A story for children and grown-ups. The exploration of adulthood, childhood, and the nature of growing up packaged within a story written for children.
Taylor University’s Theatre Department created their own take on ‘The Little Prince,’ based on the novela written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
‘The Little Prince’ tells the story of an aviator who crashes his plane in the middle of nowhere. When crashing, they meet this little boy named the Little Prince. In their interactions, the Little Prince tells the aviator about all the people who he has met and all the places he’s seen, navigating a story of his personal journey.
The production took a different take on the show, including a dance ensemble and the unique set. Navigating around the curved stage and the half-pipe, the performers engage the audience in a special way specific to this show to make it stand apart from other productions.
Sophomore Eleana Manning portrayed the role of the Little Prince. she explained the joy that she has found in discovering her character throughout the process.
“The actual Little Prince has been such a joy to embody,’ Manning said. “He has taught me so much about the hope of resurrections, how to ask questions and journey with wonder and joy, and what it means to be responsible to others.”
In preparation for the show, the entire team involved had to adhere to a multitude of protocols to keep the team safe in the midst of COVID-19. One of these procedures included taking short breaks every hour to clear the space and wash hand. More so, they were required to maintain social distance whenever possible, contact trace who each member had been around (calling for the team to tighten their circle of interactions), and take their temperature before each rehearsal and performance.
Another important thing the performers adhered to included them wearing masks during the performance, outside of two actors who were able to remove their masks due to their adequate amount of distance from the other performers.
Outside of the procedures of the rehearsals, the team designed similar procedures for the audiences. In the midst of changes due to new restrictions of indoor gatherings for Indiana, the team almost faced the reality of being required to reduce the number of seats very low. Fortunately, after appealing to the Grant County health commisioner, their performance reeceived an exception due to the several procedures put in place for the audience.These procedures included a smaller audience with more performance times and social distancing of the audience’s family groups.
With these regulations in mind, Senior Victoria Koro, the assistant to the director for this production, explained the joy found in live theatre right now.
“Doing theatre, in the time of COVID, is hard,” said Koro. “But it’s also such a privilege and responsibility because there are so many theatres that are closed right now.”
Koro further explained the meaning behind the show and the multitude of interpretations.
“There is a bit of a question that’s been around since the book was published about what is ‘The Little Prince’ actually about, and it’s very open to interpretation, which is fun for our audiences to come see,” said Koro. “Everyone gets to come and hear what they need to hear and learn what they need to learn,” said Koro.
‘The Little Prince’ will continue performances in Mitchell Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 19 @ 7:30pm, Friday, Nov. 20 @ 7:30pm, and Saturday, Nov. 21 @ 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets will be sold for $10. For more information and updates, check out the Taylor Theatre Department instagram, @taylortheatre.
