Patel Conservatory's 'To the Stars' hopes to start a love of theatre for younger kids
TAMPA, Fla. - By encouraging participation and interaction, the writer and actors of "To the Stars" foster a love of theater for young kids.
"Very young means typically like ages 3–6 years old," playwright of "To the Stars" Cory Kennedy Barrow said.
The backstory:
For Barrow, the show has been years in the making. She first had the idea when doing an assignment for a themed-show writing class while getting her master's degree.
"These shows are really geared to getting them activated, asking them to be a part of the story, allowing them to get up and ask questions of the characters mid-show or play with the objects that we give them," Barrow said. "It's a really playful form of theater. It's also a really tactile form of theater."
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While brainstorming for an active experience idea, Barrow thought of campfires.
Dig deeper:
"To the Stars" deals with wish making and constellations.
"The idea being that there are so many wishes in the world that the stars in the sky can't keep up, and so we're starting to lose our constellations," Barrow said. "It's up to our audience, the luminarians in training, and our luminarian team to re-inspire the stars to go back into the sky."
The inspiration comes from campfire stories, songs and the audience's participation. Barrow hopes participation inspires a passion and love for theater.
"I hope that they leave wanting to experience more," Barrow said.
What they're saying:
Parker Blue Deluca is one of four actors with speaking roles in the show. She plays a park ranger that aids the luminarians in their mission. She hopes the young audience members' experiences mirror her first theater experience as a child.
"When I saw theatre for the first time, it was like this mind-blowing experience where I was like, oh my God, I want to do this for the rest of my life," Deluca said.
Deluca says the young target audience forces her to amp up her acting more, which allows her to access her inner child while performing.
"In order to keep theater alive in this amazing collaborative art form, it's important to expose younger audiences to it and have that bug bite them and get them into theater," Deluca said. "If I have the opportunity to inspire a kid, like I was inspired when I was younger, that would be the most amazing thing ever. Doesn't matter where my career goes, as long as I'm able to inspire somebody to love theater and get into this business and just find that love and passion for it, then I am the happiest person in the world."
What's next:
"To the Stars" has a 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. performance on Feb. 7 and a 1 p.m. show on Feb. 8 at the Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center in Tampa. Tickets start at $24.
The Source: Information in this story comes from interviews done by FOX 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong.