THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN – Written by Brian Dowling and Kellie Fox (from the novel by George MacDonald); Directed by Aaron Vega; Original Music by Abdulkarim Islam, Ryan Glaser, and Alex Seracuse. Produced by Third Side Theatre Company (Presented at the People’s Building, 9995 East Colfax, Aurora) through September 20. Tickets available at thepeople’sbuilding.com.
A beloved children’s story has been converted by Third Side Theatre Company into a delightfully sparkling production that will delight children and amuse adults with its inventive storytelling. Using live actors, puppets, projections, sound effects, and music, the cast tells the story of the curious Princess who discovers Goblins in caverns near her castle and then needs to be rescued by a steadfast village boy.
The action moves quickly and seamlessly between genres, with a puppet being visible on the stage one moment and then magically jumping into a projection on the screen the next. A pair of live actors converse in the middle of the stage, surrounded by body puppets. Vocal effects are used to transform the puppets from helpful to threatening. Simple sound effects – like tapping a pen against a water bottle amplified – add to the realism. Projections move, becoming stalactites crashing down or a flood moving through a cavern. It’s all very magical, but in a visible, in-your-face kinda way.
The puppets are handmade but effective. All members of the troupe use Body, Hand, and Shadow puppets. For instance, the nanny is a body puppet with a paper mâché head and a burlap body on a pole to give her volume, and utilizes a high-pitched human voice to give her age and anger. She is threatening and funny at the same time. Her shenanigans had the children in the audience laughing in delight while the adults couldn’t help but smile. Because no attempt is made to disguise their human carriers, they are not scary to the kids in the audience.
Original works of music were developed to enhance the story with songs sung live to both express an emotion and to scare away the goblins. They don’t like music. Background music would also creep in quietly along the way. All very melodic and sweet.
The Third Side troupe, consisting of Brian Dowling, Kellie Fox, Lisa Kraai, Max Lubeck, and Jeremiah Martinez, slip from one role into another without breaking a sweat. They are live characters in costume on the stage one moment, handling one or two puppets the next, then moving over to slide projections onto the back wall screen quickly following. It’s an equal opportunity to be both an actor, a voice talent, and a tech all at once.
I know this whole production was a collaboration – theatre from scratch, as it were. Kudos must be given to director Aaron Vega, who obviously took all the suggestions of his cast members and fellow collaborators to mold this new script into a smoothly operating performance with many moving parts. Everyone keeps the three-ring circus moving forward.
This is not the kind of theatre you see every day. It’s creative in new ways, doesn’t take itself seriously but has people serious about their art making it, and it’s appealing to adults and children alike. It trusts that the kids will get the jokes and not be fearful of goblins, and that adults will admire the artistry. Third Side Theatre Company has a promising future ahead of it with new ways of looking at old stories.
A WOW factor of 8.5!!