Circle Theatre’s Marketing and Outreach Intern, Michaela Faith, had the opportunity to sit down with Elephant & Piggie’s: We Are in a Play director, Phoebe Dawson, to discuss the impact of children’s theatre.
A longstanding tradition since the 1960s, the Magic Circle show is the perfect way to kick off the Circle Theatre Season! This year, Circle is starting off strong with: Elephant and Piggie’s: We are in a Play! After 50 years of Magic Circle productions, one may begin to wonder. What purpose does Theatre for Young Audiences have? How does this art form curate the spaces it takes place in? Circle’s Marketing Intern Michaela Faith took the opportunity to interview the director of Elephant and Piggie as well as a Grand Rapids theatre favorite, Phoebe Dawson.
Faith: How long have you been doing Children’s Theatre?
Dawson: I started assisting with children’s theatre when I was in high school, or getting out of high school into early college…
But I started being more hands on in terms of directing Children’s theatre about six years ago… It started at my studio. I came in, thinking that I was just going to be an acting coach for these kids and then realized two weeks later, “Oh! I’m the Director!”
Phoebe had found herself involved numerous times in various positions surrounding children’s theatre, however solidified herself as a director of this genre around 2021, her most recent endeavor being Elephant & Piggie’s: We Are in a Play!
Faith: What excites you the most about Elephant and Piggie? What do you anticipate the audience will find most exciting?
Dawson: What excites me the most about Elephant and Piggie is the fact that it’s a children’s book that everybody knows… the way the musical is written is so different from the effects that the book gives. It’s like a 3D version of the book! I think they’re going to really love the actors and take away the life lessons and stories that are told.
It’s true. When the Magic Circle performers are preparing for their run, they not only have to prepare for a standard Circle Theatre Patron-filled audience, but also a theatre packed to the brim with school children in the Magic Circle School performances!
Faith: How do you see the impact of theatre on these children who either see these shows or are a part of them?
Dawson: It’s huge. There have been kids that I have worked with when they’re an actor, and we see that they come in nervous but also very excited. They love being goofy, and their parents always tell me… “They’re so goofy at home!”
Dawson explained the transformative nature of getting kids to come out of their shell while in a space for acting. She operates by the notion that “it’s only weird because you’re making it weird” in order to get children to unlock the side of themselves that allows them to feel empowered to do silly and goofy things onstage.
Dawson: I love working through emotions with kiddos, especially when they’re at the stage where they’re trying to understand them all… a beautiful thing about theatre is that these kids have a much better understanding of how to read other people and how to communicate.
Dawson noted that not only do these skills tap into their emotional intelligence, but they also create an imagination like no other.
Dawson: These kids are going to soar. They’re going to be the next playwrights, directors, etc. Theatre kids are some of the most creative people I know.
Faith: How do you feel theatre for young audiences can also apply to the adults who are coming with their families.
Dawson: I think it’s something I like to call the Bluey effect. Theatre for young audiences is also written for adults. Take this show for example: this show is written with big words for a kid that adults would understand. The Bluey effect kind of has helped adults learn how to parent without being aggressive, how to gently parent without being passive.
For example: How do you hold a boundary, how do you communicate? It gives a way for a parent to connect back to something they watched together. It impacts adults not only to be better parents but to be better teachers and better role models.
After doing children’s theatrical productions for so long, it seems evident that everything Dawson said must be true. Theatre for children continues to transform lives, one show at a time.
Want to connect more? Come see our 2026 Magic Circle production this weekend!