Over the next five months, we are excited to take you “Behind the Scenes” by sharing with you video updates about the creative process of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. The videos will focus on different aspects of the production, from music and choreography to set design and puppetry. Our first video update focuses on the development week during early January at The Washington Ballet studios. Click

While the show’s creative team (made up of artistic leaders from both Imagination Stage and The Washington Ballet) has been working for many months to create the libretto and music, the January development week marked an important test for the material. After sitting around a table and seeing every moment of the production in our minds, we were finally able to gather the artists together in a week of intensive rehearsals to watch how the choreography, music, scenes, and puppets would all combine in order to tell the story of four children who famously find a magical world on the other side of a wardrobe.

 We had chosen to shape our version around the character of Edmund, the archetypical troubled “middle” child who cannot find his rightful place in his family. Through his journey into Narnia and his interactions with The White Witch and Aslan, Edmund confronts his demons and eventually finds peace and unity with his siblings. Edmund’s story and that of the other three children are embodied in our production by two performers for each character—a dancer and an actor/singer. We discovered during our rehearsals that this technique proves highly effective. Through costuming and gesture, we see that the audience will clearly understand that the two performers are trading off the story-telling from scene to scene in order to express the children’s inner lives and feelings, as well as what they say and do in the story.

 Another success was the work puppeteer and set designer Eric van Wyk has done with his prototype for the 8-foot-tall and 8-foot-long puppet of Aslan. Eric animates the puppet with two puppeteers inside the lion and a third positioned to one side operating his head. It took many hours of practice to create a believable walking and running gait for the puppet. But by the end of the week, our giant lion was rearing up, leaping about the stage, and performing a death scene to rival any Hamlet!

 As is always the case, the experience of seeing part of the play more fully realized and “on its feet,” inspires and clarifies the production ideas for the creative team in the next phase of the show’s creation. The set, costume, and lighting designers are now sketching out their ideas with a good sense of the practical as well as the aesthetic needs of the script in mind. We will be using Skype to bring everyone back together over the next couple of months as we hammer out the final choices for the production. Most of all, I think the benefit of this particular development week has been to demonstrate to the 14-strong performing company that they are now part of a magnificent project, one that allows them to tell an epic story with an unprecedented range of expression. We all feel as though our “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” is well on its way to being a WOW for children and families in the metro region this summer.

 Please check back next month for more updates on this exciting collaboration.

 - Janet Stanford, Artistic Director

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, June 20-August 12, 2012
Tickets and Show Schedule

Reprinted with permission by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Arts Education Department

Vice President: Sandra Bowie
Assistant Vice President: Sanaz Hojreh
Associate Director of Performance: Verushka Spirito
Writer: Arthur Wilson
Editor: Linda Fowler

P.Nokio, a hip-hop musical written and directed by Psalmayene 24 for Imagination Stage, is a clever nod to Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) and some of its original characters: the puppet of the title; Geppetto, a carpenter; the Fairy with Turquoise Hair; Fox and Cat; and the Innkeeper.

In P.Nokio, however, the boy puppet is a computer-generated figure come to life and G.Petto is a video game designer. The Graffiti Fairy’s magic is manifested by spray paint; Fox and Cat are disguised as muggers to defraud P.Nokio of his “street credits.”

P.Nokio is set in Hip-Hopia. The action begins with an audience call and response led by G.Petto to summon P.Nokio from a computer screen. (“He’ll be able to rhyme and dance … He’ll almost be real.”) When G.Petto realizes P.Nokio has jumped from the computer, his employment dilemma begins. The petulant Machine Master—G.Petto’s boss—arrives in a fanfare with his assistant, Crony, to view the design promised to bring him big cash!

Carrying a sacred “Book of Rhymes” presented to him by G.Petto, P.Nokio heads for The Old School to learn style, swagger and ways to help the community through hip-hop. In a series of comical raps, P.Nokio is pushed through a course of events that challenge his judgment, his ability to obey G.Petto, and his desire to stretch the truth. He plays hooky from The Old School and encounters a talking Fork in the road, whose alternate path tempts him toward Fun and the Land of Fools. As in the original story, when P.Nokio lies, his nose grows longer.

When G.Petto finds himself in danger of becoming Machine Master’s next profitable computer gimmick, P.Nokio learns about selflessness and forgiveness through a courageous act of sacrifice. This good deed, of a real boy, is accompanied by G.Petto’s words, “We all make mistakes … but it’s what we learn, and what we do after those mistakes, that count.”

P.Nokio: The result of rhyme and effort

As the playwright, director and actor in the title role of P.Nokio, Psalmayene 24 (a.k.a. Gregory Morrison) is a true triple-threat artist. Growing up in Brooklyn, he was immersed in hip-hop culture and was eager to combine it with his love of theater.

“Using a hip-hop aesthetic immediately makes the play relatable to the youth of today,” he says. “The rhythms and sounds of Hip-Hop reflect their pulse and energy.”

According to Psalmayene 24, there are three main lessons to P.Nokio. “A, you always have an opportunity to redeem yourself. We see this through P.Nokio’s journey in the play. B, unconditional love supports redemption. G.Petto exemplifies this as P.Nokio’s faithful father. And, C, when you are your authentic self, good things happen. When P.Nokio finally rhymes the truth in his heart, he is able to achieve transformation.”

P.Nokio is Psalmayene 24’s second premiere commissioned by Imagination Stage, a Maryland-based, nonprofit theatre arts organization that produces professional theater with an arts education focus. “My first project with Imagination Stage was Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth, an adaptation of a West African trickster tale,” he relates. “That experience, from conception to production to touring, was absolutely wonderful, so we decided to do another project together.”

A prominent figure in hip-hop theater, Psalmayene 24 (pronounced sal-may-any) performed at the first Hip-Hop Theater Festival in New York City. His solo play, Free Jujube Brown! appeared in the anthology Plays from the Boom Box Galaxy: Theater from the Hip-Hop Generation (Theatre Communications Group, 2009). “Psalm” was the co-writer and co-star of The Hip-Hop Nightmares of Jujube Brown and nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his performance. His play Undiscovered Genius of the Concrete Jungle was commissioned by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Psalmayene 24 also is founder of the folk-hop band PS24, which has opened for Erykah Badu and has performed frequently throughout the East Coast.

Two of his collaborators from Zomo are on board for P.Nokio. Musician Nick Hernandez is the composer and sound designer. Paige Hernandez, the choreographer, also plays the Graffiti Fairy. She is an advocate for hip-hop education and helps teachers understand and incorporate hip-hop culture into their curriculums. Also on the creative team are Ethan Sinnott (sets), Kendra Rai (costumes) and Andrew Griffin (lighting design).

“A brilliant person once said, ‘It takes a village to raise a play,’” says Psalmayene 24. “I couldn’t agree more.”

The real-life adventures of Pinocchio

Pinocchio’s coming of age exploits are probably best remembered by Walt Disney’s legendary animated film of 1940, Pinocchio, which uplifted audiences with an Oscar winning score (“When You Wish Upon a Star”) and a benevolent plot line. As writer Rebecca West put it, “Disney followed adaptations (of Pinocchio) much more than the original—as he modified the sadism and violence in order to bring to the screen a lovable, cuddly Pinocchio.”

In the Disney version of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883), the large cast of characters is pared down to a few well-drawn protagonists and antagonists who interact in a morality tale of good triumphing over evil. Contrasting Disney with Collodi, essayist Derek White reasons that “Pinocchio is not nearly the moralistic tale that Disney paints it to be—for Collodi’s Pinocchio is far from innocent, but is more of a Huck Finn type, most of the time a mean-spirited brat … and Geppetto is not exactly the provincial model citizen but lives in poverty, on the fringes.”

This tendency to reinvent the original has solidified Pinocchio’s longevity—the character endures after more than a century of creative transformations—and the story’s substance continues to attract artists such as Hip-Hop theater’s Psalmayene 24. Adaptations of the Pinocchio tale have entertained generations of youngsters and the original book still ranks among the best-selling children’s classics.

Pinocchio has been portrayed as a comical character in the Shrek films (2001-2010), as well as on Broadway in Shrek the Musical (2008). Spanish illustrator Salvador Bartolozzi depicted him in a weekly children’s publication, Pinocchio, in 1925. In addition, The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted for television and made into dozens of English-language films. Countless other versions span the globe, in Italian (Roberto Benigni in the 2002 movie Pinocchio), French, Russian, German, and Japanese. Myriad philosophical and thematic differences evolved while moving this allegorical tale forward, but even in our age of quick-changing invention, a constant remains: Pinocchio’s nose grows as he stretches the truth.

P.Nokio flips the original story by dressing it in four elements of hip-hop culture: bboying (dancing), graffiti writing, MC-ing (rapping), and DJ-ing. The show abounds with these elements. Director-playwright Psalmayene 24 describes his P.Nokio as “a mischievous, hip, digitally-designed man-child with a heart of gold and a fantastic ability to rap and dance.”

To establish the puppet’s state of aliveness at the beginning of the musical, he has P.Nokio jump from the computer screen and hide from G.Petto by slapping a lampshade over his head. In comparison, Collodi’s Pinocchio assumes life even before being fully carved into a puppet and speaks as each of his extremities is whittled into shape.

Psalmayene 24 says he was attracted to the traditional story of Pinocchio because “at its core, it is a story about redemption.” He and his collaborators discarded Collodi’s tragic ending (Pinocchio is hanged), but maintain the heart of the fable about a misfit who wanders off the path, yet discovers self-awareness through education and personal sacrifice.

“Pinocchio goes astray many times before he finally matures and becomes a real boy,” says Psalmayene 24. “Redemption is the universal, timeless and ageless human impulse that runs through the story. That’s what motivated me as I wrote my adaptation.”

Arthur T. Wilson, a poet, playwright and co-publisher of Attitude magazine, has served as a residency artist at NJPAC from ground-breaking to the present. He holds master’s degrees from New York University and the University of London.

P.Nokio: a Hip-Hop Musical, February 1-March 11.
Tickets and Show Schedule.

What stood out to me the most was that the story wove together the real world and the imaginary using set. Animals in the world of Dr. Dolittle were made up of gas masks, gloves, rope, canteens and other war articles. This touch was magical and chilling. When a bird would fly across the sky, something would seem different about it. Maybe, just maybe it was a glove. When the fantastical Push Me Pull You creature was introduced, were its heads gas masks? It showed that the imaginary, jubilance still had a slight over shadowing of the ominous war lying in the background.

The characters had clear objectives which made the world so enhanced and believable. They used their bodies masterfully. Every animal had a variation that showed their transformation from human to animal. Lofting’s wife also played Polynesia. When she was human she held her hands folded together in front of her. She would have flowy , graceful, birdlike arms playing Polynesia, yet she still held her hands in the same way as the wife from time to time, showing her parallel in reality. This parallel and that of Lofting’s son show the conflict not only in the imaginary world, but in the actual world as well. A great example is that Lofting’s son and Dolittle have trouble relating as do Lofting and his son in real life. Dolittle and the boy work it through by the end of the story. This shows when Lofting and his son meet at the end of the play for a reason that you will only be able to find out if you come and see this enchanting musical show.

- Samantha Louise Noland, Student and Member of Acting Conservatory at Imagination Stage

The craziest experience that I have had thus far (and that I am currently taking part in) is running the soundboard for Dr. Dolittle! When I first came to Imagination Stage, my theatrical experiences included arts administration, acting, directing, and playwriting…but nothing technical. In fact, I was frightened of technical theatre. But on the first day of tech rehearsal for Dr. Dolittle, I bit the bullet, came ready to learn something new, and conquered my fear.

My first time at the soundboard I felt like my brain was on overload. There were so many knobs and buttons! Sound Designer Chris Baine soon calmed me down by explaining that each row of knobs is connected to one microphone, and that I should think of the soundboard in terms of the actors wearing each mic rather than viewing them as impending buttons of doom. This truly helped my non-technical brain understand my task at hand.

During each Dr. Dolittle performance I’m in the Lighting and Sound Booth—a room in between the left and right sides of the balconies in the theatre—where I sit at the soundboard and watch Dr. Dolittle from a bird’s eye view. The stage manager also sits in the booth and this is where she communicates with the soundboard operator (me!) and the deck captain (who helps out backstage during the show) via headset.  As the soundboard operator I am in charge of playing sound cues when the stage manager directs me to, and also all of the microphones that the actors wear. Every time that you hear music or the whinny of a horse in the distance, that’s me! Of course, there have been times where you might’ve heard the whinny of a horse when you were supposed to be hearing a song…that was also me. I have definitely made some mistakes along the way, but the entire cast and crew has been incredibly encouraging during my first foray into technical theatre.

I have currently seen Dr. Dolittle 30 times, and my favorite part changes with every show! There are certain musical numbers that I enjoy every time, such as “Everybody Wants to be a Pirate.” But just this morning, my favorite part ended up being the comedic bits between King Jolliginki and Melvin the guard. There are also parts that are technically challenging for me during every show, such as making sure that the actor playing the garden horse can be heard beneath his full-faced horse mask. Also, the actors are constantly taking off and putting on hats and other costume pieces that can very easily brush against their microphones, which causes a chaotic cacophony throughout the monitors. This makes me anxious, but it also keeps me on my toes during every performance!

Working on Dr. Dolittle has made me truly respect and appreciate everyone that works in technical theatre—especially the technical staff here at Imagination Stage. If I, as the soundboard operator, did not do my job, then the actors could not be heard and the audience would hear no music to accompany the story being performed on stage. And, if the other technical staff did not do their jobs, we wouldn’t have any of the wonderful performances that Imagination Stage offers. There would be no beautiful sets, costumes, or lighting effects for our audiences to enjoy.

I’m excited to see what other experiences and challenges are thrown my way during my year-long apprenticeship. But I know that Dr. Dolittle will definitely remain at the top of my list as one of the most fun and eye-opening opportunities that Imagination Stage has brought my way. I mean, it’s not every day that you can conquer a fear and have serious fun doing it at the same time!

- Katy Beth Cassell, Institutional Development Apprentice

At the Holiday Season, when most of us have the good fortune to gather as families and to count our blessings, let us also remember the extraordinary power of creativity and its special value in times of adversity.  It is the one human attribute that allows us to rise above life’s set-backs and to envision a better future. 

This season’s holiday offering at Imagination Stage, Dr. Dolittle, focuses on the creativity of Hugh Lofting, who invented his fanciful stories of high adventure and exotic beasts while mired in a muddy trench on the Western Front in 1917.  The play suggests that he rallied his men by creating a world of make believe and telling a story full of laughter, song, and puppetry.  The playwright imagines a world in which a pair of gloves is transformed into a sparrow with a guiding light, and a barbed wire fence twinkles like a Christmas tree. 

The backdrop of a World War I battlefield may seem an unlikely setting for a holiday musical, but this is not only true to the original circumstances of the author, but—we think—especially significant today with the drawdown of 40,000 American troops from Iraq happening right now, and many young service men and women returning to our communities.  Our theatrical version of Lofting’s classic novel, with its eccentric doctor who learns to talk to animals, should give parents a good way to talk to their children about military service.  For us this play honors the bravery of thousands of young American men and women who have put themselves in harm’s way over the last decade (and for hundreds of years) in defense of our democratic principles and ideals. 

Like the character of Hugh Lofting himself, in the script Imagination Stage is producing by Mark St. Germain and Randy Courts, many parents may believe that our children should be protected from all knowledge of war for as long as possible. Yet the fact remains that most of our theatre’s audience (who are between the ages of 4 and 10) was born—and has grown up in—a time of war for our country. And, their parents or grandparents may well have served in the First Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea, or World War II.  We think it’s important to let curious young minds know that in this life there are some battles that are worth fighting.  Our lives are defined, after all, by the challenges that we choose to take on and the battles we choose to fight—be they for country, for our fellow men, or for the planet. 

We cannot protect our children from all the sadness that haunts our world, but we can –and we must—inspire them to rise above it by sustaining their innate talent for creativity. Not merely to endure, but to triumph against all odds.

- Janet Stanford, Artistic Director

P.S. Check out our Family Guide for fun activities and talking points about the show! Or, view the Dr. Dolittle Show Program to read the Director’s Note and bios of the cast and crew.

Granted, we planned the party…so we could be a little biased.  But what really made this event great were the attendees—all of them 2011 Imagination Stage Summer Theatre Campus (STC) alumni.  These young people, ages 10 – 14 gathered together to attend a performance of Aladdin’s Luck at Imagination Stage, which was followed by a pizza party reunion—featuring music, games, and a teaser for STC 2012.

The first thing to be noted is the sheer energy that our campers bring into the building.  Let us be clear that these are students who love theatre; students who love the “family” that you gain when you work together on a production; and students who consider Imagination Stage their home.  For many of these young artists, Imagination Stage represents a place where they can be who they are (exuberant, crazy, and occasionally awkward teens, who sing and dance through the halls) without the fear of being judged. We have students from all backgrounds and abilities at Imagination Stage—many of whom hold different amounts of “social collateral” in their own school environments.  But as we watched these young people step across these social boundaries and greet each other at the front door with hugs, high fives, and excited screams, it helped us to reflect on our own “safe havens” growing up.  Both of us can fondly remember a place in our youth where we could simply let out our inner musical theatre “geek” (of course in the modern day era of show choirs, Glee, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Sing Off, we recognize that perhaps it might be a little easier in this day in age).

But what was even more impressive and exciting was to see that our young students had a vested interest in the type of work they wanted to be doing next summer.  These students clearly want to have a summer that will not only be a ton of fun, but one that will challenge them to grow as artists and individuals.  As we brainstorm titles, mention of shows like High School Musical and Camp Rock draw groans and eye-rolls.  Conversation centers on the classics (save for a couple jokes about “Star Wars the Musical…”), coupled with frank discussions between students about why we can’t stage Disney’s The Lion King, the new musicals currently being staged on Broadway, and the pros and cons of mounting shows like Oklahoma and The Music Man. 

Both of us count Summer Theatre Campus as one of our most beloved programs of the year.  Throughout the past several years, we have both served in the roles of Director, Teacher, and Camp Manager.  As educators, we love that the program is a balance of both process and product.  Our students have the chance to learn technique, which they can immediately apply to a performance situation.  Additionally, the program brings together 80 young people of all abilities who work together to create an amazing “artist colony” over a four-week period.  It is a thrill each summer to watch these students develop the camaraderie and respect that is vital to this type of process—and even more crucial as these young people grow into leaders within their world.   

We’re already looking forward to Summer Theatre Campus 2012, and we certainly hope that you will come add your voice to this amazing program!

-Diane Nutting, Director of Access and Inclusion, and Nikki Kaplan, Associate Director of Education

George and Martha are two hippos who are best friends!  

George is played by MJ Casey, who you may recognize from other Imagination Stage shows like Busytown, Pirates! A Boy at Sea, and Bunnicula.  Sandy Murphy plays Martha and has been seen on our stage in The Borrowers and Heidi.  They each took a few minutes to talk our staff member, Tyler Stoltenberg, about their own best friends. 

TS: Why is friendship so important to you?
MJ: The strength and care we receive from friends helps us to become better people and able to discover new friends in the world.

TS: Who is your best friend and why?
SM: My Best friend Mike has been in my life for the last 30 years. He is compassionate and smart and when I think of him, I feel good. I feel understood and unconditionally loved.

TS: What nice things do you do for your best friend?
MJ: Listen, support, offer help, give perspective. The biggies.
SM: We are always there for each other when we need to feel appreciated and valued. 

TS: What do you like most about your best friend?
MJ: Their ability to see the brighter side and make me laugh. We can share many things but sharing fun is what brings people together and helps people become friends.
SM: When I’m with my best friend, I feel like I’m with family.  That is a most precious gift.

TS: Have you ever had an adventure with your best friend?
MJ: Of course…that is kind of how you find out that they are your best friend.
SM: This whole life, man…this whole life is an adventure. 

Tell us about your best friend and it could even be featured right here on our blog and in Washington Parent!

Now in our thirty-second year, we at Imagination Stage continue to strive every day to fulfill our mission of producing children’s theatre and arts education programs which nurture, challenge, and empower young people of all abilities.  We envision a future where theatre experiences are a fundamental aspect of children’s lives, nourishing their creative spirit, inspiring them to embrace the complexity and diversity of their world and helping them overcome their challenges with hope, courage and, above all, creativity.

Our fall classes in creative drama/acting, dance, musical theatre and filmmaking for ages 1-18 begin during this week honoring Arts in Education and we look forward to welcoming many hundreds of eager, open, creative students.  We are most definitely in the spirit, and hope you are too. Sing a little song, do a little jig,  take a moment to be a drama queen and enjoy Arts in Education Week.

Being an actor is a difficult job. Acting requires dedication, skill, good fortune, and most importantly, a love for what you’re doing. The Dancing Princesses is a show full of wonderful music, beautiful (yet forbidden) dancing, and a touching story that ties it all together. Our job, as actors, is to bring this story to life.

When you see the show, you might not realize the work that actors have to do before the show can happen that day. Most of our shows are early in the morning. What do you sound like when you just wake up in the morning? Do you think you’d be ready to sing and dance right away? Maybe you can, but it can be difficult. Actors usually have to “warm-up” for a while before doing a show. It’s different for every person. Sometimes actors will do yoga in the mornings, or what I enjoy is singing my favorite music in the car on the way over. This is a good way to wake up your vocal chords so they’re ready for the show. Some actors might even get to the theater early and warm up there. Another thing that I find helpful are tongue twisters. These are especially great for me because I have a few very fast songs in the show called “Patter Songs.” I need to make sure my mouth is ready to pronounce the words so that everyone can understand what I’m saying. Try: “Red Leather, Yellow Leather, Red Leather Yellow Leather.”

After warming up, it’s time to get ready. We must be at the theater by “half-hour,” 30 minutes before the show starts. All the actors are required to “sign-in” and then the Stage Manager lets us know any important information we need for that day. Then, it’s time to get into our microphones and costumes.

Everyone in The Dancing Princesses wears a small microphone taped to their ear. Have you ever noticed the shape of the theater at Imagination Stage? The audience covers the stage on three sides. This is great because it makes you feel part of the action. However, in order for all of us to be heard by everyone on all sides, we need microphones to amplify our voices. You also need to hear us above the jazzy music of the show. After we put on our microphones, we get into our costumes, and its time to begin the show!

Once it’s time to start the show, the Stage Manager will call “places.” This means that all the actors need to get ready for their first entrances. We all get in place. I take a few more moments to focus, then it’s time for my first entrance. Once the show starts, there are many things that happen both on and offstage. This is why it’s important to always be focused, and quiet backstage. After a little over an hour, the show is already over. Then it’s time to repeat and do it again, up to nine times a week! Acting is a tough, but rewarding job. I hope you got a little glimpse into what we put into the show everyday. See you at the theater!