Beautiful Oops! Activity Guide

It's hard to find a better book for fun, messy, creative activities than Barney Saltzberg's Beautiful Oops!  So, put on some paint clothes, and get ready to make something awesome out of even your worst "mistake."

Straw Blowing Art
What's more fun than bendy straws AND paint?  Probably nothing.  Practice fine motor skills and see what your paint splatter turns into.  The possibilities are infinite!

Tearing Paper
How many silly ways can you tear a piece of paper?  Put on your thinking cap and your yoga pants to explore the crazy ways you can tear paper, and create an art project.

Baking Soda Paint
Creativity explodes with this recipe that creates fun, fizzy paint.  What will your shapes create?

Torn Newspaper Art
Don't toss yesterday's paper in the recycle bin.  Instead tear it into shapes, and let those shapes determine what you paint!  It's fun, and eco-friendly!

Do you have any other ideas for Oops art?  Love everything Beautiful Oops?  We would love to hear from you!

Beautiful Oops! Jr Blogger Report

Our Jr. Blogger Sophie Knipp talks all about Beautiful Oops!

Beautiful Oops! is a very creative show where six animal friends come together to make a great show! The problem is: everyone keeps making mistakes. 

The show Beautiful Oops! shows very artistic sets and colorful scenes. “Lots of fun; and a lot of scenery overload,” says Hanna McPheron who plays the Stage Manager in the show.

One example of the very artistic set was during the fishing scene when the character Bunny, played by Mary Gibboney, learns that that her friends will always be there for her, even if she makes mistakes. The back wall of the set falls down at the start of the fishing scene, revealing a sheer fabric. You can see moving lights shaped as fish behind the fabric. It looks like a lake!

The set also had 3 projection screens that dropped down from the ceiling during scene changes. The artistic projections were of animated kids talking about art. 

Another cool part of the show was when the stage went dark, and the characters danced with light up hoola-hoops and ropes. The audience also participated. We were given tea lights and an activity bucket at the start of the show. We turned on the tea lights when the stage went dark, and colored a sticker that we stuck on the back of the stage wall at the end of the show. My sister, JoJo (7) especially liked to add her art work to the set.  “I like all the ways all the art supplies work in the show,” says Anna Smith, who plays the part of Alligator. 

There is a lot of sarcasm in this show! Even adults were laughing! One character named Pig, played by Andrew Mondellow, dreams of having a car. He sings the song, “Pig in a Car” which is a hysterical rock song. He always makes the audience laugh. On the way out of the theater, I heard people saying that the show was really funny!  

The other characters in the show are very playful too! Crocodile, played by Anna Smith; Elephant, played by Kevin B. Johnson; and Penguin, played by Amanda Nguyen love to do many things together! They play, sing ,dance, and make beautiful mistakes. 

Making mistakes is beautiful! It’s OK if you make mistakes. Good friends will always forgive you. Come and make beautiful mistakes and artwork with the cast of BACT’s show, Beautiful Oops!

Beautiful Oops A Note From the Director

Dear Friends,

When was the last time you celebrated a mistake?  REALLY celebrated. Dance-around-the kitchen-throw-confetti-in-the-air-and-call-grandma celebrating…

“You learn from your mistakes” is a mantra that many of us as parents find ourselves repeating.  Mistakes are interesting things, and we know that it’s good to let our kids make mistakes. And though we often say it when consoling a frustrated child, we know know from history that mistakes are actually wonderful opportunities!  Opportunities to learn and grow and try something new. Thomas Edison failed over 1000 times before his light bulb was a success.

As part of the process for creating this show, I had the joy of interviewing kids about the “Beautiful Oops!” moments they experience when they are creating.  I was overwhelmed by the wisdom young people possess. They described using a mistaken blotch of paint to make a new figure, adding on to geometric designs in new and unexpected patterns, and remembering the “show must go on” no matter what happens.  As we rehearsed the show, we tried to remember these same themes, allowing the mistakes that happen in the room to inspire things that you’ll see on the stage today.

In my own home, I am also trying to apply these valuable lessons. 

That “oops” should be a guiding path and not a pain point.  Growing up is a slow and steady process that requiresmistakes.  My two-year-old needs to spill the milk in order to learn how to use the big kid cup. But, the next time that milk spills, I’m faced with two choices: I can get annoyed with the mess and tell her to be more careful, or I can congratulate her on graduating to the big kid cup and learning that big kid cups spill. Oops.

Which option will we choose? I vote for the latter. Let’s look for the beautiful in EVERY oops. Because honestly, who wants to send their kid to college with a sippy cup?

Playfully,

Nina 

#ShareYourOOPS and Win Tickets to Beautiful Oops!

Love making art and seeing BACT shows for free?

Beautiful Oops explores creating art through mistakes, and we want to see your child's best oops art!

Upload your beautiful oops creations to social media and tag @BACTheatre on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.  

Hastag #ShareYourOops and #BeautifulOopsMusical for a chance to win tickets to opening!

Here are the details:

Entries tagging @BACTheatre with both hashtags are eligible for 4 free tickets to January 19th 6:30PM performance.
Entries close at noon on Thursday, January 18th.
Winner drawn at random.
Winner announced Thursday, January 18th at 7pm.
One entry per child.
Winning tickets are not transferable to another date or redeemable for ticket value.
No purchase necessary to win.

We can't wait to see your oops!

Summer Reading List: Part 2

We're so excited for next season at BACT, we can hardly contain ourselves  To tide us over, we're doing some summer reading to prepare.  Join us!

Here's part 2 of our Summer Reading List!

Beautiful Oops!

One of the most exciting pop-ups for young readers, Beautiful Oops! focuses on the creative potential of our mistakes.  If you've already read it, consider these as companion pieces: The Dot and Ish.  And teachers, don't forget to join the Beautiful Oops revolution, fostering creativity through mistakes!

Judy Moody

For fans of the Judy Moody and Stink series, Judy Moody and Stink and the Mad Mad Mad Treasure Hunt, will be quite an adventure.  If you've already read all nine Judy Moody's, don't forget to check out the Stink collections too!  Our favorites include Stink and the Attack of the Slime Mold and Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express.

Once you've run out of books, consider the classics Amelia Bedilia, and Beezus and Ramona.

Inside Out and Back Again


One of our new shows for middle graders, Inside Out & Back Again deals the the struggles of a young refugee, in this award winning debut novel.  After this read, check out Lai's second book, Listen Slowly, the story of a young girls vacation to Vietnam to learn about her family's involvement in the Vietnam War.  Both beautiful and poignant stories will lead to discussions about culture, heritage, and the importance of family.

So, what are you waiting for?  Hit the library or the book store, and start reading.  Next season will be here before you know it!