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School’s Out: Grumbling Gryphons Theater Arts Camp
August 8, 2025
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9:30am–3:30pm @ The MATT
FREE Early Drop Off and Late Pickup included from 8 AM – 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM.
Children ages 6 and up are invited to participate in exciting, art-filled weekly camps designed to spark imagination, build confidence, and encourage creative expression through hands-on projects and interactive experiences. Whether your child loves painting, performance, or both, there’s something for everyone this summer at The MATT. Each week offers a new theme as children explore the Museum’s exhibitions and collections while creating their own original works of art. All materials are provided. Campers must bring a bagged lunch. Kick off summer with a celebration of YOU! Kids will create self-portraits and personal storytelling projects that explore identity through art.
For more information contact Jason Foberg at x114 or jason@mattmuseum.org
Grumbling Gryphons Theater Arts Camp at Mattatuck Museum
Monday-Friday- August 4-8th, 2025
Presenting: Anansi-The Trickster Spider: A West African Folktale Friday- August 8th at 2 pm
Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater, an award-winning educational theater now celebrating 45 years, will engage children in a weeklong theater arts camp for children ages 6 & up, during the week of August 4th-8th.. Campers will work with Grumbling Gryphons actors, musicians and staff for a fun week-long exciting theater camp centered around the story of Anansi, the trickster spider from Ghana in West Africa. Children will engage in acting, singing, dancing, and arts and crafts activities including mask making.
The camp will give children the opportunity to become part of a professional children’s theater, make new friends and learn more about Anansi and his adventures as they take on the roles of the animals in the jungle including bees, lions, monkeys, crocodiles and more!
In this infamous tale, Anansi manages to trick the various animals of the jungle and retrieve the stolen stories from Nyame- the greedy sky god of the Ashanti people.
At the culmination of a week of arts and drama, children will perform Anansi- the Trickster Spider: A West African Folktale on Friday, August 8th at 2 pm for parents and the general public. Live music will be provided by award winning keyboardist Brian Bender from Shutesbury, MA
Grumbling Gryphons will make masks with artist and actress Natalie Resto of Apples N’ Oranges Studio to wear and enhance their participation in the performance. This play is participatory and engages the general public in a lively, interactive performance where the audience will become part of the production!
Three actors, along with a cast of children portray a variety of lively characters. Daniel Saed of West Cornwall plays the lead role of Anansi-The Trickster Spider, the infamous trickster of the Ashanti People of West Africa. Natalie Resto plays the roles of honey bee, elephant and Hip -Bee. Leslie Elias, in addition to writing and directing this play, plays numerous roles in the production, including the comical characters of Crocodile, Monkey, Lion and Queen Bee. Ms. Elias has served as Artistic Director and co-founder of Grumbling Gryphons for forty-five years. She is the recent winner of the 2023 Connecticut Artist Fellowship Award, the FY2024 Artist Respond Grant and winner of the 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero Award. In 2018 she won the Culture Max Award given by Northwest Connecticut Arts Council for Arts Educator.
Anansi- the Trickster Spider is a well-known, comical character who originated in Western Africa. The tale, “How Anansi Brought the Stories Down”, tells how Anansi, with the aid of the children in the audience, tricks the various animals of the jungle and retrieves the stolen stories of the world from Nyame, the Sky God.
The theater company is renowned for its fantastic masks and captivating costumes, made by Ellen Moon of Cornwall, CT., and for its innovative interaction with children. Grumbling Gryphons has been performing in schools, museums, libraries and festivals throughout the United States since 1980. In 2003 they won the Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award. They are now celebrating their 45th year of providing educational and participatory theater throughout New England and beyond!
Cost:
Child: $210 | Member Child: $200 | Kids Adventure Passholder: $105
Financial aid available through United Way of Greater Waterbury Camperships.
Support provided by American Savings Foundation, United Way of Greater Waterbury, Post University
