|
Sex education >> Plays give kids the facts in entertaining packages by AMY BARRATT
The Other Side of the Closet, produced by Youtheatre in association with Toronto Young Peoples Theatre last year, was such a success that it will be offered to high school audiences again, beginning in November. This hard-hitting play by Ed Roy depicts a group of teen characters dealing with the revelation that one of them is gay. Portraying the best and worst--from violent behaviour to fierce loyalty--in those bundles of rampaging hormones called adolescents, it also shows the fear and self-loathing that can overwhelm a teenager who realizes he's gay. On the elementary school side, Youtheatre is producing an original play called The Monkeys Are Back and We're Out of Bananas, by award-winning children's poet Sheree Fitch. Meanwhile, Geordie Productions begins touring Cost of Living by Morris Panych in September. Remember how, as a teenager, almost nothing you did in school felt remotely relevant to your life? Panych plays with that idea by juxtaposing a student's dry social studies assignment about the cost of living with the thoughts and feelings that really preoccupy him: sex, of course, but also love and the responsibilities we have to ourselves and to others. Cost of Living addresses the constant bombardment of images and information that we all live with, particularly the mixed messages being sent to young people. This multi-media presentation stars Ryan Kennedy (The Tempest, Plop@Fleck) and is directed by Elsa Bolam. Bolam and Kennedy also team up on Geordie's elementary school production For Art's Sake, by B.C. actor/playwright Colin Heath. It's a humorous story about a boy who is given a magic picture frame and, through it, discovers his own creativity. Featuring puppets, slides and songs, For Art's Sake also stars Danielle Skene, who appeared in Tricycle Productions' popular James and the Giant Peach last year. Tricycle, having recently achieved charitable organization status, is back with bells on this season, touring a stage adaptation of Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Like the CD and film of the same name, the play introduces kids to classical music--over two dozen of Mr. Beethoven's catchiest ditties, in fact. This one also features puppets and is suitable for kids four to 12 years old. The drawback to much of children's theatre is that it isn't offered anywhere where parents and kids can see it together. All of the above-mentioned companies are trying to deal with that problem to some degree. Youtheatre is hoping to book a week-long run in December at one of the city's permanent theatres. Geordie Productions always kicks off its tour with a preview of a "two-play tour" that is open to the public. They are also planning a few dates at the Saidye Bronfman Centre next winter. Beethoven Lives Upstairs will be performed in community centres and libraries around the island, in addition to its school dates. Many of the elementary-level shows mentioned here will also surface in Centaur Theatre's Saturday morning children's series. Educators wishing to book The Other Side of the Closet for their high school or The Monkeys Are Back and We're Out of Bananas for younger students, can contact Youtheatre at 844-8781. Those interested in Cost of Living or For Art's Sake can contact Geordie tour coordinator Zakia Demaghelatrous at 845-9810. To book Beethoven Lives Upstairs for your school, or find out if it's coming to your neighbourhood, contact Lisa Kagan at 369-4968. Tricycle Productions also has a Web site at http://netrover.com/~tricycle. Black Theatre Workshop also has school tours in the works for February '99 (that's only six months away, folks) to coincide with Black History Month. For more information, contact BTW at 932-1104.
|
A one-man show about sex in the age of AIDS, an ensemble piece about teenage homophobia: these are just two of the productions that will be seen by high school audiences around Montreal this season. Cost of Living and The Other Side of the Closet are proof that theatre for young people has come a long way from fairy tales and pantomime.