Early in Tito Livas’ new play, Squeak, the main character tells the audience emphatically that they have a very active brain. “Sometimes I can’t control what I do or what I say because there’s SO MUCH GOING ON IN HERE and my feelings can be pretty big,” Squeak says. When Squeak feels overwhelmed, they imagine … Read more
RADIO HOUR EPISODE 15: SLEEPY HOLLOW For Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Hour series, in addition to his original science fiction episodes, playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett has penned outstanding adaptations of Frankenstein, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s only Christmas-themed short story The Blue Carbuncle. But, his latest adaptation, which premiered last week in … Read more
Children attending school in Utah or the Intermountain West region might be surprised to learn that even in the southernmost Rio Grande River Valley, alligators and herons have been known to congregate together. In Alli and #3, the latest children’s play in Plan-B Theatre’s Free Elementary School Tour program (FEST), Alli is an alligator who … Read more
Never underestimate a child’s resourceful imagination. Cass, who is just shy of turning 10, becomes Super Cat. Cass’ best friend, Ray, who already has turned 10, is Reptile Robot. Together, they battle Captain Squid and Octo-Baby. During their sleepover, Cass and Ray learn a lot more from each other about what it really means to … Read more
PLAN-B THEATRE FREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TOUR (FEST): FLORA MEETS A BEE The sense of feeling borrowed can become alienation. In Morag Shepherd’s Flora Meets A Bee, the latest play in Plan-B Theatre’s successful Free Elementary School Tour (FEST) program, Flora, 8, is committed to making her new friendship stick. In one scene, Flora recalls seeing … Read more
Flora is eight years old. A Latina child, she has been in three foster homes since she was five. Change on such a frequent basis would test any adult’s resilience. Whenever Flora pulls a penny she keeps in her pocket, she remembers her mother: “Mi madre me to dio el que me fui. Creo que … Read more
Two local masters of minimalistic theater are staging plays about children this fall — though stark contrasts in treatment. One is a macabre junk opera take on old German stories about children who misbehave or refuse to follow sound advice. The other is a new play about two siblings grieving over the loss of their … Read more
NOTE: This is Part Two of a series about Plan-B Theatre, which offers a glimpse of the four new productions for the 27th season. For Part One, see here. “We want a beginning of the story. And we go as far ahead in the future as we can. We want an end to the story. … Read more