Michela is always in character!

After stage managing The Emperor’s New Clothes this past winter, I was really excited to sit in on Tuesday’s rehearsal of The Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings. It was a chance to see some of the actors I knew and meet some new faces! When I came in, Michela and Sheena (who played Empress Sophie and Theodore in The Emperor’s New Clothes, respectively) were in the middle of a scene. I sat down and watched them in action. It was amazing to see them play characters that are so different from the ones they played in The Emperor’s New Clothes. Michela was hopping around the stage playing Little Rabbit and Sheena was quite a sassy and funny Real Girl (and she has such a beautiful singing voice!)

"You can see the food. You can taste it!"

As the rehearsal went on, I saw the actors transform into a forest of animals. Everyone had their own way of becoming their character that I knew right away what animal they were portraying. But I know from experience that it’s always tricky staying in character, especially when you have so many things to think about. Every moment you’re onstage you have to think: if I were a duck, what would I be doing right now? But that’s where Reba comes in! She let the actors explore their characters, but if they get stuck she always is there is give them guidance, suggestions or real-world examples of how a character might react to something. Little Rabbit’s new red wings were related to a changed hairdo, eyebrow waxing and a squid backpack—all examples given by other cast members!

Reba asked the cast members to act like scared squirrels. Pretty convincing!

I’ve been doing theatre since I was 10 years old, so I know how exciting the rehearsal process can be. This is the time for actors to make bold choices, become friends with their fellow cast members and learn news things about themselves and their character. The cast of The Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings has a few weeks of rehearsal left and from what I saw they are doing a fantastic job. I can’t wait to see the final product!

Tickets are on sale now! To buy tickets visit our website, call 828-1234 x231 or stop by the front desk!  The play runs Thursday-Sunday from April 22 – May 2. Thursday and Friday performances are at 4pm and Saturday and Sunday performances are at 1pm & 4pm.

Begin with your favorite book.  Read it out loud a few times over the period of a week to get a feel for the story.  Younger children will learn key dialogue moments just from repetition.  Older kids might enjoy the task of adapting the story, and writing out the dialogue.  Ask the question, how can we act this out?  Brainstorm ideas together.

The next step is to act it out.  Pick characters.  Parents should definitely play roles too. If there are too many characters, have each actor play multiple roles.  If there aren’t enough characters in the story for your family, add some more.  Theatre teaches us to be team players and problem solvers.  How can everyone take part in the story?  Make sure to listen to your child’s ideas, and try them out.  You may have a budding director on your hands. Rehearse your story a few times.  Like anything else, the sillier you are by changing your voice, exaggerating your movements, the freer and exaggerated your child will be.  Theatre can teach us communication skills.  Ask questions like, “How can you use your voice to tell the audience about your character?” “How can we use your body to tell the audience what happened next?”

Now for the flourishes; dig though your closet to find something that signifies the character.  You don’t need to go overboard, use common items you can find around the house!  Set the stage.  How can you transform your living room rug into a duck pond?  You could even invite your friends and extended family to come watch the play in your living room!  Make posters and tickets!  Imagine how confident your child would be after putting on their own show for family, friends or neighbors.  After bowing to that applause they’re sure to be a few inches taller!

Jai sitting in the Emperor's throne.

Leo watched the play with his brother Sam and his Mom Eden. Jai watched the play with his Grandmother.  They were both eager to talk to me afterward and tell me what they thought!

You can listen to the full interview here.  Here are a few of my favorite parts:

Reba:  What did you think of the play?
Jai & Leo:  Good!!!!

Reba:  What was your favorite part?
Jai:  In the end.
Leo:  The end!

Reba:  Why the end?
Leo:  Because they married each other.

Leo getting into the royal mood with a bag of jewels!

Reba:  What was your favorite costume?
Jai:  The Prince’s
Leo:  Cinderella’s!

Reba:  Why Cinderella’s?
Leo:  Because it was pretty.

I’ve seen Jai and his Grandmother at several plays and Leo and his brother Sam have even taken a Teensy Weensy Theatre Class with me.  It’s exciting to see young people engage with and enjoy theatre at an early age, a sign that they’ll value the arts for life!

Cast members of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” participate in a peer critique, while "Cinderella" musician Jeffrey Sheerer looks on.

When these two shows were selected many months ago, we thought of so many ways all kinds of artists in our community could make valuable contributions. Having professional musicians, costume designers and playwrights contribute their expertise would not only yield great shows on our stage, but would provide our young actors with a unique opportunity to explore their talents under the mentorship of working artists. We developed a proposal for the New Clothes Collaboration: pairing young actors with guest artists from Portland’s thriving theatre community to design, direct, score, rehearse and perform Cinderella and The Emperor’s New Clothes.

The "Cinderella" royals. Sebastian Grimm as Andre, Gabe Walker as Prince Louis and Elias Grimm as the King.

Thanks to the support of the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust and the Simmons Foundation, we were able to make this dream a reality! Our casts (all under fifteen years old!) have worked closely with director Claire Guyer, choreographer Gretchen Berg, costume designer Christina Klein, lighting designer Nicole Sirois and musicians Jeffrey Sheerer, Gregory Reed and Shawn Cole to bring scripts by Michele Livermore Wigton to life on our stage.

We’re so grateful for the generosity of the Burnham, Morton-Kelly and Simmons foundations for making this project possible. We’d also like to tip our hats to our show sponsors: the Neudek family (Debby, Tom and Alexandra); Andrucki & Mitchell Family Law of Lewiston; and Sudzie Autowash of Scarborough.

As anyone who has caught the shows can tell you, the New Clothes Collaboration yielded magical results!

Be sure to catch both shows, playing alternating weekends through March 21^st. Shows are selling out, so click here to get your tickets in advance!

In addition to working on Exhibits and Operations at the Museum & Theatre, Chris Fitze has done behind-the-scenes work for local theatres. He’s been involved in the design, construction or installation of the sets for every onsite production since the Children’s Theatre merged with the Children’s Museum. I asked him a few questions about how these versatile sets are created, and he gave me some very enlightening answers!

Who comes up with the idea for the set?  Is it the playwright?  The director?  The people who build it?

Friday, 2/5: Chris and Reba (Theatre Artistic Director) try out the turntable that supports the rotating throne.

It’s a little of all three. Every playwright that writes a play has a setting in mind. Even if it’s a general as “the woods” or “in a house,” the playwright needs to know where the characters are, so she can know how they will interact in with their environment. Some playwrights will be very specific and even include a detailed drawing of the set!

The director, having read the play, will also come up with ideas for the set. Some directors may want to pick a different era that the play takes place in. Or they may want to use a particular style. At the Children’s Museum & Theatre, we meet early on with the director (usually before the play is even cast!) to talk about set design.

The people who build the set here at the Children’s Museum & Theatre have much more say in the overall design than at other theaters. Partly because the set needs to be built in such a way that it will hold up to the rigors of day-to-day activity at the Museum & Theatre, and partly because the people building the set probably helped to design it!

Tuesday, 2/9: The turntable is now at the top of a four-tiered stage; Chris makes sure it’s sturdy! (The stripes on the wall are left over from Raggedy Ann and Andy!)

When you are starting a new show, do you create the whole set from new parts?

Sometimes. For Emperor’s New Clothes and Cinderella, we are creating several new pieces. But usually we recycle as often as we can. We hope to be able to save some of the new pieces we are building for future productions. For this set we are using wall coverings that were saved from last year’s production of The Sun Shines On: Raggedy Ann and Andy.

Monday, 2/22: The throne and wall coverings are freshly painted in bright new colors, and the stage floor is carpeted. The pieces are sturdy and safe enough for visitors to play on during the day, and actors to perform on when it’s showtime!

What was the hardest part of this set to complete?

This set is based around triangles, and trying to get some of the angles to fit just right was a challenge. We also tend to get bogged down when it comes to painting. This set requires a lot of fun design, but that always takes a long time to paint.

What’s your favorite part of this set – what makes it especially cool?

There is a spinning wall that’s really cool. We haven’t ever used a real turntable before, so I think this will be a fun surprise for our audience. I also really like the throne, because I designed and built it in a day, and I’m hoping it’s a piece we can keep and use over and over again!

Claire, an actor in our Theatre productions

“Joining back in autumn of 2008, I acted in Raggedy Anne and Andy and Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine’s summer show, Tomato Plant Girl. Raggedy Anne and Andy was my first real theatre experience. I was, of course, very nervous when I went in to my audition. I was soothed by Reba’s calming manner and my audition began immediately. My mother met us after, and, my nerves returning, Reba led me upstairs. She saw my mom and broke into a jabber about scheduling, rehearsals, and show times. My mom looked at me. “Does this mean she’s in?” Beaming at me, Reba stated, “She’s in like Flynn.” I broke into a wide grin.

Being in the show, I learned the ropes of Children’s Theatre. I have since then traveled the fun, amusing, challenging yet unforgettable road of these shows. I have met new people, formed new and long-lasting friendships, and really discovered what I love to do. There are a lot of challenges in theatre, but even more rewards and triumphs to match. At the Children’s Theatre, we do a lot of focus on finding our character, discovering how we fit into our character, and how our character relates to us. For the first few weeks of rehearsal, before we really familiarize ourselves with our role, Reba, our director, encourages us to try new things on the stage. To play with our characters, and to always trust your scene partners. You’re in it together. It’s an exciting and challenging prospect to discover and play around with the different aspects of your character: excited, glum, pensive, it could go any way.

A picture I took of Andrew, Michela and Sheena during Emperor's New Clothes rehearsal!

One of the very best triumphs of all your hard work and effort of a production is opening night. To know that this is your first ever show of this production, to know that so much time and effort has greatly paid off, is a really special feeling. It is an extremely exciting night, probably one of the most important nights in the play. We do a lot focus and vocal exercises preceding the show. We take a lot of time to get fully and in depth into our character.

A second most rewarding moment is bows. The opening night jitters have been completely bowled over by joy, pride, delight, satisfaction, gratification, and relief! You did it! One of the best triumphs is witnessing all the satisfied and delighted audience members, especially the young kids, who come in with such high hopes and expectations. A great sense of accomplishment and feeling of pride enters you and takes over your jitters as the audience applauds.”

See Claire play a tricky swindler in our winter production of The Emperor’s New Clothes running March 4-7 & 18-21. Buy tickets online, call 207-828-1234 x231 or visit our front desk!

Custard the Dragon and his friends Blink, Ink and Mustard!

Saturday, February 13
11am: Valentine’s Day Card Making ♥
11:30am: Smart Shopping
1pm: Sowing Seeds: Planning and Plotting
2pm: Chinese New Year: Ribbon Dancing!
3pm: The Story of Istar
3:30pm: Pine Cone Bird Feeders

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Sunday, February 14
12:30pm: The Story of Istar
2pm: Big Messy Art: Valentine’s Day Cards ♥

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Monday, February 15
Open to Members: 9-10am Open to Public: 10am-5pm
10am: Soapy Snowmen
11:30am: Custard the Dragon Puppet Show ($5/members, $13/non-members*)
1:30pm: Tip-top hats!
3:30pm: This Little Piggy Saves

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Tuesday, February 16
11am: Chinese New Year: Ribbon Dancing!
1pm: We Are Maine: Cinderella Around the World
2pm: Custard the Dragon Puppet Show ($5/members, $13/non-members*)
3:30pm: Paper Doll Play

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Kids on the Block- Mark and Melody

Wednesday, February 17
10am: Pets & More
10:30am: Little Kids’ Morning Out: Learning Letters
11:30am: Custard the Dragon Puppet Show ($5/members, $13/non-members*)
2pm: Cultural Creations: Cretan Maze
3pm: Kids on the Block Puppet Show

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Thursday, February 18
10:30am: Little Kids’ Morning Out: Learning Letters
11:30am: Animal Fun
1pm: Camo Critters: White as Snow
2pm: Custard the Dragon Puppet Show ($5/members, $13/non-members*)
3pm: This Little Piggy Saves
3:30pm: Paper Doll Play
4pm: Cool Science: How Heavy is a Humpback?

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Friday, February 19
10:30am: Fire Fighter Friday
11am: Chinese New Year: Ribbon Dancing!
11:30am: Cultural Creations: Cretan Maze
1pm: Tricky Toys
2pm: Sparks’ Ark Special Show ($2/members, $11/non-members*)
3:30pm: Cool Science: How Heavy is a Humpback?
4pm: Paper Doll Play

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Saturday, February 20
10am: Pets & More
11:30am & 3pm: Cool Science: How Heavy is a Humpback?
12:30pm: Where Science Meets Art: Paint Lab
12:30pm: The Story of Istar
2pm: Kids on the Block Puppet Show
3:30pm: The Story of Istar

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Sunday, February 21
12:30pm: Tip-top hats!
12:30pm: Where Science Meets Art: Paint Lab
2pm: Tricky Toys

*Non-member price includes one $8 admission.

The cast was bursting with energy, and I caught a couple of very funny scenes featuring the sneaky tricksters, the Emperor, the Empress and their court.

They were trying out their costumes for the first time, so I got a hint of what the production will be like, but the real magic will happen when lighting, sets, music, and audience are all in place. I’m looking forward to March 4^th!

The Emperor and Empress address their court

The tricksters, Anna and Karl, come up with a plan to swindle their way into some money

Emperor Frederik and Empress Sophie

Stefan, the Imperial Chief of Staff, and Hans, the Imperial Speechwriter

Tickets for this show and Cinderella are on sale now! Call the front desk at 828-1234 x231 or click here to get your seats!