Play Review and Evaluation for The Fabulous Fable Factory by Joseph Robinette
"The Fabulous Fable Factory" by Joseph Robinette is a work of what iscommonly known as 'children's theater.' An individual unfamiliar with thisgenre of theater might simply assume a work of children's theater to be a'dumbed down' version of adult theater. This might be particularly thecase in terms of "The Fabulous Fable Factory," when such an individualheard that the narrative of the play was one in which Aesop's fables wereretold in a modern context. However, the use of a fable-like structure forthis work of children's theater is actually a brilliant, creative, and
Although the main character namedMonroe who accidentally sets the factor into motion supplies the morals ofthe tales, ultimately it is the minds, hearts, and yes voices of theaudiences that fully creates the moralization process and are truly the'stars' of the show. Thus the set design supports the direction of the actors, theacting, and the narrative of the story. Rather thanattempting to embody the character in a 'Method' sense, the actors presenttheir stock characters in a very self-conscious way, asking the audience topass judgment upon them. Fables by their very nature areinteractive tales, where the reader, or in this case, the audience member,is asked to become part of the story of the tale, passing judgment upon theactions of the character and engaging in an active learning process. The play is set in an abandoned factory where thefactory's machinery, an assembly line of different individuals, come tolife to enact fabulous fables. The acting of the play is extremely presentational. Thisinteractive process is truly what is at the heart of children's theater. The set design of the factory is also notrealistic, but encourages the audience to use its collective imagination tocreate a factory environment, and to invest importance in the stories told,and the fictional conceit that there can be such a thing as a factory ofstories. One reflects that every play is different, inchildren's theater, because every audience of children is different and isan active part of the life of the play. But the striking things about witnessing this play, as typical ofchildren's theater in general, is the way the audience is encouraged, notto sit in silence, but to become part of the play in action and to activelyparticipate in the drama.
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Acceptance Essays
