On the Road with Taproot Theatre

By Laura Bannister

There's something about having a disaster/adventure on the way to one of our shows that makes doing the show seem even more meaningful.

Whether it's along the lines of the flat tire we had the other week, or having to leap around puddles in the pouring rain to open a gate, or finding ourselves in a gravel manufacturing lot instead of the school we hoped to find, it is so satisfying to finally perform at those schools! We have never missed a show this year (many of my favorites are the ones we almost missed).

Getting stuck in the snow last Monday was one of these days. Nearly all the schools in and around Seattle were canceled for the day, but our show was up in Ferndale where school was still happening. Four of us were able to get to the theatre in the snow, but Alicia's apartment is in one of the areas that got the most snow and she couldn't make it down to Greenwood. So we headed off to pick her up. Solomon drove, because it seemed wise to have the person from Iowa drive rather than have one of the Washingtonians or the Virginian (me) tackle the snow.

Alicia walked from her house towards the interstate, but when we picked her up and went to turn the van around, we got stuck in the snow. None of us had ever put chains on tires before. Now we know how. The snow was still coming down as we deciphered the pseudo-English instructions for using the chains and wrestled them on the tires. The windshield also picked this day to crack. This proceeded to spread during the day to a giant squiggle nearly spanning the entire windshield.

It was impossible to do our show at the scheduled time, but Adrienne talked with our contact at the school and rescheduled for after lunch.

So we trekked on up towards Ferndale, but realized that we had two extra hours. We wandered about in the mall in Bellingham to stay warm and occupied, then arrived in Ferndale to perform Camp Super Friend.

The kids were very engaged and vocal that day (I always love the suggestions they shout to us during the shows). And it was delightful to know that we had made it through all that snow to their school.

After the show, one of the little girls came up to Solomon and asked him about his speed reading super power. She couldn't quite figure out what was real and what was pretend. Solomon explained how he flips the pages and moves his eyes and pretends to have read the entire book during the sound cue. Finally it dawned on her how this could be possible. She said, "so, the sound is real, but you can't really read books that fast?" I love that the magic of theatre is heightened for the littlest kids.

Labels: bullying, bulying prevention, touring shows, travel