TRAVERSE CITY — Cordia Community will bring a children’s book to life with an original puppet theatre production of “I Lost My Shoe at the Zoo” at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 11 at The Curiosity Place in the Grand Traverse Mall in Traverse City.
The public performance is part of the 5toOne Playgroup at The Curiosity Place and is free to attend. While the playgroup typically requires registration, no advance registration is required for this event.
The production is based on the book by Cordia resident Ruth Zinn, who wrote “I Lost My Shoe at the Zoo” before moving to Cordia. According to the release, the story was inspired by her granddaughter’s real-life experience at the Belle Isle Zoo in Detroit and is part of Zinn’s “I Lost…” series of children’s books.
Inspired by the work of Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Fred Rogers, Cordia members designed and built the puppets, props, sets and scenery themselves.
Over two years, the community’s resident theatre company learned puppetry and rehearsed the production. The cast is made up entirely of Cordia staff and residents.
Based on a true story, the play follows Mara during a family trip to the zoo after her shoe falls into the antelope pen. The story imagines the lost shoe taking on an adventure of its own as animals throughout the zoo try it on before Mara is reunited with it.
The puppet theatre project grew from a long-standing goal within the Cordia community to create a collaborative arts production. Writers in the club adapted Zinn’s book into a theatrical script for young audiences.
Cordia will be bringing in professional puppeteer Alexandra Herryman to help guide the project. Herryman advised the group on designing the puppet theatre and creating puppets, sets and staging techniques.
The museum is marking 25 years of providing interactive educational environments for children and adults in Northern Michigan.
More information is available at www.greatlakeskids.org or by calling 231-932-4526.