Whenever I begin work on a new Children's Theater production, I am amazed by the energy of children. They have excitement and curiosity and natural exuberance, qualities that I admire. I must admit that I have lost those to a certain extent due to age and the cares of life. I would love to have even a bit portion of that energy again. But to a small degree, just by working with kids some of that excitement can rub off. It is infectious!
Our new show is "Never Cry Wolf!" - a retelling of the Aesop fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." This musical greatly expands the tale, populating the story with many new characters and songs. We have had the auditions, have cast the parts, and are now just beginning to learn the songs and block the scenes. The most gratifying part of this process for me is when the children will spontaneously say how much they love singing the songs. And one boy even told me that he really, really liked his song, and thought it was the best of the whole show. Now, how can that NOT boost your spirits?
This show has enough parts that every cast member is kept busy during the entire show. That is my goal in writing for Children's Theater. These shows should not create "Stars" or "Divas," but give many young actors opportunities to shine. The best comments I hear at the end of the performances are "We were amazed that we could not tell if there was one "Star" of the play. There were so many wonderful parts!" In "Never Cry Wolf" the Little Lambs are usually cited as the favorite characters. During their songs, I have watched audiences literally fall out of their seats giggling with delight. I hope that with this new production, the cast can measure up and delight the audiences as well as previous performances.
And yes, I still wish that I could get a shot of the kids supercharged energy! It would be helpful about now when I am worrying about so many particulars. Oh, to be young again!
Our new show is "Never Cry Wolf!" - a retelling of the Aesop fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." This musical greatly expands the tale, populating the story with many new characters and songs. We have had the auditions, have cast the parts, and are now just beginning to learn the songs and block the scenes. The most gratifying part of this process for me is when the children will spontaneously say how much they love singing the songs. And one boy even told me that he really, really liked his song, and thought it was the best of the whole show. Now, how can that NOT boost your spirits?
This show has enough parts that every cast member is kept busy during the entire show. That is my goal in writing for Children's Theater. These shows should not create "Stars" or "Divas," but give many young actors opportunities to shine. The best comments I hear at the end of the performances are "We were amazed that we could not tell if there was one "Star" of the play. There were so many wonderful parts!" In "Never Cry Wolf" the Little Lambs are usually cited as the favorite characters. During their songs, I have watched audiences literally fall out of their seats giggling with delight. I hope that with this new production, the cast can measure up and delight the audiences as well as previous performances.
And yes, I still wish that I could get a shot of the kids supercharged energy! It would be helpful about now when I am worrying about so many particulars. Oh, to be young again!
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