Photo courtesy of Chandler Music Hall A scene from Coyote Tales is seen here which will be presented at the Chandler Music Hall for c hildren in the Upper Gallery on March 14 in the morning. RANDOLPH - Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph is proud to present "Coyote Tales", an engaging play for young audiences, on Saturday, March 14 at 11:00 a.m. in Chandler's upper gallery. This work calls on traditional Native American and Mexican folklore to tell the tale of the lively journey of Coyote, the trickster. This dramatic rendering of "Coyote Tales" is written by Daniel Elihu Kramer.

"Coyote Tales" dramatizes the adventures of Coyote, along with Mole, Fox, Fox's Twin, the Spirit Chief and the Animal People in tales such as Coyote Brings Life, The Dog People, Coyote Loses his Eyes and Wishes. The cast has created a very entertaining delivery in the telling of the tales, with playful physical expressions and wonderful costumes.

"Coyote Tales" is directed by Braintree's Paulette Staats who majored in Creative Dramatics at Northwestern University. After graduation she performed in and directed various community and high school productions in upstate New York. In Vermont she participated in the White River Valley Players' productions of Mame and Carousel, and has incorporated creative dramatics with children in many forms and venues. Her interest in children's theater meshes well with Chandler's strategic goals of providing a broad spectrum of programming and serving youth. When asked about her Chandler experience, Staats replied "it's been great fun!"

Paulette will also lend her acting skills for this production. Joining her for this special family event are Linda Clark from Chelsea and South Royalton's Mary Sue Turner, as well as the production assistant and costume designer Dona Meltzer from Braintree.

Linda Clark is an elementary school teacher at Braintree Elementary and this is her first local acting experience. She has been a set designer and prompter in other performances in the past. "I took this on as a challenge and it's been interesting to see how a production builds in its creation."

Mary Sue Turner is a speech and language pathologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital. She became interested in this production as she "wanted to show (her) daughter that it is o.k. to take risks and to try something new and move beyond your comfort zone." Turner was looking for a new hobby and decided to try theater. Her love for the Chandler community made this a comfortable fit for her acting debut. She is pleased that this experience with "Coyote Tales" has "reminded us of how close we are to the earth and the animals. We sometimes lose this connection in every day life."

Dona Melzer is a reading teacher at Braintree School and is also new to theater. She has helped to create some wonderful costumes and will act a prompter for the performance. She has enjoyed this new experience and says that "Chandler has been very welcoming."

Tickets for this special Saturday performance will be available at the door. All seats are $3. For more information please call 802-728-9878. www.chandler arts.org.

"Coyote Tales" is presented with special permission from Bakers Plays.