level: 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $380; Back-to-Back Program - $570
kJon spelman
Yancey Register Jon Spelman portrays Yancey Register, a gregarious yarnspinner and natural born folk-lorist and imagination-stretcher. Jon’s character Yancey is a “rural raconteur” or “talkin’ teller” who spins tall tales, folktales, learning stories, and good old country yarns, recreating the wise culture of North American oral tradition. Yancey begins a bit shyly, admitting he feels “a tad nervous, like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” But he’s soon carried away by the imaginative power of his tales, hightailing along a trail of homespun humor and wise sayings. Before leaving, Yancey always answers students’ questions and talks about the importance of “exercising your imagination, taking it out for a walk.” Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $395; Back-to-Back Program - $520
kSynetic Theater: Pantomime for Youth
The Music Box A wonderful collection of physical comedy short stories set to music: the story of a mischievous mask that clings to two unsuspecting men on the street, an old movie style (Charlie Chaplinesque) boat ride that turns into an outrageous stormy trip, two cowboys in the wild west taming a bull on the loose, two road workers trying to catch a butterfly in an attempt to capture the heart of a girl, and the classic invisible wall. Students are introduced to the art of storytelling without words through pantomime, imagination, illusions, and physical comedy. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $675; Back-to-Back Program - $875
The Miraculous Magical Balloon This Synetic Theater production is a series of hilarious pantomime sketches with music, ballet, clowning, and audience participation. Students will discover the art of acting without words, opening the doors to their imaginations. Expressed through body and facial masks, pantomime illusions, and unique choreography, Balloon tells a wonderful story of a traveling actor and his magical trunk of tricks and toys. Grade Level: K-5; 6-8
Fee: Single Program - $675; Back-to-Back Program - $875
kTime for Sign!
Star-Spangled Banner The students experience the national anthem through the three-dimensional aspect of American Sign Language as they “listen with their eyes.” Using their faces, bodies and hands, students see the Star-Spangled Banner and the events of Ft. McHenry come to life. After this assembly, they will understand more about the culture of deaf people and their dynamic language. Grade Level: K-5
Fee: Single Program - $550; Back-to-Back Program - $700
laura
zam
A Story of Hope: The Holocaust This is an autobiographical one-person play, written and performed by award-winning author Laura Zam. In this play, Laura journeys to Eastern Europe to learn more about her mother’s experiences during the Holocaust – her mother survived two concentration camps, two Nazi ghettos, and a famous death march. The play documents these events, but also connects the Holocaust to the world we live in today. Above all else, the play asks: How can we prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening again? Students will be given an authentic and challenging, yet humorous and fun, theatrical experience that explores issues very much relevant today. Grade Level: 6-8; 9-12
Fee: Single Program - $400; Back-to-Back Program - $580
