Fairytaletopia: Live Children's Theatre Returns to Blakelock

Written By: Ava Puhlmann and Kayla Strike

Photos By: Mrs. Gonçalves

Grade 10 children's play introduces kids to live theatre for the first time since the pandemic.

Late May to early June this year was a busy time for Blakelock's drama department. Ms. Gonçalves' grade ten class created and performed their play Fairytaletopia for their midterm project. The play was presented over four performances for a collection of young children from local elementary schools.

To begin the creation process, the students explored children's theatre and the challenging concept of going over the top for a smaller audience. Brainstorming followed the lessons, with different plot ideas and story concepts proposed before the play came together. After the plot was outlined, the class divided into groups with each group writing a specific scene of the play to create a rough outline they could use. Auditions were held, and the roles were cast.

In addition to the roles on stage, the students had backstage roles as well. These roles included costumes, editors, publicity, and set. Rehearsals took about three and a half weeks to allow the performance to run smoothly. By the end, they had a solid play.

“There were these three kids...it was kinda Jumanji-esque. They went into this board game and they visited various different fairy tales.”

- Tia Smith, a grade ten student.

The play follows a group of children who are sucked into three different fairytales to learn valuable lessons and solve difficult problems. The three fairy tales are The Gruffalo, Cinderella, and The Three Little Pigs. Throughout the play, characters would ask for objects and answers to questions in order to leave the fairytale. Children would respond with answers, or go up on stage to give the actors the required materials to complete the fairy tale.

“They're [the children] a really energetic crowd and they react really vividly to the actors, they answer questions, they go up on stage, they participate.”

- Ms Gonçalves.

Fairytaletopia was the first time students were able to perform for a live audience since the beginning of Covid. The play pushed the drama class out of their comfort zone and into the spotlight. TAB welcomes back live performances with Fairytaletopia's stellar show!