Sensory-Friendly, Family Show DAPOOCH to Play Touchstone Theatre

Touchstone Theatre presents a sensory-friendly theatrical performance of DaPooch, or The Story of Poochie's Three Hundred and Seventy-Second Birthday AND How the Hunga Munga Munga SAVED HIS LIFE! on June 20th at 11:00am.

The show performs at Touchstone Theatre and includes a preshow "Build Your Own Puppet" session and an introduction to the theatre; plus, a post show puppet performance workshop. Tickets for the morning's activities are pay-what-you-will.

The Theatre and Box Office will be open at 10:00am, as will the Touchstone Café where guests can enjoy coloring, puppet-making, and "Bring Your Own Snack" time. The Café will also be available throughout the 40-minute performance as an alternative quiet space. At 11:00am, actor Bill George and puppet Poochie will lead guests into the theatre for a brief introduction to theatre before DaPooch begins. After the performance, guests may return to the café and learn how to puppeteer their newly-made puppets with help from the Touchstone artists.

DaPooch is performed by master storyteller and Touchstone co-founder Bill George, who first conceived of the fictional world of Poochie as a story for his children. "On my son Sammy's fifth birthday, he was so worried he wasn't going to have a good birthday it was ruining his day," says George. "So I told him about Poochie's three hundred and seventy-second birthday. There's no way he could have a worse birthday than his!"

A few years later, after many requests from his children for more and more stories, George decided to turn the original story about friendship and facing one's fears into a play, adding songs and theatrics. The show has gone through many periods of evolution, spawning additional episodes of Poochie's adventures, and touring to various venues, across the country and abroad. For this performance, DaPooch will be adapted to be sensory-friendly to serve a wider audience of theatre-going families.

This production of DaPooch is supported by the Lehigh Valley Arts Council's Arts and Access grant program, Murphy & Murphy, P.C., and ARCH of Lehigh Valley. Touchstone's season is sponsored by First Generation, an integrated marketing communications company, and RCN. Media sponsorship is provided by WDIY, and print sponsorship is provided by Working Dog Press.

DaPooch performs on June 20st at 11:00am at Touchstone Theatre (321 East Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015) with auxiliary activities before and after the show - detailed schedule below. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Will and can be purchased at the Box Office in advance or day of. Large groups are recommended to call 610-867-1689 to reserve their seats ahead of time.

The Morning's Activities:

10-11am - Build Your Own Puppet in the Touchstone café! You'll also get to meet the actor, Bill, and his friend, Poochie. The café will remain open the entire morning for coloring and BYOS (Bring Your Own Snack).

11am - Bill will give everyone an Introduction to the Theatre. Join onstage or watch from the audience.

11:10am - Enjoy a sensory-friendly performance of DaPooch.

11:45am-12:15pm - Puppet Performance Workshop in the Touchstone Café! After the show, try out your puppet with help from the Touchstone artists.

Founded in 1981, Touchstone Theatre produces and presents both original and classic productions, with a dedication to the renewal of theatre as a vital art form. Touchstone works to foster collaboration on a local and national level through educational and youth empowerment programs, using theatre as a community-building tool. Visit us on the web at www.touchstone.org.

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