All ye, All ye, in free! The contest is almost over!
PLEASE, send us your letters and drawings by August 15th if you are interested in entering the contest for a copy of The Hobbit personalized by the actors!
Remember to send your name, age, and how we can get back in touch with you!
Here's the contest info again, and thank ALL of you have already sent in pictures and drawings!
From Amber at The Derby Public Library
From KB: Thank you, Amanda!
From Jim in Aurora, IN
Dear Folks, Jonathan and Corey performed "The Hobbit" for the Aurora Public Library this past Thursday and made a wonderful impression on the community. I was asked to lodge them for the night in my inn and know I have made two new friends. Their wit, friendliness, and courtesy pointed to two certainties: they represented your company well, and they are welcome in Aurora any time! Best to you all. Jim
From KB: Jim, thank you for writing, and for giving our actors a nice place to stay for the night. I certainly agree that these two young men are a find (I'm proud of ALL our teams), and we hope to have them back to work for us again, soon!
From Robin in WI
From Cynthia in South Dakota
To whom it may concern ~~ I simply have to convey to you our enthusiastic praise for our recent visit by the Traveling Lantern team and their production of The Hobbit. Chris Fonseca and Devin O'Neill put on a dynamic and universally appreciated performance. Parents and kids continue to rave about how much they enjoyed it. To quote one six year old: "I didn't like it... I LOVED it!!!" It will be the highlight of our summer. Thanks to you and the actors. Cynthia
From Angela in North Dakota
My sons & I attended the performance of "The Hobbit" by Chris & Devin this morning in Bismarck. We loved it! My 7 year old is a bit addicted to "Gollams" (sp?) and for a kid with ADHD sat really well for the performance (except for a few interjections). I was much impressed with the performers patience during & after the show. God Bless, Angela :-)
From KB: Thank you, Angela! I think it is spelled "Gollums" (but I don't have my copy of the Hobbit handy to check!)
From Lori in South Dakota
Hi. We were thrilled with Chris and Devin's performance of the Hobbit yesterday! We will be sending pictures and a follow-up thank you soon. They were talking about a contest that should be on the website. I've been searching through the site and haven't been able to find information on it? Can you help me out? Thanks, Lori
From Kalispell, MT
Click on this to make is larger!
From Amanda, a reporter in Cambria, WI
I cover Cambria, Wis. for the local newspaper and attended the great performance of "The Hobbit" given by Jonathan and Cory on Wednesday...Thanks! PS- I also attended "The Sword in the Stone" when it was in Cambria last year. Another fabulous performance.
From KB: Thank you, Amanda!
From Bitterroot Library in Montana...
Yesterday's performance was fantastic! The actors were "on". We had over 300 people attend, spread out on our west lawn. They really knew how to draw in the crowd and children. It was wonderful.
Nansu
From KB:
And Nansu, I'm sure the actors are enjoying the beautiful Montana landscapes...every team we send to your state tells how gorgeous it is there!
For Cara and Amanda
Dear Cara and Amanda:
Thank you very much for visiting our library! The children enjoyed “The Hobbit” immensely, as did I. Thanks again for your patience with the children, especially those that wanted to help you decipher the map!
We would like you to have a picture from your performance in Cape May County Library! We hope you like it!
Best regards,
Vicki Wright
Children’s Librarian
Cape May County Library
The "state of the arts": a message from TL to our patrons...
I just want to thank all of you for your kind responses. We cannot publish everything we receive, but we, personally, read everything that is sent, and it is really appreciated. Most sincerely, THANK YOU!
From KB:
I was recently asked to voice my opinion on the "No Child Left Behind" program, as it is coming up for renewal soon.
We know that what we provide is important, just as the previous owners, Peter and Ann Wengraf, did.
The arts are important to America's children. We bring the arts to schools, libraries and community centers, and will always try to find a way to continue to do what we do, as inexpensively as possible, to financially strapped institutions (did we ever imagine this would be SCHOOLS and LIBRARIES?) however we can. Our goal is to bring good stories, told well, to children, to whatever venue is available in the local community.
It is an increasingly difficult art in itself to simply produce, and afford to continue providing these types of shows. We are, as I'm sure you are, surprised that the arts are now generally considered a luxury for children in America, to be fit in between testing schedules and sports events, if provided at all.
There are a lot of brilliant young people who have no desire to run after, or deflect, a ball. Physical accomplishments are a wonderful challenge for a select type of student, but physical prowess as a measure of personal accomplishment and value leaves the majority of our young people "left behind".
Testing doesn't measure creativity. Children are "left behind" if they are not inspired to pursue their own concepts and ideas. There is more to an education than just recycling the knowledge that has been learned from the past. Testing is not an inspirational process, nor does it promote creativity or an individual child's unique talents.
The arts inspire children to: think out of the box, to challenge the plodding norm, to reach for new heights, to be CREATIVE in their thoughts and concepts; and who better to inspire than our nation's youngest? Our future leaders?
Our young, future leaders need the gift of their imaginations, nurtured by the arts, to succeed in whatever field they choose to pursue. We do not think that the arts are an unecessary luxury for our children, we think the arts, instead, are a vital component to an intelligent, perceptive and inspired education that helps prepare America's children for their unknown future challenges.
The arts provide the wings on which our children can give themselves permission to soar, endeavor to confront, and ultimately change us to better meet the challenges that the future holds.
We at TL know there are many of you who feel the same way we do, becuase we talk to you, and becuase you write to us.
Thanks for your support.
From Liberal Memorial Library in KS
From KB: Thank you, Carol!
Amanda (Bilbo) at the Morris County Library
From KB: Thanks, Mr. Bender, for sending this!
Chris and Devin show kids how the magic is made in Montana
From KB: Thank you Lynn, for sending these!
from Geri in WI
geri-cc said...
I must add my review of Cory and Jonathan's performance this afternoon at the E. D. Locke Public Library in McFarland, WI. It was terrific! The guys arrived a full hour before "curtain time" and were all set up in 30 minutes. Their performance of "The Hobbit" was enthusiastic, energetic, and engaging. They obviously enjoyed what they were doing, and were great interacting with the kids: their ad-libbing in response to young audience members added even more humor and fun to the play. All the adults enjoyed it, too. Two very talented and professional young actors + a cleverly written adaptation = a very fine production. And they were also very patient and friendly during the Q & A that followed. Thank you, Traveling Lantern!
...also from geri-cc
...I had high expectations for "The Hobbit" based on the glowing reviews of area librarians last summer, and I was not disappointed! The 100 or so people in attendance had a wonderful live theater experience. The audience participation elements were quite clever, especially the bit where kids got to line up as the dwarves - they loved it. One boy, about 8 or 9, who came wearing his own Ring on a chain around his neck, got to be "Beast" (which I don't recall from Tolkein's book, but that did not matter in the least) and was totally thrilled. The actors' Q & A time afterwards provided the kids with a wonderful opportunity to learn about theater and how accessible it can be. BRAVO!!
geri-cc
YS Librarian
From Aggie in WI
Dear Traveling Lantern,
We had Cory and Jonathan this week for a performance of The Hobbit. We found their performance to be refreshing and delightful. The children loved them. Thanks! We'll look forward to hearing about future shows.
Aggie
Waunakee Public Library
From KB:
Thank you, Aggie!
Will you look at these crazy girls?
Team 9 (Amanda and Cara) doing that 4th of July thing...Americana Ultima!
From Sarah in Rice Lake, WI
My daughters and I just finished watching The Hobbit at the Rice Lake Public Library in friendly Rice Lake, Wisconsin and let me say that the guys were TERRIFIC! Cory and Jonathan put on amazing production and were very good about answering the kids many questions after the play. I've got a few pictures of their performance, but I just can't seem to find a way to attach them...email me if you want them!! :) Keep up the amazing job Cory and Jonathan and The Traveling Lantern Theatre Company!!!
