“Cawdel’s Adventures” goes on the road

A group of Link 8th grade students shared an original play, “Cawdel’s Adventures” with second graders at University Heights Charter School and second graders at Phillips Academy Charter School recently. The play is unique, in that the characters are large colorful animal puppets made of cardboard, wire, foam and paint, controlled by the students. The audience was delighted to see the puppets fly, swim and hop across the stage and to be invited to be part of the play themselves!

In the play, the main character, Cawdel, is a crow from Newark who is torn between staying at home or seeking adventures in far-flung places. He speaks to his friends – a variety of birds – about his conflict, and ultimately decides to travel the world. As he goes, he meets up with a series of animals geese, zebras, penguins, a tiger and a shark – who all teach him useful life lessons. Cawdel has to make another decision: to return to his roots or not. During the play, the audience of young children had the opportunity to dance with the puppets and to perform as a school of fish!

The play, which was also performed for Link’s fifth grade class, was developed and rehearsed in an elective class taught by Mr. James Peck over a period of weeks. Students worked hard to make the characters come to life for their audience. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their talents and creativity under the guidance of the amazing Mr. Peck!

Here are some photos from the show when presented to Link’s 5th graders:

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