Acadiana Theatre to Host Debut: Child Actors Create Characters
Published 3:46 pm Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Written by Paris Brewster
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Getbrready to embark on a whimsical journey of adventure, as the enchanting tale ofbr‘The Infinite Pages’ unfold. Slip away into the magical world of Terra Biblio and journeybralong with its characters as they determine the fate of this magical locale whilebrthe secret of “The Infinite Pages” are revealed. This genuine masterpiece was createdbrby playwright, Cody Daigle and its characters cleverly orchestrated to suitbreach young actor specifically.
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“‘The Infinite Pages’ is a magicalbrtale of fun and adventure,” says Daigle. “It is a story with heart thatbrpromises something of value to take home for every member of the family.”
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Cody’s inspiration for “The InfinitebrPages” evolved from a short story written by Alfred Noyes, called the “ThebrMidnight Express.” Just as “The Midnight Express” takes its readers on abrtwisted adventure of mythical proportions, the storyline for “The InfinitebrPages” is also compiled of as much conjuring enchantment for its audience. Accordingbrto Daigle, the stories ending twist ensures enlightenment and contemplativebrthought.
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“The audience will come away frombrthis with some thoughts on the power of family,” states Daigle. “And how thebrstories we share can help us get through some pretty tough times.”
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But there is much more behind thebrscenes of this whimsical production. Cody Daigle recognizes that most childrenbrinterested in theatre desire to become an actor, even if they show interest inbrbecoming a playwright. However, withoutbrprior writing experience the process of developing playwriting skills can bebrquite daunting for young theatre students. Daigle has masterminded a way tobrgive his students the best of both worlds through a program called ‘PlaybrBridge.’
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Play Bridge was creativelybrfacilitated to teach young theatre students the skill of storytelling andbrplaywriting while also engaging them in the joy of acting. As an example, “The Infinite Pages” wasbrcatered to the imagination of its (19) young actors ranging from the age ofbrnine to sixteen. Each child created their own character while the storyline itselfbrwas then written by Daigle, enabling the children to engage in the process of playwritingbrwhile absorbing the experience without pressure.
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“These kids get a role that wasbrwritten for them specifically, with their input in mind. They feel a sense ofbrownership that way,” says Daigle. “The role and the show belong to them in abrway that other theatre experiences don’t.”
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Daigle hopes that his students discoverbrthe significance of their creative voice through writing their own stories andbrplays and how that voice can affect audiences through the messages portrayed.
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“Play Bridge is more than simply theatre.brIt’s acknowledging the creative voice within the young actor, while affirmingbrits significance to the rest of the world,” says Daigle. “It’s teachingbrstudents how to manifest their creative ideas into a form of expressive artbrthrough theatre.”
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Such as it is in life, each actorbrtakes home something from their personal experiences. Some discover somethingbrnew about themselves personally, while others learn how to observe life from a differentbrperspective, but everyone develops character within themselves through thebrlessons they have learned. Regardless, eachbrexperience becomes a valuable lesson along the way.
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Meet the actors:
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Reese McDaniel –Community andbrReverence
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Fourteen year old, Reese McDaniel,brwho plays ‘The Watcher,’ says that acting has strengthened his confidence andbrhas taught him to accept individuality within others. He enjoys the sense ofbrunity and family that he receives when he is around his theatre peers.
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“It is a family where we accept onebranother for who were really are,” states McDaniel. Reese has been with PlaybrBridge for one year and “The Infinite Pages” will be his sixth theatrebrproduction.
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Annette Diaz-Creativity and thebrFreedom of Expression
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Twelve year old, Annette Diaz playsbrMaria Nobody and enjoys the creativity and imagination behind acting. PlaybrBridge has given Annette the freedom of expression that she desires.
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“You get the chance to express yourbrown ideas,” says Diaz. “And they take it into consideration.”
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Annette has discovered through herbrcharacter, Maria that everyone expresses love in their own individual way andbrher own personal love language is protecting her loved ones and acceptingbrothers for who they are individually even if she does not totally agree with orbrunderstand their choices in life.
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Diaz was inspired by a desire tobrprotect those she loves when she created her character, Maria.
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“I remember when I created Maria, I thought to myself,br”She’s going to be the eldest. She is going to be strong and protect herbryounger siblings,” says Diaz. “So I guess the inspiration was a desire tobrprotect my loved ones.”
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Rio Airhart- Hard Work and Diversitybr
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Ten year old, Rio Airhart playsbrShraa Corn, a first grade dropout who is psychic with an evil nature. She findsbrthat creating her own character makes acting the part easier because she isbrfamiliar with the characteristics of her character ahead of time.
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“Play Bridge has taught me thatbranything worthwhile takes hard work,” says Airhart. “One thing I have learnedbris to project my voice when microphones are not readily available.”
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Airhart plans to continue her pathbrin Theatrical Arts and is delighted to express herself theatrically in abrcharacter that is her polar opposite.
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Will Hargrave-Teamwork andbrFlexibility
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Eleven year old, Will Hargrave playsbrXander and has enjoyed working as a group with ‘Play Bridge’ and the cast of ‘ThebrInfinite Pages.’ Like the other young actors, Will has also enjoyed the factbrthat his ideas may be used in the play.
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“It was really cool to have an ideabrand see it in a script and on stage,” says Will. “But sometimes, good ideas are notbrable to be used and the actor should never allow that to disappoint them.”
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Speaking from experience, Hargrave’sbrown character role in the play was suddenly changed from the one that hebrcreated to a character that was created for another child who is now unable tobrparticipate.
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“Thebrnew character is a little different because he is not the one that I hadbrcreated for myself which was similar to me,” says Will. “But, I actually findbrit fun because I get to play a different type of role.”
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Isabelbr–Consideration and Family
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Thirteenbryear old, Isabel has been performing with Play Bridge for two years. She playsbra defiant teenager and says that as a teenager herself, she can totally relatebrto her character.
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“Whatbrteenager would not relate to her,” says Isabel.
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Isabelbrhas learned through her character that sometimes the needs of others come firstbrand by doing what is best for others the end result will be for the greaterbrgood of all involved.
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Isabelbrvalues the lesson of teamwork and treasures the friendships she has madebrthrough Play Bridge.
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“Ibrhave learned that just because we are not related by blood, does not mean thatbryou are not family,” says Isabel. “I love the people that I perform with. Webrare family.”
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“ThebrInfinite Pages” will debut from March 21th -23rd atbrTheatre 810, located at 810 Jefferson Street in Lafayette. Call Theatre 810 atbr(337) 484-0172 for more information on pricing and directions.
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Performancebrtimes are as follows:
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7:30brp.m. on Friday
3:00brp.m. Matinee on Saturday
7:30brp.m. Saturday evening
br3 p.m. on Sunday
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‘ThebrInfinite Pages’ will also be touring at the Delta Grand Theatre in Opelousas onbrMarch 28-30. Call 337-407-1806 forbrpricing and directions.
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Performance times are as follows:
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7:00brp.m. Friday
br7:00 p.m. Saturday
br2:00 p.m. Sunday
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“The Infinite Pages” credits:
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Playwright by Cody Daigle
brDirected by Walter Brown
brProduced by Marie Delahoussaye-Diaz and Acting Unlimited, Inc Lafayette, Louisiana
brPresented by Delta Grand Theatre, Opelousas, Louisiana and Theatre 810,brLafayette, Louisiana
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