Actor, Director

 In the kingdom of Middlefield, there is a tradition. On a princess' sixteenth birthday, she is tied to a rock, kidnapped by a dragon, rescued by a prince and lives happily ever after. But what happens when the prince is too afraid to fight, the princess wants to do the rescuing by herself, and the dragon is nowhere to be found? Adapted from the story by Edith Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons tells a tale of bravery, intelligence and unexpected friendship. 

-From Concord Theatricals

I chose this play because of what it had to say on the impacts of storytelling, specifically about exploring gender expectations and how we can defy them to define our own path. In the play, the Princess is expected to be one thing. Meek. Helpless. But she doesn’t want that, and she carves her own path. The Prince and Princess in The Last of the Dragons are anxious and angry respectively because the stories told generations down to them enforce the idea that they have to act a certain way. The stories we tell impact people. In the words of Stephen Sondheim, "Children Will Listen". This play is about the expectations the stories we tell place, and how we can still defy them when they place us into a box. I think that is an important lesson to keep with us, and is incredibly relevant to today as kids are exposed to more and more stories through social media that may shape how they see themselves.

 What were the themes in the play I was focusing on?

i. Storytelling: The script by Kristin Walter is written to have various forms of storytelling in it. Yes, there are long monologues where literal stories are told, but there is also dance, pantomime, and puppetry written into the script. I took this idea and ran with it. I asked myself what the impact of storytelling is on specifically children. The stories that we tell children reinforce our own ideologies and biases. The Princess is heavily impacted by this. She is told a fairy tale every night where she is taught that she must be a damsel in distress, and it is deeply upsetting to her. I wanted to really focus in on the impact of the stories we tell and how they shape our youth. This then reflected in my own direction of the play, utilizing Walter’s cues as to the different ways we can tell stories. Moments with original music, choreographed dance, pantomime, and shadow puppetry were all points of the story where I want to focus on the looming power of the stories that we tell. 

ii. Tradition: There is a big focus on tradition in the story. The King reinforces the importance of tradition so much that even the Princess, who has been so against tradition, when confronted with a dragon who won’t fight, argues that she has to fight just because it is tradition. This also ties into the fairy tale spoof nature of the play as well. Fairy tales are an oral tradition passed down in societies, just like the traditions within this play. I want to explore in the play: what is the impact of tradition? Why does tradition matter to people? When is it appropriate to challenge tradition and forge your own path?

iii. Gender roles: The tradition that the characters are meant to follow in this play is rooted in gender roles. The Princess, the girl, must be a damsel in distress and be emotional. The Prince, the boy, must be tough and aggressive and ready to fight. This stifles and upsets the Prince and Princess within this play. Throughout the design and direction, I want to make an effort to not reinforce the gender stereotypes that are expected of any of the characters.