The Little Prince at OSTF 2011

 I got to spend a few months back in Oberlin, OH working for the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival - my third year in a row as a founding member of the festival - directing The Little Prince.

Opening LP puppet

The desert flower.

 

The Little Prince cleaning out his volcanoes. (That's a seed "from who knows where" landing on the other side of the planet!)

I am so lucky to have gotten to work with such talented and lovely individuals on this show!



The fabulous Anya Kazimierski designed the sets and puppets for the show. Working with her is a dream come true!!



I love my fantastic cast and crew and everyone who helped make the show a reality.

 
We played to 300 seat audiences (!!) and got great feedback:
  
"My family and I came to OSTF for the first time today. We saw The Little Prince. It was wonderful. Everyone from 60 to 6 years LOVED the performance. Thank you for a wonderful afternoon:)" - Heather Moroney Sobiski

"Just watched "The Little Prince" with two of my grandsons. It was a great performance. Thank you for a great afternoon!" - Pattie Buck Eschen

"We (myself, my s-i-l and my children, 10 and 6) just got back from seeing The Little Prince and we all loved it! In my 6 year old's words "That was awesome!". It is so refreshing to see such amazing talent locally. I am personally so grateful to be able to introduce my children to theater in a cheap (free!) and fun way. This is just the beginning, I am sure, of their love of the arts. Thank you for putting on such a quality production!" - Jonna Abraham-Sheffield

In case you didn't get to see it, here's a "hipster trailer" I made for it.  

That's the lovely Marina Shay as the boy from asteroid B-612. 

 
I also got to play with Matthew Wright, Courtney Merrell, Alex Huntsberger and Ralph Johnson in the cast.  We had such a blast!! And my design team was stellar: gorgeous music by Ryan Lester, beautiful lights by Jamie Benjamin, and of course, my one and only Anya K on visual design. Thanks to our great stage manager Mary Heatwole, and extra special thanks to my dear Julia Perez who is good at maths and positive thinking and playing my accordion. We made a pretty show. :)

I tend to inhabit the shows I'm working on. I can't express how moving it was to work on a show that is about the life-saving property of our own imagination, and the diligence of love. The wall of the box is nothing; the sheep inside is perfect.


THANK YOU OSTF for bringing me out again! It was a gift to get to work on this beautiful story.