Places to Go - Encore Stage & Studio's Production of Charlotte's Web (Arlington, VA)

Last Friday the girls and I headed to TJ Middle School to check out Encore Stage & Studio's newest production, Charlotte's Web. And if you haven't already planned your entire weekend, I highly suggest making time to catch a show (the play runs through Sunday).

Prior to the play, I hadn't read or seen Charlotte's Web in a long, long time. And I couldn't really remember much about it, other than the barnyard setting. The girls had never seen it. Immediately Encore's production enthralled us all. No complaining, no shuffling in seats - the girls couldn't take their eyes from the stage. Encore's productions are performed entirely by children, aged fourth grade through high school, which gave an innocence and beauty to the play itself.

The entire cast did a convincing job of bringing the characters to life, though I have to give a special shout out to a few minor characters who really wowed - Laura Wade did a great job as Avery, a lovable, over-enthusiastic younger brother. Brandi Moore was so convincing as Mrs. Arable that I kept forgetting her real life status as a teenager. And the two sheep, played by Malena Davis and Amanda Heckler, managed to talk in unison throughout the whole play without ever losing sync (pretty impressive).

I really watching my girls see Charlotte's Web for the first time. Though disturbingly when Charlotte started to die, F giggled. Somewhat appalled I whispered, "how is this funny?" To which she replied, "don't worry mommy, nobody actually ever dies in plays and movies. i'm laughing because i'm trying to guess how she'll come back alive." (thanks, Disney). Obviously the play's end soured their spirits. F sat in shock through the whole encore. But the next morning, P woke up saying "thank you for taking us to that play last night, I really liked it a lot, well except for the dead part. but still it was really good. so thank you mommy."

The play runs through Sunday June 10th at TJ Middle School's Theater (in Arlington, VA). Adult tickets cost $12 and children cost $10. The production is recommended for ages 4 and up. Click here for tickets and additional information.

Performance Schedule:

Friday, June 8 at 7:30
Saturday June 9 at 11 am and 3 pm
Sunday, June 10 at 3 pm.

Places to Go - Two New Children's Plays (One for Younger Kids and One for Older Kids)

For Children 18 Months to 5 Years



Last Thursday, P (age 5), T (age 2.5), and I attended Arts on the Horizon's newest production, Out of the Box (for children 18 months to 5 years old). We really enjoyed Art on the Horizon's first production, Drumming for Dishes (click here to read our review, accompanied by info about the theater company) so we had high expectations. Luckily, Out of the Box exceeded them all.

First of all, the new space is fabulous - toys (including a soft toolbelt), chalkboard tables, books, hats of all different sorts - the theater has successfully made their "waiting room" a destination in itself. Regarding the play, Out of the Box doesn't stray far from its predecessor, in that the plot is simple and silent - just a girl playing with boxes, accompanied by a bass player and three stuffed animals who operate as "friends" and costars. Despite the sparsity of the set, Out of the Box manages to make the simple enchanting - the audience waved our hands while the girl's box/boat sailed through our imaginary waters. Later in the play a large white sheet swooped through the room, which somehow seemed magical. And P's whole face lit up when given the simple task of shaking a cardboard box. Although slow at times, Out of the Box's interactive nature kept everyone involved; a huge crowd of 4 year olds COULD NOT stop laughing; and T seat-danced to the tunes from the bass. A lot of the play's magic has to do with the casting of Tia Shearer, who plays the "girl." We've attended a few plays where an adult portrays a child, some more successful than others (and some more expensive than others) but no actor is as convincing and enchanting as Shearer.

Although Arts on the Horizon's plays are obviously written and directed for children, one should not discount their message to adults. In a gentle, nonjudgmental tone, you can almost hear the theater company whispering "look how much fun this is. and look how easy. you don't need fancy toys or a lot of time. just play with them. they're little and precious and they can teach you so much. just find a box and play. enter their world for a little while." After watching an Arts on the Horizon production I find it almost impossible to not want to jump in right away, to leave the production and just "be" with my kids for awhile.

As wonderful as I found the play, Arts on the Horizon really scored a home run with its "after the play" activities - an easy take home art project and a few "surprises" in the lobby created a place so fun that my children literally WOULD NOT leave. "Three more minutes, PLEASE. just three more minutes." Shearer came out out to meet the audience and P could not stop smiling. When asked on the way home what she loved most about the play, P replied "everything. absolutely everything." While I'm not positive that her statement is entirely correct (during a slow part P asked me, "when is this going to end?"), P's excitement serves as a great indicator of exactly what Art on the Horizon has managed to accomplish, - they've created a space and a play so interactive and engaging that everything flows together - from the toys in the lobby to the actress on the stage. And my kids refused to dissect it, they don't know exactly what they liked, but they know they wanted to stay. On Friday morning, T asked "another play today, mommy? please!" So, who knows, we may attend another performance of Out of the Box. And another.

The play runs through March 18th at Landmark Mall in Alexandria. The production moves to the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington DC from March 20-25. Tickets are $8 for children and adults (children under 12 months are free). Click here for showtimes and additional info.



For Children 4.5 Years and Up

On Saturday afternoon, P (age 5), F (age 6), and I checked out Encore Stage and Studio's production of The Magical Lamp of Aladdin. Prior to the performance, the Arlington Youth Orchestral Program mesmerized us with Aladdin-themed tunes. I'm by no means an expert on orchestra, but to my ears these kids sounded amazing. So much talent. A great way to lead in to the play.

Regarding the production itself, all of the characters are played by children, aged fourth grade through high school. The girls seemed amazed that kids could accomplish such a big task and we spent much of the car ride home discussing how hard it would be to memorize lines and convince an audience that you were really someone else. The play dragged in parts and some actors were definitely better than others. Meghan Mack, who played the royal executioner, Chop Chop, wowed us all and the girls have spent a little too much time mimicking her role (their stuffed animals live in fear). "She's just so funny, mom, so so funny." I particularly loved the monkey, played by Eva Gary, who never broke character and kept us kept us all continually engaged and amused.

All in all, my kids enjoyed the production, especially the funny bit parts (like the ex-fiance who carries the umbrella and the jewel-hungry queen). And if they ever did run into Andrew Ruhnke, the actor who plays Aladdin, I'm pretty sure my kids would assume he really owns a magic lamp.

The theater recommends the play for children 4 and up and I would take the age limit seriously. It's a full play (about 1.5 hours) with a 15 minute intermission and the sets, while well done, are simple. Toddlers probably won't "get" it.

The Magical Lamp of Aladdin runs on weekends through March 18th at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington. Tickets are $10 for kids and $12 for adults. During intermission, snacks are available for purchase. For showtimes and additional information, click here.



After the play, I asked the girls to draw some pictures of the performance as "art" for this post. Then T spilled water all over everything. So, unfortunately, all I'm left with is instagram.

Places to Go - The Rough-Faced Girl at Synetic Family Theater (Arlington, VA)

This weekend we took advantage of a discount offer from Go Out and Play! (a wonderful local blog) and took the kids to Synetic Family Theater's production of The Rough-Faced Girl. Synthetic Theater relies solely on movement, dance, and music to tell a story, so no dialogue or narration occurs. I was somewhat nervous that this would bore my children (or confuse them) but the play mesmerized all three of my kids. Yes, even 2 year old T sat still for a whole HOUR taking in every movement (though he did occasionally scream things out like "look mom, she sad. why she sad?"). As an adult the production was both beautiful and entertaining, I sincerely enjoyed it, the dance and movement especially. The set design includes large ribbon-like sheets hanging from the ceiling, which the actors use to create things such as teepees and storms, as well as to climb and hang-from, circus-style. At one point, the actors chased each other through the audience and I thought my kids were going to burst with excitement (I also worried that the actors would trip over my purse).

The Rough-Faced Girl is a Native American retelling of the Cinderella story, in which a fire scars the story's heroine, hence the title, (the "fire dance" was one of F's favorite parts of the play). The play does a great job of making even the "evil" sister a sympathetic character. And, of course, it has a happy ending, in which beautiful blue cloth ripples in the air for a water effect while a marriage occurs. A great way to spend an hour with your children. I highly recommend it. The play runs through December 28th, productions occur on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) at 11:00 am. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Click here for more info.

Places to Go - Arts on the Horizon for Kids 0-6 (Alexandria, VA)

On Saturday morning we packed the whole family into the minivan and drove to Landmark Mall in Alexandria, VA to check out the inaugural production of "Arts on the Horizon," a new theatre and arts program focused on kids 0-6 years old (which is pretty exciting for me as all three of my kids meet the age criteria, which happens rarely in the arts). According to Michelle Kozlak, the company's founder, she wanted to create a theatre company for young children where "they would come and feel comfortable - somewhat like their playroom or living room at home. The lobby would have a place for kids to play and the theatre would be inviting . . . . shows would be . . . interactive, inclusive, and intimate."

And, in my opinion, thus far Ms. Kozlak's doing a pretty good job meeting her goals. The waiting area of the theatre basically operates as a large playroom (primarily for toddlers and young preschoolers) full of blocks, floor pillows and various other toys. Once we entered the actual theatre we discovered a gigantic rainbow parachute to sit on (P seemed enthusiastic about picking the color of her "seat.") For adults who aren't fans of criss-cross-applesauce a row of chairs rests against the wall.

The play, Drumming for Dishes, was short and simple, the actors don't speak and a guitar-player provides music throughout the entire production. The "plot" (and I use this word loosely) centers on the fun that a girl and her (possibly imaginary) friend have while exploring a kitchen. The play begins when the main lead discovers a friend hidden in the cabinets - all 3 of my children were enthralled watching this mysterious "friend" appear and disappear. Yes, in case you missed it I just said "all 3 of my children" - who range in age from almost 2 to 5.5, LAUGHING IN UNISON, as were most of the children in the audience, INCLUDING TODDLERS. I found this a pretty impressive start as the words "theatre" and "toddler" seem tough to mix.

After the mysterious friend appears the two actresses have fun "playing" in the kitchen - making pasta boxers into musical shakers, drumming Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on kitchen utensils, marveling at how a colander folds in on itself, trying to figure out how to clean up a kitchen spill, etc. Throughout their adventures the actresses flow in and out of the audience, inviting children to play with the kitchen gadgets (P and F seemed bizarrely elated while shaking a cous cous box). The play runs about 35 minutes, which seemed just a little bit too long for the younger ones in the audience, most toddlers started to fuss at about 20-25 minutes. On one hand, don't let this keep you from attending, as I've never seen toddlers watch anything for more than 20 minutes. But, on the other hand, I think it would have helped if they ramped up the action a little bit at the 20 minute mark as some of the kitchen games were becoming a little redundant. This being said I liked the fact that the theatre seemed fine with fussy toddlers, there were no evil glances, no employees asking people to "take their children elsewhere"; rather, the resonating vibe appeared to be "well, kids will be kids."

All in all, I found the show a pretty fun family activity. Parking at Landmark is easy and readily-available**. The theatre is an incredibly welcoming place (they even have a roped-off area for stroller-parking). And the play managed to entertain my three children who are at three different stages of development, not an easy feat. Further, as a parent the play helped remind me how fascinating the world can be when you're young. I tend to get caught up in "going somewhere" and/or "doing something", where the play served as a needed reminder that kids' needs are often quite simple, for them a kitchen contains a world of discovery.

Drumming for Dishes has both weekend and weekday showtimes, tickets are $8 per person. Arts on the Horizon also offers kids' classes and camps and lots of fun stuff. Click here to check it out, I highly suggest a visit. Although there's a lot in DC for children in general I still find it hard to find weekend activities aimed at really young children, so I'm glad that Arts on the Horizon exists and I hope they continue to put on great productions.

**If you want to make a day of it, Landmark mall also has an indoor children's playarea and a food court.
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By the way, I received free tickets to review this play, but this didn't influence my review. Hopefully you all know me well enough to know that if I don't like something, I'll say I don't like it.