When a group of four children and four adults got together to create a show called “Land of the Stage,” inspired by the art of improvisation, the kids had some specific ideas about subjects for scenes.
One young boy asserted that he wanted to use improvisation to develop a sketch that was about two guys packing their suitcases at college. So he and one of the adults gave it a try.
Describing the finished product, Carrie Helman, who is co-directing the show for the Players Workshop’s Children’s Theatre, says, “The kid is the smart one who can’t believe that the adult is such an idiot and is packing all sorts of off-the-wall things.”
Another young person asked to do a school scene because he wanted to play the role of the principal.
The final scripts are built up through improvisation. “It’s sometimes hard for the kids because it’s not going the way they saw it in their head,” explains Helman. “So instead of telling them what they should do and squelching their imagination, we say, `What if the scene happened in a place that was really cold, or what if you discover a make-believe object in the scene.’ ” As each scene is done over, catchy lines and quirky personality traits of the characters are written down until the script is complete.
The actors will also create funny stuff by playing improvisational games in front of the audience. One game involves having the actors take a word from the audience; then each actor adds a sentence to it to create a story. “Sometimes the kids want to take some time to think about the sentence they’re going to say, but it doesn’t matter,” explains Helman. “Especially with a kid’s show, the goofier, the sillier, the more obscure the better, because kids love things that are larger than life.”
“Land of the Stage,” 2 p.m. Sundays through May 18, Players Workshop’s Children’s Theatre, Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West, $5; 773-929-6288.