A special play with an all-child cast will hit stages across Richmond. The twist is that the plot was created entirely by the child actors themselves.
Mustard Seed Children’s Theatre, a 17-year-old Richmond-based theatre, will present its annual play Little Cooking Troops at Gateway Theatre this Saturday.
“We hope to grow the children’s creativity by allowing them to be the story-tellers themselves. It was challenging but also a lot of fun,” said Esther Ho, artistic director of the theatre.
She explained that there was no script at the beginning. The little actors came up with ideas and discussed the plot during rehearsals over the past two months. Staff then wrote the ideas down and turned them into a script.
“The kids have so many ideas and so much imagination. That always surprises us,” said Ho.
“And they are so intelligent. They make the story logical…it’s a very successful experimental attempt.”
The children created a story about a student who is a very talented cook but lacks confidence. He is encouraged by friends and teachers to participate in the “Canadian Kitchen God Contest” and meets resistance from aristocratic opponents among other challenges.
“At first, there were not many children participating (in creating the storyline), but in the end, all of them contributed ideas,” said Ho.
“Even the five-year-old kid came up with ideas and asked us, ‘Can I add this to the story?’ Some children didn’t know how to describe what they wanted, so they would act it out.”
Ho said that because the story is from the children’s own ideas, it’s easier for them to memorize the lines and flow with the situation. The 16 actors, aged five to 12, also created their own characters and drew them on posters.
Ho was a social worker in Hong Kong before she moved to Richmond, where she now owns a business. Passionate about children’s education, she started the non-profit theatre on the side to provide an opportunity for kids to connect with others through theatres.
The troop performs at least one play a year.
“The magic of theatre can help kids change for the better,” said Ho.
“It connects them with other people... They tend to be more confident at presenting themselves, calmer and more expressive.
Ho insisted doing the plays in Cantonese, the mother tongue of the actors, to provide an environment for them to keep their language.
“Many children lost their mother tongue as they were growing up, which is a pity.
“It’s not easy for young kids to speak or learn a language outside of English at class here, but theatre is a good way. They can communicate with other kids in Cantonese and enjoy speaking it.”
“Some of the previous kids have grown up, gotten married and had babies. They really appreciate the theatre experience they had here.”
The play will be shown at Gateway Theatre on Nov. 11 at 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m., with English and Chinese subtitles. Tickets are $20 and $50 for VIP. All the tickets have been sold out but the theatre accepts people to a wait-list. For more information, call 604-805-8833.
