Children's Theater 1953 - 1974

Children's Theater

Rumpelstiltskin, the first Children's Theater production, was directed by Paul Berkowsky in 1953. Rumpelstiltskin began many traditions for the Children's Theater, including using of a van or trailer to tour the show around New York.
King Midas and The Golden Touch, was written and directed by Glen Hilkens '57 for his English honors project. The show was meant for children in grades 1-6 and traveled around the Finger Lakes region after its first performance in Bartlett theater.
Pandora and The Marvellous Box was written and directed by Henry Steele '58 for his English honors project. Like previous productions, Pandora was first produced on the HWS campus before touring around upstate New York in 1958.
Many Moons, based on the story of the same name by James Thurber, was directed by Douglas Jones '70 in 1967. Many Moons was double-cast to allow for student-actors to remain focused on school while the production toured after its initial performance at the Lochland School.
The Rococo Coco Bean or Richard Harding Bush is an 18th century fairytale by Cleve Haubold performed by The Children's Theater in 1969. Carol Stock '70 directed the production.
Toad of Toad Hall, directed by Professor E.E. Griffith in 1970, was the only children's production not directed by a student. Russell Davis, who would go on to write for The Children's Theater, starred as the toad.
Cinderella, written by Russell Davis '71 and directed by William McAdoo '71, was a new version of the traditional story and was presented in Bartlett Theater in February 1972 before touring around the region.
Pickwick and The Goblins written by Russell Davis '71 and directed by Lew Lafford '71 in 1972 was performed for Genevian school children and toured around the state.
The Land of The Jesters, written by Pamela Pierce Walker, was directed by Wayne Spearnak '74 and was the last of HWS Children's Theater productions under E.E. Griffith.

HWS Children's Theater began as a subsection of The Little Theater with Paul Berkowsky's honors English project in 1953 and continued producing shows on and off for the next 20 years. Starting with Rumpelstiltskin, each show had a small cast that often doubled as crew and a small portable set that could be toured around the state in a rented van or trailer. Each show premiered in Geneva before traveling to up to 40 towns around the area to perform for school children.

The Theater gave upperclassmen an opportunity to direct a full-length show while giving underclassmen their first on-stage roles. Many of the leaders of HWS Children's Theater went on to work in theater or education. The Theater also helped to strengthen the relationship between the Colleges, Geneva, and the surrounding towns. The shows provided children with easy access to theater, exposing them to an art not always available in rural areas.

Paul Berkowsky '53, director of Rumpelstiltskin, worked on Broadway after graduating from Hobart.
Glen Hilkens '57, from Batavia NY, was the writer and director of King Midas and The Golden Touch. After working with The Children's Theater he went on to work as a school theater director in Newark.
Henry Steele '58 wrote and directed Pandora and The Marvellous Box for The Children's Theater as part of his English Honors project
Douglas Jones '70 was the director of the children's show Many Moons in 1967. After HWS, Jones performed small roles in children's shows with Baltimore Stage.
Carol Stock '70 directed The Rocococo Coco Bean or Richard Harding Bush for The Children's Theater in 1969. After HWS, Stock worked in education, continuing her work with children.
Rusell Davis '71 wrote Cinderella and the award winning Pickwick and The Goblins for The Children's Theater in 1972.
William McAdoo directed Cinderella for the Children's Theater in 1972.
Lew Lafford '71 was the director of Pickwick and the Goblins in 1972. He had plans to continue working in theater after the production.
Wayne Spearnak '74 directed the last Children's Theater production produced by E.E. Griffith, The Land of The Jesters, in 1974.

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