MTYP moseys back onto the scene with outdoor show

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This article was published 10/12/2021 (1758 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Theatre for Young People is back, with its first production in nearly two years kicking off today at — but not inside — the company’s theatre.

The Midwinter Mosey is exactly as it sounds: a waltz around the MTYP building at The Forks, with snow on the ground, as a talented cast performs wintry scenes starring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood, and the beloved Frog and Toad.

“We lovingly refer to it as an outdoor promenade show for short little legs,” says Pablo Felices-Luna, who’s co-directing with Sara Topham.

The idea for a promenade show, with the cast taking audience members from scene to scene, first came up last December, when Felices-Luna had a bit of lucky foresight. With adult members of the public only just beginning to get access to vaccines, he did some quick estimating, and figured that even by the following year, the MTYP audience — it says it in the name: Young People — might not be getting their doses yet.

“He asked me, ‘How do you feel about co-directing an outdoor show with me in the middle of a Winnipeg winter?’” Topham recalls.

She thought he was crazy, of course. But then he started expanding on the concept, drawing on beloved scenes from shows that would appeal to three-year-olds and up.

“The more we talked about it, I thought, ‘This doesn’t sound crazy. It sounds beautiful,’” Topham says.

To make theatre for children right now, however, being a little crazy helps. Thinking outside the box, quite literally in MTYP’s case, will help audiences ease their way back.

While other theatre companies have begun holding indoor shows for fully vaccinated patrons, kids are on a different schedule: only this past month did children aged five through 11 begin receiving vaccinations against COVID-19. So MTYP’s return to in-person performances was always going to happen on a different timeline, Felices-Luna says.

And now that vaccinations have begun reaching theatre’s most passionate fans — the owners of those short little legs — Felices-Luna is optimistic that in 2022, shows indoors will return.

But until then, the Midwinter Mosey will take off with groups no larger than 40 several times in the coming weeks, with the full schedule available on the MTYP website.

Cast members Ari Weinberg, Brittany Hunter, Matthew Armet and Katie German each play multiple roles, as does Jean Blandon, who was trained at MTYP and is performing as Tasker, Charlie and Mole. “It’s a kind of homecoming for him,” Topham says.

Because the show takes place outdoors, the company says the route may cause difficulty with accessibility. The paths will all be cleared, but some over grassy areas. If anyone has mobility concerns, MTYP advises patrons to call Kerri Potter, the box-office manager, to discuss specific needs and supports.

For those worried about the cold, fear not: the show runs a tight 35 minutes, so it really is a walk around the building, not a trek. And while some returns to the theatre are black-tie affairs, consider this one a wool-scarf production.

“Layers are your friend,” Topham says with a laugh.

Someone tell Winnie-the-Pooh a red T-shirt alone simply won’t do.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com