Wanderland Productions, a new venture by Livi Perrone, offers an interactive theater experience. On Aug. 6, about 20 children, along with their parents, were transported to Never Never Land to help the characters of “Peter Pan” find missing pages from a book.
The performance began with Wendy reading the guests a story about Peter Pan, only to realize some of the pages were missing and possibly stolen by Captain Hook. The children were tasked with going on a scavenger hunt to recover the five missing pages.
But before departing on their mission, Peter Pan conducted an induction ceremony to bring the kids in as Lost Boys or Girls. Next the kids were split up into groups by age. They then interacted with the other characters who gave them clues, written as rhyming riddles, to objects which would lead them to the missing pages.
“The goal was to get the kids to travel around the space and get to know the library area,” Perrone said.
The characters walked around with the children, to offer assistance, but within 10 to 15 minutes, all the pages had been found.
Perrone said the performance was well-received by the kids.
“They were super engaged and invested in the activities,” she said. “They really wanted to get to the next step. There was one girl who wouldn’t let me walk away until I actually put the pages back in the book.”
While the interactive experience only took 40 minutes to complete, it took a bit more time to prepare.
Perrone hired professional actors from New York City who have strong improvisation skills. They were able to absorb the gist of their character and memorize the events being presented. Beyond that, they made the character their own. Only one day of rehearsals was required.
On the writing side, Perrone spent a few days creating a script which would engage the kids in the location they were in. The goal was to create interest in the library, as well as leave passersby wondering why people were running around the property with Peter Pan.
The next venture will be a joint effort between Wanderland Productions and Riverside Theatre Arts. An interactive performance will take place on Fridays in October at Palaia Vineyards.
The haunted trail will aim to create a spooky environment without scaring participants.
