InterAct Story Theatre is a theatre for young audiences and multidisciplinary arts-in-education organization based in Wheaton, Maryland.
Cantaré, Latin American Music performs songs in Spanish and Portuguese, while sharing the music’s cultural background. Cantaré introduces a variety of string and percussion instruments from different Latin American countries. Audiences learn about geography and history of Latin America and about the different cultures that shaped its music – Indigenous, European and African.
"In my almost three decades of teaching, I have heard a wide variety of internationally known authors, many of them award recipients. Marc was easily the most engaging and inspiring presenter I have ever heard. He held the rapt attention of the entire auditorium—students and staff alike. He is such a gift!"
—Adrienne DeMichele, Taipei American School, Taiwan ***
Author Marc Tyler Nobleman has inspired audiences of all ages - including the most reluctant students - in 30+ states and almost 20 countries with his twist-filled true story of overcoming odds and speaking up for others.
Barry Louis Polisar is an author, songwriter, poet, and story-teller for children who also writes songs and books for adults. He performs his songs on two different Grammy Award-winning albums and sings his song All I Want is You in the opening credits of the Academy Award winning movie Juno.
His books and poems have been translated into other languages and his songs have been recorded and performed by singers and musicians internationally. He has written songs for Sesame Street and The Weekly Reader and starred in a television show for children that won two Emmy awards.
Mark Jaster served as teaching assistant to Marcel Marceau. He brings over 40 years of performance experience, including over 30 years as a featured act at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, thousands of performances and hundreds of residencies for school-age audiences. He is also Artistic Co-Director of the award-winning Happenstance Theater, and has served as movement consultant to many regional theaters.
I am a fiber and ceramic artist whose artwork is inspired by Byzantine and medieval art. I stitch hand embroidered images set in architecturally inspired frames of hand built ceramics and found objects. Along the way I have engaged in a number of related pursuits.
Viki Keating has a glass studio called Stained Glass Creations, which produces commissioned glasswork for architectural installations as well as original work for galleries. She has been working with glass for over 35 years and works in fused and cast glass. Using and experimenting with different techniques. She has attended many professional workshops for various glass techniques with well-known glass artists and has been exhibiting in juried exhibitions for many years.
Carien Quiroga is an award-winning multimedia visual artist and educator using her artmaking and teaching practices to engage with creative communities, both locally and internationally. Social Justice, mindfulness, and collaboration is at the core of her artistic work and teaching practices. Ms. Quiroga is on the Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Residence, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and Artivate Teaching Artists Rosters.
Ventriloquist, musician, composer, and performer Valerie Leonhart Smalkin was one of the writers, performers, and co-producers as well as the head puppeteer of the Emmy award winning television program It's Kindertime on Baltimore’s ABC affiliate WMAR-TV 2. Val’s CD, A Gentle Halloween, received a Parents’ Choice Fun Stuff award in 2015, and in 2016 her follow-up CD, Sing! Sing! Sing!...and Dance!, garnered a Parents’ Choice Approved award. Her current CD, Love Bug! received a Parents’ Choice Recommended award.