For three decades, the mission of Storyland Theatre has been to bring a theater experience to young children.
However, a world with COVID-19 has changed how Storyland has come through on that mission. Instead of coming to a theater to watch a live performance of a show such as “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “Jack and the Beanstalk” or “Cinderella,” children are now viewing the stories in their classrooms.
Written by Rick Davis with music by Susan Burgess, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is Storyland’s latest offering to area schoolchildren, and it should be available for viewing soon.
“We have not been able to do any live shows. It just wasn’t safe,” said Barbara Feldman, Storyland’s executive director.
During the 2020-2021 school year, Storyland took a different approach and released “Humphrey Clinker Gets His Wish,” an original music adapted with art and voiceovers by local performers.
“This is a totally new thing for us,” said Feldman.
The response to “Humphrey Clinker Gets His Wish” has been more than Feldman expected.
“Teachers have sent us letters and pictures by the children. They’ve loved it,” she said.
Taking a trip to see a Storyland Theatre production has always been more than just having children see a live play. Each play has added materials tied into Georgia and South Carolina classroom standards to give teachers ways to weave the production into their lesson plans.
The video plays are the same way. It’s a fun educational experience, she said.
While Storyland’s live productions reach thousands of schoolchildren each year, the video plays have an expanded audience through the Internet. People in other states have been able to view them, she said.
Viewing the new production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” will be free, but teachers need to register in order to receive the link for the production.
To learn more, visit storylandtheatre.org or email storylandtheatre@gmail.com.
Feldman said she hopes to return to live theatrical performances, but until then, videotaped performances of “Cinderella” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” are available on YouTube.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
