Shana Banana
Shana Banana
What happens when you get a Master’s degree in Oceanography? You become a national children’s entertainer, of course! After working and teaching (and playing lots of music) on a marine research vessel, Shana Smith decided to take a leap of faith and formalize her creative talents in singing and songwriting. Shana discovered and developed her incredible joy of writing songs for children first as a touring folk musician when children were in the audience, and then on the grounds of her mother’s preschool. Over the years, she became nationally known as “Shana Banana” and earned a reputation as one of today’s top children’s entertainers, with a voice that still delves into blues, jazz, and folk as well.
Performing at major festivals and performing arts centers across the United States, Shana Banana has earned many prestigious awards along the way, including: two first-round Grammy nominations, Parents’ Choice, iParenting, NAPPA, Kids’ First Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, and “Best Children’s Song In the Country” by the Just Plain Folks organization for her most requested song: I Want to be a Dinosaur. She has performed at the White House, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, the Houston Children’s Museum, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle’s Whirligig, the Florida Folk Festival, Merlefest (in honor of Merle Watson), and many more. Her favorite “gig,”
however, is as mom to her two young children.
Shana Banana continues to develop a variety of live themed shows (Bananimagination, Fairy Tales Gone Bananas, Banana Beach Party, Banana Bedtime Pajama Party, Banana Yoga, and Banana Holiday Show), CD’s, DVD’s, books, study guides, and workshops for teachers, parents, and of course, kids! She also continues her efforts with children’s hospitals and school outreach programs to assist in her long-term mission of making a positive difference in the lives of children, motivating and cheering them as they grow. She has just completed a bedtime transitions CD called “Banana Bedtime,” and is currently working on her fourth CD, an ocean-themed treasure called “Banana Beach Party USA.”
Available Shows Include:
MERRY CHRISKWANZEIDUKAH
Merry Chriskwanzeidukah? Not only will children will be wishing “Merry Chirskwanzeidukah” to all of their friends after seeing Shana Banana’s holiday show; they will be able to explain a little bit about the cultural traditions, differences and similarities between Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Eid while gaining a new sense of appreciation and excitement about the season. Shana Banana (with her dog puppets Hal and Henson) focus on a variety of cultures in America and how each culture celebrates the December holidays. She also demonstrates that these holidays have much in common, and that children can take the shared traditions of giving, love, food, family, and cultural appreciation to extend the light of the holiday spirit year-round. Study guides available upon request.
Show Length: 50 minutes
Audience Demographic: Preschool, Elementary, and Family Audiences
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Banana Yoga
Banana Yoga: The ancient cure for the blues! A kid’s life isn’t easy: there is homework to finish, clubs, sports and chores after school. Finding a way to relax and ground is important. Yoga can be the answer..just ask award-winning children’s entertainer Shana Banana! She combines music and yoga into a fun, interactive program designed to have fun and get the body moving. Shana sings about and demonstrates yoga with all-original songs. This program requires audience participation and is designed for workshops or venues such as gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms or festivals where such active participation and movement would be possible.
Show Length: 40 minutes
Audience Demographic: Ages 2 (with parent or teacher) through Adult
Audience Size: 4-50
Banana Beach Party
When you cross a Master's degree in Oceanography with a career in children's music, you get a beach party! Award-winning children's musician Shana Banana merges her two specialties in creating a fun, music-based show about our aquatic and marine water systems and the animals that live there. Using puppets who go on an exciting adventure through the water cycle, plus lots of audience interaction and original songs, her program emphasizes the inter-connectedness between ourselves, the earth's water resources and the animals that live there. Includes some Native American (Seminole) references and stories.
Show Length: 45-55 minutes
Audience Demographic: Preschool to Early Elementary and General Family Audiences.
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Banana Bedtime
Wear your PJ’s and fuzzy slippers and get ready for a pajama party gone totally BANANAS! BANANA BEDTIME covers all aspects of the bedtime experience, and compliments her 20-song CD of same name that ingeniously transitions kids from wide-awake to fast asleep starting with some seriously high-energy dance tunes about brushing your teeth, taking a bath, putting on your jammies, learning about nocturnal animals, telling lots of cool (and some a little bit scary!) stories, and finally….ZZZZZZZ. Wake up…it’s time for bed!!!
Show Length: 50 minutes
Audience Demographic: Preschool, Early Elementary, and Family Audiences
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Bananimagination!
“Bananimagination” is the term Shana Banana uses to describe the whimsical and wonderful world of reading and creating good stories. Using original songs and puppets, she introduces the elements of plot, excitement, mystery, silliness, and adventure. Children are entertained, kept moving and singing, and are encouraged to participate in the storyline and songs, all the while gaining an awareness and appreciation for the craft of storytelling and the importance of reading.
OVERVIEW: Shana Banana warms up the imagination of the audience by doing a few interactive songs in which children practice pretending. The children are then introduced to the hand puppet dogs Hal and Henson, and are asked to use their own hands as puppets to help tell a story. Hal and Henson go for a walk in their neighborhood, and then go home. Shana Banana asks if that basic plot can be made more exciting by adding story elements (silly, mysterious, scary, exciting). Children learn that adding such elements to basic stories can help make the stories much more interesting, and Hal and Henson find themselves in an amazing adventure as a result!
Show Length: 45-55 minutes
Audience Demographic: Preschool to Early Elementary and General Family Audiences.
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Fairy Tales Gone Bananas!
A Fairy Godmother who has a fit of sneezes? A not-so-evil dragon prince who wants to plant flowers? A vain and bullyish beetle? A boy who jumps out of a giant peach? Step into Fairy Tale Land with not-so-classic characters who take children from America to Europe to Japan and beyond. With original songs, Shana Banana and the audience discover that fairy tales involve conflicting characters, magic, overcoming fears and other interesting elements to triumph and learn in some way. Complete with imagination, cultural awareness, and appreciation of individual and intercultural (and interspecies) similarities, this show will keep children entertained, moving, dancing, acting and singing.
Show Length: 45-55 minutes
Audience Demographic: Preschool to Early Elementary and General Family Audiences.
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
