The Just So Stories

Sunday, 4/6, I went to a play that my cousins were in, called The Just So Stories performed by Anoka Children's Theatre. I had never heard of the play before, although the writer, Rudyard Kipling, sounded very familiar. Shortly after it started, I recognized how I knew the name - the show was a bunch of short tales on the origins of some animals or their traits (as in 'How the Armadillo Came To Be,' or 'Where the Camel Got His Hump,' etc.) - and I had seen these very stories in a video in elementary school.

The show was very cute, and my cousins did a great job! There were five stories, and of those my two cousins each had their own stories for their own animals - my cousin Carrie played a Rhino in the first story, where they told how the Rhino's skin became so loose. One of the main thing that any actor needs to learn is to always make a strong decision, and don't second doubt yourself, and Carrie definitely knows this, and it showed in her performance. She had a lot of confidence in her character and her actions, and her comic timing is good and smart...

My cousin Callie played the Camel in the final story of the show, where we found out how the camel got its hump. One of the hardest things to do for an actor, is to create a character with non-verbals. The Camel has next to no lines, but is obviously an important part to the story, and completely relies on its actions. Callie did a great job of showing what kind of animal the Camel was through simple things like how she walked and her posture, and how she reacted to the other animals around her.

Both of them did a wonderful job, and I'm very glad I got to see them in such a great program. According to my aunt, the girls were really sad for the show to end, and didn't want to wait until the fall to start their next show. Either way, I can't wait to see them perform again and grow with their talents :)