Childsplay (Theater group)

Childsplay, a non-profit professional theatre for young people and their families, began producing theatre in 1977 in Tempe, Arizona with six actors, founding artistic director, David Saar, and as much set as would fit into the trunk of a 1967 Chevrolet. When the company toured, they performed in open spaces with the audience seated around them and on formal stages. David Saar, playwright, director, administrator, Arizona artist-in-education, Arizona State University adjunct faculty, guest director at other American professional theatre companies, and actor has been the artistic director since the beginning of the company.

Childsplay, a non-profit professional theatre for young people and their families, began producing theatre in 1977 in Tempe, Arizona with six actors, Founding Artistic Director David Saar, and as much set as would fit into the trunk of a 1967 Chevrolet. When the company toured, they performed in open spaces with the audience seated around them and on formal stages. David Saar, playwright, director, administrator, Arizona Artist-in-Education, Arizona State University adjunct faculty, guest director at other American professional theatre companies, and actor has been the Artistic Director since the beginning of the company.

Will Today Be Yesterday Tomorrow?, Childsplay's first show, was a collection of whimsical scenes from children's stories, folk tales, and other materials that portray a child's view of time. For the first several seasons, all of the plays were musical reviews based on a theme and were created by the company. For a complete list of Childsplay plays, please see the Scope and Content section of this finding aid.

Childsplay received many prestigious awards which helped it to gain recognition in Arizona, nationally, and internationally. Following are some of these awards:

The Yellow Boat, a play authored by David Saar, based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar's son Benjamin and told through Benjamin's eyes and artwork, played a significant role in the development of Childsplay and in the creation of a quality canon of plays for young audiences in the world. This play received the following recognitions:

In 1985 Childsplay introduced its logo, the Pied Piper, a figure that has appeared in many colors and costumes for Childsplay's celebrations throughout the years.

In 1988 Childsplay began its 17-year run of The Velveteen Rabbit, a 24-carrot production with puppets and actors. This show became a holiday tradition for Arizona families and ran through 2004 at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and various venues in Tucson and was revived in 2008.

In 1991 Childsplay was the first Arizona theatre to be invited to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. They presented The Masquerade of Life/La Mascara de la Vida, a bi-lingual play that celebrated the Mexican Day of the Dead Festival. This play was a collaboration between playwright Mary Hall Surface and Mesa mask maker and musician Zarco Guerrero.

Childsplay was featured as one of the top four American theatre companies for young audiences in the April 2000 cover story in American Theatre, published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG) in New York City.

Childsplay's commissioned play Tomas and the Library Lady was performed for First Lady Laura Bush in Phoenix in 2006. This play was also performed throughout the United States in 2007-2008, making it Childsplay's first national touring production.

Childsplay has always been committed to producing new plays and to innovative approaches to traditional stories. By 2007 Childsplay had developed or commissioned 50 new plays for young audiences, many of which were produced again by theatre companies around the world. Through the Whiteman New Plays Program, Childsplay provides theatrical artists with the time and financial support to dream and create for young people. Over the years several writers have served as playwrights in residence collaborating with Childsplay to create new plays. Monica Long Ross, an original company member, was Childsplay's playwright in residence from 1980-1991, creating six plays. Pennsylvania playwright Barry Kornhauser created four plays, California playwright José Cruz González created 5 new plays and Mary Hall Surface created three new plays. Childsplay Associate Dwayne Hartford created four new plays in the 2000s.

These premieres included:

Childsplay believes that young people deserve to experience challenging, thought-provoking theatre of the highest artistic quality. They constantly challenge the notion of what theatre for young people can and should be by presenting plays on such important and difficult subjects as the Holocaust, AIDS, teen suicide, and adult literacy. They received the Shofar Zakhor Award in 2000 for the play And Then They Came for Me, based on interviews with two Holocaust survivors who were friends of Anne Frank. In 2002 the play Eric and Elliot chronicled a family's journey through depression and suicide. This play was performed in partnership with the Mental Health Association of Arizona and was followed by a discussion with mental health professionals. Childsplay regularly provides ASL and/or Audio Description to audiences with special needs.

To elevate the artistic quality of its productions, Childsplay employs the leading playwrights, directors, designers, composers, and choreographers from adult, educational, foreign and from other professional children's theatres. Artists working with Childsplay have been from Norway, Honolulu, Seattle, Chicago, Canada, New York City, Germany and the Netherlands and include Linda Hartzell, Artistic Director of Seattle Children's Theatre and Graham Whitehead, former Artistic Director of Mermaid Theatre in Canada.

From the beginning Childsplay was committed to employing an ensemble of actor-teachers twelve months per year and is one of the few professional theatres for young audiences in the United States that has an ensemble of talented adult actors working together at the height of their creative powers. Some have been with the company for more than 20 years. Kyle Lawson, Theatre Critic for the Arizona Republic, called the company the Finest Acting Ensemble in the Southwest in a December 5, 2002 article. Some of the long-term associates are Katie McFadzen (1993-2009+), F. Scott Withers (1989-2008), Dwayne Hartford (1990-2009+), Jon Gentry (1981-2009+) and Debra K. Stevens (1983-2009+).

In 1986 Childsplay began to offer classes taught by its actor/teachers for pre-school through high school children. In the summer of 2007, the Childsplay Academy offered 21 separate classes in which young people explored the worlds of pirates, the three little pigs, Shakespeare's Scottish Play, and produced the Tony Award winning musical Urinetown . Childsplay actor/teachers also spend a week, a month, or a year in schools teaching theatre skills encouraging students to use their body, voice, and imagination to discover, create, and communicate - skills that can be applied to any academic area. Its residency activities have grown to include programs that help teachers integrate drama in core subject areas.

Childsplay presents more than 500 performances annually in school cafeterias and auditoriums in Arizona. In fall 2007 three separate ensembles of actors toured three plays throughout the state and one ensemble toured nationally.

After frequently moving its offices, Childsplay relocated its administrative offices and created its first public performance space at the former Rural School (Southern Avenue and Rural Road) in Tempe in 1984. In 1988 Childsplay moved its administrative offices, classes, and performances to the new Tempe Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in downtown Tempe and remained there until 2008. In 2008, a successful capital campaign enabled Childsplay to renovate and establish new headquarters at the former Mitchell School in Tempe. In 2007 they became one of the resident theatres performing at the new Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA).

Childsplay's mission statement is To create theatre so strikingly original in form, content or both, that it instills in young people an enduring awe, love and respect for the medium, thus preserving imagination and wonder, those hallmarks of childhood that are the keys to the future.