Sover Scene: Midsummer plight of parents

by Anne Guyon

Right about now, when we’re smack dab in the middle of summer break, we parents start peeking ahead in the calendar just to confirm when school starts up again.

This is partially because we can’t believe how fast the weeks are speeding by and we want to make sure to get in as much kid time as we can before they’re swallowed up again by classes, homework, friends and extra-curricular activities.

We also glance at September because we’re starting to run out of ideas — and, let’s face it, energy — for stimulating family fun. Despite the unrivaled joys of parenting immersion afforded by summertime, we’re all starting to feel a little tuckered out right about now. Well, I am anyway.

We’ve swam, kayaked, gone to the beach, the river, the drive-in, on picnics, bike rides, hikes and walks, out for pizza, burgers, Chinese food and ice cream. We’ve had barbecues, birthday parties, tea parties and sleepovers.

We’ve done all kinds of projects at home, from making jewelry, comic books and cookies to fairy houses, forts and ant farms (though, admittedly, the ants did most of that work). We’ve played chess, Boggle, Scrabble, Parcheesi, Sorry, Whoonu, Egyptology, Clue, Yahtzee, card games, catch, basketball and Frisbee more times than I can count. Heck, I even learned key aerodynamic principals while constructing sophisticated fleets of paper airplanes with my son and the art of making miniature clay dollhouse food with my daughter.

In addition to all these stimulating pastimes, our house has been bustling with a steady stream of wonderful visitors. Friends and relatives have come from Germany, California and D.C. with more yet to arrive from Kyoto and the U.K.

We have a few lakeside days slated with my aunt in Maine and various upcoming get-togethers with other families. And yet, despite these plans and the sea of books, art supplies, toys, sports equipment and games that we call home, I won’t be entirely surprised if those four little words we parents loathe (and that I attempt to outlaw) will soon infiltrate the airwaves: “There’s nothing to do.”

Au contraire, little Janes and Johnnys everywhere — there is plenty to do in this bastion of culturally rich creativity, starting with local theater.

Opening tonight, the Dorset Theater Festival brings a three-week run of “A Year With Frog and Toad” to Vermont audiences of all ages, under the guidance of Off-Broadway’s celebrated director Lear deBessonet. A hit during the 2003 Broadway season, this visually and musically rich amalgam of Arnold Lobels’ beloved tales of Frog and Toad offers a sweet, amusing look at the importance of friendship.

From Friday through Sunday, the New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro fills the stage with slightly wackier merriment in a rendition of “Aladdin and his Magic Lamp” that has young actors employing the delightfully lighthearted clown-and-mime methods of local thespian legends Gould & Stearns. Intended for audiences older than 4, the show includes kids impersonating tornadoes, crystal balls and sultans amidst an atmosphere of melodramatic mystery and inventive comedy.

Also on the bill at NEYT this weekend is a production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the classic Hans Christian Andersen gem that has a vain ruler parading pompously among his people convinced he’s cloaked in exquisite finery when he is in fact wearing only a plain shirt (and every kid loves the opportunity for a little flagrant snickering).

On Aug. 16 and 17, dramatically choreographed teenage rebellion comes to NYET with “West Side Story,” Bernstein and Sondheim’s heart-tugging, finger-snapping portrait of love that prevails amid simmering gang conflicts and racial strife in 1950s-era New York City. Framed around the tragic Romeo and Juliet archetype, this is a quintessential American musical that has appeal for both genders, as it confronts issues of the familial pressures and powerful emotions with which young people so often wrestle.

Main Street Arts in Saxtons River also offers theatrical adventures for children, starting with “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” on Aug. 9 and 10.

A musical adaptation of the 13th-century German folktale, made famous by the Brothers Grimm, it tells the story of the dastardly rat-catcher who promises residents he will rid the village of vermin by leading the creatures to the river with his music.

When he is not paid, the reward promised to him, he then uses his pipe to lure children away from the village as well. Various versions have been recorded throughout history and it’s my guess that the Main Street Arts interpretation will brim with vibrant song, imaginative sets and boundless energy, as always.

The following weekend, on Aug. 15 and 16, MSA, in partnership with River Theater, will host a colorful evening of cabaret, with teens from surrounding communities performing musical numbers and scenes from a variety of plays.

Along with great live theater, there are also several outstanding museum exhibits that are either specifically for children or sure to capture their attention, if not inspire them to dig yet deeper into the crayon box or pull out the watercolors once they’re back home.

At the Brattleboro Art and Museum Center, the Activity Gallery is lined with exquisite illustrations by Caldecott Medal winning author, Chris Van Allsburg. Most known for the rich aesthetics and thrilling adventure he created in “The Polar Express,” Van Allsburg’s original artwork also includes scenes from “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick,” “Two Bad Ants” and “The Sweetest Fig.” As always, there’s a kids’ drawing table at the center of the gallery with books and supplies to help spark imaginations.

At the Bennington Museum, baseball fans can view prized artifacts such as bats used by Ted Williams, Babe Ruth and Manny Ramirez as well as Joe DiMaggio’s jersey and Jackie Robinson’s contract in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A Summer of Baseball in Bennington.”

Vermont’s own obsession with the game is also spotlighted, with archive photos and memorabilia of local community baseball fields, farm teams and the much-celebrated Northern League. Vintage baseball cards and modern renderings on the subject by Baseball Hall of Fame and Upper Deck artist Mike Schacht will also be on display.

Another terrific afternoon destination with the kids is the Southern Vermont Art Center, currently showing work by renowned photorealist painter Janet Fish, whose ability to capture shifts in light, color, texture and depths of field is remarkable and riveting. With subject matter that includes beach parties, picnics and tag sales, it’s a vibrantly hued, meticulously rendered take on everyday experiences as seen through one of the lens of one of the country’s most proficient contemporary painters.

Don’t forget to explore the possibilities at local art schools as well. Most offer great workshops for kids throughout the summer, keeping their creative wheels well-oiled until school starts up again.

So, if you’re a parent who’s starting to hear the occasional whingings and bleatings that there’s nothing to do, consider yourself equipped with a hefty roster of retorts to that preposterous notion.

Online: www.neyt.org

www.mainstreetarts.org

www.dorsettheatrefestival.org

Annie: www.annieguyoncommunications.com

Archive: www.rutlandherald.typepad.com/soverscene