THE UGLY DUCKLING

A Musical

Adapted from H.C. Andersen By Ric Averill

Produced by special permission of Dramatic Publishing Company

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Brief description

Udrich is ugly – there is no question. But is he really an ugly DUCK? Follow this lonely fellow as he searches for his identity and tries to become a turkey, a goose, a dog, a cat, a hen, and even a human child. Only after a full year of danger and growth does the gentle Udrich find his place and his happiness.

In addition to bringing to life one of the classics of children’s literature, the musical celebrates personal identity and self-esteem. Creative "Seem-To-Be" costumes and sets celebrate the imagination of the child. Audience members of all ages will be moved by the poignant ending of this simple story.

Press Article

The Seem-To-Be Players are coming to town with H.C. Andersen's classic The Ugly Duckling. This musical version of the fairy tale was adapted and composed by the company’s Artistic Director, Ric Averill. The play takes place across the course of a full year with changing seasons represented by Jeff McLaughlin’s colorful set. There is a mixture of comedy and poignancy that make the production fun for the whole family.

Averill's most recent composition, an opera for children based on Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes was commissioned and toured nationally by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. "I love working with Andersen Fairy Tales," said Averill. "There is a richness of imagination and a beauty to the work that lends itself to both music and script."

Averill has headed up the Seem-To-Be Players for more than 30 years and has published many of the plays developed by that company. Based in Lawrence, Kansas, the company tours the entire nation from Florida to Washington State. Actors are drawn from not only the greater Kansas City area but from across the country. Former actors from the company have appeared on television and in movies and can be found on both coasts.

The Seem-To-Be Players receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Heartland Arts Fund, Hallmark Cards and US Bank.

Company Bio

The Seem-To-Be Players are the Lawrence Arts Center's resident professional Theatre for Youth company, performing across Kansas, the Midwest and the nation. The Players have been touring since 1979, creating original, innovative, exciting and educational productions. Trademarks of the (we are what we ) "Seem-To-Be" style include imaginative sets and costumes, original music, and transformational acting that enlivens each story, myth history or comedy and infuses them all with an energetic and zany love of life and celebration of the humanity of all people.

The company has toured in more than 50 Kansas communities, 35 states and 3 countries, entertaining and educating more than 150,000 students per year.

Now in their 31st Season, The Seem-To-Be Players may be booked nationally and internationally through Mainstage Management and have been granted the Kansas Governor’s Arts Award and received major project and touring funding from the Heartland Arts Fund, Kansas Health Foundation, Payless Shoesource, Hallmark Cards, US Bank, the Kansas Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Productions travel in a truck and van and can be loaded into a performance space in less than three hours. Players use house light and sound and bring a few of their own special effects.

Bio
Artistic Director, Writer, Ric Averill

Ric Averill has been the Artistic Director and principal playwright, composer and director for the Arts Center's Seem-To-Be Players professional children's theatre company since he and his wife, Jeanne, founded the company in 1973.

Ric writes both plays and music, with degrees from the University of Kansas in both Music Composition and Children's Theatre. Ric has received numerous Playwriting Fellowships and been selected for five professional play development symposiums including the Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices and the Indianapolis Bonderman Youth Theatre Playwriting Symposium.

Ric's plays, published by Dramatic Publishing, include The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor; Bird Woman, the Story of Sacagawea; The Princess and the Pea and other short plays; Pixies, Kings and Magical Things; Alex and the Shrink World and T-Money and Wolf (with Kevin Willmott.) Ric also wrote the Actor's Handbook for Fran Tanner's high school textbook, Basic Drama Projects.

Included among Ric's many commissions are the Kennedy Center's Alice in Wonderland, First Stage Milwaukee's Little Drummer Boy, the Coterie Theatre’s Frankenstein and the Kansas Health Foundation's Red Blood and High Purpose. Ric's fusion of music and theatre has culminated in an opera for children based on the story of The Emperor's New Clothes which was commissioned by the Kennedy Center.

News Press Release for Broadcast or Print

THE UGLY DUCKLING IS COMING TO TOWN!

DON’T MISS THIS WONDERFUL MUSICAL PRODUCTION FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY COMING TO ______(PRESENTER’S THEATRE)________ ON ______(DATE)______ AT ___(TIME)_____. THE ______(PERFORMANCE SPACE)_____ WILL BE TRANSFORMED TO AN IDYLLIC COUNTRY SCENE THAT TAKES POOR UDRICH, THE UGLY DUCKLING, THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS LIFE AS HE TRIES TO FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF CREATURE HE IS. TICKETS ARE ____ (PRICE)_____ AND CAN BE PURCHASED BY CALLING______ (PHONE)_______.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL ____________

Credits

The play takes place in the country and on several farms over the course of a full year of changing seasons.

Photos

Click on photo to download hi-resolution version.

Ud-dog~1Small (11K) Ud-sis~1Small (18K) UGLYDU~6Small (15K)

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