Director's Note

This play is about finding one’s place in the world; finding the place you’re meant to be, and finding your place in relation to others. It is also a play about transformation – in terms of each character’s transformation, and also in terms of the theatrical techniques we use to continuously transform the stage into the magical world of the play. 

At first glance, one might think that this prequel to the beloved Peter Pan is inherently a children’s story, but the story of finding oneself and one’s place in the world is a story quintessentially about young adulthood; a story just right for college students. 

In thinking about the ideas in the play – finding one’s place, searching for, as Black Stache says toward the end of Act II, “the yin to me yang,” it occurs to me that it is a universal story. The journey of becoming begins when we are young, and it continues as we continue to discover and change and grow.

It has been a joy to direct Peter and the Starcatcher for the department this fall, and to spend the past month of rehearsal with this tight-knit group of students, some of whom I have known for years, some of whom I have worked with on productions, some of whom I have taught in class, and some of whom I am just getting to know. 

Tight-knit. That notion has continuously been conjured for me during this process. It must have been when I was very young that I heard the Japanese legend of the Red String, because the legend is so ingrained in me. There are several versions, but the central idea is that there is a red string tied to each of us at birth, and as we encounter each other, we weave the fabric of our lives. 

As a director I have the privilege to bring people together. I have been very fortunate to work with this wonderful group of generous artists who have continued to deepen our collective understanding of the text as they have brought themselves to the task of creating these characters and this world. As a group, we have gotten to experience the process of working together – for some, it is their first production, or their first mainstage; for others, it will be their last show as a college student. For all of us, it is an experience that we will take with us, one that has been woven into the fabric of our individual lives. 

I am grateful to Rick Elice and Wayne Barker for putting equal parts fun and heart into this play. We have delighted in creating this cast of characters, bringing their individual journeys to life, watching them collide, and collaborating to weave the fabric of their story together for you, our audience. We hope you will be equally delighted in witnessing the results of our efforts. 

Jan Mason, Director

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Website blurb:

Peter and the Starcatcher, the Tony-Award-winning comedic prequel to the beloved Peter Pan, will be presented in CCSU’s Black Box Theatre December 3-7. Written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker, this playful send-up is sure to please. We meet many familiar characters, and a few new ones, in this musical play that supplies the backstory for Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Mrs. Darling, and Captain Hook. Audiences of all ages will delight in the comic antics of this cast of characters as their individual journeys collide, and they search for their rightful place in the world.