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鈥檚 season closer offers adults a chance to embrace their inner creative child with performances of 鈥淧eter and the Starcatcher鈥� by Rick Elice. The music-filled 鈥淧eter Pan鈥� prequel that played on Broadway to wide acclaim is an extravaganza of play-acting, pirates, touching moments and humor for all ages.

鈥淧eter and the Starcatcher,鈥� based on a best-selling 2006 novel, travels back to Pan鈥檚 early adventures in an orphanage, aboard a weather-beaten ship holding precious cargo, and on a magical remote island. The story takes theatergoers to golden grottoes, deep jungles and active volcanoes on adventures just as exciting as those in the classic story we all know and love.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a play about what happens before 鈥楶eter Pan,鈥欌�� says听, an MFA candidate at CU Boulder and the production鈥檚 assistant director. 鈥淎 lot of it is about Peter and Wendy and Captain Hook and how they got their start, even though their names are different.鈥�

Like 鈥淧eter Pan,鈥� it鈥檚 a classic coming-of-age story, filled with adventures, dreams and commentary about growing up. But unlike 鈥淧eter Pan,鈥� it鈥檚 not theatre as usual. In 鈥淪tarcatcher,鈥� characters often break the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience, and the scenes look more like they鈥檙e taking place inside a child鈥檚 bedroom rather than on a theatre stage.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not method acting鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 reflect how real people would react to a situation,鈥� Sedillo says. 鈥淚nstead of seeing an actual ship sink, you鈥檒l see what the playwright imagined a group of kids would look like if they were playing pretend and wanted to imitate a sinking ship.鈥�

To elevate that sense of play-acting, sound designer and undergraduate senior Bailey Trierweiler wanted to make sure all the sound effects in the first act came straight from the actors and the band rather than from over a sound system. She says she鈥檚 using a centuries-old technique called听听to get it done.

鈥淔oley is a Shakespearean technique, and they use it a lot in movies now,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t involves the use of random objects to make sounds that are familiar to us.鈥�

In 1600, the Globe Theatre would roll cannonballs up and down a wooden track embedded in the ceiling to create the sound of rolling thunder. In this production, actors will use thunder sheets, wind machines and their own bodies to reproduce the sounds of a ship in a storm.

鈥淭hings like water and waves are hard to recreate on stage, both visually and aurally, and we鈥檙e taking an approach that hasn鈥檛 been seen since I鈥檝e been a student here,鈥� Trierweiler says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e making it a little more physical by using our actors for the special effects rather than jumping straight toward a recorded soundtrack.鈥�

鈥淚 wanted to write the play from the perspective of this empowered girl鈥攕elf-assured, super smart, super curious, not a spectator in her own life, active in her own life story鈥攚ho teaches this boy how to be a man, really,鈥� Elice says in an听

Like the students involved in this production, Elice has found that living the best possible life involves keeping one鈥檚 childlike curiosity while experiencing very adult setbacks, both professional and personal. And to him, that鈥檚 what 鈥淪tarcatcher鈥� is all about.听

鈥淲hen I was a boy, I wished I could fly, and the notion of being a boy forever was pure delight,鈥� Elice says. 鈥淣o homework, no chores, no responsibility, no sorrow. Now that I鈥檓 in the middle of my life, I understand what I鈥檇 have missed had I never grown up, or fallen in love, or stood my ground, or lost a battle鈥攐r written a play.鈥�
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Tickets for 鈥淧eter and the Starcatcher鈥� start at $24 with student, senior and youth discounts available.听To purchase tickets, visit the CU Presents box office in person (972 Broadway), call 303-492-8008 during business hours or听anytime. Note: All online and phone orders are subject to a service fee. This production is recommended for audiences aged 10 and older and may not be suitable for young children.

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