The world of Mermaid Theatre is a magical world. Colour, music, movement, words, and imagination come together and stories spring to life! There is energy and drama in every play; a sense that anything can happen at any time. It often does! Sometimes we laugh, other times we are scared or surprised and yes, even moved to tears. After watching theatre such as this, we can be inspired to create worlds of our own -- to compose our own music, script a play, write a poem, design a mask or puppet or dance. The urge to create can emerge from other’s ideas. In fact, that’s how this poem had its beginnings.

When Dinosaurs Dance By Moonlight was inspired by a visit I made to a school several years ago. I was talking about the music of words, how if we think about it, every word is a poem. “Think discombobulating,” I said. “Think thermometer! Think gurgle! Just listen to the music in the sounds of words.” A boy put up his hand, “Like the names of dinosaurs” he exclaimed! “Like Tyrannosaurus rex, like Argentinasaurus” “ Exactly!” I said. “I think you should write a poem book about dinosaurs using their real names” he said and all the class chimed in, “Yeah! Cool!” Their enthusiasm for the idea got me thinking..what if..? I started to do a bit of research on dinosaurs. Wow! What words! Words I could not even pronounce. What a lot there was to learn about the prehistoric world they roamed in. Incidentally, I am still learning.

Once again, I am thrilled to watch a poem travel from page to stage thanks to the work of so many talented people at Mermaid. I am especially honoured and excited that Holly Carr agreed to lend her talent and energy to this play. Her spirited gorgeous art work breathes life into these dinos. As always, her landscapes of whimsy and beauty, her textures and textiles, make my heart glad.

The activities are meant as springboards for further creative exploration in writing. I hope these ideas will fuel your imagination and make you even more curious about magical worlds that existed so many years ago. Even better, may they encourage new worlds -- the worlds you can create today and tomorrow.