Behind the Scenes of Leonardo!: Storytelling Techniques
Posted on January 9, 2025
There are countless ways to tell a story. What you’ll see in Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster is based on stories Mo Willems initially shared in his books. Read on to discover the creative techniques used to bring these stories to life in a whole new way.
Storytelling Through Books
The play you will see is based on two books by Mo Willems: Leonardo the Terrible Monster and Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World.
You can watch and listen to the books being read aloud with these links:
Storytelling Through a Play
A play takes place on a stage in a theatre. The story is acted out live in front of the audience, and the characters are played by actors.
Have you seen a play before? How is a stage in a theatre different from a movie theatre? How do you think the characters will be different in the play when they’re played by real people?
Storytelling Through Puppetry
Part of the story in the play will be told through puppetry. Some of the characters will be played by real people, and some of the characters will be puppets manipulated by the performers. Sometimes, characters will be played by both puppets and actors. There will be both paper puppets and 3D puppets.
Have you seen a puppet show before? Which characters from the books do you think will be puppets in the play?
Storytelling Through Cinema
During the play, the performers will create a movie on the screen right in front of the audience!
You can watch the story on the screen like you do in a movie theatre, or you can watch the performers create the movie on the stage. Or both!