Children will get to see their favourite bedtime stories come to life at the Foothills Composite High School’s Play Festival on Wednesday.

Jody Swift, one of the drama instructors as the school, said the idea of children’s theatre was brought about by a student teacher.

“I encouraged Taryn Tycholis, a student teacher, to come up with an idea of something that was a personal interest of hers,” said Swift. “We both loved the idea of a reader’s theatre but when she suggested we take it to the school level as a student production, we ran with it.”

Foothills Composite High School students Jeniffer Wilson, Grade 10, and Hayden Ryan, Grade 11, rehearse Tuesday morning for the Play Festival's Children's Night. The Children's Night takes place tonight at the High School with doors opening at 6 p.m.

Swift said the Drama 10 students will be acting out the storybook classics as a class project.

“It’s going to be their first time doing an actual performance on stage in front of a real audience,” said Swift. “I’m hoping this will be a good introduction for them because young performers are often blown away by the fantasticalness of theatre production.”

As everyone knows, children do not have the longest attention spans, but Swift said the production will be comprised of condensed versions of eight children’s stories.

Stories that will be performed include: Andrew’s Loose Tooth, The Giving Tree, Guess How Much I Love You, Stephanie’s Ponytail, Mmm Cookies and Walter the Farting Dog.

Swift said she believes exposing young children to the world of theatre has tremendous benefits.

“I bring my five-year-old son to theatre regularly,” said Swift. “In my heart of hearts, I believe introducing children to the love of theatre and the love of arts will allow them to develop their creativity and imagination.”

Swift said the selection process for which stories were to be performed was easy as most of the students identified with a certain story.

Shea Brandford, a Grade 11 student who will be performing in the children’s theatre night, said that she became excited about the idea and was able to reminisce about her favourite childhood stories.

“I’m going to be a part of the ‘Guess How Much I Love You’ play which was definitely one of my favourites as a kid,” said Brandford.

Brandford first became interested in theatre when she was seven-years-old and saw her older sister perform in a play, and has since then taken a keen interest in children’s theatre.

“I knew right at that moment that that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” said Brandford. “I’ve always loved kids and want to become a drama teacher. I think that introducing the children to the theatre experience is a positive thing and a great influence.”

The event will be a toonie theatre, which allows for an affordable night of family entertainment and raising extra funds for the school’s theatre and drama programs.

Swift added she wanted to keep the cost low because nowadays going to the movie theatre can be expensive when you add up all the costs.

“Parents would have to spend the money on gas, parking and then the ticket on top of whatever snacks the children may want,” Swift said. “It’s no longer a $15 dollar ticket anymore so this is a good way to ensure parents still have options for children’s entertainment.”

This is the first year the Play Festival will be putting on a children’s theatre night. The event will take place Wednesday, May 26 at the Foothills Composite High School with doors opening at 6 p.m. Admission is $2 per person.

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