When CenterStage’s professional children’s theater company, Acting Out, decided to stage The Tale of Peter Rabbit (and Benjamin Bunny) to bring into schools this spring, the planned a program that would not only entertain their young audiences and provide them with a rewarding live theater experience, they designed their performance to engage the youngsters in the action.
During their public performance at the Jewish Community Center on Sunday, March 9, the company invited the many children in attendance to sit up front close to the set. The set itself was simple and straightforward, providing a green field background and allowing actors to come and go and change costumes easily.
As they recounted Beatrix Potter’s classic tale, the actors wove in and out of the audience and often talked directly to their young patrons, encouraging them to answer simple questions. They recruited an affable audience member to serve as a scarecrow and even got many of the youngsters up to march with them as an army at one point.
All in all, the Acting Out company ensured that Peter Rabbit was light-hearted, fun and engaging for one and all.