Taking a Trip to Tibet — via the Lower School
May 7, 2004

The cast of the Middle School play, Tibet Through the Red Box, delighted the young audience of the Lower School by sharing vignettes of the upcoming play, and answering questions from the budding thespians. Peter Sis’s autobiographical book was adapted for stage by award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. The play offers the audience a journey through a magical childhood through the eyes of an adult. Opening the red box, author and main character Peter Sís finds the diary his father kept when he was lost in Tibet in the mid-1950s. As he turns the brittle pages, covered with faded handwriting and fine drawings, and examines the small treasures that were hidden with the diary, Sís becomes the accidental traveler trekking through Tibet. At the same time he remembers the small boy who longed for his father to come back and recalls the fantastic stories his father told him on his return--stories that seemed more like fairy tales than real life. Bit by bit, the mystery of his father's journey is revealed; in reliving it, Sís finds the man who had been taken from him many years before and the magical place that held him hostage. The younger students asked about the difficulty of memorizing lines and how long do the actors practice. The young cast explained that at first it is hard to memorize the lines, but as they practice it becomes easier. The cast also practices everyday for approximately one and one-half months. Guest artist Vince DeMura, concert jazz pianist, composer, and director of the George Street Project ensemble is working with the cast and will perform with them during the show. Guest artist Yetunde Hart is a dancer who is providing appropriate cultural dance steps and movements. She is associated with the George Street Playhouse as a choreographer. Tibet Through the Red Box will be staged in the Macrae Theater at Pingry’s Martinsville campus. The curtain will rise at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14, and at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 15. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. Please call 908-647-5555 for more information. © 2004 The Pingry School