Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
presents

Leo Lionni’s
Swimmy, Frederick & Inch by Inch
Fall 2010
Writer: Leo Lionni
Director/Production Designer: Jim Morrow
Composer: Steven Naylor
Narrator: Richard Donat
Performers: Rhys Bevan-John, Andrea Norwood
Stage Manager: Christine Oakey
Associate Designers: Jonathan Ford, Deborah MacLean
Video Design: Windoverdaun Films
Animation: Bob Williams

About Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia:
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia ranks among North America’s most respected theatres for the young, and plays an important ambassadorial role for Nova Scotia and for Canada. The company regularly crosses the continent, and has represented Canada in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Australia, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Holland, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan. Mermaid Theatre has earned Export Excellence awards from both the Governments of Canada and of Nova Scotia. Based in the Town of Windsor, Mermaid has performed for more than four million spectators on four continents.

About the Production:
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s latest production is drawn from Leo Lionni’s exquisite Caldecott Honor Books, Swimmy, Inch by Inch and Frederick. Swimmy is a tiny fish that uses ingenuity to fend off danger. Frederick, a poetic mouse, makes everyday life an artful experience. A lovable inchworm shares his facility for measuring absolutely everything. All these stories provide wonderful scope for translation to the stage through the gentle storytelling style, innovative puppetry and evocative original music, which have earned international acclaim for Mermaid Theatre.

About the Author/Illustrator:
Leo Lionni was born in Holland in 1919. As a child, he taught himself to draw by copying the work of the masters in Amsterdam’s museums. Following his immigration to the USA in 1939, he embarked on a highly successful career in the world of graphic design. Shortly before retiring, he turned to the creation of children’s literature, a field in which he could combine his interests and talents in both applied and fine art. He subsequently earned worldwide popularity as the author and illustrator of more than thirty books, many of them translated into numerous languages. Among other honors, Leo Lionni was a four-time winner of the prestigious Caldicott Honor Book award. He died in Tuscany in 1999, at the age of 89, leaving a remarkable legacy for future generations.

About the Creative Team:
Jim Morrow, Director/Production Designer
Jim creates puppets for stage, television and film. He's directed numerous shows for the Theatre, including Puss in Boots, Borrowed Black, Goodnight Opus, Very Eric Carle, Guess How Much I Love You, I Love My Little Storybook, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny and has designed many others. A gifted performer, Jim has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. He serves as director of puppetry for Symphony Nova Scotia's production of The Nutcracker, and frequently conducts master classes in puppetry in North America and abroad. Jim Morrow is Mermaid Theatre’s Artistic Director.

Steven Naylor, Composer
Steven has created the music for more than a dozen Mermaid shows, including Stuart Little, Just So Stories, Gulliver's Travels, Very Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites, Guess How Much I Love You & I Love My Little Storybook, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny.  His many other professional activities include original film and television scores; contemporary music and 'musique actuelle' performance; university teaching and curriculum development; and a long-term international involvement with electroacoustic concert music. Steven is Mermaid Theatre's Artistic Advisor, Music and Sound Design.

Richard Donat, Narrator
Richard Donat was born in Kentville, NS. He studied acting at the University of British Columbia and at the National Theatre School in Montreal, graduating from the latter in 1967. He appeared at Centaur Theatre in Montreal during the ‘seventies, prior to accepting roles throughout Canada, including at Neptune Theatre and Neptune’s Second Stage, and at the Chester Summer Theatre, which he helped organize.

Highlights of his career include a Dora Mavor Moore award, and performing in the Stratford Festival production of Hosanna which played off-Broadway for a month as well as toured across Canada. He recently won the Montreal English Critics Circle Award for directing The Drawer Boy at Centaur Theatre and Wade In the Water at Black Theatre Workshop. Since returning to Nova Scotia in 1994 he has appeared at Neptune Theatre and was a ‘regular’ in the TV series Emily of New Moon and Blackfly. He is an active director, and is frequently heard as a reader on the CBC.

About the Company:

Stage Manager, Christine Oakey

Christine is a graduate of the University of King’s College in Halifax and the National Theatre School of Canada.  She’s served as stage manager with Atlantic Canada’s major theatres, including for Two Planks and a Passion, Theatre New Brunswick, Mulgrave Road Theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, Zuppa Circus and Neptune Theatre. Christine has worked in Edmonton, Blyth and Toronto as well as at the prestigious Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. She also works as a venue manager for Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, the Toronto International Film Festival and the popular BuskerFest in Toronto.  Christine first joined the company in 1997.

Rhys Bevan-John, Performer
Rhys began his performing career as the loud kid in his elementary school
class in Dartmouth, NS. He spent his adolescence taking classes at the
Neptune Theatre School, and eventually graduated from their Pre-Professional Training Program.  Rhys undertook intensive studies with the acclaimed mime artist, Tony Montanaro, and has toured several times with the Neptune Young Company as well as appearing in Neptune’s mainstage and studio productions. Rhys has also worked with Shakespeare by the Sea, Mulgrave Road and the Valley Summer Theatre in Wolfville. He has toured with Mermaid, as a puppeteer, since 2008.

Andrea Norwood, Performer
Andrea attended her first theatre classes in her home city of Dartmouth, NS at the age of twelve, and is a graduate of Neptune Theatre School's Pre-Professional Training Program. She earned Nova Scotia’s acclaimed Merritt Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Helen Keller in Neptune Theatre’s Fall 2007 production of The Miracle Worker. Andrea has appeared with Shakespeare By the Sea, and often works alongside her husband, Rhys Bevan-John. She has toured, as a puppeteer, with Mermaid since 2008.

SWIMMY: Published by Random House Children's Books, © 1963,1991 by Leo Lionni
FREDERICK: Published by Random House Children's Books, © 1967, 1995 by Leo Lionni
INCH BY INCH: Published by Astor-Honor Inc., © 1960,1988 by Leo Lionni

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is represented by
KIDS’ ENTERTAINMENT
For booking information, please contact them at:
19 Charlotte Street, Suite 404
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2H5
Tel: (416) 971 4836 Fax: (416) 971 4841
email: info@kidsentertainment.net
website: kidsentertainment.net

For general information, please contact:
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
P.O. Box 2697
Windsor, Nova Scotia Canada B0N 2T0
Tel: (902) 798 5841 Fax: (902) 798 3311
email: puppets@mermaidtheatre.ns.ca
website: www.mermaidtheatre.ns.ca

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia Staff
Managing Director: Sara Lee Lewis
Artistic Director: Jim Morrow
Artistic Consultant for Music and Sound Design: Steven Naylor
Logistics Co-ordinator: Peter F. Smith
Director of Youtheatre: Christopher Heide
Administrator: Cathy White
Office/Tour Manager: Karen Gasser
Production Manager: Deborah MacLean
Assistant to the Managing Director: Lisa Gleave
Institute of Puppetry Arts Director:  Jesse MacLean
Shop Manager: Jonathan Ford
Technical Director: Micheal Jamieson

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is a member of the Professional Theatre Association of Canadian Theatres and engages professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors' Equity Association under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement.