School Programs

Logo for Agostino Arts Professional Theatre for Schools with images Juggler, Magicvian, Painted Faces, Storyteller, and Performer in Butterfly costume

Exciting • Surprising • Inspiring

Professional theatre and visual arts programs for all ages in schools, libraries, theatres, festivals and events. Innovative arts-in-eductaion assembly programs, workshops and residencies for grades K-12, with a focus on educational content through entertainment that teachers, administrators and students all respond to, featuring  Christopher Agostino’s StoryFaces.

image for promotional video "what is a StoryFace?" with images of Christopher performing and painted faces that illustrate his stories
See the video: What is a StoryFace?

Christopher Agostino’s StoryFaces — Storytelling and Visual Arts

StoryFaces is a remarkable combination of visual and performing arts to delight and inspire any audience. In this exciting storytelling show, Christopher paints the faces of volunteers to illustrate stories as he tells them, captivating students as they learn about world cultures and our shared humanity through traditional folktales and featuring my uniquely animated original stories like The Amazing Face Story and The Amazing Face Story Activity, a follow-up activity in which students create an original story starring themselves. Many school programs are available, with varied content for Elementary, Middle and High School, including:

Theatre Residencies and Workshops

Agostino Arts theatre programs develop communication skills and confidence in students by giving them experience performing. We present a variety of programs, with varying content for different ages, ranging from introductory classroom workshops to residencies that culminate in original school productions. Skills include theatre games, improvisation, writing original material and working with scripts. Professional consulting, directing and makeup services also available for school productions.

The Ned Gelfars Circus Show — Comedy and Juggling

Ned Gelfars is an extremely funny guy. Audiences laugh out loud at this show, filled with juggling, magic, unicycling, and an incredible amount of hilarious audience participation – a great way to add fun to the school year and special events such as field days. Ned’s stand-up comic style also makes him a hit with Middle School audiences. Adults laugh as hard as the kids, and it’s great for evening performances for the whole family.

David Levitan’s World of Magic and Mentalism 

David turns magic into a comic adventure, letting younger students feel like they are doing the magic and he is as surprised by the tricks as they are. While for older kids he presents some fantastic magic, with Mind Reading and Card Tricks that truly amaze. Assembly programs for grades K-6, plus an astounding Mentalist act for older students, adults and family audiences.

a group of five faces painted with images of fine art
Art On Your Face

Transformations Facepainting 

 Field Days, Festivals, Special Events and Art Programs

Our Transformations Facepainting can transform a class or an entire school, bringing this art alive within an educational context based on cultural traditions. Programs include workshops to follow Christopher Agostino’s StoryFaces assembly programs; classroom demonstrations; presentations for art or theater students, makeup artists for school theatre productions and teams of artists for school special events — including a special program called Art On Your Face that turns students’ faces into famous works of art for art shows and festivals.

Logo Image for Transformations New York's Surprising Facepainting Company with a line of silhouettes of animals walking across the text

Virtual ProgramsWe have adapted several of our programs for schools and family audiences, including pre-recorded video, live remote and outdoor performance options, and are continuing to adjust to suit changing circumstances. Please contact us with your requests and we’ll try to accommodate your situation.