JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
by Randi Edmundson
project x theatre | kamloops, bc | july 2019
Jack lives on the most boring farm in the most boring town. His only friend is Bessie the cow and his family is on the edge of losing their farm. Jack’s life pretty much feels like the worst… that is until he meets a mysterious wizard with a handful of magic beans and the promise of adventure. But just how far will Jack go for excitement, fame, and fortune when it means hurting his friends?
Playing in repertory with Cinderella as part of XFest 2019!
Read a fun interview with directors Mika Laulainen (Jack and the Beanstalk) and Tracy Power (Cinderella) from Kamloops This Week, as they talk about the two XFest productions performing in repertory this summer! Link HERE.
““When you work with puppets, you’re directing not only the actors, but also the puppets,”
Laulainen said the use of puppets is an important part of making the story relatable, using German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht’s idea of the distancing effect to explain why. “By making something just a little stranger than reality, a little out of our realm of ordinary, we end up being able to connect with it more fully because we aren’t comparing ourselves to it.” ”
Read a preview of the summer festival from Kamloops BC Now here, from the perspectives of Jack Spriggins and Cinderella themselves!
“With new and original music, a sprinkle of magic and incredible puppetry — you can relearn the story of Jack and the Beanstalk in a way it’s never been told before.
“I’m pretty excited to tell my story. I mean, it has music and magic and friends, so what more could you want?” said Jack.”
Directed by Mika Laulainen
Stage Managed by Shannon Cooper
Assistant Stage Management by Selena Tobin
Designed by Jared Raschke, Susan Dixon, Lukas Vanderlip, Leon Kennedy Schwesinger, and Randi Edmundson
Photography by Kim Anderson
Performed by Randi Edmundson, Maddison Hartloff, and Erin Aberle-Palm
Produced by Project X Theatre