Sets and props arrive for a Childsplay show at Copperwood Elementary School in Glendale. Photo by Lynn Trimble.
A white van pulled up along a side entrance to the cafeteria at Copperwood Elementary School in Glendale earlier this month. A trio of actors, morning coffee in hand, popped out—the cast and crew for “Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle,” a play by José Cruz González that’s been taking the school cafeteria crowd by storm.
It’s a touring production by Tempe-based Childsplay, which specializes in theater for young audiences, performed by professional adult actors. This weekend, the play opens at Tempe Center for the Arts, where you’ll lose all that cafeteria ambiance. No character education banners. No sitting “crisscross applesauce” on the floor with fellow wigglers. But it’s still a story that captures the everyday trials and triumphs of ordinary families.
“Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle” imagines life for a family hit hard by the recent economic downturn. It’s the tale of 6-year-old Cory, her grandmother and the stray dog whose mischief rips old assumptions to shreds. Cory has a thing for cowboy boots and hats, but her grandmother favors fancy church hats and sensible shoes. Pup “Mighty Miracle” shares Cory’s bouncy ways, but Grandma Autumn has bigger things on her mind.
Cory’s father has lost both his job and the family home. Grandma has taken young Cory in despite her own struggles with house payments and medical issues. But there’s more to the story. Grandma Autumn has been estranged for years from Cory’s parents—she’s unhappy that her daughter married a man of Latino heritage rather than a fellow African American. It’s the stuff of real family dramas, infused with humor and heart by playwright González , director Dwayne Hartford and the cast that praises its relevance for contemporary youth.
Cast members carry set pieces from van to stage. Photo by Lynn Trimble.
Before students entered the cafeteria by classroom in carefully orchestrated lines, actors Osiris Cuen (Cory), Chanel Bragg (Grandma Autumn) and Carlos A. Lara (Mighty Miracle) carried the set from van to stage.
First they wheeled in clothing racks of costumes covered in makeshift cotton garment bags, then a pair of chain link fence pieces on wheels. Larger set pieces soon followed, including the panels that make up Grandma Autumn’s neighborhood and home, connected and secured by rods, sandbags and other tricks of the trade.
Images reflecting themes within the play abound. Homes sporting “For Sale” and “Foreclosure” signs. A framed piece of needlepoint that reads “Home Sweet Home.” A picture of Popeye holding a can of chicken soup with spinach. Red bricks, graffiti, sunflowers and golden rays of the sun fanned out in the distance. Several props, including a blue rotary-dial phone and TV tray, signal the ways societies evolve across the generations. A terracotta pot holds a barren rose branch that will bloom anew once the seasons change.
Some days Grandma Autumn volunteers at the local food bank. Other days she waits in line so Cory will have enough to eat. Cory loves reading books, finding familiar shapes in the clouds, playing a jumping-bean game and having tea parties. Her grandma loves rules. Still, they’ve got several things in common. Both like “butterfly kisses.” And both know the pain of losing someone who has died. Over time, they develop shared interests—like creating new objects from items once discarded or destroyed.
Chanel Bragg (Grandma Autumn) in “Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle” on tour. Photo by Lynn Trimble.
Students watching Childsplay perform sat engrossed throughout the performance, giggling during scenes filled with physical comedy or word play. Their favorites included a rhyming “soup” and “poop” riff, plus bits of dialogue delivered in Spanish. Children whose families speak Spanish rarely experience live theater that reflects their reality, so “Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle” affirms their identity and confirms for all audience members that all cultures have worth. The play’s multicultural context is just as important to these actors, who grew up without theater that mirrors the world’s incredible diversity.
More about the mighty cast members
“This play resonates with all three of us because we are people of color,” Lara said as I sat with cast members between that morning’s two shows. “We talk a lot together about social justice,” he said. “Our stories don’t get told.” Imagine growing up never seeing people who look like you on TV, added Cuen. “I had fallen into this assimilation and didn’t even know it.”
The arts have a lot of power, Lara told me. They expose kids to the idea that anything is possible. It’s part of what makes their work so meaningful. “I want to show people that it’s still possible to tell stories from different perspectives,” he said. They came to theater through vastly different paths, but for each this production is the first time performing with Childsplay.
Osiris Cuen (Cory) and Carlos Lara (Mighty Miracle) perform at Copperwind Elementary School. Photo by Lynn Trimble.
Cuen, who recalled childhood days spent in “tomboy” mode, said she always wanted to do theater but didn’t want to admit it. Her first foray into theater was a community center summer class when she was just 11 or 12 years old.
Lara grew up attending schools with no arts programs, but finally got the chance to take drama as a high school senior.
Bragg decided to make theater a career after learning she had cancer. She left her corporate job of six years on Dec. 26 of last year. Rehearsals for “Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle” began Jan. 6. “I’m in remission,” says Bragg. She has never questioned her decision: “We continually realize what a chord we really do strike with children.”
They’re also making a difference in the lives of animals. Childsplay has partnered with the Arizona Animal Welfare League in Phoenix to see that families who adopt an AAWL shelter dog in March receive one free ticket to see “Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle” at Tempe Center for the Performing Arts.
Learn more about Childsplay performances and education/outreach programs.