Last night I got to attend the performance of one of my shows performed by Upstage Theater for Youth, a Children's Theater Company based in Sandy, Utah. They produced "Never Cry Wolf" with a group of 30 talented kids ranging in age from 5-15. I was impressed by their infectious enthusiasm, awesome line delivery, and genuine love of the songs. It made me very happy! This image was on their cast Tee-shirts. Each actor drew a self portrait. Such a cute idea!
It is always a revelation to see someone else's ideas imprinted onto your work. The results are sometimes not as you envisioned, but somehow work just as well. For example, their stage was quite small. So they opted to have a very simple set with practically no scenery. They just used white columns set against the black drapes to suggest ancient Greece. The actors brought on a few accent props and wore costumes suggesting the time period. Other than that, the show was very simply staged. In fact, the accompanist sat in full view of the audience at her piano (appropriately costumed, of course) during the entire play. It seemed quite natural and not a distraction at all. Besides, she played beautifully.
Because the show was written for a very large cast (45+), many of the actors had to do double duty and play several roles. With so few boys in the cast, some of the male roles went to female actresses. It made a couple of scenes and jokes a little awkward, but the girls persevered and gave a good accounting of themselves. That's the way it sometimes is in Children's Theater. All in all, the show went very well and the audience was very receptive. And, true to form, the little lambs stole the show!
My favorite part was mingling with the audience and the actors. Over and over they thanked me for creating such a wonderful show. They loved the music. In fact, even the audience members, many of them parents, confided to me that they had had the songs going round and round in their heads for weeks. They told me that they enjoyed the powerful messages of Sincerity and Work that were taught in the play. One parent hoped that the wayward son that he brought to watch the show that evening would get the message!
Well, I certainly hope so, too. After all, "Being sincere is a treasure."
So, once again, big KUDOS to the KIDS of Upstage Theater for Youth.
Well done!
It is always a revelation to see someone else's ideas imprinted onto your work. The results are sometimes not as you envisioned, but somehow work just as well. For example, their stage was quite small. So they opted to have a very simple set with practically no scenery. They just used white columns set against the black drapes to suggest ancient Greece. The actors brought on a few accent props and wore costumes suggesting the time period. Other than that, the show was very simply staged. In fact, the accompanist sat in full view of the audience at her piano (appropriately costumed, of course) during the entire play. It seemed quite natural and not a distraction at all. Besides, she played beautifully.
Because the show was written for a very large cast (45+), many of the actors had to do double duty and play several roles. With so few boys in the cast, some of the male roles went to female actresses. It made a couple of scenes and jokes a little awkward, but the girls persevered and gave a good accounting of themselves. That's the way it sometimes is in Children's Theater. All in all, the show went very well and the audience was very receptive. And, true to form, the little lambs stole the show!
My favorite part was mingling with the audience and the actors. Over and over they thanked me for creating such a wonderful show. They loved the music. In fact, even the audience members, many of them parents, confided to me that they had had the songs going round and round in their heads for weeks. They told me that they enjoyed the powerful messages of Sincerity and Work that were taught in the play. One parent hoped that the wayward son that he brought to watch the show that evening would get the message!
Well, I certainly hope so, too. After all, "Being sincere is a treasure."
So, once again, big KUDOS to the KIDS of Upstage Theater for Youth.
Well done!
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