For the Summer Reading Program theme "Dream Big — Read"
Anne & Rob Burns as A Reasonable Facsimile present
A Musical Program For Elementary, Preschool and Mixed Family Ages
"A Midsummer Night's Picnic" is a play with music. The setting: On a lovely summer evening Nan and Robin Piper (played by Anne and Rob Burns) pack a picnic and some musical instruments then head outdoors to watch fireflies and look at stars. But the quiet night is soon interrupted by nocturnal insects and animals, and even mischievous sprites. Watch out when sprites come to your picnic under the moon! These visitors play along on Renaissance tunes with a little help from the audience. Fun music and funny action for the whole family–with a nod to Shakespeare's great comedy! The duration of the program is approximately 45-minutes.
A Midsummer Night's Picnic Study Guide .pdf
A Midsummer Night's Picnic Color Poster .pdf
A Midsummer Night's Picnic Black & White Poster .pdf
A Midsummer Night's Picnic 5x7 Color Photo 2.1 MB .jpg
A Midsummer Night's Picnic 7x5 Color Photo 1.9 MB .jpg
A Midsummer Night's Picnic 7x5 Black & White Photo 1.5 MB .jpg
Comments about "A Midsummer Night's Picnic"
Rob and Anne interacted with the children at each point of the program. The performers dressed in period costumes and adjusted their costumes for songs at times. The performers also showed the children simple instruments and how to identify them. At the same time, Rob and Anne connected their large assortment of instruments with songs for which they taught the children how to sing, do hand movements, and dance. The song lyrics consistently magnetized the children to the performance as they interacted on several levels with our performers.
For each song, Rob and Anne sang and played renaissance instruments: shawms, crumhorns, recorders, a small lute, viola da gamba, fife, drum, pipe and tabor. The instruments were of several types: blown, strummed, bowed and struck. The songs were a lot of fun, too: Rob and Anne taught us hand movements and words to refrains for each song to be sung. For variety, some of the songs were instrumental and not sung: pieces on the shawms, for instance. The shawms are very loud instruments and are used for outdoor playing and for marking the time for the townspeople. So they played and sang a song about rhythm and time. Another example of a renaissance instrument that they used was the renaissance guitar that Anne strummed for some of the songs. Rob also played his viola da gamba, which looks like a small cello, and a hammered dulcimer.-Youth Librarian
Anne and Rob Burns each received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Early Music from Oakland University. They specialize in the music of the Renaissance and the Colonial era as the duo A Reasonable Facsimile. They have received wide acclaim for their unique school and library programs.
The base price for one performance is $375. Mileage will be charged to locations over 50 miles from Clarkston, Michigan. Overnight accommodations, $55/night if necessary.
SHARE! Discount for two neighboring libraries booking music programs on the same day: subtract $50 each library. The libraries also split mileage and accommodations costs. Share with a library already on our calendar, or set up a new day.
To calculate the mileage fee use an online map service, entering Clarkston MI as starting address, and the library address as destination address. From the resulting one-way distance, subtract 50 miles, then multiply remaining mileage by $1.00 ($1.00 = 50¢ per mile each way).
GRANT INFORMATION
Grants for up to 35% per music program and travel expenses in Michigan may be available through the Arts & Humanities Touring Program. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis from February 25 to March 10. Contact the Michigan Humanities Council, 517-372-7770 <michiganhumanities.org/touring/index.htm>
Look at A Reasonable Facsimile's online calendar. Then e-mail or phone us with your first and second choices of available dates and times.