FOR KIDS : A Head for Tales : Using ‘creative dramatics,’ storyteller holds listeners spellbound amid the bustle of the Calabasas Farmers Market.

For the first time in several weeks, the morning is bright. Howard Scott Schwartz looks up at the sky. It sparkles like blue sapphires, and the clouds overhead aren’t threatening rain, but appear like the wild streaks from a creative toddler’s paintbrush.

It certainly is a beautiful day in this neighborhood, and Schwartz is proud to be part of the sights, the sounds and the smells that are the Calabasas Farmers Market.

But Schwartz is neither a farmer nor a customer.

He’s an actor and storyteller who’s been performing at the open-air market each week for the past six months. And on this Saturday morning, he’s thankful that his own little neighborhood of make-believe will be a dry one.

Schwartz prepares himself for his work by skimming over the books that he has chosen to read for the day. Then, around 9:30 a.m., he draws a deep breath and announces with booming clarity in a sing-song voice, “story time!”

He strolls through the crowds, chanting “story time” in rhythmic fashion, motioning to the young and old alike to come and join him.

It isn’t fancy. It isn’t even a real theater. But Storytime Theater is definitely down-home and entertaining.

“The first time I heard his voice, I was showing my children what to look for in a ripe tomato,” said Mary Webster of Thousands Oaks. “It was like I heard the piper, and I was almost powerless. We just had to follow him.”

After Schwartz has “collected” his audience, he takes them to a cozy little corner of the market where benches and chairs are set in a semicircle.

“Parents are free to leave their children while they finish shopping,” Schwartz said. “But more often, they usually sit and take a break with me. I like to get everyone involved.”

Audience involvement is the key to Schwartz’s success. For him, telling the story is merely the beginning, the springboard, to something larger.

“What I do is actually called ‘creative dramatics,’ ” said Schwartz, a resident of Sherman Oaks who owns an actors’ workshop in Calabasas, where he teaches more than 150 students each week.

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As Schwartz explains it, creative dramatics is a new term for an old concept. It combines the creativity and structure of storytelling with the dramatics of improvisational theater. Schwartz works and molds the audience so that they become part of the story. The whole process brings together aspects of acting, directing and storytelling.

“I love children. I don’t mean to brag, but I know how to captivate them with lots of eye contact and silliness,” said Schwartz, who also uses balloons provided by the market. “We begin by breaking down the story and picking out various scenes to re-create. Sometimes we work with the story’s characters, changing them or expanding their meaning. Every story is a different event.”

Schwartz chooses three or four books each week with assistance from Lewis for Books in Reseda, a children’s bookstore. Schwartz usually sticks with stories that are extremely well-known, such as classic fairy tales, or those, such as “The Tickle Octopus,” that have the ability to arouse strong emotions in the audience.

Although Schwartz doesn’t perform on a stage, the surroundings at the market have stimulated a rich environment of creativity, he said. “It’s like going back into time. The marketplace was always where the action was. You could stand on your soap box and pull in a crowd.”

“He really tells a great story,” said Linda Evron, who manages the Calabasas Farmers Market and granted Schwartz the go-ahead to perform there each Saturday. “He really adds to the flavor of the market. Everyone loves to hear him as he calls out for ‘story time.’ He is so enthusiastic.”

For patrons like Webster, Storytime Theater adds another dimension to the hustle and bustle of the market activities.

“My family’s hooked,” Webster said. “First we shop for produce. Then I buy the kids a treat, and I grab a cup of hot coffee, and we let ourselves get wrapped up in a story. It’s a wonderful way to spend the morning.”

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WHERE AND WHEN:

What: Storytime Theater by Howard Scott Schwartz.

Location: Calabasas Farmers Market, at the corner of Calabasas Road and El Canon Avenue.

Hours: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays; market is open 8 a.m. to noon.

Price: Free.

Call: (818) 223-8696.