Children Tell Scary Stories in First Stage’s Online Drama

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Photo courtesy First Stage

The Tale of La Llorona as Told by Consuelo Chavez - First Stage

The Tale of La Llorona as Told by Consuelo Chavez

First Stage celebrates friendship and storytelling in the exquisitely concise free half-hour online drama The Tale of La Llorona as Told by Consuelo Chavez. Directed by David Flores, the drama is introduced by Zach Church as a Rod Serling-inspired narrator who sets the tone. Six middle-schoolers lounge around inside on a rainy Halloween night. They’re all going off to high school next year. The rain prompts them to confront the significance of the moment through retellings of haunting, traditional stories drawn from ancient folklore. Kids tell tales of the chupacabra to monstrous mermaids and more, culminating in the Latin American tale of La Lorna: the weeping ghost who mourns the murder of her own children.

Playwright José Casas weaves together a tight, little dramatic narrative that pays homage to the stories that connect people and cultures in the face of personal and societal change. The script allows six young actors an opportunity to work with a variety of different moods. Flores has done a really good job pulling together an ensemble into a group of cohesive characters—each with his or her own distinct personality. They’re all individual characters telling individual stories, but Flores has ensured that there’s a really solid working dynamic between six people who have known each other since first grade.

Costume coordinator Lyndsey Kuhlmann brings a cast of trick-or-treaters to the stage with iconic costumes including a Wonder Woman, a Will Ferrell-style Elf, a basketball player and others. Casas’ script finds triumph in some hauntingly resonant drama. The cast articulates with the script quite well, anchored as it is by the strength of Stephanie Santoyo-Bustos in the title role of Consuelo.

First Stage’s The Tale of La Llorona as Told by Consuelo Chavez is available for free on First Stage’s YouTube channel through Dec. 5. For more information, view First Stage’s Enrichment Guide online.