Thumbelina – Back to Children’s Theater Basics
Over the last couple years, my girls have appeared in several children’s theatre shows at our beloved Canyon Theatre Guild. This gave me a chance to reconnect with young actors and children’s theater directors. Patti Finley said they were interested in doing a fairy tale story of Thumbelina, and she kindly allowed me to write the script.
Writing for children’s is a fun and challenging art form. You want the dialogue to be easy enough for the performers — but you don’t want to “talk down” to the audience or to the cast members.
As with Mermaid in Miami, I was adapting a Hans Christian Andersen story. And if you are an Andersen purists, you might not care for my adaptation. His story ends with Thumbelina marrying a fairy prince and living with the flower people — and thereby never returning to the human woman that raised and nurtured. My tale of Thumbelina focuses on a little girl (very little) who is trying to find her place in the world — and realizes that she and her mother need each other.
My good friend Fiona Perry starred as Thumbelina in the world premiere — and my two daughters had some good parts too!
Here are some photos from Mrs. Stafford’s drama class — (She also directed JT and the Pirates — thanks for your support, Mrs. Stafford!)
Learn more about Wade’s plays.
