Maybe the thing we most have in common as adults is that we all were once children who had to navigate the tricky waters of growing up. I think the story of Peter Pan captivates us because really we still carry that child-version of ourselves within--along with all the other versions of us we gather along the way. Peter and the Starcatcher is about so many things, not the least of which are: Pirates and Magic, Loyalty and Friendship, Bravery and Love. But this is also a story about identity. Who are we when we leave one path, one version of ourselves, behind us for another? Who are the people throughout our lives who most shape us into the best version of ourselves? What does it mean to say goodbye to the fellow travelers who are by our sides for a season and change us forever?
You’ll notice that in our production, we have three company members who have the unique ability to keep us grounded in the idea that this is a story about growing up. It was important to us that we include young people in telling this story because, as Peter fervently reminds us, it’s all too easy for grown-ups to forget. Our younger cast members brought a perspective to our work that we couldn’t authentically bring in any other way, and we hope that as you experience the story, some of that insight is shared with you too. The style of theatre we are using in this play--story theatre--allows the narrators to both be a part of the story and the tellers of the story, creating a reflection of our own experience as audience members on the stage, and it only makes sense that some of those narrators would also be children.
Of course, using a chorus of narrators like this is as old as storytelling and theatre itself. We know about it best from the Greeks, but I feel confident that humans did something similar with words, shadows, a drum, and a piece of fabric long, long before then, and I am very certain that there are children quite nearby right this very moment creating a world that only they can see, believing in things that only they can know, and weaving a world that we can only hope to glimpse. The narrator chorus reminds us that we are all in this together. We are a community experiencing a story: children and grown-ups, pirates and sailors, alligators and mermaids alike. What an honor it is to share this particular story with you today.
