East Valley Children's Theater Presents "The Tortoise and Mrs. Claus"

Today, the amazing East Valley Children's Theater (EVCT) visited our library with their original holiday play, "The Tortoise and Mrs. Claus." I wasn't sure how many people would show up for a straight-ahead play with no interactive aspect, but was pleasantly surprised with 48 audience members. The actors were all between the ages of ten and thirteen years old and much of the audience were their family members, but I also spotted some new library patrons and some storytime regulars in the mix.

Before the production, one of the kids (possibly the stage manager) came up and explained how EVCT writes their shows. They begin by picking a title as a group. Without any other information, this group picked "The Tortoise and Mrs. Claus" for their December show. Then, they collectively did a lot of writing exercises and improvisation activities, under the guidance of an their adult director, until the premise of the show was born. They formed their own characters, wrote their own lines, and completely created the 30 minute show we saw! The group mostly tours retirement homes and libraries, and do all their performances for free. It was a great program to add to our December calendar, and I would definitely have them back again when they are touring their next show!