Production Team
Director
Production Stage Manager
Costume Coordinator
Costume Design
Prop Design
Toddler Hiking Club Cast
Trail Guide Bunny
Ashley Laverty
Erin Galvin
Sara Morrison
Alex Kingsley
Rachel Hartmann
Melanie Vitaterna
Trail Guide Rat Yongwoo Park
Duck
Linnaea Groh
Frog Niaimani Cooper-Parker
Squirrel
Maya Paletta
Skunk Logan Smart
Understudy
Northbrook Park District Team
Executive Director
Director of Recreation
Superintendent of Arts and Recreation
Visual and Performing Arts Manager
Performing Arts Supervisor
Theatre Production Supervisor
Performing Arts Coordinator
Costume Coordinator
Board of Park Commissioners
President
Vice President
Commissioners
Joanna Starr Poulos
Chris Leiner
Eileen Loftus
Erin Sweet
Drew Kambach
Melody DeRogatis
Matthew Abalde
David Zizic
Sara Morrison
Michael Goodman
Edward Chao
Mary Ann Chambers, Beverly Kumar, Hamzah Mirza, Jason Risdon, David Silverman
Read the Full Playbill Online
Scan the QR code or visit nbparks.co/playguide to learn more!
Director’s Note
Imagine you’re on a walk with your family and a skunk crosses your path . Instead of spraying you with their tail, they…invite you to sniff their collection of perfumes?
Welcome to Toddler Hiking Club, where spider webs are larger than life, animals play musical instruments, and you and your children are encouraged to try new things, help out friends and, as Squirrel says, have fun!
This show combines two of my favorite things in the world: theatre for the very young and being in nature! While on the trail, we invite you to sniff a flower, check out a cool rock, or just look up and enjoy the view . As much as the piece is a play, it is also a nature walk, and we want to highlight how theatre can take place anywhere, even along a hiking trail!
I take the creation of your children’s first theatre experiences very seriously Very young people deserve engaging and innovative art created just for them, with their interests and needs in mind . But just like Squirrel, I prioritize having fun! The cast and creative team had so much fun putting this show together . We hope you enjoy this unique walkaround play created just for the littlest hikers . Lace up those boots and we’ll see you on the trail!
– Ashley Laverty, Director
First Production:
Toddler Hiking Club: An Imaginative Nature Walk premiered with Kerfuffle at West Ridge Nature Park in Chicago, IL The production ran from September 7–21, 2024 at West Ridge Nature Park, Jackie Robinson Park and McKinley Park through the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program . The production was directed by Ashley Laverty
Northbrook Theatre is supported by
13 Jr.
October 25–26 at Field Middle School
Presented by Northbrook Theatre Youth Company . Tickets will be available for $15 starting September 15 at nbparks.org/theatre .