Aztec deities. Sistine Chapel replicas. Ancient mulberry trees. Ground Michelle Obama probably walked on. These are the elements that await within the latest adventures proffered by Chicago Children’s Theatre. Let it be said that if the CDC were to visit CCT, they’d approve of the 15-year-old company’s latest three productions. All are wholly outdoors and all will spur kids and their families to explore worlds completely inaccessible via computer screens. They are also marvelously engaging, no matter your chronological age.
Artist/activist Jasmin Cardenas brought her children (Mateo, 8 and Catalina, 5) into the storytelling as the trio explores Butterflies, Aztec Gods and Puerquitos/Sweet Piggie Bread, which she narrates with her children as they make their way through La Villita while playing a vivid game of I Spy.
The colors of water
“It’s a little difficult finding history of the area written by folk of color,” she says. “I think I found one piece online eventually.”
“I think I’m in this moment where I’m less afraid of saying out loud things I might have kept in several years ago,” Barrett says. “We have to invest in Black spaces and Black people. We have to know the history; we have to think of the future.”
“We want to honor children’s feelings. I think kids are very sensitive, in a good way, about death and fear and being scared. I think when you’re working on a story, it should be in context of what you’re feeling in the world, what’s happening. And we see a lot of fear right now, for obvious reasons. So we started to think—how can we put the question of ‘Should I be scared?’ into context for kids?”
