More than words can express

Branches, apples, a tree trunk and tree stump. A ravenous wolf and cowering pigs. Dancing dogs and traveling cats. In the Little Theatre of the Deaf’s touring production of “The Giving Tree and Other Stories,” without costumes and with few props, four actors create a world of fables and poetry.

This family show, making its last local stop on Saturday at the Haugh Performing Arts Center, is crafted for hearing and nonhearing audiences: Here, words are seen as well as heard, in stories presented in the company’s signature style: a combination of American Sign Language, facial and body language, theatrical movement and the spoken word.

“Every time deaf actors are signing,” said actor and touring company manager Joy Bates, “hearing actors voice what they are saying. There’s never one without the other.”

Bates and fellow cast members Anna Bitencourt, Rene Lewis and Claudia Liolios bring “The Giving Tree,” Shel Silverstein’s classic tale of compassion and redemption, to life (“Once there was a tree

A slyly funny Native American fable explains a certain impolite canine behavior. It seems that long ago, in order to dance more freely, dogs removed their tails; a mix-up occurred and they’re still searching for their own waggy appendages.

The improvisational finale is a crowd-pleaser called “Your Game,” in which the actors use their bodies to create objects from audience suggestions.

Aaron Weir Kelstone, artistic manager of the group’s parent company, the esteemed National Theatre of the Deaf, is the guiding force behind this touring production. Kelstone, who is deaf, was interviewed via e-mail.

The company’s input during the creative process was essential, Kelstone said, in finding ways to physically tell the stories. The simplicity of the production design shows that “this is something you can do anywhere,” he said. “We often find the expectation that creativity has to be spectacular, using special effects and lots of splash. A good story works on its own, if allowed.”

The Connecticut-based National Theatre of the Deaf and its children’s wing tour around the globe. The majority of the company’s audiences are not deaf.

Explained Kelstone: “Hearing individuals have often told me that after the first five minutes they completely forget that they are seeing and hearing two languages at the same time.”

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‘The Giving Tree and Other Stories’

Where: Haugh Performing Arts Center, Citrus College,

1000 W. Foothill Blvd., Glendora

When: Saturday at 1:30 and

3:30 p.m.

Cost: $5

Info: (626) 963-9411