Feature

THE TOYMAKER'S APPRENTICE

By Judy Normand/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Monday, November 29, 2004 9:22 AM CST

For those who may think toys are made only by elves of the male persuasion, the Tell-A-Tale Troupe from the Children's Theater at the Arkansas Arts Center at Little Rock has a surprise for their audiences -- young and old.

The group of four young actors -- touring the state with the lively production -- recently parked their bus at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas and took the stage to dispel rumors of a male-dominated profession as they presented "The Toymaker's Apprentice," a production geared, primarily, to children from preschool to sixth grade.

Described as a modern fable, the children's Christmas play tackles serious issues with kid-friendly humor and easy-to-understand lessons about work ethics, humility, tolerance and just plain ole "do-unto-others" attitudes.

Jolly old Gideon, the best toymaker in the land, has become overwhelmed with the ever-increasing volume of work to be done during the Christmas season and decides to advertise for an apprentice -- "a good lad who truly loves the craft and wants to make the very best toys in the land."

Gideon is Philip Gordon, a 31-year-old former student at the University of Central Arkansas at Conway and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With a marvelous singing voice and obvious love of the theater, Gordon said he's left school and decided to "do as much professional acting and singing as I can do," declaring the stint with the Children's Theater was simply "a job."

"I've been doing this (entertaining) since junior high school, though, and I love it, but I'm not usually playing old, fat men! I used to do puppets at the local library," he said. "I guess I was sort of a nerd."

Nerd or not, Gordon does a superb job as Gideon and delighted the children in the audience with his flustered attempts to keep the peace after being faced with a totally unexpected situation.

In the play, the toymaker is caught completely off-guard when confronted with two applicants -- not one "lad" as he had assumed, but two hopefuls -- Jack and Libby.

Jack, played with tons of energy and perfect "nastiness" by 20-year-old Sid McMath, is confidently applying for the job, very sure he'll be appointed the next apprentice because of his father's "connections" as the town's mayor -- and because he's a boy.

McMath, the grandson of a former Arkansas governor, said he began with the Children's Theater after a "mid- mid-life crises" while in school at Hendrix College at Conway. He's taking a break from his studies in political science and anthropology.

"I love doing this. Acting has always been my passion," McMath said.

Libby is portrayed with tough sweetness by 17-year-old Courtney Dorsey, who finds herself in a constant battle -- mentally and physically -- with her nemesis, the scheming, self-absorbed and less-than-truthful Jack. Libby, it seems, has altogether different reasons for wanting to learn to make toys -- to earn money to help keep her father's bakery afloat and to keep her late mother's memory alive. Her mother, she says, "made happy things," like the "toys, magical holiday toys" created by Gideon.

The apprenticeship is a seven-year commitment, Gideon tells the two, and hard work in the bargain. After listening to fervent pleas from both Jack and Libby, he remains undecided as to the best applicant. He finally proposes a trial period of one year to give an opportunity for them to prove themselves worthy of working in the best toy shop in the land.

After nearly a year, and breaking up yet another battle between Jack and Libby, Gideon reveals a letter requesting a present for "the best little girl in the world." Nothing will do but that the apprentices create the very best doll to be presented to the child. This prompts a winner-take-all contest between Jack and Libby.

Jack, ultimately creating only a so-so rag doll, finally gets his comeuppance, and Libby is chosen as the apprentice after receiving her just dues for creating a life-sized, mechanized doll, played by Dorsey's sister, 13-year-old Amy Dorsey.

His lies discovered, Jack is forced to admit he would rather do anything than go back to work for his father and begs to stay at Gideon's. Libby understands (and forgives) Jack, but does not give up her hard-won job in the toy shop. She does, however, arrange for Jack to work in her father's bakery, learning to make the fruitcake his father loves -- and buys -- from Libby's dad. The bakery business booms, Jack is content, Gideon has the best toymaker's apprentice, and Libby has become a role model for young women everywhere.

In real life, Courtney Dorsey is a stage management intern at the Arkansas Arts Center and plans, now that she's "technically" out of high school, to continue her education. She wants to major in early childhood education or teach theater -- maybe both. She's been acting for about four years, she said, and has been a figure-skating coach at the professional level. She had some advice for those who may be thinking about acting and touring with a troupe such as Tell-A-Tale.

"If you can make it through one of these tours, you're a real actor," she said. "You have to be able to adapt and adjust to different places and to living on a bus. And sometimes, you have to be able to improvise on stage."

Amy Dorsey is one of a chosen few who has the honor of being the first students allowed to go on tour with the troupe.

"It's an awesome experience," she said, adding that she (and her sister) were home-schooled and keep up by studying wherever and whenever they can while on tour. The older actors are working under contract for the Arkansas Arts Center.

According to Courtney Dorsey, there are dozens of people vital to the production of the play, including Jimi Brewi, technical director; Greg Lahti, set artist and builder; Bradley Anderson, artistic director; and Pam Adam and Erin Larkin, costumers.

Marcy Saoud, education director at the Arts and Science Center, welcomed approximately 50 preschool and first- and second-graders from New Life Christian School, Terry's Tots and Toddlers and Susan Wolf and her four home-schooled sons to an afternoon performance of "The Toymaker's Apprentice."

"I qualify as a group myself," said Wolf, noting that the troupe's performances always entertained and brought a different point of view that she liked to share with her sons.

A New Life second-grade teacher, Joann Washington, said that the performance showed young people that it wasn't "all about men."

"It incorporates a lot of good lessons," Washington said, indicating that she would take back ideas for lesson plans -- provided by the troupe -- to her classroom.

The morning performance, Saoud said, brought 183 students from pre-school to sixth grade, including L.L. Owen Elementary School's honor students, Mrs. Bobby's TLC, First Presbyterian Day School, Wesley United Methodist Church's Child Care Center and members of the Kris Durham family.

The troupe also visited several schools in the area and will continue its tour with "The Toymaker's Apprentice" until Dec. 17. The next production is "King Arthur and his Magic Sword" from Feb. 7 to March 25. Information is available by calling Ned Metcalf, state services manager, at 1-800-264-ARTS.

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