Cows Don't Fly
and Other Known Facts

by Larry and Vivian Snipes

by Vivian and Larry Snipes

Story theatre play with audience participation. Flexible casting ( minimum of 4 actors, male or female. One hour. Ages 4 to 8.. $ 6.50

Based on the very popular children’s book series, The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down, The Pig Who Ran a Red Light, and The Goose Who Went Off in a Huff, written and illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson, Cows Don’t Fly captures his vision of a world where extraordinary things happen on a regular basis. Can Gertrude the Cow play the piano? No problem. Can Miss Rosemary create a home-made cow? Easy as apple pie! Can a lost baby elephant find happiness with a runaway goose? You’ll just have to read the play to find out.

Cows Don’t Fly was originally written for a versatile company of four actors who played a total of fifteen characters (not counting townspeople). They switch identities on the turn of line by pulling a hat or a prop out of the pouches they wear. Obviously, if you want to spread the fun around, you can use more people.

The scenery is simple (though the prop list runs to two pages) and so must be the costumes, because the actors change characters so often. Just headpieces for the animal costumes, leaving the actors’ faces and limbs free for their wildest shenanigans.

“A body can dream,” Miss Rosemary declares. And while Gertrude the Cow dreams of flying, and George the Pig of driving a tractor, Miss Rosemary dreams of joining the circus. Photo: Lexington, KY Children’s Theatre

Johnson’s high-flying original tale will have preschool listeners rolling off their sit-upons. The only question is who will be their favorite character–the uniquely talented and territorial Gertrude or the wily Miss Rosemary.
Jeanne, Marie Clancy, Librarian
In School Library Journal

What a delightful play! I was in stitches the whole time, and so were the children around me. They were riveted, laughing and totally involved. And it’s a wonderful little story, about dreaming your wildest dreams, and the acceptance of individuality, all those ideals we want to share with children through the theatre. I can’t wait to produce Cows Don’t Fly with my own company.


Teresa Lee, Director
Appalachian Young People’s Theatre, Boone, NC