James and the Giant Peach Delights Record-Breaking Audience
Bay Path’s annual spring performing arts production, this year a theatrical rendition of Roald Dahl’s story James and the Giant Peach, took the stage this month. The play brought wit and whimsy to more than 1,600 theatregoers, including 22 elementary school classrooms from across the region.
Design Elements
Our production of James and the Giant Peach incorporated unique visual and auditory elements: a 75-minute live score composed by director of musical activities Robert Tomasulo, steampunk-styled costumes designed by Kaytlyn Vandeloecht, and a turntable stage in the shape of a gear.
Kevin Barlowski, director of theatre and performance studies, drew inspiration from Tim Burton’s 1996 film.
“We wanted to capture fantastical elements of the story while leaning into darker aspects as well. That’s why we decided on steampunk-themed costumes, which blend 19th-century Victorian era high fashion with industrial steam-powered machinery,” Barlowski said.
Vandeloecht, whose professional background spans technical roles behind-the-scenes, previously working as a master electrician, and leading roles on stage, including “Ladybird” in this production, designed and constructed nearly every costume for the show by hand.
“The chorus played six or seven tracks throughout the show. From one minute to the next, they needed to transition from seagulls to sailors, sharks to tourists, and more,” Vandeloecht said. “It was important to strike a balance of indicative and versatile pieces to accommodate those quick changes while adding color and character to each scene.”
Several costumes were adorned with a special finishing touch: LED lights.
“The effect from the lights was really magical,” she said. “Half of the cast had one costume start to finish, so attention to detail was important. We even trimmed the wigs with feathers and gadgets.”
Creative Drama Workshops
In partnership with our elementary education program faculty, Bay Path education majors visited 22 classrooms with their own lesson plans based on the story. Participating classes then came to campus for exclusive matinee performances.
Kara Schlesinger ‘17 and Katie Sweet ’17 brought the stage to a class of second graders at St. Mary’s Academy.
Sweet and Schlesinger broke students into groups using an exercise called “peach pits,” calling out a number to prompt them to self-sort for each acting exercise. An activity called “Show Me” challenged the kids to act out actions related to the book, like chopping wood, and picking peaches.
“Our main goal was to make sure the kids had fun and understood the play. Our lesson emphasized proper theater etiquette, so the kids knew how to behave at the show,” Schlesinger said. “We engaged them in discussions about what it means to have manners, like saying thank you and please, not talking to friends during the performance, and clapping at the end.”
Learn more about our production of James and the Giant Peach by watching this interview on MassAppeal or check out what’s coming to the Bay Path stage next by visiting our Events Calendar.