Ninjas, sheep, and dinosaurs. Oh, my! Pumpjack Players Children’s play brings on the laughs

Pumpjack Players have been pumping Whitecourt and Area with drama for over 30 years bringing stories to life on stage for the community to enjoy.  Run by a hardworking base of volunteers, the club is filled with people who love what they do and who want to share their love of drama with others.

On May 6 and 7 the Spring Children’s Play took the stage at the Community Centre. Written by Ed Monk, Bedtime Stories (As Told by Our Dad Who Messed Them Up) was a laugh-filled performance with 34 local children and one adult, the dad, played by James Miller.

Billie-Jo House, who shared director duties with Tara Bartch for the Spring Children’s Play, gives insight into the show. “The play is about a dad who has to put his kids to bed and he’s not very good at it,” she said while laughing, “Because he gets his bedtime stories all messed up.” Hilarity ensues as the dad attempts to tell stories on the fly, adding and changing fairy tales at whim.

He added a Tyrannosaurus named Horace to Little Bo Peep’s story and turned a pea into a can of peas in the tale of The Princess and the Pea.  You know the story about Rumpelstiltskin who turned straw into gold?  Well, the dad changed it to turning gold into straw which caused the prince to lose all his money and become a pizza delivery guy. Hilarious!

Putting together a play with 34 children is a tall task but the crew did a fantastic job corralling everyone together and teaching them along the way.  “The kids have been amazing. They’ve all been enthusiastic. We’ve been doing this since January and they’ve been coming every week for four hours. It’s so neat to watch them from the beginning to now, and see how wonderful they are doing,” said Billie-Jo.

Producer Janelle Sallstrom said from the start it was obvious it was going to be a fun show. “On our first read through all the children and the production crew were laughing and enjoying the diverse sense of humour.”

Pumpjack Players will be hosting the Yellowhead Regional One-Act Play Festival on May 12-13. “We are very excited!” said President Shawna Wall.  Tickets can be picked up at Orchard Café and more information can be found at www.pumpjackplayers.com or its Facebook page.