In “A Wild Goose Chase,” poetry springs hilariously to life as soon as Matt Sandbank’s shadow puppets hit the screen! Woven throughout this collection of whimsical verses are miniature lessons in imagery, supporting details, rhythm, onomatopoeia, metaphor, and narrative. In this performance, students will learn simple definitions for these key poetical devices, and they will see memorable examples of these devices’ application in poetry. Students will participate in several call and response exchanges to help lend this show its energetic pace, and several audience members will have the opportunity to provide their input and suggestions to certain poems as they unfold. “A Wild Goose Chase” may be performed effectively for large groups of mixed grade levels. In the event, however, of an audience being limited to one or two grade levels, Matt will modify the content to best appeal to that specific group’s maturity and comprehension level. As a collection of several shorter pieces, this performance may also easily be modified for length in order to match the school’s existing classroom schedule.
Artist Background
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people,” is one of the guiding principles behind Matt Sandbank’s work. With his Shadow Factory, Matt has been touring puppetry programs to schools and libraries since 2009. As a former middle school educator and as a graduate of UNC-Asheville’s creative writing program, Matt has a deep passion for teaching young people about the joy and possibilities of the written word. Matt’s work has been supported in part by the Rufus Rose Endowment Fund. His performances have been featured at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (2022), the Puppeteers of America National Festival (2019), the San Antonio International Children’s Puppetry Festival (2015, 2016, and 2017), and the Nashville International Puppet Festival (2013).
Search Criteria
- Program Type: Performance
- Discipline: Literary, Theatre
- Grade Level: Elementary
- Accepts bookings in Johnston County
