ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
October 9, 2009
All Aboard!
TFK Kid Reporter Clara Wicoff reports on the Ranger's Apprentice bus tour
Imagine a play where the audience members steal props, throw paper balls at the actors and refuse to laugh at the funniest parts. That's what kids are encouraged to do at the Escape to Araluen Ranger's Apprentice tour. TFK reporter Clara Wicoff tested her stealth ranger skills and spoke with the three actors from the tour during their stop at the Public Library in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Play Begins |  COURTESY LISA WICOFF TFK Kid Reporter Clara Wicoff talks to the cast of Escape to Araluen. |
Audience members eagerly leaned in to hear Meghan O' Neill at the Ranger's Apprentice Bus Tour Stop in Kansas City, Missouri. The bus transports the group of three actors, O'Neill, Peter McNerney, and Nick Kanellis. They work for a New York based acting company called Story Pirates. The group promotes literacy by turning stories into plays for kids. On this tour, they acted out scenes from the Ranger's Apprentice series, written by John Flanagan.
In the best-selling book series, a 15-year-old orphan named Will is rejected as a warrior and becomes an apprentice to a ranger, Halt. Will learns the skills of the rangers: marksmanship, stealth, diplomacy and observation. Will soon helps fight off the Kalkara, a fierce, ape-like monster controlled by the evil Lord Morgarath, who is out to take control of the Kingdom of Araluen. Among other challenges, Will must also help defeat Morgarath's army and escape from the captivity of a Skandian warrior.
The actors take several scenes from the books and put them into an interactive play. They invite kids to join them on stage to be tested as apprentices. Audience members who pass the tests are awarded a silver oak leaf. After the play, the actors pass out ranger pins and sign and stamp the books with a special book tour stamp.
O'Neill plays Lady Pauline, head of the Diplomatic services. McNerney plays Baron Arald, whom he describes as "the jolly, food loving head of the Redmont fief." Kanellis plays Halt, the solemn ranger who trains Will.
The actors highlight one of the main themes in the book: the idea that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They also try to surprise each other by improvising lines in the play. This makes it more fun for the audience. "There is nothing worse than watching actors who look bored," McNerney told TFK.
The typical day on tour is anything but boring. The group starts the day by driving to the next stop. They usually visit two schools in the morning and a bookstore or a library at night. In between each play they must take down the set, pack it up in the "Ranger Mobile," as they call their tour bus, and set it up again at the next showing. At the end of the day, they stop at a hotel to get some sleep before waking up to do it all over again.
All three actors agree that one of the best parts of being on the tour is getting to meet the people who watch their skit. Their audiences have ranged from three people to a crowd of 650. The goal of the month-long tour is to encourage children to read the book series and to discover their own unique skills, just like Will does in Ranger's Apprentice.
