Kate Forbes Dallimore laughs while reading lines
for student-written plays as part of the Muse of Fire Project.
Stevie Ray Dallimore, left, and Jamaal Macon play a warm-up game at the Chattanooga Public Library,
where Muse of Fire students heard their plays read by adult actors.Murder by crossbow? Rapping dogs? Love at first sandwich?
Lewis Carroll ain’t got nothing on the mind of a 10-year-old.
On Monday afternoon, about a dozen adult actors gather in an auditorium at the Chattanooga Public Library, coming together for an initial reading of plays produced by the Muse of Fire Project, a scriptwriting program for preteens. The plays are wildly imaginative and varied, veritable one-act mad libs.
Sitting at the foot of a stage coated with a thick, dull-orange carpet, the nine young playwrights and a handful of their parents listen as the actors’ voices breathe life into tales of water nymphs and triumphant athletes, fibbing elephants and magical money trees. Despite only seconds of introductions to the characters, actors speak with dramatic flair, their voices booming out and bouncing off the wood-paneled walls.
This reading is the last chance for Muse of Fire participants to tweak their stories and sign off on them. Once approved, the troupe of adult actors will have two weeks to rehearse their lines, create sets and costumes and compose music to transform the students’ often-madcap ideas into actual stage productions.