Almost Stabbed by Boy with a Plastic Fork!

Family audience. (Photo courtesy of ACT 3 Theatrics.)

The Magic of Children’s Theatre is that the audience, without a moment’s hesitation, enters into the world we are creating. They become one with the characters. The characters’ joy, pain, anxiety, fear become theirs.

This is why it is vital for makers and actors in Children’s Theatre to be exceptionally sensitive. It is such a delicate balance between keeping the children physically, emotionally and mentally thrilled and yet not allowing them to snap. It is a huge responsibility.

Engrossed. Enthralled. (Photo courtesy of Jack Yam.)

 The young audience does not just want to say yes, no, yeah, hiss, boo. They want to be able to affect proceedings – to share opinions, to assist, to right the wrongs.

That brings me to the day I was almost stabbed by a boy with a plastic fork.

It was a birthday party performance and we were staging Little Red Riding Hood in the living room. The children had just had their slices of birthday cake, hence the plastic fork in hand.

Wolf. (Photo courtesy of ACT 3 Theatrics.)

 Ruby was Red Riding Hood, Jasmin, both the Woodcutter and Grandma. And I, the Wolf! Throughout the play the aforesaid boy, with the other children, had been helping Red navigate the forest to Grandma’s house.

As the story went, the Wolf was there, waiting to ambush her. Of course, at the last minute the children tipped off Red and started calling – well, screaming out - for the Woodcutter. When the Woodcutter appeared the Wolf dashed into the audience to hide.

As the other children were pointing the hiding Wolf out to the Woodcutter, me the Wolf – who is alert to such things – noticed a boy heading menacingly closer. And then I spotted a fork in his hand.

Animal, human, actor’s instinct all came to play. As he was about to do damage I – lightly, I must say – grabbed hold of him, stood still and waited for the Woodcutter to arrive, (with a smirk in his face), to not just arrest the Wolf for the crime he did, but also to save the actor from being the victim of a crime.

It was nothing personal I am sure. The boy was a child playing his part in unravelling the story.

© 2012 Copyright R Chandran. All Rights Strictly Reserved.