Performing Summer of the Red Dragon for 5th Grade at Spicer

This afternoon I had the privileged of performing my "Summer of the Red Dragon" Program for the 5th graders at Spicer Elementary BISD. Though today was Memorial day it was also a make up day for Spicer and so the most of the kids were at school. So today was treated as a fun day for most of the classes.
Jane Redfern is the new librarian at Spicer and earlier this year I had given her my CD on which this program is based on for her to listen to. She loved the CD and decided today would be a good day to have a program like this one for her 5th graders.
I ended up doing the program in their small gym which normally is not my favorite storytelling location because of sound problems but this worked out ok or better than I had expected.
This particular story is one hour long and with the kids having to sit on a hard gym floor for an hour I decided that I might need to spif the story up a little bit to keep their attention. So I decided to use some props that would suggest items from the story. Also in order to tone down the drama of the story and to tie the idea of imagination and playing together with the story I decided to use toy props. In other words all plastic except for the artifact and sleeping bag. I used two toy swords that I had purchased a couple years ago just for this program and a little toy bat. The props worked just as I thought they would. I thought maybe the kids would be put off by them but just as I had hoped it seemed to peek their interest or help draw them into the story.
Despite having to sit on a very unforgiving hardwood floor for an hour (I kept the program to one hour almost exactly) and being late in the day, the kids did great. Some I could see were more interested or drawn into the story than others but overall they all seemed to enjoy the story and performance. The story itself is about two teen age boys, the time period is 1963 and I call it a modern day fairy tale. The story is a combination of mystery, drama and magic. The focus of the story is about how Jason must over come his fears to help save his friends.
This presentation was the FIRST full performance of this story ever. I wanted the kids to know that it was special and it was. I hope to have more opportunities to tell Jason's story again and again in the years to come.It is a special story that I believe many youths can and will appreciate. It is also a story that adults would enjoy as well.
I would had liked to expand on the story and supplied more details but reason dictates that with circumstanced as they were that I make the story as tight as it was on the CD. This I did and with hardly a mistake. It was a near perfect telling.
So thank you Jane Redfern and Thank you 5rth graders of Spicer for making this a very special day for me.I hope that I made it special for you.
Gary