CREATE-A-PLAY EXPRESS, A BRAND NEW SUMMER EXPERIENCE!!!

You asked for it, so here it is:
Create-A-Play Express (1st-5th Grades)--C-A-P Express is a 2-week C-A-P program where students work together to write and produce a short musical. We take the best parts of the Create-A-Play and condense them into a 2-week curriculum.

Session 1: July 6-17

Session 2: July 20-31

Session 3: August 3-16

For registration info, click here

Fall/Winter Final Peformances are HERE!!!!!

We know...the anticipation is almost too much to bear. But have no fear, the Fall/Winter 2008-2009 Kids Creative Production season is finally here.

Phewwww...

The plays began yesterday and run all the way through the second week of February. Scroll down to see the entire list of original plays, each with an entertaining story summary.


Each play listed below is written and performed by participants in Kids Creative after school classes,who range from Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth grade. ADMISSION IS FREE (though donations are always appreciated). RSVP to info@kidscreative.org and bring a picture ID for admission into the schools.
Special thanks to our program partners: Oasis, PS 11, PS 87 After School, MSC, PS 102, PS 145, PS 191/Hudson Honors MS, and Heschel

"THE TWILIGHT RESCUE FROM THE TV ZONE"
Wednesday, January 21, 4 PM
(Yes, this one already happened. It was awesome!)
The Heschel School,
89th Street between Broadway and West End

When TV GARAGE opens it's doors for business, some customers who will end up using their TV's for very unusual purposes. "Bob" loves TV so much that his friends and family decide to teach him a thing or two by forcing him into the TV, right into their favorite show "HEE HAW" starring a mischievous Donkey and a gang of troublemakers. When the TV show's plot centers around a wedding with no Groom, (sorry, "BROOM") Bob finds himself having to play the part himself. However, he's already married, and his wife wastes no time in spearheading a plot to get him out of TV land for good.

"THE ECONOMIC WOES OF KLEBTO AND THE LOVE BIRD FOES OF KLEPTO"

Friday, January 23, 2 PM (a double feature)
THE HESCHEL SCHOOL

A French tourist in New York takes a rotten bite out of the Big Apple when her camera is stolen by a charming local. However, the incident happens within a large crowd, where friends are made out of strangers, and 2 witnesses fall head over heels in love. But later, the loss of the tourist's camera drives her and her amis bien disposés into a fiendish plot of revenge, as they set out to destroy the love that was created at the scene of the crime. With the use of KLEBTO, a failing entertainment company run by mogul Tishonka and her hapless producing partner, Witco, they ALMOST succeed......

"THE TWISTED MYSTERY ADVENTURE OF THE COOL CANDY WIZARD AND THE KEY TO THE UNIVERSE, DUH...WHAT?"
Part 2 of the Heschel double feature

A little boy, teased for having big ears, steals the Key to The Universe. In the future, he uses the key to rule the world, but the Mrs. GnipGnops, who were initially accused of stealing the key, travel to the future to take the key back. They gather the J-Twins to help get the key back, but when they confront the Evil Wizard, he suggests they have a car race and the winner can keep the key. What will happen???? The Key to the Universe is held in the balance.

"THE WATER WAR"
Monday, January 26th, 4 PM
THE MANHATTAN SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN/PS 333
93rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam

The Mermaids and the Sharks have not been swimming in harmony for a while due to some unfortunate business with a rigged singing competition, an election and stolen money! War is a-brewin. Matters are not helped by Fartals farting and the Statue of Liberty falling in the sea - will war be prevented? Come to the show and find out!!!

"DEMON MAN'S DEMANDS"
Tuesday, January 27, 4 PM
The Manhattan School for Children/PS 333

A group of gymnasts, fresh from the MEDAL STAND at the Olympics, and their friends are transported to Demon Man's dimension because he thinks controlling people is the way to make friends. Will his evil inclinations prevail or will he learn his lesson?

"THE CANINE ZOO"
Wednesday, January 28, 4 PM
PS 87, 78th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam

Once upon a time there was a group of dogs who were charged with protecting a zoo filled with cats, monkeys, parrots, seals, flipping carrots and kangaroos. But the dogs know a secret. There is a group of monsters and Conbons who come to the zoo every winter to eat all the animals (or so the dogs think). The dogs, not wanting to scare the animals, don't tell them why they are leaving, but every winter, they lead the animals from the zoo. However, cats, do not like being led by dogs and what ensues is not to be believed.

"STAR RACERS AND THE DAY VENOM RETIRES"
Thursday, January 29, 4 PM
PS 87 (address above)

For 70 years Venom and his superhero team have been protecting the "Star Race," the most popular and important race in the known universe. This year, however, Venom is retiring, throwing the race and and the entire universe diving into turmoil. WIll the superheroes find their inner confidence and save the day?

"THE DRAGONS AND THE PLOT TO TAKE THE MARSHMALLOWS"
Friday, January 30, 4:30 (another double feature!!!)
PS 102, 113th Street between 1st and 2nd Aves.

There is a surprise party for the Queen with lots of marshmallows. The dragons want the marshmallows so they kidnap a princess. The superheros and princes use superpowers and computers to look for her. Meanwhile the Princess has escaped by tricking the dragon. But she feels bad and decides to invite the dragons to the party and they all eat marshmallows.

"FRIDAY AFTERNOON LIGHTS"
Part 2 of the PS 102 double feature

During a high school football game a nerd asks the cheerleaders if she can join the team. The cheerleaders decide it will be funny to play a prank on the nerd so invite her to a slumber party at their hotel. Meanwhile the footballers are having their own problems. Will everyone be friends in time for the final game?

"PLANET IDOL"

Tuesday, February 3, 5 PM (An unprecedented, grab your hats, world first triple feature)
PS 145, 105th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam

During the Planet Idol final one girl band steals the President's prize money for their mysterious "boss." Meanwhile some Superheros take a vacation to Puerto Rico. Unfortunatley they teleport into a booger burger BBQ being enjoyed by a different team of superheros and they battle. They stop when one of the superheros finds the missing prize money. The President holds a party in their honor and asks the contestants of Planet Idol to sing and the 2 girl bands are reunited - but can they resolve their differences?

"THE ZOMBIES AND THE QUEENS"

Part 2 of the PS 145 Triple Feature

As the Queens are enjoying doing their queenly duties some zombies kidnap them! The superheros try to help but the zombies turn them into bad guys! Luckily the Queens have a magic wand that they use to escape. The bad superheros, tired of being bad, find the queens and ask for their help. The queens make a magic potion and the superheros are good once more. But what happened to the zombies? Come to the show to find out.

"THE ROYAL-MONSTER-SUPER HERO VACATION"
Part 3 of the PS 145 TRIPLE Feature

The Princesses and the Prince go on vacation. The monsters are also on vacation and they are so hungry they try to eat the Princesses and the Prince. Superheros, who are also on vacation, try to help and they battle the monsters. The Princesses ask the Monsters why they were being mean and the monsters told them how they were hungry. The Princesses and the Prince tells the Superheros and Monsters to stop fighting and to go with them to get ice cream instead - cause ice cream is the only food that can fill a monster!

"THE SUPERHERO NINJAS AND THE ROCK STARS"
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 5 PM (yet again, an awesome double feature)
PS 191, 61st Street between Amsterdam and West End Aves.

The superhero ninjas are rocking out to the rockstars, however, the dragons are trying to play planet tag and are distracted by the music so they crash the party and try to eat everybody! the superhero ninjas teleport to sushi planet and trick the dragon into eating sushi that turns them good so they can all enjoy the rockstrs music!

"THE SUPER HERO FUMES"
Part 2 of the PS 191 double feature

Once upon a time there was a farm, on the farm there was a sick cow. The superheros had made her sick with the fumes from their super speed flying so they decide to help her by making thier magic soup, first they need to go to Rainbow planet, Vegetable Planet and Mars to find all the ingredients!

"THE DOOGS MEET THE CRAZY TURKEY FAMILY"
Monday, February 9, 4 PM
PS 11, 21st Street between 8th and 9th Aves.

When two families with totally different ways of looking at the world move in next to each other, anything can happen, but nobody would expect what happens to happen!!!! The Doog Family, a nice, normal family complete with cats, dogs and Pikachus, live in a normal house, where water comes out of the faucet and there is food in the fridge. The Crazy Turkey Family, a bunch of crazy crazy crazies, live in a wacky house where fire comes out of the faucet and steaks pop out of the plumbing. When the Crazy Turkey Family gives a housewarming gift of a tornado, the houses are switched and nobody feels like they belong where they are. It takes a lot of understanding and singing to get things back to the way they should be and to make lasting friendships between the clans.

"DONUTS, ICE CREAM AND THE WISH FISH"
Monday, February 9, 4 PM
PS 11, 21st Street between 8th and 9th Aves.

An Ice Cream Family trip to the DONUT CITY DONUT SHOP becomes anything but normal when the donuts accidentally turn into fish. The shocked family go to return the strange donuts/fish, but instead meet a magic breakdancer who reveals to them the secret of his magic dancing: HULKBUTTER. This mystic and colorful sandwich spread changes the fish into Magic Wish Fish, and everyone receives their heart's desires, which inevitably center around more donuts.

If you made it this far, congratulations. You have won an imaginary Million $$$.

A program update from PS 191

"Our program is unique and one of a kind. Make sure you stop by with an open mind!", Roger Redhead, Site Director for the Oasis/Kids Creative after school partnership at PS 191.

Here's what Roger has to say about the year so far:
We kicked off the first year of the PS 191 Oasis/Kids Creative After School Program with a Boom! Boom-Chica-Boom that is.......
The program is composed of 10 Group Leaders, 9 Instructors and 100 of the most energetic, open-minded, and creative participants in the city.
We had our first but definitely not our last Community Service Project in the fall. "The Yes We Canned Food Drive" gave our participants the ownership of collecting food for our less fortunate and donating it to the nearby shelter. The second drive, which involves the entire school, is on its way to being an even greater success.
The participants have taken trips to Fordham University for a look at art work from around the world through the Others Are Us art exhibit. We also participated in theatrical workshops at the neighborhood Barnes and Noble.
Our Middle School students started their first semester of "Youth Internship". They are placed in the younger programs' groups and provide assistance to the Instructors and Group Leaders as well as provide homework assistance to their fellow participants. The second semester will include the implementation of workshops and projects that will better ready them for the working world.
On Fridays, we are engaged in friendly competition and games in the auditorium that promote independence, positivity, and fun.
Finally, we are finishing up our first semester of classes with performances from the Kids Creative classes that will showcase the participants' hard work.

Here are two of the shows you will see:
"The Super Hero Ninjas and the Rock Stars"
The superhero ninjas are rocking out to the rockstars, however, the dragons are trying to play planet tag and are distracted by the music so they crash the party and try to eat everybody! The superhero ninjas teleport to sushi planet and trick the dragon into eating sushi that turns them good so they can all enjoy the rockstars' music!

"The Search for the Super Saving Ingredients"
Once upon a time there was a farm, on the farm there was a sick cow. The superheros made her sick with the fumes from their super speed flying so they decide to help her by making their magic soup. They need to go to Rainbow planet, Vegetable Planet and Mars to find all the ingredients!

The closing of the National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham University

Since 2005, Kids Creative has built a partnership with the National Center for Schools and Communities (NCSC) at Fordham University. They have donated space and other resources to help us run summer programming at the University for students from the surrounding communities. We are greatly shocked and saddened that NCSC announced that it is closing its doors due to the ripple effects of the financial crisis. NCSC has been a key player in helping Kids Creative grow and serve more youth in New York City. While we certainly hope that the connection between Kids Creative and Fordham will continue, more importantly, we are losing an institution uniquely focused on improving the lives of impoverished youth around the country.

Below is an excerpt from the letter written by NCSC Executive Director John Beam announcing the organization's closing (you can read the full text here):

"Established in 1992 and first led by Dr. Carolyn Denham, NCSC began with fostering the integration of education and social services at the school-site level by developing a national university network to promote inter- professional education and university-community partnerships to benefit low-income children and families. This network catalyzed and supported collaborative initiatives among 12 public schools and nine universities. These initiatives served over 1,500 low-income children annually and brought supportive social services into the schools to increase readiness to learn; to provide after-school cultural, recreational, and academic enrichment programs; and to strengthen the role of the local public school in the community it serves."

Read more here.

The Zombie Shake from PS 145

This song was written by the kids of PS 145 with Jon Roberts and performed at their holiday show. More to come. Enjoy...