Yesterday, a long-awaited theatre trip with my almost 3-year-old granddaughter finally took place. At the same age, my son, her father, attended a full-scale musical production of Beauty and the Beast. A colleague of my husband gifted us the tickets. At the time, our son thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it sparked his interest in theatre excursions, so I thought we should try a similar experience with his daughter.
Unlike watching a show or movie on a screen, this experience required sitting in a seat for two one-hour stretches, without talking, soaking up the many sights and sounds all around us as others did the same, making it a collective experience. I also hoped, like her father, that this would be the spark of enthusiasm for live theatre, experiencing life through actors and empathising with their plight. Often, the theatre that appeals to children involves a problem to be solved by a heroine through courage.
Almost a year ago, I learned our local theatre would be staging Frozen, maybe not my first choice, but I was sure that with preparation, she would enjoy it, although still a bit uncertain.
I purchased the tickets several months ago and then set out to find a picture book to help prepare her for her first theatre experience. Not a picture book about the storyline, there are plenty of those, but one that shares details of what to expect at a live theatre production. I searched for a few weeks, asking at several libraries and local theatre bookshops, and conducting endless online searches, both on this continent and at Blackwells in England. It appeared that this type of book did not exist, or at least, if it did, many book experts, nor I, could think of one or find it.
Although, despite much effort, I work hard at my adult non-fiction writing, a children’s book, despite years of working with them, did not seem possible. But as a longtime Montessorian, I believed that clearly laying out expectations and the freedom within them empowered a child to succeed. My mission to make my granddaughter’s first theatre experience wonderful, and maybe others’, required a foray into writing a picture book. Suggested and then egged on by my daughter, a paediatric OT whose current focus is children with autism, we co-wrote a story about going to the theatre and what to expect. She said that something like this would also help her clients if they attended a live event.
In the text, Eloise and Mimi go to the Theatre, my granddaughter learned about many things that would occur: the darkness, loud sounds, intermission, presenting tickets, not talking to show respect to the actors and others around, and more. The story even presented the idea that sometimes standing ovations occur and what they mean.
Real life revealed much of the story yesterday. Eloise sat transfixed for just over 2.5 hours. And the “book” has already been passed on to another family who will be taking their four-year-old to something soon.
Many people thought I was being completely unrealistic to take a child so young to the theatre, but based on years of preparing children and expecting the best from them, I believed it was more than possible. The whole experience seemed magical for my granddaughter, including dressing up, because it was such a special occasion. Fortunately, I saved my daughter’s 30-year-old coat and hat, which added to the experience.
For her sake and for the survival of live theatre, I hope that, like her father and mother, and the rest of her family, this is the beginning of a love of live productions, whether a school performance, a special play, or a musical during the holiday season. It was also a reminder of the value of preparation.
Margaret Whitley 