Purple Crayon Players’ 14th Annual PLAYground Festival of Fresh Works will celebrate plays written for young audiences this Saturday and Sunday in Seabury Hall. The festival will feature “The Dummy Class” by playwright Dave Osmundsen, “Heart Strings” by Lee Cataluna, “Salomé’s Tour de France” by Communication senior Mariana Reyes Daza and “The Show Ends When.
Northwestern student group Purple Crayon Players, which produces Theatre for Young Audiences, chooses a quote each year to inspire its work. This year’s is from cellist Pablo Casals: “You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.” The quote reflects the group’s mission to create thoughtful plays and events.
March 10, 2021
During their time at Northwestern, Lindz Amer (Communication â14) was not a âStuCo hotshot.â They werenât cast in shows, didnât get into the playwriting sequence and didnât have a reputation for being one of the stars of the theater department.
Seven years later, the nonbinary alum is coming off of a four-season run of âQueer Kid Stuff,â a webseries for kids centered around queer narratives that became a 2018 Webby honoree. Episodes touch on topics from what it means to be gay to mental health, privilege and pride. Amerâs senior thesis work at Northwestern, centered on queer representation in childrenâs theatre, provided the background for âQueer Kid Stuff.â
Stolen memories, corrupt rulers and family ties that’s what the audience at Purple Crayon Players’ “Still Life with Iris” has to look forward to.
The live production “Still Life with Iris” revolves around the agency children have in their lives and the value of memory. The show is produced by Purple Crayon Players, a student-run theatre organization that targets young audiences, and will be streamed March 5 – 6 for free. Community members can sign up for tickets through Eventbrite.
Communication senior and director Melissa Lewyn said the hour long performance is a fun and exciting story touching on issues related to family and defiance.