This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Behind the Scenes of "Winnie the Pooh"

There stands the stage with nothing but three stumps and fake trees with one tree riddled with cute purposely-misspelled old-school wooden signs giving confusing directions and… a tail on it. Playing in the background are Disney songs from old movies. Not the crazy graphic-heavy, 3-D movies kids are used to nowadays, but the old school 2D ones that made you believe in fairy tales and made good pictures for coloring books. With so many advancements in today’s technology, I wasn’t sure how this crowd of parents and young children were going to like this play.

Co-producers Director Jeff Davis and costume designer and Assistant Director Mary Payne Omohundro had the skills and expertise to pull it off. Both have been in the theatre since they were young. Mary, in fact, still acts in productions. They hope to produce more children’s theater in the future, but they also want to produce more musical productions, such as cabarets.

Barbara Lawson, who skillfully played both Piglet and Roo, a tiring and difficult feat, is no stranger to the theater. Being 16, with professional actors as parents, she has been acting since she was 7 years old and prefers musical theater; although, she still loves what she is currently doing. “If the Pandemonium Theatrical Productions produces another children's show soon, I'd love to be involved. If not, I'm more of a singer and dancer, so I'd like to get back into musical theater,” said Barbara.

Find out what's happening in Lortonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jason Krage, who played Rabbit, brought an abundance of energy to the stage and to the crowd of people in the stands. You could feel that Jason really loves doing children’s theater. Performing is something he loves to do. “I began doing theater camps when I was 8 years old and fell in love,” said Jason.

With so much skill, from the directors to the dedicated and talented actors, nothing can ever go wrong, right? On the contrary, I was reminded many times that anything can go wrong at anytime. “A lot can go wrong, and you must be prepared to keep it all going, even if that means going off script for a second or two,” said Jason. A skilled actor has to be able to think quickly and adjust to circumstances to keep the show going in an entertaining and comprehensive way.

Find out what's happening in Lortonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And if you think the audience won’t notice, you’re wrong. While, as Barbara says, “the best part is having an audience that almost always loves what they see no matter what goes wrong.” Jason reminds us of how out-spoken kids can be, “children will not hold back; they will let you know how you are doing and how everything is going mid show.”

Happily, the crowd seemed not to mind that this production was not one of crazy light shows and expensive graphics. The simple stage setting and skilled actors were able to draw in all generations watching. With many problems to be solved paired with singing and dancing, children in the audience laughed, clapped and even interacted by yelling answers at the characters.

It was a cute production that everyone seemed to find enjoyable, regardless of your age or the lack of neon lights and heavy bass music. The actors, themselves, enjoyed not only performing, but the story itself. Come and see a play that touches hearts of all ages, the theatrical version of “Winnie the Pooh” at the Workhouse Arts Center.

For more information click HERE, or call us at: (703) 584-2900.

THIS WEEK AT THE WORKHOUSE

·         2nd Annual Workhouse Clay National Exhibition in the McGuireWoods Gallery, July 25 – August 26
·         Workhouse Prison Museum in Building W-9.
·         August exhibitions in all seven studio buildings and the Vulcan Gallery.
·         Workhouse Farmers Market Thursday 3:30–7pm on the Workhouse Quad.

·         Comedian Howard G and Guests Friday at 7pm & 10pm in the W-3 Theatre.
·         Winnie the Pooh Saturday & Sunday at 1pm in the W-3 Theatre.
·         Mount Vernon Nights at the Workhouse features The United States Air Force “Strolling Strings” Saturday at 7pm.
·         Lone Star and Laundry & Bourbon Saturday at 8pm in the W-3 Theatre.

Stop by and visit us! 

The Workhouse is open Wednesday – Saturday from 11am – 7pm and Sundays from 12 – 5pm.  The Workhouse Prison Museum is open Wednesday – Friday from 12 – 3pm and Saturday – Sunday from 12 – 4pm.  Visit www.WorkhouseArts.org for more information, to purchase tickets or to register for classes.

Camela Speer
Director of Marketing
Workhouse Arts Center . . . Escape to Arts & Entertainment!

camelaspeer@workhousearts.org

www.facebook.com/WorkhouseArts










We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?