Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast

Over winter break, it was impossible for me to rehearse my one act. So instead- I had the actors email me back and forth ideas as if we were at a real table talk. Here are some of the things we talked about:

For the First Discussion Starter I gave my actors this quote and then asked them to respond to it:

 

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”——The White Queen, from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

 

My Zacharias said:

"I really like that quote, Corinne. I think it is the essence of childhood. You know, when we were kids we would believe in crazy things. Not just Santa and the Tooth Fairy, but, that we really could do anything we wanted! The children's chorus in Joseph is so precious and one of them told me that they were gonna be on Broadway anddd be a veterinarian. I'm like, "good for you, girl!" Obviously we all know that's pretty unrealistic and society definitely thinks so, but I think that's what makes childhood so precious is just the thought that anything is possible. Childhood is so fantastic and maybe that's what makes it so amazing is just believing in the impossible. Those hopes and beliefs are what really drive children into the next chapters of their life. Look at all of the messed up people there are in the world and one thing a lot of them have in common is a really bad childhood. There's clearly a link. You know, I've heard it said that parents really shouldn't let their children believe in Santa because it's a big fat lie, etc. etc, but believing in impossible things is such an important part of childhood and really should be nourished throughout childhood. You know children are so fragile and what you say can obviously affect them long term, but they are also so impressionable and if we help them to believe in the impossible, then they have so much hope for the future and for their lives and for humanity that it just carries them and makes the world a better place. I wish our society wasn't so logical all the time, if that makes sense. Though things might be impossible, if we all believe everything is possible we will all really go places and change the world. So, good for the child in Joseph who believes that she can be on Broadway and be a vet because she might make it one day. I know I rambled alot and probably didn't make that much sense, but yeah."

My Pepper said:

"Well what that quote makes me think of is how awesome this show is. It just makes me think of how cooky and unrealistic the show is. I mean Two different sized arms! A box that changes colors! How cool! I think it shows how important childhood is. I mean if we were all boring and dull and didn't use our imagination when we were little, who would we be today? We wouldn't be who we are! "

My Drum Major said:

"Lewis Carroll's "Wonderland" is a place that is very unlike the world in which we live.  Right now, each of us wakes up each morning on our breaks and gets ready to go out to buy things for people or to go to work or to prepare for an audition, etc.  But the characters in "Wonderland" have more imaginative and fanciful worries and cares: not to be late for a very important date, not to be sidetracked by massive-ass talking flora, and which pill is going to make me normal sized as opposed to fat as a cruise ship.

The White Queen lives in a place where nearly everything IS impossible by our standards.  If seeing is believing, she believes so very much of that which is, perhaps, only to be explained by imagination.

Zacharias and Pepper live in their own world built around imagination.  When they wake up in the morning, their worries amount to figuring out what games should be played that day, or just how many things one CAN do with a flipping box. They live in a fashion that is completely built on their imaginations. In a way, I see the Drum Major as the one element of reality that Zach and Pepper have, although briefly, in their lives thus far. Reality comes to them in a heavy dose, teaches them a wonderful lesson, and then leaves as quickly as it descended upon them."

 

I was astonished at their responses and I said:

 

"I agree with all of you for sure. It's the essence of childhood-believing in ridiculous things. And we definitely lose it somewhere in life. I love that Charlie brought up Santa Clause-so many of us adore that fantasy that retailers and producers market items based of him and he doesn't even exist! I also love how Danny brings up the fact that using our imagination has created the very essence of who we are today. Believing in crazy shit has made us exciting people with aspirations. And I love that Shaun really compared Alice in Wonderland to Noodle Doodle Box-both of which are unrealistic, fantastical, absurd children's stories. I agree that the Drum Major is the element of reality that teaches them a lesson but I think that they need that fantasy world to live in. Also- absurdism tends to point out and exaggerate those silly little worries that we deal with everyday that don't really matter in the scheme of things "What will I eat for breakfast?" "Should I take a bathroom break now?"

To add on my own opinion, I believe that it is essential that we carry on the fantastical ideas along with us. The greatest things were created by either mistakes or huge ambitions. People who take risks. I'll tell you right now my baby brother was fearless when he was 2, he'd dive headfirst into the water at the beach and practically drown himself. He does and says what he wants without thinking of the consequences and so do Pepper and Zach and Alice. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, but each time we learn something about the world around us and ourselves and I hope that through this process we all can do the same."