Ages 4 years & over. Zachary's height is exactly the height of an average boy for his average age. Zachary's hair lies exactly the way, of an average boy's on an average day. And when he dreams at night, Zachary dreams the most average dreams. Because Zachary Briddling... is awfully middling. And it makes him so grumpy! Zachary wants to be different. So he thinks of all the other places out there -- filled with giants, and miniatures, and hairy things, and flying things -- places where he would not be middling at all. And so he sets out... to stand out. The Grumpiest Boy in the World is a playful escapade of the imagination celebrating ordinariness and extraordinariness -- and the grumpiness that can come from thinking we have too much of one, or not enough of the other.
Finegan Kruckemeyer has had 71 commissioned plays performed on five continents and translated into five languages. To date, Finegan's work has enjoyed seasons in: over 70 international festivals; six US national tours; six UK national tours; all Australian states/territories; and at the Sydney Opera House, New York's New Victory Theater, Edinburgh's Imaginate Festival, Dublin's Abbey Theatre, Shanghai's Malan Flower Theatre, and DC's Kennedy Center. Finegan and his work have received (among others) the 2012 Helpmann Award for Children's Theatre, 2011 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, 2010 Rodney Seaborn Award, 2009 AWGIE Award (Best Australian Children's Play), 2008 Oscart (Best Children's Playwright), 2007 Oscart (Best Playwright), 2006 Jill Blewett Award, and 2002 Colin Thiele Scholarship. Finegan was Keynote Speaker at the 2013 One Theatre World North American TYA conference, and has spoken at conferences/festivals in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Denmark, England, Scotland, Sweden and the US, with essays published and his work studied in several US universities. He currently sits on the Australian Script Centre board, and Arts Tasmania's Assistance to Individuals, Tasmanian Literary Awards, and Artsbridge panels. He is committed to making strong and respectful work for children, which acknowledges them as astute audience members outside the plays, and worthy subjects within. Finegan lives in Tasmania with his wife Essie.
