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By: Steve Kannon | Posted: on July 19, 2008

A BIT OF EVERYTHING Sandy MacDonald and Sharon Kelly Foran pull out all the stops when it comes to keeping kids engaged during their musical performances.

Picture Mr. Dressup set to the beat of a world of music. That’s the starting point for two local performers who’ve honed a show aimed at children.
Heidelberg’s Sandy MacDonald and Sharon Kelly Foran of Wellesley Village don’t travel lightly when they’re off to entertain the kiddies; from hula hoops to a rooster head, from Rasta dreads to a sombrero, a veritable tickle trunk of props and gadgets accompany them.
The items provide visual elements – often hands-on – as the music takes the audience on something of a global adventure, with fun songs to depict spots from around the world. To the strains of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down,” the kids are transported to Australia, for instance.
“It really is like a trip around the world,” says MacDonald.
Both performers have drama degrees, and drew on their theatrical backgrounds to come up with the show.
“It’s a mix of music, theatre and dance, and there’s a lot of performing with the kids,” he explains.
“We make the kids the star of the show,” adds Kelly Foran, a singer and stepdancer. “We get them right into it, with props and hats and instruments. Kids are really open to the experience.”
That openness, coupled with participation, helps to instill a musical appreciation in the young audience. The kids are then eager to follow along – an important fact when you’re entertaining a group with a volatile attention span.
The trunk full of goodies is helpful in that regard.
“It’s fun to keep the kids guessing about what’s coming out next. They really pay attention then,” says MacDonald.
The two have been doing their thing at daycare centres, libraries, schools and public events. Next weekend, for instance, you’ll find them in the kids’ tent at the Fergus Truck Show.
When they’re not playing for the kiddies, there’s plenty of other entertaining to do.
MacDonald, of course, is no stranger to music fans in these parts – he was well known as one half of the popular Beirdo Brothers, and routinely plays shows in a variety of formats, from solo appearances at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival to jazz and blues concerts.
He can be found playing gigs all around the region.
Holder of a drama degree from the University of Guelph, with a minor in classical guitar through Wilfrid Laurier University, MacDonald performs on classical, acoustic and electric guitars, five-string and tenor banjos, mandolin and ukulele and has been hired as a session player on bass, drums, piano and saxophone.
Kelly Foran teaches drama at St. David’s High School in Waterloo. She sings and dances with Steerage, a celtic rock band serving up the kind of kitchen-party sound you’d expect from a group with a fiddler and a stepdancer in its ranks.

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