By Jacqueline Resendiz Morales
Staff Writer
“The Little Prince,” directed by theater department Professor Kelly Herman, made its debut at Cal State Dominguez Hills earlier this month.
Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Nov. 16-17 and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Nov. 18.
“It’s got music, dancing, it’s fun, and it’s sad, so it’s all of it, it’s everything,” Herman said.
This is the first play for children that the theater department has produced in quite some time.
“The biggest challenge to make a play for children is to not condescend because kids can always see through and be able to be as honest as possible otherwise children lose interest,” Herman said.
Herman has taught children’s theater for 17 years and was in and ran an award-winning tour for children’s theater for nine years. She has performed for thousands of children in her career.
When asked to explain her version of “The Little Prince” in more detail, Herman said, “There are some darker elements involved, but it’s a musical and it’s about a journey, and it’s about holding on to who you are as a person as you grow up and how we can’t let that child within us go away.”
What can you learn from watching the play?
“They can expect to have introspection afterwards, entertainment and food for thought, which I think is really important especially for college students because sometimes college students think about what they should do versus what they feel their passion is, so they funnel themselves in a way,” Herman said. “They don’t want to wake up as an aviator in their 40s and think, `Oh my gosh, I really wanted to do this.’ You know, for an adult it’s a cautionary tale; for a child it’s a whimsical journey that the Little Prince is going through.”
Herman said the best ages for children to enjoy the play are 7 to 12.
“If we have done it right, it should be magical and transformative,” she said.
