October 24, 2001

Contact: Charla Jenkins, University Theatre, (785) 864-2684.

KU Theatre for Young People to stage 'Afternoon of the Elves'

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People will present a stage adaptation of the popular children's book "Afternoon of the Elves" next week for students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of the Lawrence and Douglas County schools. Performances are 1 p.m. Oct. 29 through Nov. 2.

A public performance of Y York's adaptation of Janet Taylor Lisle's Newbery Honor Book will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre.

Jeanne Klein, associate professor of theatre and film and director of the KU-TYP, directs the production. Elinor Parker, Lawrence graduate student, is scenic and costume designer, and Patrick Carierre, Bemidji, Minn., doctoral student, is lighting designer.

Lisle originally wrote "Afternoon of the Elves" in 1989. In addition to its designation as a Newbery Honor Book, it also was named as an American Library Association Notable Children's Book. York, playwright-in-residence at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth in Hawaii, adapted the book in 1993. Her adaptation was voted an Outstanding Play for Young Audiences in 1996.

Klein said York's adaptation, first commissioned and produced by the Seattle Children's Theatre, tells of 11-year-old Sara Kate Connolly, who is shunned from an exclusive clique. But 9-year-old Hillary Lenox, who lives next door, is intrigued by Sara Kate's dilapidated house and the elf village in her overgrown back yard.

When Sara Kate invites Hillary over to see the magical elf village she has created as an imaginative escape from her economically disadvantaged life, Hillary discovers that Sara Kate secretly has been caring for her invalid mother in what becomes an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the social welfare agency from separating her from her mother.

"This faithful adaptation of a poignant story exposes the hidden conditions of poverty and family privacy through two girls struggling to understand their families' social and economic differences," Klein explained. For the KU-TYP production, the director and designers have heightened these economic differences visually and metaphorically by contrasting the Lenoxes' sparsely manicured back yard against the Connollys' overgrown yet more magical back yard.

"In this way, we hope to expose middle-class assumptions about poverty by questioning which social classes experience the greater deficits in life by juxtaposing the healing powers of the human imagination against middle-class attempts to control children's natural growth and family destinies," Klein said.

The director added that this story encourages young people to look beyond a person's physical appearance and to examine what friendship means. "Even though this play has a sad ending," Klein said, "it points out that a deep friendship can be preserved and friends can stay connected no matter what happens to them."

Klein said this production of "Afternoon of the Elves" is dedicated to the memory of Sally Six Hersh, KU theatre alumna and longtime theatre teacher at Lawrence's West Junior High, who died earlier this month.

General admission tickets for the public performance are on sale at University Theatre, (785) 864-3982; the Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS; and SUA, (785) 864-7469. Tickets are $6 for the public, $3 for all students and $5 for senior citizens. Both Visa and MasterCard are accepted for phone and online orders. Klein said this play will be most appreciated by children ages 9 and older.

Members of the cast for the KU-TYP production include (listed by name, class, parents' names, home address and role):

KANSAS
COFFEY/ANDERSON COUNTY
From Burlington: Katrina Alford, freshman, daughter of Joel and Rebecca Vannocker, 605 S. Sixth, and Rocky and Debbie Alford, Lakeshore Drive, Garnett; Jane and Mrs. Connolly.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park: Whitney Armstrong, freshman, daughter of Jim and Riley Armstrong, 5413 W. 100th Terrace; Mrs. Lenox.

SALINE COUNTY
From Smolan: Clancy O'Connor, sophomore, son of J.J. and Tammy O'Connor, 2997 W. Smolan Road; Mr. Lenox.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Tecumseh: Wendy Lynn Casebier, junior, daughter of Terry and Denise Casebier, 7405 S.E. 45th; Allison.

MISSOURI
From Kansas City: Erin Evangeline Burns, freshman, daughter of Thomas and Victoria Burns, 1217 N.W. 67th Terrace; Hillary.

NORTH DAKOTA
From Bismarck: Caitlin McDonald, freshman, daughter of Jack and Connie McDonald, 208 E. Divide; Sara Kate Connolly.