Alithea
continues to explore the world of possibilities in children's theater
by writing, directing and producing original work for children and community
theaters. Alithea emphasizes a creative process that challenges a young
cast both physically and intellectually, introducing concepts that are
entertaining, meaningful and geared toward creating strong self-esteem,
social awareness and concepts of self-discovery and personal growth.
Recent large productions have included the Nickracker, and Alice, a
multi-disciplinary production of Alice in Wonderland set in the Arizona
desert.
The
art of mime theatre has seeded the development of many popular trends
in the performing arts. Mask theater, movement theater, and dance theater
are deeply involved in stage creations based on the language of the
body. Whether narrative or abstract in form, these creations are visual
expressions of communication. In these kinds of theatre, we hear with
our eyes. That is, the audience basically reads the movement they are
watching. Whether a story is told or just a mood/emotional reality is
created varies according to artistic inspiration. Mime as a single-discipline,
a tradition strongly established by Marcel Marceau in this century,
is magic by itself. This year, Stephen Chipps, Rick Wamer, Sabrina Vasquez
and myself have chosen ‘Alice’, as our multi-disciplinary interpretation
of Through the Looking Glass. ‘Alice’ combines mime with masks, sets,
costumes, and video projection.
The retelling of this story was created by the four of us with the intention
of having an educational impact on these young performers, beyond the
value of the process itself. The message has always been important within
our work, even more so when influencing the minds of young people today.
Transforming the story to
desert themes personalizes the production not only for those students
and community members involve but also for the audience and all of Cave
Creek/Carefree, the desert dwellers. Historically, theatre has been
the mirror that reminds us what is important, either exposing our shortcomings
or celebrating the strength of the human spirit. Even functioning as
just an escape from the humdrum of everyday life, theatre becomes the
looking glass, which adds definition to ourselves. If each of us leaves
the theater with the reminder to live a life with imagination, to dream,
to pursue a vision with integrity and be creative in our endeavors,
then the four of us have been successful communicating with our art.
If Alice can learn it, I figure we can too.
Alithea
continues to explore the world of possibilities in children's theater
by writing, directing and producing original work for children and community
theaters. Alithea emphasizes a creative process that challenges a young
cast both physically and intellectually, introducing concepts that are
entertaining, meaningful and geared toward creating strong self-esteem,
social awareness and concepts of self-discovery and personal growth.
Recent large productions have included the Nickracker, and Alice, a
multi-disciplinary production of Alice in Wonderland set in the Arizona
desert. 
The
art of mime theatre has seeded the development of many popular trends
in the performing arts. Mask theater, movement theater, and dance theater
are deeply involved in stage creations based on the language of the
body. Whether narrative or abstract in form, these creations are visual
expressions of communication. In these kinds of theatre, we hear with
our eyes. That is, the audience basically reads the movement they are
watching. Whether a story is told or just a mood/emotional reality is
created varies according to artistic inspiration. Mime as a single-discipline,
a tradition strongly established by Marcel Marceau in this century,
is magic by itself. This year, Stephen Chipps, Rick Wamer, Sabrina Vasquez
and myself have chosen ‘Alice’, as our multi-disciplinary interpretation
of Through the Looking Glass. ‘Alice’ combines mime with masks, sets,
costumes, and video projection.
The retelling of this story was created by the four of us with the intention
of having an educational impact on these young performers, beyond the
value of the process itself. The message has always been important within
our work, even more so when influencing the minds of young people today.
Transforming the story 
to
desert themes personalizes the production not only for those students
and community members involve but also for the audience and all of Cave
Creek/Carefree, the desert dwellers. Historically, theatre has been
the mirror that reminds us what is important, either exposing our shortcomings
or celebrating the strength of the human spirit. Even functioning as
just an escape from the humdrum of everyday life, theatre becomes the
looking glass, which adds definition to ourselves. If each of us leaves
the theater with the reminder to live a life with imagination, to dream,
to pursue a vision with integrity and be creative in our endeavors,
then the four of us have been successful communicating with our art.
If Alice can learn it, I figure we can too. 