How many times have you thought to yourself, “If I knew then what I know now…”? If only we could know certain rules to live by when we were kids! Unfortunately that’s not how we’re designed; it’s not how life is designed. We should’ve listened to our folks, right, or all the grownups who tried to give us advice. Why didn’t we believe them? Because that is easier said than done, too.
DCT’s staff went through exercises in which we channeled our younger selves. Using some of the characters from this season, here’s a kid-friendly list of some of the things we’d say to our four-year old self today. Can you relate?
- When you feel goosebumps coming on, chill out and let it happen. It usually means something exciting is around the corner!
- Speaking of chilling out, if your attitude gets frosty remember to be your silly self and laugh it out.
- It’s okay if you always miss the football when you try to kick it like Charlie Brown, just remember not everyone is good at games and be a good sport.
- It’s weird to eat a cupcake, a sausage, and a slice of watermelon in one meal like the Hungry Caterpillar, but no one will think you’re weird when you fly away as a butterfly!
- When you find out you have ancestral connection to the bluebonnet, be proud and uninhibited about your heritage.
- Your friends at school all have favorite colors, from yellow to purple to blue, but the things that are most important are all the same.
- In scouts, we learn to always be prepared for phantoms, pirates, and even ice-skating snowmen!
- When you’re faced with something weird like a rebel dog pilot, a jungle of talking animals, or a grandmother with no WiFi, sometimes you have to suck it up and deal.
- You might think sending 100 text messages a day makes you bubbly and personable, but it just keeps people from knowing the real you.
- If you find yourself on a pirate ship, in a Christmas pageant, or swinging from the trees, always remember home is never far away and all will be okay.
At the end of the day, we all want to end up safe in our beds at home. Still, there is a lot of adventure to be found outside your house, right here at DCT. Through our plays, there are great escapes, adventures on land and sea, and lessons to be learned from even little critters. We look forward to seeing you at the theater in 2018!
Sherry Ward is a mother, actor, and writer based in D-FW.
To learn more about DCT shows or to purchase tickets, go to dct.org/plays
Great shows still to come…
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW
Created by Jonathan Rockefeller
Produced in association with Rockefeller Productions
Based on four Eric Carle books
January 19 – February 25, 2018
Enjoyed by all ages
The illustrations of beloved children’s author Eric Carle leap from the page to the stage in a display of color and artistry like you’ve never seen before in this Southwest premiere. Visit the worlds of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and of course, the star of the show – The Very Hungry Caterpillar. DCT audiences are among the first to experience the larger-than-life world of 75 loveable puppets that will delight and captivate people of all ages. An Off-Broadway and London hit!
SEASON SPECIAL
TEEN SCENE PLAYERS PRESENT
SCREEN PLAY
By Linda Daugherty
February 9 – February 18, 2018
Not suitable for children under 12
Fact: More than 50% of teens admit that they are addicted to their phones. They’re plugged in and often tuned out. In her new play, Linda Daugherty, DCT’s award-winning playwright-in-residence, explores the blurry lines between real life and life online. Cyber-bullying, explicit content and screen addiction impact the lives of a group of teens, leading to tragic consequences.
YANA WANA’S LEGEND OF THE BLUEBONNET
By Roxanne Schroeder-Arce and María F. Rocha
Music by Héctor Martinez Morales
Co-Produced with Cara Mía Theatre Company
March 23 – April 8, 2018
Recommended for ages 6 and up
Ten-year-old María is having trouble in school, so her mom sends her to stay with her Coahuiltecan grandmother in distant Laredo for discipline and perspective. There, María is told an ancient story of young Yana Wana who followed a revered deer to find water to save her people. Yana Wana’s story exposes an amazing and unknown ancestral connection to the bluebonnet that gives María a renewed sense of self and family pride. You may have read one version in school; now we invite you to come see the legend through the eyes of Yana Wana in this world premiere. A beautiful, original play that illustrates the power of heritage and the value of one’s own story – especially one as ancient as the petroglyphs of Texas.
SEASON SPECIAL
BLUE
By Annie Cusick Wood
April 21 – May 6, 2018
Recommended for squirmy toddlers and their families
Dallas Children’s Theater is proud to be part of the national effort to introduce more toddler-friendly theater experiences. A growing body of research speaks to the benefits of theater for the very young. BLUE is returning as part of this initiative while additional new works for these audiences continue to be developed.
Pale Blue and Inky Blue are very happy in their blueness. When a red sock enters their kitchen, Pale and Inky AND the audience are surprised by the way their world is turned upside down. This play introduces the idea of acceptance in an age-appropriate, soft-hearted theatrical experience. It is filled with fun, humor, and whimsy—and at the end of the show, you will be too!
JUNGALBOOK
An adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book stories
By Edward Mast
May 4 – May 26, 2018
Recommended for ages 5 and up
See Kipling’s original 1894 coming of age tale brought to the stage, and join Mowgli in learning the moral lessons of home, betrayal, life and death, and loyalty. Mowgli lives in the jungle surrounded by panthers, bears, wolves, snakes, and tigers. They are his protectors, and he believes he is one of them. When Mowgli comes face to face with a fearsome tiger, he is forced to choose between his bond with the jungle and the reality of his humanness. This classic story of the struggle for survival and a place that feels like home will have audiences on the edge of their seats.
DCT’s NATIONAL TOURING PRODUCTION
HOW I BECAME A PIRATE
Book, Music & Lyrics by Janet Yates Vogt & Mark Friedman
Based on the book by Melinda Long
Illustrations by David Shannon
June 15 – July 8, 2018
Recommended for ages 4 and up
Ahoy matey! It’s time to sail off on a swashbuckling musical excursion with Jeremy Jacobs and his new pirate friends. On board the ship, Jeremy travels to new worlds while learning the rules of pirate life, and searches for a place to bury their treasure. But it isn’t long before he misses his family and yearns for someone to tuck him in at night back home. A story of adventure and finding one’s own heart—a path that can’t be found on any map!
In looking over the notes from what we remember, many of the responses were about our first taste of independence: walking to school by ourselves, going to kindergarten, and buying our own ice cream from the ice cream man. There was even one that remembered a ditch with alligators – and he wasn’t even a pirate like Jeremy and his pirate friends!
Of course, there were some more lighthearted memories like sleepovers, catching lightning bugs, and getting gold stars for a job well-done. There were also memories of moving, changing schools, losing friends, and some of the more tainted memories from our childhoods. All kids face challenges, and DCT doesn’t shy away from those. We like to choose shows that make all of those connections with you and your kids. After all, part of finding your way home includes encountering problems and overcoming mistakes with the help of family and friends.
me for this season, we wanted to communicate that DCT is a place where kids and their families can feel at home. It is also a place that nurtures children as they seek to discover things about themselves. These wonderful plays and class experiences really spark something in young people in a way nothing else can.