Hey hey!
By way of introduction, I am Yule Samson, Sunlit Falls' newest entertainment reporter! I only just got the job not but 1 week ago last Monday and they's already got me covering the big stuff! My first assignment? The Sunlit Falls Elementary production of
The Apple Worms Have a Picnic. I love this job!
The play was performed in room 126 (Mrs. Neeling's 2nd grade) behind a fold-out table complete with adjustable office chairs as back drop. Minimalism! Let me just say, even before the 3:45 curtain time (although there was no actual curtain) my heart was pounding not only because of my desire not to blow it right out of the gate, but the palpable thrill of theatre wafting through the air--along with the smells of M&M cookies and warm apple cider juice. This was to be a magical afternoon of which I was not soon to forget!
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the show began. After a herald of preliminary tape hiss from the boombox and the opening bars of the overture ("Can't Fight The Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes) the puppets playfully popped out from under the table.
"Hey, Mr. Wiggles," said one of the puppets, "You look sad."
"I am sad," replied Wiggles.
"Really?" queried the puppet, "What's eating you?"
It was at this point I was absolutely captivated by these longish little creatures--comprised of merely a brightly-colored common foot sock adorned with felt and googled eye--and was rewarded with this clever twist of phrase:
"It's not what's eating
me ," announced Wiggles, "It's what
I am eating: a rotten apple!"
Needless to say, the rest of the production was an utter joy. Equal parts comedy and drama, I found myself reaching for the rough, brown napkin on my lap--still a bed of cookie crumbs--to tend to my emotional facial secretions one minute, while carelessly eschewing self-composure in favor of uproarious laughter the next. A delight from start to finish.
That said, I must knock a few marks off of my score for a few technical and stylistic shortcomings. The puppets were only in view when that particular character had a line of dialogue to spout, retracting back under the table upon completion of said line (or very near completion, in some cases.) While at first accepting this up-and-down behavior as an artistic choice, it soon became clear that it was merely immature thespiodic form combined with chidhood nervousness. For that, I place fault on Mrs. Neeling, who failed to catch and correct the bad habit beforehand.
One last complaint I have about this otherwise thoroughly wonderous play was the poor audio quality. Maybe it was the acoustics of the room, or--again--jouvenile insecurity, but, in any case, the sound was difficult to negotiate, auditorially. The pre-recorded elements, such as music and sound effects, were mucho too loud and distorted, with the dialogue prooving itself nearly inaudible at times.
All-in-all, however,
The Apple Worms Have a Picnic was an enjoyable experience not to have been missed. It's a shame that its one-and-only performance has come-and-gone. I am grateful to have the claim of saying, "I was there."
So, until next time, I'm Yule Samson saying, "Follow your heart and fuel your soul!"
