take 5 fairy tales, shake well, and serve on bare stage

"Fairy tales aren't like cocktails, dear girl. They cannot be mixed up like that into some new story that makes any sense."

I didn't say anything about making a new story, g'friend. I said only to mix and serve on a bare, empty, stage. That's what was done tonight at Savannah Country Day... and it was amazing!!! The one-act play festival is coming up and their entry is "The Secret In The Wings". They have to start with a bare stage and end with a bare stage and have all done in less than 55 minutes.

"Yes, I'm aware how that works. Not my first rodeo! LOL!"

Hey, just giving you a little refresher. Here's the thing: I had not realized this was a competition entry! All I knew was it kinda sorta snuck up on me, as I knew naught about it until yesterday when I saw a post from SavCounDay about it. I guess I need to "fb friend" their director, James Venhaus, so I'll have a better heads-up. I mean, David Poole keeps me up on things at SavArtsAcad, fortunately. Anyway, I knew that tonight was my only opener, and that was by sheer luck. You see, I was supposed to go to a dance recital downtown, but Kathy Mayin backed out on me and it sold out. So glad that left me free to be south side instead!

"Yeah, having an inside connection is the way to go, as you don't have any nieces or nephews with kids going there. So, what fairy tales were part of this? Talk to me!"

Yes, ma'am! These were definitely obscure, but I knew four of the five. Grim, dark, tales, all. And they were told wrapped around a central tale, "The Seven Swans", a variation on "The Six Swans" in number only. Got it? There were seven sons, all noisy boys, and they were turned into swans. Their sister was the only one able to turn them permanently back into human form, but the stipulation was she had to knit sweaters from nettles for each of them. She also had to keep silent until the task was done. Folks thought she was a witch and she was about to be killed when the swans came for their sweaters... but one was not quite finished. One boy was left with a flapping wing, but the other six were fine.

"Yikes! That is a dark tale."

So it is, and that is the central piece, told in its entirety. The other tales were told "in the wings" of that one. Get it? It's a pun!

"I see. If you say so."

No, truly! The other four were begun before this one, then had their endings after that one about the swans. So, first up was "Beauty And The Beast", which only resembled the Disney version because the father plucked a rose from the neighbor's garden for his daughter. The daughter was terrified when she saw the flower and even more so when her parents said they'd asked the neighbor to babysit her while they went out. "But he's an ogre!", the girl cried, "he's got a lizard tail!". I think that was another pun, with 'tail' for the 'tale' he was to read to her.

"Sure, I see where you're going with that."

Anyway, he starts reading about "The Three Blind Queens" and that story begins unfolding. It starts with three young kings who all wed sisters of a fisherman before they go off to war. The royal nursemaid doesn't like the queens and plots to have them killed, with her having their eyes as proof. Instead, the three queens rip out their own eyes, pleading for the lives of not only them but their unborn babies. So they live in the wilderness, starving, with two of them eating their babies. So there is only one child that lives.

"Damn! Cannibalism??? In a fairy tale???"

I told you they were dark! Actually, really appropriate for Halloween, don't you think? Anyway, that story takes a break while the child grows up and the next tale begins. That one is "The Princess Who Wouldn't Smile", in which a sourpuss lass is to be wed to the suitor who makes her laugh. This time, the tale runs through the attempts of two unsuccessful gents. Then we segue into "Allerleriauh", in which a daughter is to be wed to her father, but pleads for a gown of gold, a gown of silver, and a gown of stars before she does so.

"Incest??? Dark, dark, dark..."

Yes, but we never see any violence on stage. We just hear the set up and part of the tale, then we're off to another tale. With that fourth one, the story takes a break when she runs away with the three dresses. That's when the tale of the swans is enacted, and it runs all the way through. Then we get the ending of "Allerleriauh", followed by the wrap-up of "The Princess Who Wouldn't Smile", and then the finishing reunion of the three kings returning from a 17-year war to their "Three Blind Queens". Whew! Such fast pacing!

"And what about the little girl and the ogre?"

Well, here's the beauty part of that! Bear in mind that the actors bring onto the stage what they need for each scene, with items coming on and going off throughout the play. By the time they return to that initial story, there are several lamps onstage, each with a child and parent. Now, the girl is the mother and the ogre is her son, with her comforting him after a nightmare. Such a sweet scene and so reminiscent of the scene where Belle cradles the Beast after his brush with death! I "got it" at once!

"Oh, yes, I love that scene!"

And, in the background, the parent and child groups start moving off with the lamps, presumably taking the children to bed, then the girl and ogre also leave. it was just so beautifully choreographed that I didn't realize that it was all done until it was back to bare stage again. Wow! Just fabulous!!!

"That sounds cool. How long did it take for them to perform all that?"

Just over 49 minutes! I told you it was fast!

"Wow!"  

Yes, indeed! I abstained from taking photos until after they came out for their bows, and only just managed to catch that photo before they were all off stage again. I think they have a strong performance and a very good chance of winning the competition. I'm so glad they had this tonight for me... and for only $10. Wow! Now, I'm going to watch "The Corpse Bride", as I'm in the mood for more dark, Halloween-themed entertainment. Peacock has this, so it's free to me! Later, chica! Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! LOL!