For the fifth consecutive year, the Utah Children’s Theatre will be offering its Shakespeare Festival, featuring classics such as “Henry V” and “Taming of the Shrew” in a way that is understandable for children.
“My approach to it is to have a wonderful introduction for young people,” said Joanne M. Parker, "Taming of the Shrew" director. “We’re working on making it memorable so that (children) want to come back and see more and be introduced to the wonderful traditions of Shakespeare.”
The theater's Shakespeare Festival will feature many activities, including a free Family Faire every Saturday starting Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. The event will include food, crafts, face painting, medieval games, archery and puppet shows.
The festival also includes a waffle party every Saturday morning, by reservation. Here, a 30-minute comedic show titled “Breakfast with Shakespeare” is performed for attendees, according to the Utah Children’s Theatre website.
“(The) Saturday morning (Family Faire) is really, really interactive,” said Brooke Wilkins, an actress in “Breakfast with Shakespeare.” “Some kids might have a hard time sitting through even an hour.”
Sarah Danielle Young, an actress in “Taming of the Shrew,” said this experience allows people unfamiliar with Shakespeare to learn more and see how the stories relate to them personally.
“The great thing about the Utah Children’s Theatre Shakespeare Festival is that they’re trying to make the stories more accessible to audiences who haven’t really learned how to appreciate Shakespeare, and maybe think that it’s not for them,” Young said. “Shakespeare stories are so relevant today. They’re all about human beings and things that everyone’s going through.”
The plays use the original Shakespeare dialogue and have been edited to make it more geared towards children, including being shortened from three hours to just over one hour. According to Parker and “Henry V” director Matthew Windham, they also use a specific style of acting that makes it easier for children to understand what is being said without changing the dialogue itself.
“The children’s theater has an aesthetic — or a house style — that tries to enhance the meaning of the words that are being spoken on stage with the physical actions that are happening on stage, too,” Windham said.
One example is a character pointing to what they are talking about so that children know what is being referred to, Parker said.
“Kids are especially good at trying to interpret without necessarily understanding exactly what every word means,” Windham said. “Kids who have not sat down in a classroom with a book of Shakespeare (or have not) been told that Shakespeare is hard for one reason or another, they’re good at listening to Shakespeare and really grasping the meaning of it.”
Wilkins is passionate about acting for Shakespeare plays and loves the way the Utah Children’s Theatre gears its performances toward the audiences.
“This theater is so concerned about their audience. … That’s the way all theater should be,” Wilkins said. “That’s one of the things I love about doing it at the children’s theater. They really are focused on the audience and getting the story told for the sake of the audience.”
David Habben, a freelance illustrator who designed the posters for the festival, said that it is important for younger generations to be familiar with performing arts and Shakespeare.
"It’s really important for this generation, and for our community … to support performing arts and to bring these classic performances and stories to new generations," Habben said. “We miss out on that when we just show them a video, or we don’t allow them to really see someone perform and use a language that they’re not familiar with. … It’s a unique experience, and I think it would do well to provide more of that for the younger generation.”
Parker also said that Shakespeare allows children to learn more about history, cultures from the past, poetry and the English language.
If you go ...
What: Utah Children's Theatre's Shakespeare Festival
When: Saturdays, Aug. 20-Oct. 1
Where: 3605 S. State, South Salt Lake
How much: $15 for adults, $12 for ages 17 and younger; Waffle Party is $10 for adults, $7 for ages 17 and younger; Family Faire face painting and crafts are $2-$5
Phone: 801-532-6000
Web: uctheatre.org
Email: cstimpson@deseretnews.com