Scene from Cuentos para la Aldea Teatro Paraguas. Courtesy/Teatro Paraguas

TEATRO PARAGUAS News:

Teatro Paraguas Studio Theatre presents Cuentos para la Aldea (Stories for the Village) bilingual folktales for kids of all ages, April 16-18 at all three public Libraries in Santa Fe and at Teatro Paraguas Studio Theatre.

Library performances are free, sponsored by Friends of the Santa Fe Library; Teatro Paraguas performances are $10 adults 21+, $5 for students (12+), children 11 and under are free.

Teatro Paraguas will present two bilingual cuentos (folktales) and an excerpt from a third at all three Santa Fe Public Library branches during the 7th Annual Santa Fe Public Library Cuentos Tour April 17-19. The full-length cuentos also will be presented Thursday, April 16 through April 19 in the evenings at Teatro Paraguas.

Teatro Paraguas founding grandfather Crawford MacCallum has adapted two stories about a fox and a dog. The first is Pulgas en las Orejas (Fleas in the Ears), written by Stephen Wyllie. The Fox tries to steal all the chickens guarded by the dog, and the two become enmeshed in a struggle of wits and cunning. The second, El Zorro que Caminar (The Fox Who Traveled), by Alvin Tresselt, features a Fox who, searching for a decent dinner, bites off more than he can chew.

The Cuentos para la Aldea also includes Las Tres Pigletitas y el Diablo the Wolf, a one act play written by New Mexico playwright Patricia Crespin. The three little pig sisters want to go to a dance during Lent, but their mother tries to warn them – to no avail – about El Diablo the Wolf and his low-rider. For the Library Tour, the dances from Las Tres Pigletitas will be featured. For the evening performances at Teatro Paraguas, the entire story will be performed.

Performances at the public libraries:

• Friday, April 17 at Southside Branch Library (6599 Jaguar Dr) at 7 p.m.; and
  
• Saturday, April 18 at La Farge Branch Library (1730 Llano St.) at 7 p.m.

The Library performances are sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Library, and all performances at the libraries are free. Families with small children are encouraged to attend.

Expanded performances at Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie, are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 16-19. Tickets are $5 and $10, available online at teatroparaguas.org or by calling the box office at 505.424.1601.

Directed by JoJo Sena de Tarnoff, the bilingual cuentos feature live music, audience involvement, and professional adult actors working alongside children. The performers include Shaunti Sidonik, Armando Hernandez, Carlos De La Torre, Jeni Nelson, Josephine Tincher, Paola Martini, Emilia Martini, Froggy Fernandez and Argos MacCallum. The musicians include JoJo Sena de Tarnoff, Jonathan Harrell and Jeff Tarnoff.

As usual, each cuento has a moral and pearls of wisdom. For information, contact Argos MacCallum teatroparaguas@gmail.com, 505.424.1601.