Once again the children’s champions at Concrete Theatre remount Lig & Bittle, a munchkin tale about two odd people trying to find their niche in a world where they don’t fit in.
Written by Elyne Quan and Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull, this short tale takes Lig, who is big, and Bittle, who is little, to a place called Perfeckt Phitt. It’s a mysterious place where they hope to fit in.
Perhaps Lig will then find trousers that aren’t too short and Bittle will find clothes that aren’t several sizes too large.
But while travelling on their 50-minute adventurous quest, they discover new things about themselves and what self-acceptance really means.
“They realize through the journey they are quite happy in their own skin,” says set designer Marissa Kochanski.
Kochanski, also the resident St. Albert Children’s Theatre set designer for Narnia, High School Musical and Peter Pan, has created a whimsical world with a bold, bright palette.
Mounted at the Westbury Theatre Arts Barn on Jan. 27 and 28, Kochanski has worked with director Tracy Carroll to create an alley stage. This seating format is where the audience is divided in half by a stage and sits facing each other.
With a bare-bones $500 budget, Kochanski scoured IKEA and a few odd stores for props. She has taken familiar objects and put them into a context where they appear to be more than what they are.
“I picked up bright green hat racks that stand in as trees. I use stepladders and crates to create a landscape. And then there’s purple round bath mats and place mats that make up rocks that the actors hop on along the way.”
Kochanski is a strong proponent of children’s theatre that happens in real time as opposed to screen time.
“Theatrically it plays with the imagination. We set up a whole new world that is a grand adventure.”
The play runs Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 to $18. Call 780-1910 or go online to: www.fringetheatre.ca.
