Artist Bio

The Garden State Children’s Theatre Company was founded by Christopher Parks, the former Education Director of the McCarter Theatre Center.  Some perennial favorites created under his direction during his tenure there include The Adventures of Perseus; The Tempest, a puppet play; The Arabian Nights; The Odyssey Experience; and Sunjata Kamalenya: The Story of the Real Lion King of Africa.  The Garden State Children’s Theatre Company’s original plays are all rooted in the “experiential theater” style developed by Parks and colleagues, which puts audience members at the center of the creative process. Folks come expecting to see a play and quickly realize that they are going to be in the play; singing, dancing, and acting alongside professional actors as they immerse themselves in the imaginary world they themselves participate in bringing to life. “If you’re in the room, you’re in the show” is the mantra as we take great works of myth and fable from around the world and celebrate their spirit and culture with inventive storytelling and theatricality that sparks the imagination.