Theatre-in-the-Red

Waiting for the presentation of the schematics for the Winspear Opera House to begin, I chatted with the retired architect sitting next to me in the Horchow Auditorium of the Dallas Museum of Art. "What is your interest in the opera house design?," he asked, after explaining that he was very fond of opera "all except for the singing".

I said I was a recent opera convert, the daughter of two engineers, an art teacher, a Nebraskan, and a fan of the High Five construction project. Some of my fondest early memories are of visiting construction sites with my dad, I told this stranger. Then I explained that my goals as an art teacher include getting kids to look at the forms of buildings and bridges, to notice steps in a construction process, to get them more visually curious and aware about the world outside their car window, and to relate class projects to our city surroundings.


Proposed Winspear Opera House
Do you think George Jetson might be flying around this building on his way to work at Spacely Sprockets??

My students are interested in theaters and stages because our program includes both creative drama and art. One of our goals is to encourage kids to continue "playing" the stories at home once class or camp ends. I love creating art projects to help kids meet that goal. In some ways, that seems to be the "calling" of my life, the theme that runs through my childhood, education, parenting, hobbies, library storytime lady, and teaching art--making things for or with kids to extend their play.

On vacation in Santa Fe last August, I was entranced by Alexander Girard's collection of miniature theatres at the Museum of International Folk Art. Then I was stunned, much like a baby seal, by David Zinn's "blood and passion" set design for the Santa Fe Opera's production of "Don Giovanni".



Our first class effort at making a Theatre-in-the-Red* intrigued the students, but wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as I hoped. I needed to rethink the project before using it again. Luckily, the popular and amazing Olivia the Pig has her own red theatre now. Olivia inspired a Flying Pig Circus art project and installation a few years back. Now Ian Falconer's Olivia is giving me ideas again! Pigs on stage! Pink pigs, burgundy curtains, and every red in between. Pigs in tutus or royal robes. Pigs in Romeo bicolor tights and poofy shorts. It has to be more fun than Miss Langley's introduction to monochromatic color schemes in my seventh grade art class. It's time for monochromatic to go dramatic.


*Theatre-in-the-red has no connection with either communist propaganda/dramatic productions, or with financing difficulties of many performing arts companies.