Doing another of my quirky Play in a Day kids’ theater projects today, Tuesday Nov. 8, at Never Ending Books (810 State St., New Haven). Videos of previous projects are on NHTJ’s dedicated Play in a Day page, here.
Often I don’t know for sure which classic script from world theater we’ll be adapting, until the potential cast shows up. But today I’ve at least allowed myself to pick the style beforehand: commedia dell’arte. It’s buffoonish fun using masks and comic archetypes such as the sly servant and the clueless master.
We’re adding a second session onto the Play in a Day day today, for mask- and set-building, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then we’ll do the accustomed 2-5 p.m. stint in which we plan, rehearse and perform the play. Parents can come get their kids at 5 p.m. and see the results performed.
This will be a special longer session, with mask-making and set-building from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., then the usual three-hour period in which we devise and rehearse the play, which will be performed at 5 p.m. There’ll be lunch in there somewhere too. Kids can come for the whole 11-5 period (Fee: $10) or just for the 2-5 afternoon session (Fee: $5).
Play in a Day is a children’s theater project in which a classic theater script is adapted, designed, rehearsed and performed—by children, under the direction of the sole alleged grown-up, Christopher Arnott—in a single three-hour session. Parents drop off their kids at Neverending Books at 810 State Street, then return three hours later to see a show and maybe stick around for pizza and chat.
Contact Christopher Arnott at chris@scribblers.us for details.