Patricia Helsel
Rumpelstiltskin: Research and Production Concept
A children's play with audience participation. Performed in the Rozsa Theater, which seats 1,100, we were faced with the challenge of bringing the play into the audience, literally. The premise is that a troupe of players arrives, interacts with the audience, and proceed to bring to life the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Having directed the play before, with a more traditional approach, in a "pillow theatre" atmosphere, I hoped to bring a more contemporary vision to this production. I wanted to engage the mostly young audience by bringing them into to the medieval fairytale, literally by bringing them onstage and bringing the actors and action into the house. We began with a setting to which children could easily relate. One that was inviting and familiar, but adaptable for creating a theatrical transportation into the story. We began with the stage as a playground. We would incorporate children, as actors, who would remain in contemporary dress and style. The child actors would be the link between the stage proper and the seating area. They used a sliding board to enter the audience. They maneuvered among the young audience members, actively encouraging them to imitate and participate in pantomime. With microphones in hand, the young actors were able to amplify the small voices of the children in the audience. It made the experience both magically, yet "safe." To add to the contemporary style of the play, and because our program has such a strong sound design element, sound and music helped us to achieve an effective mood and style. We chose hip-hop as a basic genre, and achieved a comic effect by integrating silly split-second sound effects to accompany movement. A trampoline was a part of the playground and anytime someone bounced on it, a sound resulted.
The scenic designer (M.C. Friedrich) devised a set of canvas drops and colorful props that were able to be removed from a trunk, carried onstage by the acting troupe. The scenes were set by the child actors (in contemporary costume) throughout the play. The adult actors dressed in their Rumpelstiltskin costumes before the audience's eyes. Being that there are some potentially scary moments (Rumpelstiltskin wanting the Princess' baby, for example) it was helpful for the audience to get to know and trust the actors, out of costume, before diving into the story.
For more about the sound and audio element, click here. For more details about the working process involved in the concept, click here.
