On the Road with Taproot Theatre

A travel journal of Taproot Theatre's Road Company. We travel to elementary and secondary schools throughout the Pacific Northwest performing plays dealing with issues such as bullying, harrassment and friendship building. Our plays empower kids to deal positively with these issues by providing them with safe steps to approach them.

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Skipping Rocks

by Solomon Davis

The Road Company has been on a break from travelling to schools for the holiday season. We'll pick up after the new year. Some of the members, including me, are still touring but in a different way.

Taproot has a variety of Christmas programs that tour primarily to churches. It has been a nice change of pace. Yesterday however I had the privilege to perform our Christmas show, Joey and the Fir Tree, in a school gym for ages k-12. It was a blast performing for kids again - especially the younger ones - they get so involved in the show and have the ability to let their imaginations surround them.

Our show is quite simple - the set is a stool. Your thinking "Oh, it's one of those weird art shows". But a stool is all we really need to tell the story... we could actually do it without it I guess... the point is we have to rely on our craft as storytellers and on the audience's imagination.

At one point in the play my character (Joey) skips a rock into an imaginary lake "located" in the audience. When I tossed the rock a couple of boys flinched. They caught my eye and when I tossed the next rock I saw that they were moving out of the the way, being sure not to get hit by my imaginary rock. Take that 3D movies! (o:

Solly's Soap Box: A live performance of dramatic literature can be difficult in an age where movies rule drama - how is live theatre to compete? I wager that the simpler and more creative approaches to live storytelling will become our (live theatre's) only hope for survival. No movie can compete with our imaginations.

Photo Credit: Solomon Davis, Jeremy Anderson and Gabe Franken in Taproot's Christmas touring production Joey and the Fir Tree. TTC Photo.

Labels: Christmas, performances, touring shows

posted by Taproot Road Company @ 1:07 PM