Elephant & Piggie Friendship, Family, and Fun.

Resident Artist and director, Aaron White, sits down with members of the cast of Elephant & Piggie’s: We’re In A Play and special guest and Children’s Librarian extraordinaire  NIna White to reflect on making the unexpected knockout of a musical, written by the multiple Caldecott winning author, Mo Willems.

Transcripts of all Season 2-4 episodes are available on our Buzzsprout website.

Check out our current season: http://www.bte.org
Ensemble Driven. Professional Theatre. Arts Education. Rural Pennsylvania. For Everyone. With Everyone.

Transcript

Elephant & Piggie Friendship, Family, and Fun.

Aaron: [00:00:00] Welcome to Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble Down Center, a podcast where the summer sillies are on full display in our company, our people, our art, and our town, and where we put friendship front and down center.

Hello, I'm Aaron White, a resident artist here at BTE, and it is summer. That means talented young artists from around the region return to the BTE stage to join our professional team to make a show that's "unpossibly" heartwarming, silly, playful, and fun for every member of the family. Elephant and Piggie are in a play, and you are invited to the party.

You don't wanna miss this unexpected knockout of a musical written by the multiple Caldecott-winning author Mo Willems. And in this episode, we talk to a few members of the cast and a very special guest librarian that helped to inspire the look and feel of BTE's big summer musical.

Stella 

Aaron: I gotta share a little secret with you all. Uh, these summer episodes interviewing the community kids that [00:01:00] are in our summer shows are some of my favorite to record because I get to pick the brains of our community kids and get some insight that I, I don't know that I would get otherwise about what is special to them about making theater with our ensemble.

So, uh, to start out with, here's Stella Bailey letting us in on her thoughts about Elephant & Piggie.

Can you tell me your name and who you're playing in the show, and what cast you're in? 

Stella: Um, I'm Stella Bailey. I'm in Florie Cast, and I play Squirrel Number One, the High Squirrel. 

Aaron: Squirrel Number One. The High Squirrel? Be- w- w- why is, why are you the High Squirrel?

Stella: Oh, I'm the Middle Squirrel. 

Aaron: You're the Middle... And, and what, what does high, middle, low, uh, stand for? Like, what, what is that re- 

Stella: It's a three-part harmony. 

Aaron: Right. So you're actually learning three-part harmony to do the show? 

Stella: Uh-huh. 

Aaron: How many times have you done three-part harmony like this before? 

Stella: Um, this would be my second time. Okay. My first time 

Aaron: was in Sound of Music. Ah, 

Stella: cool, because wh- who did you play in Sound of Music? Gretl. 

Aaron: Gretl, very cool. Mm-hmm. Very cool. Have you ever done a show with BTE before?

Stella: [00:02:00] Yeah. Yeah. This is my second one. My first one was Charlie Brown Christmas. 

Aaron: Ah, and who did you play in that? 

Stella: Sally. 

Aaron: Sally. And you were very good. I really liked you in that show. So what is your favorite thing about doing about being in Elephant and Piggie? 

Stella: Um, probably meeting new people and learning new things.

Aaron: Okay. Cool. And, did you know Elephant and Piggie before doing the show? 

Stella: Yes. I loved Mo Willems' 

Aaron: books. Oh, cool. And so not just Elephant and Piggie, but you liked the other ones? 

Stella: Yes. 

Aaron: What are, what's your favorite one? 

Stella: Of his, all his books? Piggie and Elephant was my favorite- Okay

but I also liked the Pigeon books. 

Aaron: Pigeon books. Yeah. Of course. The Pigeon on the Bus. If you had to pick an, an Elephant and Piggie book, what would be your favorite Elephant and Piggie book? 

Stella: Mm, Let's Go for a Drive. 

Aaron: Let's Go for a Drive? Uh-huh. I like that one, too. I, I like the car in that, in that one.

It's nice talking to you. Thank you, Stella. 

Stella: You're welcome. 

Nina and Kimie

Aaron: I'm sitting with two Piggies, - a current Piggy and a past Piggy, and let me explain that statement. Past Piggy. I, I have, my fellow [00:03:00] ensemble, member and resident artist, Kimie Muroya, here. 

Kimie: Mm-hmm. Hi, that's me. 

Aaron: Mm. And, uh, Children's librarian extraordinaire. And the person I live with. Also a- ... a, a past BTE intern and guest artist, uh, Nina White. 

Nina: Hello. 

Aaron: Elephant and Piggie is this big part of Kimie and my life at the moment, 'cause we're rehearsing it.

Mm-hmm. Um, and it's also a big part of our life, Nina and mine, for a couple different reasons, but- Mm-hmm ... we were just talking about the-, that during the pandemic, uh, Elephant and Piggie were a big part of our family's life.

Nina: Yes. 

Aaron: Because we made I think we made five videos of Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems, and you got to play Piggie in a lot of those books. Um, but sometimes you got to play Elephant. What was the reason for that?

Nina: Once. 

Aaron: On- once you got to play Elephant? 

Nina: Our son at the time, uh, was- 

Aaron: He's still our son ... 

Nina: he's still our son. Yeah. Our son at the time, who is still our son, was in [00:04:00] kindergarten and loved, we'd spend a great deal of the time reading together, and the wonderful way that the structure and format of the Elephant and Piggie books are wonderful ways to take turns reading aloud together because they're in speech bubbles. So they're, they're very fun to take turns reading who gets to read what part.

Mm-hmm. And often he wanted to be Gerald- Mm-hmm ... and asked me to read Piggie, and on occasion he would say no, he wanted to be Piggie and wanted me to be Gerald. 

We made those videos during the pandemic because you were head, of the children's department at James E. Brown Library?

Yes.

Aaron: Yeah. 

Nina: Yep. Yeah. I was the head of the children's department at Brown, and we had things called Friday Funnies. So sometimes we either did Elephant & Piggie or jokes and riddles to help with language acquisition, and turn-taking, and storytelling. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. And what, what is your, what is your current job?

Nina: And- It's not part of- 

Aaron: This is important. 

Nina: Okay. 

Aaron: This... You are the e- You're the expert on the panel today. 

Nina: No. Oh, don't, please. Don't say that. No, I [00:05:00] am the North Central Library District Youth Consultant, which means we support 40 libraries in 11 counties, and so I'm their go-to person.

Aaron: Elephant & Piggie was a big part of our child's early reading experience.

Nina: Mo Willems and Elephant and Piggie books in general they're still the highest circulating books in any public library, not just here, but in most children's libraries.

There's a whole series, and most often they are gone and one of- they're usually the set of books that need to get replaced because they are well-loved and taken out, and that's everywhere. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. One of the reasons, that I wanted to chat with both of you today, but particularly Nina, is that my framing directing the show has a lot to do with the information that you've shared with me about early literacy, and emerging readers, and how authors, particularly Mo Willems, crafts books to help kids begin reading, how kids grow as [00:06:00] readers, 

Nina: We say more emerging reader because early literacy is what children need to know about reading and writing before they learn to read and write.

Most kids are learning to read in, in K to two. Mm-hmm. Um, some children do learn earlier- Mm-hmm ... but it is, that's- that's not typical, so we don't want a- anyone to feel behind.

Mm-hmm. The beautiful thing with Elephant and Piggie, is that there's big, bold text to know when something is loud or soft. Mm-hmm. Um, a lot of white space so your eyes go right into the illustration, and really strong facial expressions and very clear speech bubbles, and I think that is what's good for- for the emerging reader because the muscle isn't developed behind the eye until six.

So it's helpful to see that large typography. But the illustrations- Mm-hmm ... which I think are beautiful is because we, um, process visual literacy, we process images 600,000 times faster than words. So facial [00:07:00] expressions, that are really clear in the illustrations... that helps children understand and connect socially and emotionally to how other people feel. So I think that that's, uh, lends itself to cues, um, the emotional range and what a character is feeling. And so the images actually, I would say the illustrations in the book, are what help connection for kids. 

Aaron: Speaking about, uh, emotional literacy, one of the things that Kimie has been- we've been endeavoring in the rehearsal room, is that emotional literacy side of things. . We have a lovely new partner in the person of Jacob Challenger, and you guys have to navigate each other's emotions all the time. That's kind of the main thrust of the play.

Kimie: Yeah, I Jacob, and you and I were kinda talking about how, uh, the language, while very simplistic, is very heightened- 

Katelyn: Mm-hmm

Kimie: in a way. So, so we're really distilling these characters down to, like, uh, an emotion at a time [00:08:00] almost. 

Liam: Mm-hmm. 

Kimie: Um, and flipping from them very, very quickly. And Jacob I am enjoying very much. I feel like we're- ... very much on, a similar wavelength, 

Aaron: You're, you're both very playful. Yeah. Like, you play, you- Yeah ... you play the same 

Kimie: way in, in a way. Yeah, 

Nina: yeah, yeah. We have a lot of- Not only because it's a near and dear series to my heart, I just am, I'm excited to 

Aaron: see it.

Kimie: Um, but yeah we've got a lot of the same sense of humor, and, um, there's a lot of sharing back and forth, which is really great. He's, he's a great, great scene partner. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Kimie: Um, and I'm really enjoying, uh, that, that work with him What was the question? 

Aaron: Just emotional literacy. So much of Elephant and Piggie is focused on how to navigate when your friend is anxious- Mm-hmm ... or when you are jealous because your friend has something that they, that you don't have.

Kimie: I feel like Gerald's, hallmark is, is his anxiety.

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Kimie: And Piggie's hallmark is her adventurousness. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Kimie: And so just in that dynamic, she tends to be the one who is pulling him out of an anxious [00:09:00] episode or, or bringing him out, like doing the work of bringing him out into the, to the wider sphere.

Aaron: And one feels more comfortable with a plan, whereas the other feels more comfortable when there isn't a plan.

Yeah. You know? Yeah. That they often find themselves in those sort of diametrically opposed places, and then trying to find the spot in the middle. 

Nina: Yeah. Isn't that the beauty of friendship, though? 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Nina: That they're friends. Mm-hmm. They're best friends. But that most of us have friends that bring us out of our shells because opposites attract.

Kimie: Mm-hmm. 

Nina: We were having a conversation, uh, on the porch, Kimie, about, theater providing opportunities and creative agency to develop empathy in human beings. And I think that as a form of literature, Elephant and Piggie do help children have empathy and understanding. And Gerald- Yeah specifically, as you were just saying, like in the ice cream story- Mm-hmm ... which I believe is in the play. Yes. 

Liam: There's a whole 

Nina: song about it. There's 

Aaron: a- 

Nina: Yeah, Ice Cream Hero. Love it, love it. Um, but that Gerald does [00:10:00] start to think, "Well, my friend might be sad somewhere," and does start to develop empathy. And it's really child developmentally, they're very child egocentrical for a long time before they start to see outside themselves.

Yeah. And so I think that, um, it's just a wonderful book for kids to, to grow up with. As kids are 

Aaron: transitioning with those things- Sure ... then the books are doing the same thing. 

Nina: You know, breaking my toy, that sort of, they had immediate gratification that happens with kids 

Kimie: There's a lot of immediacy in these characters. One of the books that is not in the show, but, uh, I think it's just kind of present through Elephant and Piggie's dynamic is the Waiting Is Not Easy book.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, and yeah. And it's just, you know, these are both characters who know what they want, want it right now, feels an emotion pretty quickly. Like, there's a very swift turn we crafted with Jacob, where Piggie leaves the stage, and immediately Elephant's like, "I'm lonely."

Aw. [00:11:00] 

Aaron: And it's not even been a 

Kimie: moment since she disappeared. No, it's literally I leave the stage, "I'm lonely." I miss 

Nina: my friend. Yeah. 

Kimie: I think that theater- is most helpful to a community in that it teaches empathy for other humans.

Aaron: Mm. 

Kimie: And even though Elephant and Piggie are an elephant and a pig- Correct ... and, and they have some squirrel friends, and a dog friend, and a penguin friend, that the empathy for others is, is a really important part of development.

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Nina: Yeah, which I'm not sure if it's in the show- Mm ... but in the series, you know, you have these wonderful cameos. There's a very, very large whale that people don't want to play with because- He's so big ... he's so big. Or s- Mm ... uh, there's a snake that never, no one will ever plays catch with. And so very gently, w- it's opportunities to touch upon empathy for those that are different, whether someone is too big and people are afraid to play, or someone [00:12:00] can't play because they don't have balls to catch.

Mm-hmm. 

Aaron: They do touch on that, in Elephants Can't Dance.

There's a whole number about, uh, Gerald n- not being able to dance, and is trying to dance like everybody else and can't the other characters be- 

Kimie: it turns out it's not that he can't dance, it's just that he has a different style- Way of dancing ... 

Aaron: of dancing.

Yeah. 

Kimie: And so it's not that he can't do a thing, he nav- he finds a way to navigate, uh, and do it in a different way. 

Aaron: And by other people saying, "Actually, we don't want you to learn our way of dancing, we wanna learn your way of dancing."

Nina: 100% um, uh, accepting a friend and loving a friend for who they are. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Nina: And the way that they are. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Nina: Yeah, yeah. 

Aaron: in talking with some of the kids some have a really deep connection to Elephant and Piggie.

Nina: Most people might think of Elephant and Piggie as for young children- Mm-hmm ... or emerging readers, but, they've been around for decades 

Aaron: one of my favorite things about making those videos years ago, is that they are scenes between people.

So you can actually play with your [00:13:00] kid while reading the book. The musical does the same thing, where it's just fun for the kids, but there's, there are a couple little moments where, um, the, the parents will get a joke that the kids won't. We craft the shows for that purpose.

and I think Jacob often says every song is a banger. 

Kimie: Yeah. All of the songs are great. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Kimie: Like, they really have no right to be that great. 

Aaron: Yeah, yeah. 

Kimie: Deborah Wick Lipuma, I'm coming for you. 

Aaron: Yeah, no. She's really fantastic....

uh, We talked a little bit about, how Mo Willems is crafting those books for emerging readers part of our production as part of the staging of the show, um, these characters that I call the onomatopoietics. That's just a big fancy word- ... for people who move words around.

Kimie: We had a lot of really great kids turn out- Yeah

and we didn't have enough roles. And so Aaron came up with this solution of creating these moving words on stage, and using movement and dancers to do that. And it was both necessity of, like, we want 

Aaron: to- 

Kimie: To engage 

Aaron: as 

Kimie: many [00:14:00] kids ... to engage as many kids because they came out and they, they put the work in, and they and they showed us. And so you, you came up with this solution, which I think is really an

Mm-hmm. Jacob was saying to me the other day, he was like, "Yeah, really, I mean, the way the onomatopoetics are going, like, Aaron's cooking with that." Well, I'm 

Nina: starting to see that now too- He's brilliant ..

because that's not something that I- I've seen before.

 Charlee & Katelyn - Onomonopaetics

Aaron: Can you tell me your name, who you play, and what cast you're in? 

Charlee: Um, I am Charlie Hamilton. I am a OP3- Mm-hmm ... and I'm in Florie cast. 

Aaron: Cool, and what does OP stand for? 

Charlee: OP stands for a- onomatopoetic. 

Katelyn: My name is Katelyn. I'm part of the Flippy cast, and I play Onomatopoet 1.

One. 

Aaron: A- what is an onomatopoetic? 

Charlee: We're like, kind of like in the air, like- basically putting letters together, for, like, young kids to understand what's happening.

Katelyn: It's basically a non-speaking [00:15:00] role that represents the words or actions of the characters on stage. 

Aaron: Nailed it.

Katelyn: We have a lot of signs- Mm-hmm

that represent words. 

Aaron: Words, yeah. 

Katelyn: Or words that are being said by other characters. 

Aaron: And full transparency, a thing of my own creation, because I wanted... We had too many good people come to auditions, and you were one of them, and you are knocking it out of the park with the onomatopoetics. How do you feel about being an OP? Sincerely, like, what, what, what, what's it like being an OP? 

Charlee: Well, I like that I'm an OP with most of my friends. 

Aaron: Oh, yeah? 

Charlee: So it's fun that I get to, like, interact with them. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Charlee: And I kinda like that we like to, like, mess with the main characters and they don't know that we're there, 

Aaron: so. 'Cause you're just words, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Katelyn: Well, it's we get to have a lot of facial expressions, and we get to be really dramatic- Mm-hmm ... without having to, like, worry about the lines that we're saying. I also don't have to memorize any lines. Y- 

Aaron: you have to memorize a lot of movement, th- but, but, but- 

Katelyn: Sure,

Aaron: but like- ... 

no lines have to be entering your head.

The problem is I paraphrase a bunch of things. 

Gotcha. Gotcha, gotcha. 

Katelyn: So remembering actions is a lot easier than remembering [00:16:00] lines. 

Aaron: Did you know Elephant and Piggie when you were a kid? 

Charlee: I've read, like, two books. 

Aaron: Okay. 

Charlee: But then, like, I started going online and looking at the, all the books- Yeah, yeah

when I got a part in the show, so. 

Aaron: Oh, gotcha. So you did your research. 

Charlee: Yeah. 

Aaron: Yeah. Cool. Well, one of the things that I love that he does is he m- kind of moves the words around the page and- Yeah ... kinda, you get the emotions of it. And you guys are doing, you're embodying that really, really, in a really- Mm-hmm

cool way.

. You know Mo- Mo Willems before the show? 

Katelyn: Mm-hmm. 

Aaron: Do you have a favorite book of his? 

Katelyn: Funnily enough- Yeah

it was the Fancy Party one.

Aaron: Really? Oh, cool. Which we, which we actually kinda do in, in Elephant and Piggie. 

Katelyn: What, 

Aaron: Why is that your favorite? Do you know? Do you remember? 

Katelyn: I don't, actually. Okay. I think it was just 'cause they kept changing costumes. 

Okay. 'Cause 

I read it when I was very small.

Aaron: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The- theme of that book is that they get to put on a whole lot of different kinds of clothes that are very silly., I always liked that one, too. There's a lot of fun props that way. 

Katelyn: Subtle foreshadowing to my theater interests.

Aaron: Yeah, yeah. I th- I think you're right. Like, y- you, you read that and like, "Ooh, I could [00:17:00] I, I could get to go do theater, too." 

Have you ever done a BTE show before? 

Charlee: No. 

Aaron: So it's your first show with BTE. Uh, what other shows have you done? 

Charlee: Um, I've never been in a show before. 

Aaron: So this is your very first show. 

Charlee: Yeah. 

Aaron: Very cool. Well, you are doing a fabulous job 

Charlee: Thank you

Aaron: Is this your first show with BTE? 

Katelyn: Not at all. 

Aaron: Okay. What else have you done with BTE? 

Katelyn: I've done... Let's go the, through them in chronological order. Wayside. Mm-hmm. 39 Steps. Charlie Brown. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Katelyn: Little Women, and then Elephant and Piggie.

Aaron: Yeah. And but th- this is your first show, uh- 

Katelyn: That I'm cast ... 

Aaron: yeah, that you're performing in. You've, you've been a rock star backstage really truly. I know you make things go. Um, so you're making things go on stage, too, so thank you for that. what's your favorite thing about doing shows here versus school?

Do you have any insight having done, 'cause you've been an intern this year.

Katelyn: Mm-hmm ... 

Aaron: we didn't talk about that. 

Katelyn: I like the kind of comfortability that everyone has with everyone else- Mm ... within their cast, within the other casts, with among, like, [00:18:00] the crew members. 

Mm-hmm. 

I think I knew maybe 15 of the people in my school- Mm that I was, like, actually close enough to have conversations with during the production, and that was the whole school year. I'm here for, like, a couple months, and I'm comfortable enough to talk to anyone- 

Aaron: Cool, cool ... 

Katelyn: part of the production team. 

Aaron: Have you discovered something that you either really, really like or really, really don't like about rehearsals?

Charlee: Well, I like that they're, , long, 'cause I do like coming to rehearsal each day. Mm-hmm And it's fun. Um, there's not really anything I don't like about it.

Aaron: Oh, that's good to know. Just That, that makes me happy to hear,

Charlie. Thank you very much. is there anything that you would like to say to the audience the, before they get here? 

Charlee: Um, it's gonna be a fun show, so come.

Katelyn: Come to the show. 

Aaron: Come to the show. Awesome. Very cool. Thank you so much, Katelyn, appreciate it. Thanks for talking with me.

Charlee: Thank 

Aaron: you. You betcha.

Taking Big Swings with Big Rewards

Kimie: I also think some of the kids who got cast in those roles maybe initially were a little disappointed, but, like, they're [00:19:00] doing more than... 

Aaron: actually kind of a sur- a wonderful surprise byproduct- Yeah ... because I was thinking of it as this is a form of reading literacy, right? Literary literacy. And what it sort of turned into, because the words that we've picked tend to be tied to the emotional life of either Elephant or Piggie. They actually embody and amplify the emotional state of the character. Kinda like a, just like a In a chorus, like if you're singing a song, and one person is singing it and then a whole bunch of people start singing it- Yeah ... all of the sudden it amplifies whatever you're singing about, right? 

Nina: Mm-hmm. 

Aaron: n- and These OPs, as we've been abbreviating them to because it takes a lot of syllables-

to say onomatopoietics, and then a number. so all four OPs all of the sudden are, we have eight tries all around Elephant while he's trying and cannot get it, right? And I tried, and tried, and tried, and tried. And there are these eight words that then amplify and move around with him.

Yeah. And 

Kimie: the, and the, and the, the OPs are doing a [00:20:00] really great job of embodying that, uh, like facially, physically- Yeah ... um, getting a chance to work 

Aaron: on that. Which is what I was like trying to get to, in, in saying about these, these kids that n- would not have been cast otherwise, all of a sudden have this sort of rich emotional life that they get to embody Yeah.

As, as just words, that would've been words on a page- Yeah ... and are now roles in the play out of necessity it kinda created a really neat element that I'm very pleased in how it's working. And, 

Kimie: After like the first dance rehearsal you looked at me, you were like, "I think it's gonna work."

Yeah. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Nina: A creative idea comes to fruition. The seed, the seed is planted and blooming., 

Aaron: And the danger... I mean, any time you're, you're trying to I think- Take a 

Kimie: big swing ... 

Aaron: a- any time you're trying to take a big swing, 'Cause you don't wanna ruin the actual material. Like a- a- No, 

Nina: you wanna honor- Right

the integrity of the work- 

Aaron: Yes ... 

Nina: both playwright and, and author. 

Aaron: Exactly. And, and trying to walk the line of is this a directorial way of staging it? [00:21:00] Mm-hmm. Or am I reinventing the play in some way? Which I d- was not intending to do. It was like, how can I interpret this in the way that would, feed into what I know, , Mo- Mo- if you get a chance, watch an interview with Mo Willems. He's a very- ... entertaining individual. Um, and speaks to a lot of these things. Like he draws characters in a way so that the kids can also draw the characters, and he writes books thinking about how kids can read with their parents as they do scenes.

Nina: He's done a lot of reader theater with a lot of other children's authors. 

Aaron: That's right. I hope that-

Kimie: Maybe Mo will mosey on down here ... 

Aaron: yeah. Well, and i- i- if Mo were to mosey on down, that he would- Oh, my ... be excited by- Yeah ... and, and thrilled by , how we're staging it.

Kimie: Now, if Moe does mosey on down here, I will have a question for him. Two, in fact. 

Aaron: Two, two. Oh, can you share? 

Nina: Yeah, yeah. No, this- Maybe the question will- This, 

Aaron: this 

Kimie: is 

Aaron: rehearsal tea.

Yeah. 

Kimie: The first one, There's a line in the song, "The best cheese is cheddar," and I take strong issue with that. Oh. Cheddar's a solid cheese. It's not the best. Oh, gee. So one, why- Change my mind ... why would you say that?

Aaron: Cause it rhymes with with- 

Kimie: With better

better. Fat. [00:22:00] Sweater and ch- and setter- Yeah ... and all of those things. Two, and this is the real one- ', Why, why Piggy ain't got a name? Where's her name?

Aaron: Elephant has a name. His name is Gerald. And Piggy's name is- Piggy's 

Kimie: just Piggy, which you said is now Piggy McPiggerson. 

Aaron: Or, or we also came out of Animal Farm- 

Kimie: Oh, yeah

Aaron: that, that- 

Kimie: Snowball ... 

Aaron: yeah. Pi- Piggy Snowball or- 

Kimie: Snowball Piggy ... 

Aaron: Snowball Piggy. Piggy's just your last name. Talk about the caliber of kid we have- 

Kimie: Oh, man ... 

Aaron: in our cast. Yeah. So a song called We're in a Play, which is also a book, and, uh, Piggy takes delight in asking the audience to do things.

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: And- 

Nina: And- 

Kimie: Manipulate ... a- And, and one of our kids, Zev, they were like, "At least you're not the pigs on Animal Farm." Oh, the mo- To be f- and Zev is like 11. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: Yeah, and has always been very literarily- 

Kimie: Yeah ... 

Aaron: prodigious. 

Kimie: When I first met Zev, when they were seven they told me that their [00:23:00] favorite play was Hamlet, and I was like, "Have you read Hamlet?"

Oh. And they went, "Yes." 

Nina: Oh 

Kimie: my. At seven? Yeah. Oh my goodness. Okay. Yes, yes, 

Aaron: yes. Yeah. Um, so it, it's potentially Snowball as well. Yeah. But Moe has not, Moe has not 

Kimie: officially weighed in. Moe has not officially gi- given Piggy a name. 

Aaron: So Mo, if you hear this- Mo ... uh, reach out.

Kimie: You reach out to me. You can, you can at me on Instagram or- ... I'm not on Twitter. Kim- I'm- 

Aaron: Kimie Muroya. 

Kimie: Not on Blue Sky.

Jacob and Hanna

Aaron: Tell me your name and what you're playing and how you got here. 

Jacob: Hi. My name is Jacob Challenger. I'm playing Gerald the Elephant. Mm-hmm. Um, and how I got here is I grew up in Schuylkill County- Mm ... Schuylkill Haven, to be specific.

Um, went to Nativity BVM High School in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and then I went into musical theater, and I just got my BFA from Temple University in May, so- 

Aaron: So fir- first professional gig after school. F- 

Jacob: first post-school, yes. 

Aaron: Post-school. Got it. So you [00:24:00] had some beforehand. 

Jacob: One. 

Aaron: Well, congratulations on your graduation and joining us- Yeah ... for your first pro post-school. 

Jacob: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Hannah: My name is Hannah Konkolics. Mm-hmm. Uh, I am a cast member in both Florrie and Flippy. Mm-hmm. In Flippy I'm a squirrel, and in Florrie I'm an OP- 

Aaron: Mm-hmm ... 

Hannah: onomatopoetic. Uh, I'm also have been upgraded to, um Uh, what do you call it? Dance captain- Dance 

Aaron: captain

Hannah: which is awesome. 

Aaron: A- and all of these responsibilities come to you because you are also an intern

Hannah: An intern. Yes. That's what I am. That's the broader term. Yes, yes, yes. 

Aaron: Uh, y- but you're interning for the summer- Yes ... and doing a fabulous job. Yes. Thank you. Uh, really truly making, making this go the way it's supposed to be going. Good, 

Katelyn: good. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Hannah: Glad to hear it. 

Aaron: you might be called what we refer to as a BTE kid. 

Hannah: Kid, absolutely. 

Aaron: Yeah. Oh my gosh, yes. So tell me a little bit about your time at BTE prior to that. 

Hannah: Yeah. Well, um, I am born and raised here in Bloomsburg. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I've always loved [00:25:00] theater, so having a theater in my backyard was such a blessing.

Mm-hmm. So wonderful. Um, and so, gosh, I can't even remember... I remember doing like getting my foot in with all of like the summer workshops. Mm-hmm. And then, um, it's hard to then not learn about the open auditions for every summer play. Mm-hmm. Um, so I think my first, my first summer play was The Landlover: The Musical.

Aaron: Gotcha. 

Hannah: Um, with Richie Cannaday. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Hannah: And that was so much fun, and I got, I got addicted, so. Then I was pretty much here every summer after that. Gotcha. So, yeah.

Aaron: What was your relationship with BTE before you started playing? 

Jacob: Oh, that's a great question so despite growing up so close, I wasn't, like, coming up here frequently. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Jacob: Um, I think that if I had been into theater in a more fulfilled sense when I was younger- 

Aaron: Mm-hmm

Jacob: I probably would've been coming up for shows earlier. But the first show that I saw at BTE was Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe- Okay ... because my cousin was in it, Ella Frans was, was in it. Yeah. Um, so I, I came up, and I was like, "Oh my [00:26:00] gosh, this is, like, a really cute theater," and, like, I really enjoyed the production.

I thought she was phenomenal. 

Aaron: She was. 

Jacob: And then I was still not really sold on pursuing this, but last summer I came up here, and I had the opportunity to be a teacher's assistant for the... one of the kids' summer camps for directing- Mm-hmm ... which was right here in this building. Yeah. And that was really fun and, and showed me, like, the community that BTE has built and the impact it has for the youth- in the area. And, like, they seemed to have a really good time. I don't know if they liked me very much. I think this is kind of my redemption arc. Um, but that was super to do. And, , I was like, "Okay, I get it." And I... there are a lot of, like, familiar faces around BTE- Mm-hmm ... especially Gregor.

I've been doing community theater with- Yeah ... Gregor since I was, like, 15. 

Aaron: Gregor's our, our scene shop, and set designer for this show. 

Jacob: Yes. 

So it's not my first time performing on a set that Gregor has built and designed- ... um, but it is my first time getting paid [00:27:00] to do it.

So that's fun. Um- 

Aaron: A nice change.

Jacob: Yeah, for sure. 

Aaron: so you are a cast member- 

Hannah: Mm-hmm

Aaron: but also are digesting things and relaying things in a- Yeah ... different way. Uh- Yeah ... do you have a new perspective, or is there something that you've learned or got a new scant on because of that position? 

Hannah: Yeah. Well, I think, um, you know, theater itself has always been very familiar to me but I think, the biggest perspective I am kind of finding is theater with the kids.

Katelyn: Mm. 

Hannah: And not that I have never thought of it. I've always loved kids and loved working with kids. I've done a lot of that. But it's definitely a different, um, perspective, uh, doing theater with kids. And then it's also been so wonderful being a cast member- 

Aaron: Mm-hmm ... 

Hannah: because I get to be, like, one of them. And it's been very fun. 

Aaron: Yeah. It's- You 

Hannah: know? 

Aaron: From my, chair across the corner, you always walk in and you always give everybody a high-five. Your connection with them is really, really cool.

Yeah. Yeah. 

Hannah: And I think being a cast member helps with that, 'cause it- 

Aaron: Yeah ... 

Hannah: it's, it, it- It helps them to know, like, I'm not an adult [00:28:00] who's here to, like, supervise i'm, I'm here with you and learning right along with them- Yeah ... the choreography and the singing and- 

Aaron: Yeah ... 

Hannah: yeah. It definitely helps with that too.

Th- 

Aaron: there's something, there's something about that hybrid position.

Hannah: Yeah ...

Aaron: so you, you, you're playing Gerald, the elephant. 

Jacob: Yes. 

Aaron: Yeah. I am. Did you have any, knowledge of the books before? 

Jacob: No. Unfortunately, I can't say that I had. They kinda missed me. Okay. Um, I think it's probably because I had much older siblings than I- Sure ... so I ended up getting a lot of hand-me-downs.

Some friends of mine or people, like, slightly younger than me were, like, really big into the books. When I would talk about being in, in callbacks for this- ... they'd be like, "I love those books." And so this has been my introduction to them. I think that they're wonderful.

Yeah, yeah. But unfortunately they were not part of my childhood.

Aaron: did you know Mo- Mo Willems before the show?

Hannah: No, 

Aaron: mm-mm. No, not at all. Nope. So this is all 

Hannah: new information. It's all very new, and I'm loving it. Good. I think it's really great. Good. Yeah. 

Aaron: Uh, is there- Very fun ... is, is there anything that sticks out, as a attribute that you wanna promote to other people? 

Hannah: Yeah. It has surprised me how much music is in it, and how very upbeat and catchy the music is.

Yeah. And I think, [00:29:00] I mean, we all know music is, is a huge part of life. And along with the message of the play and everything, I think the music really highlights a lot of it, and, makes it really fun- Mm-hmm ... and lighthearted, and something that both kids and grown-up people, um- Yeah ... can enjoy.

So yes, very enjoyable. 

Aaron: I find myself singing these songs. Oh 

Hannah: my gosh, all the time. All the time. It's so true. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. 

Jacob: The music is so good. It's 

Aaron: so 

Jacob: good. The music is ridiculously good. I have so much fun. Gerald has so much stuff to do. It's a crazy track. It's, like, weirdly very challenging- ... and demanding. So I have, I have been very fulfilled- 

Aaron: so it being your first professional gig, we're in rehearsal week three, and granted, you are surrounded by children, but- Yes ... it, it is a pro gig. So what is your... what are your impressions of this first...

think- takeaways, things you've learned- 

Jacob: Oh, 

Aaron: yeah ... uh, que- questions you've discovered , 

Jacob: my first actual paid, like, acting job. was a summer [00:30:00] stock. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Jacob: And so I feel like it's a very opposite process. I- Yeah ... for that summer stock the show- was Hunchback, and it was, like, getting it up as quickly as possible. Mm-hmm. And we didn't really have a whole lot of room to play. 

I think that the joy of this production, because we're working at a pace that's accessible for the kids, is that it, allows Kimie and I the room to try a million different things- but what I've learned, or, like, what I'm taking away from it, I'd say I really did not know if Theater For Young Audiences was gonna be, like, my thing. 

Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

Jacob: As a, a young actor, they're like, "Y- you gotta do it once at least."

You know? Yeah. Yeah. Put that on the resume. Get it on there. So I was like, "Okay, I'll, I'll, I'll dip my toe in and I'll see how I feel about it." I was like- pleasantly surprised to feel at home in it. Yeah. I, I'm having so much fun, like, playing with the material. And I was also nervous a lot, like, the first week. I was like, am I supposed to be making more of an effort to connect with these kids? What is my responsibility how am I leading by example? And I think the first thing was I had a conflict, and [00:31:00] missed a day. Mm-hmm. And I came back, and they were like, "Don't do that again." Um- The 

Aaron: kids were? 

Jacob: Yes. Oh. Lila caught me in the, like, in the break room- Oh, no ... and was like, "We missed you. Don't do it again." And so I felt really good about that, and, you know, we have little bits now going in the- Yeah ... rehearsals, and as they grow in confidence with the material- Yeah ... it's easier to connect with them on stage.

Aaron: There's a shorthand that happens when you pretend together. No matter age-wise what it is, you're requested to play together, right?, And that request, can be a shorthand and be a, a, a bridge. 

Jacob: Oh, for sure. You know? And I think that... I mean, Kimie does a great job of this too, 'cause she's super playful.

Aaron: It's fun to have the kids in the room because there's a barometer of whether it works or not immediately.

Jacob: This is 

Aaron: true. R- right? Yep. If you, if you can get a room full of fellow castmates to giggle at what you do, then you know that the audience is gonna do the same thing- 

Jacob: Mm-hmm ...

Aaron: anything, uh, that you haven't said that you'd like the audience to know? 

Hannah: Yeah, just come see it Yeah Come see it, support the kids, and the kids have been working so, so hard, and they are really doing a fantastic [00:32:00] job. Mm. So they deserve everybody to see it. 

Aaron: I agree. 

Jacob: I think there is more to this show than meets the eye Mm And that is what I have discovered. We're always talking about what stuff is for the younger members of the audience, what stuff's for the older members of the audience.

I find so much of it is really funny for an adult audience. Mm-hmm. And it's like one of those, like, guilty pleasure, like, I really like this show. Like, I, I might in the future go out of my way to see a production of this show. I really like it that much. So what I would say is if you're like, "Oh, that might not be for me," give it a try anyway.

Mm-hmm. Because it was such a pleasant surprise for me. Um, and I think that it can be that for a lot of people. So come have fun with us- Awesome ... is what I would say. 

Aaron: Thanks for all your help and thanks for talking with me. 

Hannah: Oh, absolutely.

Jacob: Of course. Thank you for, for having me. 

Aaron: My pleasure.

A peice of the play for home

Aaron: Speaking of Mo Willems, if you like Mo Willems [00:33:00] and you would like a special copy of one of his books, Kimie had a really cool idea. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: Yeah. Do you wanna talk about that? 

Kimie: I thought it would be cool if we, were able to sell the books at our concession stand. And you can get your copy signed by Elephant and Piggie in the show. 

Aaron: That's right. So you can get your, your special signed copy, that is BTE specific, with, Kimie and Jacob's, signature on there. And you can get it when you buy your ticket. Mm-hmm. You can also get it at the concession stand.

So you can augment your family's library with something that is very important to my family's 

Kimie: library. Yeah. We selling, uh, We Are In A Book. 

Aaron: Yeah. We Are In A Book, just like we are 

Kimie: in a play. We are in a play. 

Aaron: Cool.

Outro

Aaron: This has been Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble Down Center. Ensemble-driven professional theatre, arts education, rural Pennsylvania for everyone, with everyone. Summer is a busy time for families at BTE. Elephant and Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" runs July 16th through August 2nd, and summer [00:34:00] theatre school camps are in full swing for ages three and up, running through July 31st.

And for the grownups in your family, get your tickets now for two special presented events in August.

Bloomsburg native Leithan Candless shares his intimate and engaging story of resilience and personal recovery in his solo performance of Who Am I Again? On August 15th, sponsored by Geisinger and Encompass Health.

And on August 21st and 22nd, hometown band Norwood makes a triumphant return to the Alvina Krause Stage with their special blend of heart-pumping rock and epic storytelling in Over the Shire and Far Away, with a very special Center Street Beer Garden event on Saturday, August 22nd, which I would very much like to attend.

For more information and to get your tickets, visit www.bte.org.

Bonus

Aaron: We were just talking about the- I'm gonna move ... do it. 

Nina: Oh, the chair, the chair squeaks. It's not a Piggie squeak, it's a chair squeak. A 

Aaron: chair [00:35:00] squeak.