“Yes, we're gonna do a David Lynch play with 9 - 12 year olds.” These are the words of Barry Weber, Drama Coordinator at Highland Community School. It sounds strange, but Weber did a remarkably good job bringing Zero: a new cyberpunk play to Highland Community School last year. Remaining faithful to the conventions, themes and aesthetics of the sci-fi genre, Weber worked with students to craft a surprisingly provocative look into a variety of really interesting themes without compromising the pedagogical nature of children’s theatre. It was so stylistically interesting that it was easy to forget that it was part of a school drama program. Quite a while later it remains one of the more vivid productions I’ve ever been invited to see.
This coming March, Weber steps in a different stylistic direction with Judy Plays With Fire. It’s a Twin Peaks-inspired mystery that, as advertised, will feature 9 - 12 year-olds. Judging from Weber’s work last year with the cyberpunk play Zero, Weber’s work here should be every bit as interesting and educational. Granted, this sort of theatre isn't for everyone, but it's really cool to know that there are people like Weber working on non-commercial stages with such interesting ideas. That's one of the things I love about local theatre…look around and you'll find such interesting work being done.
Judy Plays With Fire will run Mar. 10, 11 and 13 at the Highland Community School on 1706 W. Highland Blvd. For more information about Highland, visit highlandcommunityschool.org.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
