Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 01:42:54 -0400
From: Utamaro <shur-AT-aics.net>
Subject: Re: PUPT: children's theater


I had a strange experience on the topic of audience. My first (and so far
only) show was on the topic of childhood terminal illness. The protagonist
was a girl dying from cancer and the bulk of the show took place inside
her dreams.
    When I approached people about the show-  mentors, techies, people who
hadn't yet read the script yet but only heard the plot- they seemed to
feel that it was a therapy for children dealing with death. For some
reason this upset me greatly. I didn't want to create a show for children,
to me it seemed that to make a show work for children it had to be fluffy
bunnies. Fluffy bunnies make me ill. (although, the show did include a
manic wild daoist rabbit).
    This was a piece based strongly on the psychology of C.G. Jung and the
research of Elizabeth Kubler Ross. I wanted the show to be a heavy, adult
show, a look at the way people think about perhaps the most tragic thing
possible.
    Against my advice, people brought children to the show, and when I
looked at it as a finished product I realized that above the metaphors it
really was a children's show.

What did I learn? Maybe I really have the mind of a small child (I keep it
in a jar on my desk- Stephen King) Maybe children are smarter than they
used to be, who knows. Anyhow The next piece I wrote was strictly adult,
(demons, cultists and guns and other strange things, including an exorcism
by coathanger) But I'm seriously thinking of writing for children. It may
not mean that it has to be dumbed down.

Brad Shur- Community Puppet Theater
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"There's not a word yet, for old friends who just met"- Gonzo



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