Will has been in this kids drama class sponsored by The Wild Swan Theater, which is a great children’s theater program sponsored in town. I haven’t heard much about how this has been going from him because I’m usually teaching when this class is going on. Well, tonight was the final performance of the class, which was a re-telling of the Pandora story. You know, Pandora and Pandora’s Box, which was re-enacted here as Pandora’s Jar, which, as that wikipedia article suggests, is a reasonable translation. Anyway, the director of the program said that the kids read a story about Greek mythology, they were fascinated by the Pandora story, and they decided to make that the subject of the “finale” play.
Now, I will spare the details, but I will note two things. First, it was actually a heck of a lot better than I thought it was going to be. “Charming” would be the correct adjective. “Cute” would be another one. “Not boring” a third.
Second, Will played two roles: Pandora’s aged advisor, Zerkes, or something like that. I so wish one of us had a camera because the outfit involved a wig, a graduation robe of some sort, and a cane that Will toyed with a bit as if it would potentially become a play sword. His other character was “death,” which was one of the things that was released by Pandora. Now I ask you: when was the last time you saw a children’s play where one of the characters is death?
Will had fun, we had fun, it was a nice break from school, a good alternative to worrying about the stolen minivan.