Let's delve into a pretty common denominator in the world of theater for young audiences (TYA): fairy tales. There is no end to internet lists "revealing" or "discovering" the dark origins of fairy tales, yet it is so surprising that, once upon a time, we actually told children scary stories? Shocking!
Many of the original versions of fairy tales were told to help children and adults confront the very real dangers of their times. Hansel and Gretel is an excellent example and very likely the most well known: it's famine and hunger that motivate the mother or stepmother (depending on the version) to convince her husband to abandon his children in the woods. Most stage productions hide that part of the tale. It is fear of the darkness inherent in the stories that can cause playwrights to move too far in the other, more saccharine direction, leading to meaningless takes on fairy tales that now feel like the norm. When we remove fear from a fairy tale - or any story - we remove its connection to our lives, and that dumbing down affects theater audiences for a lifetime. Without true connections to our own feelings, fears and joys, why bother attending?
Read more at The Clyde Fitch Report. Read Part 1: Why do Theaters Dumb Down TYA (Theater for Young Audiences)? Caleb Foote and Angela Giarratana in "Hansel & Gretel Bluegrass" (Photo: Cooper Bates)
