Blue Apple Players

This week, mom and I were going through old magazines from home- Louisville, Kentucky. One magazine, Today’s Woman, a free magazine in the area that mom had kept featured a story on storyteller and playwright, Geraldine Snyder co-founder of the Blue Apple Players.

The Blue Apple Players began in 1976 when I was in elementary school. My mother remembered that my school, Middletown Elementary, took a chance on two storytellers bringing the Blue Apple Players to our school for their inaugural event. I still have vivid memories of their performance. I remember sitting on the cold gym floor huddled with my classmates, hanging on every dramatic moment as they share a tale of American history. While the Blue Apple Players lean more towards acting than storytelling, they told the story of “Johnny Appleseed”, a folk hero and American legend that introduced apple trees to farmers across the new nation. At the time, I thought it was a simple folktale. Almost 40 years later, I understand the complexity of the oral tradition of narrative and how it impacts the American Identity. Johnny Appleseed was only a character in a story to me then, but as an American legend and folk hero, his story was passed along through the ages, allowing one to sees how storytelling forms our identity - the American Identity. The Blue Apple Players continued to perform at Middletown Elementary, I saw numerous dramatic interpretations, but the story of Johnny Appleseed remains my favorite.

Today, the Blue Apple players still perform for over 70,000 children in the Louisville area. They also visit four surround states and have played in the Parker Theatre in Miami. This year they merged with the local Walden School in hopes to continuing to provide a strong arts education for creative young people using the power of dramatic storytelling. I feel honored to have been a part of the initial success of something so powerful.