A friend of my husband, the best man at our wedding, is a dancer and choreographer. For the last several years, he’s been working on a project for the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health that I think many readers here can appreciate.

Once upon a time, familiar fairy tales were re-imagined to show positive portrayals of children with mental health disorders to raise awareness and reduce stigma! These original hour-long musical theatre productions are performed by a talented cast of actors ages 9 – 18 both with and without mental health disorders.

Original Fidgety Fairy Tales – includes Little Red Riding Hood (AD/HD), Sleeping Handsome (depression), and Rapunzel (anxiety)  Check us out in the Minneapolis Star Tribune – “A New Take on Fairy Tales”

More Fidgety Fairy Tales – includes The Prince and the Pea (autism), Hansel and Gretel (post-traumatic stress), and The Frog Prince (collaborative problem solving)

Further Fidgety Fairy Tales – includes Goldilocks (obsessive-compulsive disorder), Boyd, Who Cried Wolf (Tourette Syndrome), and CinderEdward (bipolar disorder)  Check us out on Kare 11 – “Fairy Tales Helping Reduce Mental Illness Stigma”

Beyond Fidgety Fairy Tales – includes Jack and the Beanstalk (brain damage), Snow White (schizophrenia), and Little Mermaid (eating disorders)  Check out this video taken during one of our rehearsals:  The Real You

The group completed a fifth show this spring. These are all traveling productions, staged mostly at schools and for other children’s and community organizations. Now they want to do more.

That’s why we want lots and lots of people to get a chance to see the show. We have been booked for several performances in outstate Minnesota, but currently don’t have the funding to be able to offer public performances in the Twin Cities.

We are committed to keeping the tickets to our performances free because families of children with mental health disorders often find their resources stretched to the max.

That’s why we need YOU! For every $700, we will be able to offer a performance that is free and open to the public. Our funding goal is set at $1400, which means we would be able to do two performances. If you all pledge more than that, we will just keep scheduling performances around the Twin Cities!

The majority of the funding pays for the talent, since the group already has existing relationships with venues that will host the shows as a community service.

With just under two weeks left, the project is nearly half funded. If you’re outside of Minnesota, the rewards on offer are mostly thanks and knowing that kids will get some early, useful, destigmatizing information about mental health. If you think that’s worthwhile and have a little something to throw their way, check out the Kickstarter.