2 minute read
Pants on Fire
PANTS ON FIRE! RETURNS!
A few seasons before Pants on Fire!, former Education Director Renée Prince and I had remounted the previous year’s Young Audience Outreach Tour show in the regular season. It was important to us that CRT have a show for elementary-aged kids. They deserve good theatre, too! Plus, it can be an isolating time for moms with young children. Your little one can sit through about an hour of live entertainment before they want to move their bodies and run around. I remember bouncing rudely and unannounced into Renée's office with an unformed thought: because of Boomtown!’s success, we had an acting company that was trained in long-form improv. Is that useful? Can we do something with all this improv talent? Renée and I started talking and somehow Pants on Fire! was born. I love what we created: an hour-long improvised musical for kids that puts their ideas on stage in real time. The kids determined our hero’s deepest desire, her obstacles, and the quirky, dream-logic solution to her dilemma. We encouraged the kids to speak up, contribute, and get physically involved with the story. I remember during the first season; we were terrified that we’d bring a group of kids onstage to play...I don’t know...radioactive spider monkeys...and they would take over the show and refuse to sit down again. But show after show, the kids proved that they understood their part. They understood story. They knew the spider monkeys must be defeated by our hero. They inherently understood the “Yes, and” rule of improv! Pants on Fire! gives them permission to change the story. Their ideas matter. What they say matters. – Jessica Jackson, co-creator
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The original Pants on Fire! team (2013) Top row l to r: Joe Montelione, Graham Ward, Brian Kusic, Renée Prince, John DiAntonio. Seated l to r: Laura Berrios, Caitlin Wise, Jessica Jackson
SHOWS @ 11AM EVERY FRIDAY JULY 1 – SEPT 2
at the Ruth Humphreys Brown Theatre
One 5-Minute Intermission
CAST
Brittni Shambaugh Addison John DiAntonio Jenni Harbour Emily Van Fleet Graham Ward Caitlin Wise And more!
CREATIVE TEAM
Musical Improviser Andy Hudson Tech Improviser Miranda Ray Scenic Design Kyle Leinneweber Lighting Design Willow McGinty
