I had the luxury of being able to take my son to Seattle to see family for a quick weekend while also catching my cousin, Will Watkins, in the live production of How To Train Your Dragon. I knew the movie well, and I knew this would be an amazing show, but I had no idea just how much. A couple days later I found myself standing in front of my classes all day long describing the show and the amazing scope theatrical history it covers. They had aspects of Greek theatre with the use of arena staging, they had traditional puppet theatre, shadow play theatre, even musical theatre. They had pantomime, and I was quickly reminded of my own neglectful habbits when it comes to teaching mime in the classroom. Ironically, I used it myself recently in a one woman show. I used mime almost entirely. As if that was not enough it was a clear sign of direction theatre is going. More & more I see theatre with the use of modern technology such as projections, remote controlled sets, & intelligent lighting. Don't even get me started with what we can do with a digital sound board! This show had the history of theatre built into the script of How To Train Your Dragon. The use of helium-filled bubbles, upside-down train tracks above the stage, and the lights! Oh my the lights. My son was on the edge of his seat the entire night. I don't think I saw a bad seat in the house either, it was a great view from any seat I could see. Excellent show! Very well done!
