“CHILD-ish” by acclaimed playwright Sunny Drake to debut at Pacific Theatre

by V. S. Wells on December 5th, 2023 at 12:03 PM

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What do kids have to say about the important things in life?

Presented by Pacific Theatre and Eastside Story Guild, the world premiere of CHILD-ish aims to find out.

Acclaimed Canadian playwright Sunny Drake interviewed more than 40 kids about their thoughts on everything from unicorns to climate dread. Their answers are presented in CHILD-ish verbatim, by a cast of professional actors—from the mouths of babes, to the mouths of adults.

“Usually adults make theatre for children. With CHILD-ish I’m excited to flip that script and have children participate in making theatre for adult audiences,” says Drake in a statement. “During the script development process, our creative team was truly intergenerational: aged six to 77.”

Directed by Lois Anderson, the six-person play stars a cast of familiar faces including Tom Pickett (Fire Country, Whipping Man), Maki Yi (Kim’s Convenience, Suitcase Stories), and Tasha Faye Evans (In the Presence of Ancestors, Cedar Woman).

“We need joy mid-winter, and what better way to be reminded of life’s beauty and fun than to spend some time with children’s thoughts and words?” says Pacific Theatre’s artistic director, Kaitlin Williams, in a press release. “This artistic experiment has been a playful intergenerational project and we cannot wait to share it with our audience.”

Running from February 9 to March 9, the month-long production is rated for ages eight and up, so you can bring the whole family to engage in the big questions—like how long it takes to build a spaceship.