Bravo to children’s theater that lets kids be kids

Written by Karen D’Souza From San Jose Mercury News
Photo provided by Mike Cobb

In the spirit of full disclosure, let me be the first to admit that I can be a tad fussy about matters of theater etiquette. After years as a critic getting bedeviled by theatergoers unwrapping candies and gossiping to each other or texting BFFs they can’t live without, I can get rather testy when fellow audience members forget to pay attention to what is happening onstage.

That is my only excuse for being picky when it came to introducing my wee one, Daphne, 4, to the magic of the theater. Of course, I wanted her to love the theater as I do. I wanted her to see the arts as a window to humanity, but I must admit that somewhere deep down in my wishful-thinking mommy core I also wanted her to sit politely and clap appropriately and speak only in the gentlest of whispers instead of interrogating the narrative like Mike Daisey on a tear and dropping her lollipop to roll unceremoniously down the center aisle.

You’d think a theater critic would have an edge when it came to exposing her own child to the arts. You’d be mistaken!

Don’t get me wrong: We have had a wonderful time anyway at various and sundry “Nutcrackers” and puppet shows, but it was also a little stressful for me. I’m afraid I found myself worrying more about how well behaved Daphne was than about how deeply she was interacting with the material, which is a great way to take the wonder out of the arts experience for both of us.

That’s why Walnut Creek’s Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble production of the classic “Pinocchio” came as such a revelation. As per usual in my parenting adventures, when I set out to teach Daphne something, I’m usually the one who has something to learn. In this case, I realized that children’s theater often works best if it lets kids be kids. Sitting still and being silent just isn’t in the preschool DNA, and maybe that’s as it should be.

The “goal is to encourage the young guests to sit very close to the stage and characters so they can see, help guide the stories, hold and feel the props and most important be free to express themselves without the pressure of being quiet,” as Scott Denison, co-founder of Fantasy Forum, puts it. “TV is not an interactive medium, but theater can be.”

Need to chat? Sure. Want to run up onstage and sit down near the actors? You betcha. Get scared of the Fox and need to dash back to your folks? Check.

That Daphne was welcome to hide under her seat when Jiminy Cricket talked too loudly and wonder aloud if the cat Figaro was a boy or a girl took a lot of the pressure off me — and for that I am profoundly grateful.

For the record, it can be very hard to predict what will scare a small child. Daphne was none too enthusiastic about the whole puppet “magically coming to life” paradigm, and she was downright terrified of the Fox in the story, a furry villain who doesn’t try to gobble anyone up but does sell Pinocchio to a traveling circus.

I’m not sure if it has something to do with her fear and fascination with the Big Bad Wolf fable, which is considerable these days, but the Fox had Daphne shivering in her seat every time he got onstage. She didn’t even want her lollipop anymore, and that is really saying something.

Suffice it to say, I have since given up on trying to convince her that it is safe for her to attend “The Lion King” because there are no actual predators in the show.

Another thing Mommy had to learn about what makes children fall for the theater is that kids often prefer shows with kids in them. That may sound obvious, but it wasn’t until a few weeks later when I took Daphne to Peninsula Youth Theatre’s “Those Darn Squirrels” at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts that the light bulb truly went on for me.

My little miss was agog from start to finish during this 40-minute comedy about an elderly man trying to chase away the critters that compete with his beloved backyard birds. The charm of the piece, for her, was all about watching the “big girls.” To a 4-year-old, teenage girls are basically superheroes, the ultimate mix of youth and adulthood. Having the girls decked out in fluffy red feathers (the birds) or bushy brown tails (the squirrels) only made them more endearing.

Daphne particularly enjoyed the chance to mingle with the cast after the show, and she gave one of the tweenish girls the kind of hug usually reserved for Christmas morning. The play itself was staged simply in a black box venue with minimal costumes and props, but the magic of watching youngsters play starring roles cast a memorable spell. It wasn’t until she saw child actors strut their stuff that it occurred to her that the theater was something she might actually participate in herself. That was the epiphany Mommy wanted all along.

After the show, Daphne made me promise to take her to another play as soon as possible, on the condition that there are no carnivores involved.

Contact Karen D’Souza at 408-271-3772. Read her at www.mercurynews.com/karen-dsouza and follow her at Twitter.com/karendsouza4.