41st Annual Young Audience Outreach Tour

COYOTE & THE COUNTING GAME

Book and Lyrics by Diana Grisanti
Music by Emiliano Messiez

CREEDE PREMIERE: FRIDAY, AUG 30 @ 10AM & 2PM
REGIONAL TOUR: SEPT 1 – NOV 22

Gaby’s having a rough year. She’s failing 3rd grade math, her genius brother is about to go off to college, and her parents won’t buy her the drum set of her dreams. But when a crafty Coyote comes into her life, she discovers that she might be able to trick her way out of her troubles. A modern-day trickster tale, full of fractions, word problems, and good old-fashioned sibling rivalry.
Musical, Family-Friendly, World Premeire

Director’s Note

Hey, friends! Do you happen to know anything about the symbolism of the coyote in Native American folklore? I’ll admit, I surely didn’t know much when this show was presented to me.

You may have heard the archetype of the coyote simply being a trickster. But, after some research helped me out, what I found most striking are the more complex dualities it carries! It can be both divine and deceitful. Magical and dark. A hero and a villain.

It reminded me of the dualities life poses and how sometimes, it’s quite difficult to wholly define right and wrong, good and bad, and so forth. In the same way, this applies to the complexity in how we define ourselves. For example, how can we be both happy and sad at the same time? I have no idea how, but I do know it can be true — as I’m sure you do too! We can never be purely one thing, but rather, we are smattering of paint colors, mixing to create hues that vary depending on the day.

This is an idea I have used to think about our show and its characters. Is the character Coyote dishonest or just playful? Helpful or harmful? Sneaky or sincere? Is Gaby good at math or bad at math? Is she a good kid, or a troublemaker? Maybe either one, or both, or neither depending on how you look at it! But really what matters is that Gaby can be proud of her strengths and give herself grace in her weaknesses. There is always room to grow. There is always room to learn. And that “room” is a gift! Whether we are a student or a teacher, young or old. And that, my friends, is a viewpoint we can all try to carry with us, in how we view not just ourselves, but others.

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