Who doesn’t love to part the curtain and peek backstage?
Behind the Curtain, Wolf Trap’s Family Opera Day, is an opportunity for youngsters and their families to immerse themselves in the magic of live theater. They will closely investigate the lights, the scenery, the costumes, the hair and makeup, the special effects, and the props, and meet the opera singers who thrive in this environment.
The interactive event presented by Wolf Trap Opera Company and the Wolf Trap Education Department places those who attend in the spotlight. During a morning that introduces them to the various backstage crews and sparks design creativity, the children will make props they might use if cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck, Bottom, Snout or any other favorite character in the company’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Kim Witman, director of the opera company, emphasized the program targets elementary school children. The multigenerational morning will offer a fresh understanding of the diverse disciplines required for a single production. Those who attend will be divided into groups of no more than 15 adults and children who move from station to station interacting with the scenic and technical staff and performers. Among the many eye-popping innovations to admire are the wigs embedded with fiber optics to convey a magical aura.
Once acquainted with the opera plot, each child will design a mask to represent a character of his or her choosing. Then every family will be invited onstage to experience the thrill of basking in the spotlight as music rises from the pit. While they are onstage, a photographer will take a family picture in which the child “star” wears the character mask he or she designed.
“The idea came from Ryan Taylor, our manager of community development,” Witman said. “He’s a former member of WTOC who shifted his career interest to management administration. He got the idea when he was the director of a small opera company in Massachusetts and stepped outside ordinary boundaries to connect with the community. It was so successful that we decided to introduce it here.”
Along with the fun of exploring what goes on backstage and working on craft projects, the children also will share the joy of singing. The production’s assistant conductor will teach them a simple round, similar to the one Britten composed for the opera characters when they awake in the forest and begin walking around. They will perform it together before moving on to the luncheon hosted by the 18 opera singers eager to share their own backgrounds and interests with their guests.
“This opera gives the singers a wonderful opportunity to work with all their summer colleagues,” Witman said. “We tend to do chamber operas that call for only four or five singers, but this production requires the entire season’s cast except for one or two who had to leave early for other engagements. Behind the Curtain is participatory, not passive. Youngsters experiencing what happens backstage with their own bodies, eyes, and ears will carry the germ into adulthood.”
