Make/Believe 2021: A Festival for Young Audiences

Curated by Maria Burnham
Playwrights: Eric Braman, Kim Z. Dale, Adam Eugene Hurst, Steven San Luis, Sarah Lina Sparks and Lori Taylor
Directors: Rashaad A. Bond, Alyssa Vera Ramos, Jonathan M. Saucedo, Rebecca Rose Schilsky and Kayla V. White and Aria Caldwell

Ghostlight Ensemble brings back its popular Make/Believe festival in 2021 with six short plays by playwrights from around the country to be presented virtually in June.

This curated festival features a mix of short plays by local and out-of-state playwrights that were written for audiences 10 and under, but which are also meant to be enjoyed by all ages.

The six stories that make up this year’s Make/Believe festival are filled with young people, plants and a puppy who must face great obstacles to discover who (or what) they’re meant to be. From the Filipino-American girl who is trying to find her way home in Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things to the pink hydrangea that knows it was born to be blue in A Blue Hydrangea, the protagonists in these plays face the types of struggles modern children will recognize from their own lives.

Selected scripts include:

Best Friends, written by Adam Eugene Hurst, directed by Rashaad A. Bond. Cast: Dara Brown and Clara Johnson.
A Blue Hydrangea, written by Eric Braman, directed by Alyssa Vera Ramos. Cast: Ariel Etana Triunfo and Will Pettway.
The Friend Box and The Box Friend, written by Kim Z. Dale, directed by Jonathan M. Saucedo. Cast: Tommy Blackburn, Heather Bronson, Meg Collins and Terri Hudson with Jean Burr, Christopher Mueller, Sydney Ray and Holly Robison.
It's Poppin', written by Steven San Luis, directed by Rebecca Rose Schilsky. Cast: Levi Denton-Hughes and Emmett Wickersham.
Splash of Magic, written by Lori Taylor, directed by Kayla V. White and Aria Caldwell. Cast: Aria Caldwell, Nick Conrad and Toma Lynn Smith.
Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things, written by Sarah Lina Sparks, directed by Roxy Adviento. Cast: Alexandra Alontaga, Roxy Adviento and Cooper Bohn.

Click the links above for play summaries and team bios. All six plays will be presented at each performance.

Classes
Stagecraft classes will also be available virtually for children as part of this year’s festival. Choose from Building the Character — Literally, Building the Story or Building the World. Please note these classes are currently scheduled to run concurrently, so students will only be able to choose one per day. Classes are scheduled for June 5 & 6 only. Details on the classes are available here.

There is a suggested donation of $5 per class to help pay teachers, but this is only a suggestion. If this is cost prohibitive for you, please email us at boxoffice@ghostlightensemble.com and let us know which class and which date you’d like your student to attend. Ghostlight is committed to providing access to all regardless of circumstances.

Make/Believe is part of our Nightlight young audiences series, which produces original, adapted and forgotten plays geared toward children and the adults who love them.

Details
Where: Virtual
When: Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6, 2021
What time: 2 p.m.
Streaming: On-Demand Streaming will be available beginning Monday, June 7 through the end of the month.
How Much: Pay-What-You-Will with a minimum donation of $1, but a suggested donation of $10 for the performance and $5 per class. By donating more, if you are able, you help offset the cost for those who can’t afford to give.