Cougars Don't Wear Ballet Slippers

[bestfishes]

Hello Everyone. Right now I am relaxing at home recovering from my shoulder surgery on Spring Break. The three therapy appointments a week kind of stink, but it'll be worth it when I'm in full-fledged form for The Lady in Waiting. In any case, I thought I would share a play I wrote recently for the children of Lunchbox Theatre. Aaron Matteson has

Comments

[theafterhours]

This is so sweet! It reminded me a little of Lambert the Sheepish Lion.

[bestfishes]

The resemblance is no coincidence. "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" was written by Bill Peet, a Disney animator and childhood hero of mine. Nearly all of his books center around a misfit protagonist whose unique qualities end up being a blessing rather than a burden. My personal favorites are "Buford the Little Bighorn" and "The Whingdingdilly". I thought that the kids would enjoy performing a story in the Bill Peet tradition, and the storyline of "Cougars Don't Wear Ballet Slippers" was directly influenced by his distinct style of storytelling.

[pamsfriends]

A cougar-pirate danceoff...classic.

[bestfishes]

The way I wrote the show was really interesting. During Lunchbox we went in a circle asking all the children what kind of role they'd like to play. One girl said she wanted to be a ballet-dancing cougar and a few other kids said they wanted to be pirates. Then one of the kids said that it would be cool if all the animals lived on an island and the pirates attacked it. After that the script pretty much wrote itself.

Why haven't you ever done Lunchbox, Pam? It's a great way to get tech credit.

[pamsfriends]

It's a long story that I don't really want to get into right now (no offense) and also I only need about eight more hours anyway.

I might do it next year, though! Who knows.

[leclowne]

AWWW! That was adorable. I remember Lambert. Wasn't there also a timid bull, in the same vein? (As I recall, that story ended sadly.)