IF YOU GOWhat: "Here We Go Again: Fresh Plays by Class II of the Muse of Fire Project"When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday.Where: Chattanooga Public Library (theater), 1001 Broad St.Admission: $7 (suggested donation).Phone: 917-816-3540.
The imaginations of eight Chattanooga-area children will come to life tonight and Saturday when "Here We Go Again! Fresh Plays by Class II of the Muse of Fire Project" is presented at the Chattanooga Public Library.
The fully produced plays, written by 10- to 12-year-old students, are acted by adults, including by staff and students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Covenant College and Chattanooga State Community College.
"Every time it's a little different," said Stevie Ray Dallimore, a co-founder of the project along with his wife, former Chattanoogan Kate Forbes Dallimore. "The imaginations of kids are so wonderful. There are a lot of superheroes [in the group of plays], a lot of buddy-buddy adventures. There are a lot of really outrageous characters but a lot of depth inside them."
This is the first group of plays contributed by this second group of students, who meet once a week for 10 weeks.
The plays are about 10 minutes each, share a multi-use set but have their own costumes and props.
The plays, he said, all have a lightheartedness but often "touch on some profound" truths.
"Kids don't always see what they're writing," Dallimore said. "There's something magical about that."
The theater club, sponsored by Choose Chattanooga and assisted by grants from CreateHere and the McKenzie Foundation, is open to children of all backgrounds and is based on the similar 52nd Street Project in New York City.
"The idea behind The [Muse Fire] Project," said Dallimore, "is building and bridging communities. We don't exclude anybody. We have a real mix of kids -- nice kids."
That mix includes students from inner-city schools, suburban schools, private schools and home-schoolers.
It is meeting the goal to "bring communities together," he said.