The comical adventures resulting from this identity crisis and the kitten's imagination will play out on several Pittsburgh-area stages during the next two weeks with “Skippyjon Jones,” a musical production of New York City-based Theatreworks USA.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Message of self-acceptance coming to Pittsburgh-area stages with 'Skippyjon Jones'
The comical adventures resulting from this identity crisis and the kitten's imagination will play out on several Pittsburgh-area stages during the next two weeks with “Skippyjon Jones,” a musical production of New York City-based Theatreworks USA.
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I think the message this production carries is an exceptionally important one to convey to kids. Much of what is disseminated to children today is meant to be either tangibly educational (in that it conveys hard incontrovertible concepts like color, numbers, etc.) or aloof stories that amuse a child and teach them basic societal morality (don't take cookies from the cookie jar, tell the truth, etc.). Entertainment like this strikes at a deeper concept: self discovery and personal identity. It's true that much of who we are as adults stems from our childhood and how we developed during those "malleable" years. I think bringing concepts like identity to the surface in terms a child can understand and enjoy will raise that child's awareness, and incite more holistic development in the long run.
In the few weeks I've been at CMU, I have learned, and am learning, that theatre is for the audiences consumption. It is meant to entertain, teach, and provoke its viewers. Skippyjon does just that. It is introducing the idea of self doubt and self exploration to very small children. Skippyjon is opening them up to what Theatre is meant to do so early on.
I've found that many productions I've watched become too self indulgent for the actor (which is something I struggle with as well) and therefor leaves the audience in the lurch, as they are almost walled off from what is happening in real life and real time on stage.
Skippyjon's sole purpose is to expose kids to the idea of it being ok to not know exactly who you are, and to accept yourself regardless.
I have no doubt that this is a successful production as it conquers the idea of "why this play? why now?"
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