Stargazer, an original play written by the students at Children’s Theatre Workshop (CTW), is a typical adventure story — a group of friends must defeat a threat, along the way characters are added to the party, obstacles are overcome and then there’s a showdown with the big bad. It’s formulaic in that way, but what is interesting about how kids write for themselves is that they impose their own questions and experiences onto the stories. A lot of things written for children are written by adults, assuming that it will appeal to kids. When kids write, you gain a unique understanding of what stories they want for themselves.
The play is about a young person named Stargazer who lives outside a small town, leading a simple life with dreams of adventure. A goddess, Pesta, devastates the area, killing Stargazer’s parents. Stargazer rallies a group of friends to find Pesta and exact revenge. Along the way the group meets a helpful forest spirit, does battle and solves riddles, but before the final battle one friend betrays Stargazer, and that betrayal is an important part of the play.
Tween Years
The theme of a toxic friendship is something not often addressed in children’s literature and media. When a friend does something, perhaps even with good intentions, that is hurtful, how do friends deal with that? Will the friendship survive, or is it better to move on? Younger kids are taught to get along and to share but as children grow, there are lessons to learn about the changing dynamics in friendships. Aimee Reid, CTW Executive Artistic Director, notes that there isn’t a lot of good material written for this age group, which is a good time to start exploring their own stories. While Stargazer is full of action and adventure, there are themes of lost friendships and difficult choices. This is the age where things start to get messy in relationships, says Reid. “I tell them, your first heartbreak isn’t romantic, it’s the loss of a friend.”
The CTW Process
“Devising’ is an umbrella term for collaborative theater,” Reid says, adding, “For us it means that a group of young people and the teacher will talk about plot, character and the foundations of script writing. The kids get together and brainstorm ideas and a teacher helps form connections to build a plot. We talk about foundational playwriting terms and how we use them to make a great story. Feedback on a playwright’s work shouldn’t be someone imposing their personal preference on the writing. That’s not how we do things. I want to help kids to write the play they want to write and I try to give feedback that will help them in that endeavor. This way the play is owned by the kids writing it, and we act as support staff.”
A course for every aspect of theater
On the CTW website there are programs available for different age groups and most aspects of theater. The playwriting class for 10–12-year-olds, the Devising Class, is available along with classes in musical theater, and technical theater (lights, sound and the technical elements of running a show). Some of the kids who wrote Stargazer also perform, but others prefer only to write. Reid teaches most of the Devising Classes. “Writing a play,” she says, “is a great way to step up your understanding of theater. When a child participates in writing a play, their comprehension of storytelling goes through the roof. They aren’t just passively receiving a story; they are creating the story and must explain why characters do certain things.” Reid says she firmly believes everyone is a theater person, anyone who’s ever sat at a table or around a campfire telling a story — that’s theater. “Everyone has a story to tell. What we do is equip kids with the tools to tell their story the way they want to tell it.”
Stargazer runs May 19-21 at the Historic Ohio Theatre. 3112 Lagrange St., Toledo. 419-244-5061. ctwtoledo.org/tickets.