While the names and details may vary, most cultures have their own versions of the creation myth, a rags-to-riches story, a tale of misadventure and lessons learned. “The Box of Stories,” which premiered at The Growing Stage Feb. 10 and runs through Feb. 19, wonders what would happen if these explanatory devices were taken away and asks, “Who are we without our stories?”
“The purpose of stories is more than entertainment … They explain the world around us, serve as cautionary tales as we learn from characters’ mistakes, and give us heroes to emulate,” playwright J.S. Puller said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. “I read a quote once, something like, ‘Story telling is our native language.’ I wanted to do a play that spoke to that.”
In Puller’s work, three trickster gods — the Norse Loki, Native American Coyote and African Anansi — have collected all stories and hidden them in a single box. Without stories to ground them, people are lost and confused. A young girl finds the box and how she handles the adventures — which also introduce world folklore figures perhaps lesser known in the U.S. like Lac Long Quan of Vietnam and Indra of India — will determine the fate of humankind.
Stephen Fredericks, who founded The Growing Stage 35 years ago and is directing this play, said this is a timely production.
“It really celebrates different cultures and the power of imagination beyond nationality and origin,” Fredericks said. “Any time you have the opportunities to introduce young people and adults to new ideas and new cultures, it allows you to not only see our differences but it also celebrate our similarities.”
This is the first professional staging of “The Box of Stories.” It was the winner of Growing Stage’s 2016 New Play-Reading Festival. Playwrights from around the world submitted works, about 150 in all, in vying for the annual prize.
Puller, from Chicago, said she tries not to be didactic while writing plays for young people. But she does like to imagine family post-play conversations.
“I think about the ride home, and what they’re talking about with their parents, and what I keep getting back to is I want them to tell stories,” Puller said. “You need stories to survive as a human race. I want them to tell stories and for their parents to tell stories.”
The Growing Stage is introducing the play to the world with a bright Moroccan-inspired set, large puppets and creative staging Fredericks said. There are five actors on stage and some of them play multiple roles while incorporated music and dance into the show. Characters and sets change depending on which culture’s story is being told.
“We’re trying to weave magic throughout,” he said. “It’s an open concept of the world.”
The Growing Stage
Route 83, 7 Wedgewood Ave., Netcong.
Tickets: $15-25, available online at
http://www.growingstage.com/main/onlineticketing/. Through Feb. 19.
Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.
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