Structure gives way to simplicity in the toddler-appealing play We Three
Local theatregoers may know Meghan Gardiner from her roles in the Arts Club’s recent production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (she played Madame de la Grand Bouche) and the adult comedy I Lost My Husband, which ran at the Gateway this past March.
Others may know her as the playwright/performer behind the long-running Dissolve, about sexual assault.
But these credits aren’t likely to impress many in the audience at her new show, We Three.
The latest in Carousel Theatre’s Bee Stage series, the play is aimed at seat-fillers from ages zero to four.
Gardiner isn’t in the piece — CJ McGillivray (who has also written music for the play), Melissa Oei and Allan Zinyk handle acting duties. But she wrote it.
The Vancouver-based actor/writer has written for young audiences before, including Blind Spot for high schoolers and Roll Call for elementary-age kids (both for Green Thumb Theatre).
Writing for preschoolers was a different kind of challenge.
“I found it quite hard,” Gardiner said. “I have a tendency to overwrite. You don’t want things to be boring but they can’t be too clever. The last thing you want to do to young impressionable audiences is to unintentionally lie to them. Their comprehension is still developing. I think I overcomplicated my first draft. I was proud of my play structure. I had to strip that away.”
Instead, she wrote to appeal on non-verbal levels.
“Because the audience is not going to understand a linear narrative quite yet, you have to appeal to their senses,” she said. “It’s not just sight, it’s also sound and touch. It’s more of an immersive experience.”
Audience members are invited to sing, dance, and gurgle along as they explore the five senses, and interact with the performers, their parents or guardians, and each other.
“What happens sometimes is, when kids go and see a play for the first time, maybe they’re around five, if they’re lucky. And they’re told to enjoy it. But they’re told to not make any noise, to clap only when appropriate. Their responses are a little bit suppressed. Here they are encouraged to respond any way they want. The show happens around them.”
In We Three, a trio of characters explore colour, shapes, music, and friendship. Two characters are letters and one is a number.
“They go through this journey of discovering who they are. I think self-discovery is something that can’t be instilled too early. They celebrate
their differences and encourage each other to find their separate truths. Ultimately, its says differences are OK. In fact, differences make us fabulous.”
Gardiner has tried to throw in some material for the adults as well. One of her favourite movies to watch with her five-year-old is the Pixar film Inside Out.
“He enjoys it on one level and I enjoy it on a completely different level,” she said. With We Three, she says, “I know who’s buying the tickets. So I want to make sure the caregivers also have a good time.”