EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING

The rambunctious coyotes charged off stage and darted past Chickie. She ducked her head under her wing and held her eyes closed tight until they passed. Her feathers shook in fear, and she said to herself, “Well, that definitely got me ready for my act.” She made her way to center stage and looked around to be sure the coyotes were gone before she nestled down.

Lester caught Chickie’s attention. “Your a poet, and you know it!” he whispered so softly she had to read his lips.

She tucked her face back under her wing and ruffled her feathers into position. “Ready,” she said gently to Tan. A subdued violin in the orchestra played a frightening tune that echoed throughout the theater. The floorboards creaked. Curt and Tan let out an eerie groan while they opened. The large, white flowers in the dome fluttered, casting shadows onto Chickie. Her eyes peeked out from the top of her wing, and she scanned the audience. She rose and walked cautiously to the edge of the stage. She stood with her wings curled tightly to her chest and began her poem.

"I’ve felt the shaking of my chicken feathers

barely holding onto braveries tethers.

Slipping into the vast grasp of fear,

while watching my courage disappear,

I’ve felt the shaking of my chicken feathers

barely holding onto braveries tethers.

The comforts of time no longer moved.

An embrace of space no longer soothed.

I’ve felt the shaking of my chicken feathers

barely holding onto braveries tethers.

My muscles locked in a frozen state.

No choice now but to idly wait.

I’ve felt the shaking of my chicken feathers

barely holding onto braveries tethers.”

The flowers in the dome closed tight, and the entire theater went dark. Chickie continued,

“As I peer out at a pitch black sky,

fear takes hold, and I begin to cry.

I’ve felt the shaking of my chicken feathers

barely holding onto braveries tethers.

Close my eyes to outrun the night’s fright…”

The dome flowers opened up, and the theater grew bright. Chickie spread her wings and walked along the stage to give the conclusion of her poem.

“…by morning, fear’s been replaced by light!

Now, I’m no longer feeling the shaking of my

chicken feathers for I have grasped ahold of

braveries tethers…”

She raised a wing high above her head and ended with these words, “…and I’m not going to let go of them again!”

The audience sat in silence for several moments, frozen by the power of the poem. “So good!” a raspy voice finally shouted from the back. The voice was very familiar to Chickie. The crowd rose to give a standing ovation. “Bravo!” They cheered, clapped, whistled and hooted.

Chickie scanned the crowd, trying to find Oakly. She spied him in the back row. Without any hesitation or fear, she leaped from the stage and coasted to the ground with open wings. She took the center aisle and ran with everything she had. She smacked into him with an enthusiastic hug and unbridled excitement. Oakly wrapped his spindly branches around her and said, “You did it, little bird. You found your place. I’m so very proud of you.”

Those words meant everything to Chickie. As the crowd eventually quieted down and settled back in their seats, Chickie remained by Oakly’s side.

Queenie gathered her palette, a handful of different-sized brushes, and a small wooden stool. She arranged her brushes from small to large along the floor. She signaled to Curt and Tan. As they drew themselves back, the entire orchestra broke into a peppy, happy jingle.

“What a wonderful evening we’ve had together. Would you all agree?” she asked the crowd. They clapped and whistled in agreement. “I’d like to capture the feeling of joy in one of my favorite mediums - oil paints.” She threw a hand in the air, and two branches lowered her canvas. They remained in place to serve as its easel. Queenie picked up her palette and a wide paintbrush. She stepped up onto the small wooden stool. She streaked sapphire blue across the top of the canvas. Her animated brush strokes were in concert with the melody played by the orchestra. Reloading her brush from her palette with a dazzling amethyst pink, she blended down from the edge of the blue to the center of the canvas. She hopped from the stool and reloaded a yellow ochre, adding a thin line that stretched the width of the entire painting. A final dab to her palette with the wide brush picked up a flashy tangerine that she used to thicken and extend the yellow line.

Queenie spun around and flashed a sparkling smile to the audience. Her root skirt swirled out in the spin, and the ends of the roots wrapped around the handles of multiple paintbrushes. They all dipped into different colors on the palette. Queenie loaded her paintbrush with a bright emerald green. All of the brushes then went to work together. Strokes and taps, featherings and splatters, all hidden from the audience as Queenie stood in front of her work and added the final details. She grabbed the canvas by the side and walked it around until the back was facing the audience. “I feel incredibly happy about how this one turned out,” she said as she walked to the edge of the stage. “Before I reveal it, I’d like to invite all of our talented participants from tonight’s show back up on stage.”

Chickie perked up. “That’s me!”

Oakly set her down and scooted her toward the aisle. “Get on up there, little bird.”

Chickie quickly ran down the aisle and took the stairs up. Lester entered from stage left and stood next to a very excited Chickie. Curt released from his tie and pulled MGB onto the stage. The six coyotes from The Rowdy Howlers, followed by the six porcupines from Porcupine Pyramid Power, entered single file from stage left. Bevan walked onto stage, brushing frosting off his tail. Stinkerbell and Eureaky sauntered in, their spurs jangling as they repeatedly tipped their hats to the crowd.

Queenie leaned out from the line and said, “Let’s take hold of a hand, paw, wing, or branch as we take a bow together.” The entire row linked up and took a slow, graceful bow. The audience broke out in joyous celebration. Queenie’s painting then spun around on its easel, and the dome cast a radiant spotlight onto it. The audience got their first view of Queenie’s artwork, and their jubilation grew into ecstasy. The large painting encapsulated the entire evening. A warm sunset surrounded the Emotional Theater stage. The performers had been painted exactly as they were lined up at that very moment. The entire audience was included in the work.

The crowd started to realize that they could pick themselves out in the art. Rory’s face lit up with a smile. He threw his arm over the shoulder of Muso so he could replicate the exact pose described to him of their portrait. Down the row, Mysha signed to the squirrel, “Look! That’s us! We’re so cute!” Rows and rows of patrons leaned from their chairs to identify themselves in the painting.

“Can you please give one more round of applause for this talented ensemble?” Queenie asked. “They managed to stir all of our emotions tonight!” The audience clapped energetically. “Now, look to your left and look to your right and give a round of applause to yourselves and your neighbors for being the fabulously emotional beings that you all are. Let’s make some new friends tonight!”

An entire family of crows flew to Oakly. They landed on several of his branches and introduced themselves one by one. Lester could see the flurry of activity from the stage. He bent down to Chickie and asked, “What do you call a flock of birds who stick together?”

“I don't know, J. What do you call a flock of birds who stick together?”

“Ready for it?” he asked with a smile.

“I’m ready,” she snickered.

“Vel-crows!” he answered.

“BAWK!” blasted through the entire theater. Chickie could see the crows interacting with Oakly. After recovering from her laughter, she said, “I can’t wait to tell Oakly that joke!”

Beanard jumped off his chair. He ran down the center aisle, up the mahogany stairs, and straight to MGB. “You are amazing and talented and beautifully expressive! I want you to know that I am so sorry for bullying you. I’ll never treat you or anyone else like that ever again!”

“I’m so proud of you for acknowledging your behavior and making a change for a better you,” MGB said as the two beans embraced. Curt wrapped his branches around them and joined in the moment.

Hootdini climbed to the top of his chair and looked out at the audience to locate the Bald Eagle. He spotted the eagle sitting in a center seat and launched from his chair with open wings. He flapped with all his might and rose above the crowd. He tilted his wings and circled down to the eagle. “Hi there. I’m Hootdini,” he began. “There wasn’t much time for introductions during our last encounter.”

“Hello there, Hootdini. I’m Earl. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Hootdini dove in for a feathery hug. “Oh, Earl, thank you so much for helping me fly. I wouldn’t have made it without you!”

“You’re certainly welcome, chap. It looks like you’re getting the hang of things now. With more practice, you’ll get more speed and control. Soon you’ll be soaring like an eagle,” Earl chuckled.

The audience buzzed with pleasantries and introductions. Queenie’s voice brought everyone’s attention back to the stage. “What a beautiful night. Thank you all for coming out for the show, and let’s continue to be good to each other!” With that, the cast waved to the audience as Curt slowly met Tan to close the show. The crowd, still brimming with merriment, gave their final claps, hoots, roars and whistles. They left their seats and filed out along the stone pathway. Tiny, jumping goldfish and a shower of bright magenta petals provided the final enchanting touches to an emotional evening.

MGB had given a lot of thought to his dance routine. He recalled that whenever he was feeling sad, dance always helped him express it. He wanted his performance to show others a way of looking at dance as an outlet for expressing one’s sadness when comfort was needed most.

Curt was on board with the decision from the start. “Of course, I’ll dance with sadness,” he said. “I was born a weeping willow. I’m an expert in that emotion.”

MGB needed to get into the appropriate emotional space before their performance. He recalled episodes from his life that had caused him great sadness. They were the same episodes that had led him to put on his boxing gloves and keep them on permanently. They were acts of injustice that he himself had been subjected to and from which he had vowed to protect others. He played a slideshow in his mind of all the times he had been bullied for the gap in his front teeth, the time the Bullnose bell peppers had dirt kicked on them because of their variety, the time the shady side vegetables had been segregated from the sunny side. MGB held his eyes closed tight to secure those images in his mind. They had worked in arousing sadness, and he’d need them throughout his dance.

Curt went through the same emotional preparation. He sank into a memory of when he was just a little sapling. His first few branches had grown in bent and brittle. While the other young trees had grown long, flowing branches, his had struggled to get their start. The other young trees had teased him relentlessly. “Creepy Weepy!” had become their cruel mantra. Their words and mean treatment had stuck with Curt as a painful memory even as he grew into a beautiful, lush tree. “Creepy Weepy,” he mumbled to himself. The visceral pain brought his sadness to the surface.

MGB wore a long frown. He stood in front of Curt and asked, “Are you ready to go on, partner?”

“Feeling especially sad right now, so I’d say I’m definitely ready,” Curt replied.

The orchestra pit stretched several long roots tight into the shape of a harp and vibrated a melody that filled the theater with melancholy sounds. Tan drew himself back, leaving Curt the entire stage. The large, white flowers dimmed, and the mood of the audience shifted as it took in the ambiance.

MGB stood center stage with his face in his gloves. Playing in his mind were all the visuals he had just aroused. Curt slowly stretched two branches toward MGB and wrapped them around each wrist. Curt pulled, and MGB’s arms stretched out wide. His head hung, and he took a long lunge forward. Curt raised MGB’s arms high above his head. As MGB looked up, his face showed the emotions that were swirling in his head. Curt released him, and MGB left one arm extended. He traced the line of the extended arm with the glove on his free hand, then brought the glove across his chin, down his chest, and finally down the path of his leg as he lowered himself all the way down to the stage. He laid his head on his still extended arm and then moved to his knees and curled himself up tight. Curt extended his branches under MGB and pulled the limp bean upright. MGB grabbed ahold of Curt’s branches and used them like aerial silks. He wrapped himself in the branches and then arched out backwards as Curt braced him. He twirled and twisted as he climbed higher. At the top, he let go with both hands and tumbled and spun down through the branches. The crowd gasped. Just before MGB hit the stage, Curt caught him and tossed him up into a twirl of multiple rotations before grabbing him again by the waist. MGB bent forward and placed his face in his forearms. Curt lowered him to the stage. MGB threw out his arms and arched his head back as he fell into Curt’s embrace.

The dance grasped the audience firmly. It especially affected the occupants of one chair in particular. MGB’s entire family: his parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters were all in attendance. None had ever seen MGB dance before, except for one family member, his cousin Beanard. Overtaken by emotion and feelings of remorse, Beanard began to cry.

“It really is a touching performance. Did it get to you?” Beanatrice asked as she put her arm around Beanard’s shoulders and pulled him in for a snuggle. Beanard rested his head on her shoulder and accepted the comfort as they watched the finale of MGB’s dance.

Curt pushed MGB upright and draped his branches over MGB’s shoulders. Curt threw MGB out, and MGB twirled along the stage with his head bent and his arms gliding through the air. As MGB neared the edge of the stage, Curt extended a long branch that wrapped around MGB’s wrist. He gave a sharp tug, and MGB reversed his spin and entangled into Curt’s branches as he returned. At center stage, Curt slowly untwined as MGB spun in a pirouette. When his spinning came to a full stop, MGB raised his hands above him and took hold of Curt’s branches. He dropped to his knee and pulled Curt with him. The two friends finished in an embrace, motionless, staring out at a silent audience.

As the music from the orchestra trailed off into silence, the crowd released the sadness they had absorbed through the performance. Many wiped tears from their faces. Some openly sobbed. Beanard started a soft, slow clap that rippled through the theater. Soft claps grew and grew into deafening applause. Curt and MGB stood up. Curt raised MGB’s arm high above his head, and they gave a low bow together. Tan released from his tie, took MGB’s other arm, and they swung him out over the appreciative crowd. MGB then caught sight of his family. They were cheering, smiling, and filled with pride. The overwhelming emotion brought happy tears streaming down MGB’s face. Curt and Tan lowered him back to the stage. He wildly waved to his family while they wildly waved back to him. Beanard climbed up the back of the chair and shouted, “That dance grasped ahold of my soul!”

The large, white flowers in the dome popped open to shine a spotlight on Curt and Tan. They pulled back, and the light revealed six porcupines standing in a row at center stage. An upbeat, gypsy jazz tune played from the orchestra pit.

The porcupines began shouting out their names in a wave of introductions that rolled from left to right.

“I’m Quilliam!”

“I’m Quillary!”

“I’m Jacquillan!”

“I’m Quillian!”

“I’m Shaquill!”

“I’m Pokahantas!”

In unison, they let out a spirited cheer, “We are Porcupine Pyramid Power!”

Quillary, Jacquillan and Quillian stayed in place while the others tucked their quills in tightly, formed into balls, and rolled off in either direction. Shaquill and Pokahantas went to the right. Quilliam went to the left. The spotlight swung to the right and followed Shaquill rolling back in as the three already on stage banded together. As Shaquill collided with them, they flared their quills and launched him straight up into the air. As he descended, the three adjusted their position. “We got you! Trust us!” they called up to him as he landed on the heads of Quillian and Jacquillan.

The spotlight repositioned once more and followed from stage left as Quilliam rolled onto stage. He too was launched into the air and landed securely atop Quillary and Jacquillan. The entire formation slid to the left as the first tier of porcupines adjusted to the new weight. As they grew comfortable, they inched back toward center stage.

Only one porcupine remained to complete the pyramid. All of the porcupines were going to have to work together and trust one another to make it happen. Pokahantas trotted out onto the stage enveloped in a spotlight. She stood in front of the existing formation for a moment and looked to gain reassurance from the others before turning to face the audience. She showed the crowd a bright red blindfold and then tied it tightly over her eyes. Jacquillian cupped her paws together and whispered, “Ready when you are.” Pokahantas, tightly blindfolded, stepped backward and placed one heel in Jacquillan’s cupped paws and then pushed herself upward. Pokahantas raised both arms above her head, and the second-tier porcupines reached down to lift her. She now stood precariously on the head of Jacquillan. One more tier to go. The precision of her movements was vital to the safety of all. Pokahantas tucked her quills in as tightly as she could and then – POP! She expanded with all her might and shot herself upward. As her momentum subsided and she started to fall headfirst toward the stage, she reached out and landed blindly in a pawstand on the upstretched arms of Quilliam and Shaquill. It was a spectacular act of trust. The audience erupted in applause. All six porcupines puffed out their quills with excitement. The pyramid resembled a squatty pine tree.

The owlets perked up in their chair. Owlbert climbed to the top of the backrest in front of him to get a better look. Overwhelmed with a longing for his own squatty pine, he spontaneously jumped. Gravity took hold, and he felt himself falling. He tumbled toward the occupant of the chair in front of him, a fluffy, brown rabbit with long ears raised in surprise. Owlbert came down on one ear, and the rabbit reflexively flicked him off. This catapulted Owlbert toward the stage. He extended his wings, gave them a few flaps, and he was flying! He made a controlled turn and then landed on the feet of Pokahantas. Beaming with accomplishment, he gave an inviting wave to the other three owls to join him.

Owlester and Whoolio brimmed with confidence after seeing Owlbert’s flight. They jumped off the chair at the same time. The entire audience turned to watch. A dome flower popped open to shine a spotlight on the two owls falling back toward the crowd. Owlester and Whoolio spread their wings and their falls slowed. “Flap!” shouted a Red-tailed Hawk sitting in the back, and the two owls started flapping their wings. It worked! As they approached the stage, they had gained enough control to dip and circle around the pyramid before landing on the heads of Quilliam and Shaquill. Excitement erupted in the audience.

Hootdini fidgeted in his chair. He very much wanted to join his brothers. He climbed up the backrest and examined the vast distance to the stage. The rabbit in front of him turned around and said, “You can do it.”

“All right. Here I go!” Hootdini announced as he launched from the chair. He spread his wings and caught some air. He glided just above the audience, but when he began to flap, he didn’t get any lift. “Sorry!” he apologized as his foot kicked the antlers of a deer. “Whoops! So sorry!” His wing smacked the cheek of a chipmunk. As he careened toward the stage, it looked like a painful collision with the orchestra pit was inevitable. Hootdini closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

All of a sudden, he found himself gaining altitude. He opened his eyes to discover that he was on the back of a large Bald Eagle. “Hang on, mate. I got you,” the eagle instructed. They ascended higher, the force of the eagle’s wings giving them great speed. As they approached the porcupines, the eagle gave new instructions to Hootdini. “Okay, you’ll need to slide off and use your wings to steer. Are you ready?”

Hootdini looked down at his brothers. Owlbert called up to him, “Trust me, I’ll catch you!” With that reassurance, Hootdini slid from the eagle’s back and corkscrewed down to the open wings of Owlbert who caught him in a tight embrace. The crowd went wild and Curt and Tan slowly swung themselves closed.

Lester walked onto the stage and offered one word about everyone’s performance, “Exhilarating!” Realizing that he was the next act, the porcupines, owls, and Chickie scooted off in celebration, leaving him the stage. Lester gave one last look at his joke journal, slid it into the pocket of his shirt, and then signaled to Curt and Tan that he was ready.

A guitar shredded a lightning fast lick from the orchestra pit, snapping the audience back to attention.

As Curt and Tan drew back, they revealed Lester sitting with one knee up, rubbing his chin in a thinking man’s pose. After several seconds in deep thought, he slowly turned his head to the audience. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and he jumped to his feet with a gasp. “Yowser, how long have you guys been sitting there?” He asked, his face contorted in a state of shock. The audience started to laugh. “Aw, I’m just joking with you. I knew you were there the whole time, except for that guy,” he said, pointing to a long, green snake in the second row. “I think he might have just slithered in.” The laughter grew louder.

“Much to my surprise, they added a roundabout to get on stage for this show,” Lester continued while walking in a circle. “It really threw me for a loop.” The punchline brought claps and whistles. Sensing the momentum, Lester rolled into his next joke. “I was the victim of a surprise birthday party last week. Although having all my friends jump out at me in the dark was startling, and to be honest completely terrifying, it was the bucket of Play-Doh they gave me that surprised me the most.” The audience was clearly intrigued as to where this joke was headed. Lester delivered the laughs with, “I just don’t know what to make out of it.”

While the laughter roared, Lester launched into his final joke. “I was practicing my juggling act at home the other day when there was a knock at the door. When I opened the door, to my complete surprise, there was a shiny silver, kitchen sink! The sink started talking to me, so, being the courteous person I am, I listened to it. It said, ‘I hear you have everything in there but me.’” Lester paused before delivering the punchline. “So…I let that sink in.” Everyone rose to their feet as whistles and boisterous cheers bounced off the dome. Lester filled with feelings of success and accomplishment. He gave a low bow to the audience, and then he noticed something slide up against his shoe. As he stood up, he realized it was a rose. Several more landed around him. He had never had anything but rotten food thrown at him during a performance. He gathered the roses into a fragrant bouquet that he shoved into his face. He took a sniff so powerful that several petals went straight up his nose. Curt and Tan slowly came together as Lester gave one final bow to the adoring crowd.

Tan stretched out a long branch, wrapped it around Lester’s shoulders and drew him closer. “You really brought your A-game to that performance!”

Curt started, “You were stage…”

“…frightless!” finished Tan.

All three started to laugh as rose petals shot out of Lester’s nose like confetti. “I’m glad I got the stage fright out of my system before the show with you two by my side! I mean, literally, holding me up from each side!” Their laughter grew louder as one final rose petal escaped from Lester’s nose.

Lester absorbed all the wonderful feelings he was experiencing, and then he noticed Funny bouncing towards him. “What are you doing here? I’m so surprised to see you!” he exclaimed as she latched onto his leg with a forceful hug.

“You were so great! That was the funniest act I’ve ever seen!” she said through a vibrant smile.

Lester broke the blossom off of one of his roses, tucked it behind Funny’s ear, and said, “It’s just as beautiful as you are, friend.” He then noticed the nine-tier cake at the edge of the stage. “Come on, let’s help this beaver get his cake set up for his act.”

As they approached the cake, Lester spotted Chickie. She was holding her stomach and still jiggling with laughter. “BAWK! BAWK! I’m still letting your joke ‘sink in!’” she wailed. Lester shot her a wink and then introduced Funny. The three helped push the towering cake into position and then headed backstage.