A ‘ribbiting’ adventure; Matchbox to perform new version of ‘The Frog Prince’
Published 10:55 am Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Esmerelda, played by Kristen Watkins, shares a scene at the well with the frog played by Cole Pederson during rehearsal of the Matchbox Children’s Theatre presentation of “The Far-Fetched Fable of the Frog Prince: How a Prince Became a Frog and Starred in the School Play.” — Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Frogs are hopping and princesses are getting mixed up as “The Frog Prince” and a prince who gets turned into a frog get turned around and start to change places.
Matchbox Children’s Theatre will present “The Far-Fetched Fable of the Frog Prince: How a Prince Became a Frog and Starred in the School Play” by playwright Jennifer Kirkeby at the Historic Paramount Theatre this weekend. The play will run Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5 for those ages 14 and under, $8 for adults, and children ages 2 and under are free.
Director Janet Anderson is excited for her 24th time directing a Matchbox play. As a co-founder in 1975, Anderson has enjoyed being involved over the years and is glad to work with students for the first show of the 41st season.
“It gets a little crazy,” she said. “It’s really funny.”
The play, a twist of the traditional story “The Frog Prince,” explains how the prince was turned into a frog in the first place, but it doesn’t stop there. With a school preparing to do the play “The Frog Prince,” a little magical mix-up between the old and the new is brought on by a crafty witch and the two stories begin to overlap, intertwine and create complete zaniness.
“It’s a comedy,” Anderson said.
Paul Burger, portraying the science teacher, and Christine Wik, playing the drama teacher, rehearse scenes with students Lydia Wik, Blythe Johnson, Natalie Zettles and C.C. LaVillie.
There is a mix of adults and students in the cast of 11, which features actors from Austin and Albert Lea.
“Theater is a cooperative art, so you learn by working with each other,” Anderson said. “And that’s one of the reasons I think it’s valuable to have both student and adult actors.”
Deidre Smith, the witch, confronts Cole Peterson playing the frog during rehearsel of the Matchbox Children’s Theatre presentation of “The Far-Fetched Fable of the frog Prince: How a Prince Became a Frog and Starred in the School Play.”
She said many of the actors have been in other shows and performed other characters, so working with people they haven’t performed with before is a good way to get a new perspective.
“It’s all part of the learning experience,” she said.
Anderson hopes the audience walks away with a good experience.
“Just a really fun, live-theater experience just enjoying the play and seeing the typical frog prince story — if they’re familiar with the story, just a really funny, fresh way to look at that story,” Anderson said.
Some of the cast and crew have family connections in this performance, as well, with a grandmother and granddaughter, a husband and wife, and mother and daughter.
“There’s kind of some fun, family connections in the show,” Anderson said.
She said the roles have interesting challenges, such as one character who gets their voice taken away and has to mime everything. Another character can only cluck like a chicken for awhile. These different things challenge the actors to go outside the box and learn.
“It’s just a whole ‘nother thing that actor has to do,” Anderson said.
“For actors, it’s really a great way to develop stronger communication skills,” she added.
