College brings puppet shows to post

By Paula NardellaApril 13, 2009

College brings puppet shows to post
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RILEY, Kan. - At 10 a.m. April 3, Child, Youth and School Services was invaded by dragons, monkeys and elephants. The animals, under the guidance of theater class students from Cloud County Community College's Geary County Campus, put on a series of four plays for kids at CYSS.

The plays were twists on old classics, such as "Little Red Riding Hood," which became "Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Monkey." The story about the Three Little Pigs became a story about three little elephants, and instead of a big bad wolf huffing and puffing, kids watched a big bad dragon tried to burn the elephants' houses down.

"Colleges are a part of, not apart from the community," said Peter Pellegrin, the professor who teaches the class. To help reach the community, as well as give students experience in performing to a live audience, puppets were purchased eight years ago and a fold up stage was built. "It's the theater experience without the theater," Pellegrin said.

The professor also said one of the greatest things about being able to put on a play for the kids of Fort Riley was that about 25 percent of the college's students were affiliated with the military, either as a dependent or a Soldier.

The farthest the group will have traveled to perform will be their upcoming show in Salina. During set up for each of the plays, Pellegrin pulled out his guitar and kids sang songs, such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" with him, moving hands in the motions of the spider crawling up the water spout. The race between grandpa and his granddaughter ended the show.

Kids cheered on the old man, who had the potential to fall asleep, as he raced the sugared up youngster around Milford Lake. After the exciting conclusion where grandpa won, just like the tortoise in his race with the hare, kids got to meet the performers and the students who had given them life. "It was fun watching the kids, they had their arms going and everything," Christine Hardwick, one of the performers, said. "We did great," Erica Geiger, another performer, said.