Chicago Children’s Theatre presents X-MARKS THE SPOT: AN X-TRA SENSORY XPERIENCE Review: A Sensory Adventure for the Family

Chicago Children’s Theatre presents X-Marks the Spot

Conceived and directed by Chicago Children’s Theatre Co-Founder and Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell, X-Marks the Spot is inspired by Edith Nesbit’s children’s novel Five Children & It. The story follows Melody (Amanda de la Guardia), Peanut (Anthony Lombard), Devon (Brian Keys), and Sky (Tina-Munoz Pandya), four siblings who move to Michigan from Chicago, and encounter a magical sand fairy at the beach who can grant them three wishes. What follows is an adventure that takes all kinds of twists and turns, teaching the children that they should learn to be careful for what they wish for.

Engaging the Senses

The play itself offers a taste of extra sensory theatre, utilizing low-light settings and blindfolds to invite audiences to access their senses of touch, smell, hearing, and taste. That is not to say that Russell does not create moments of beautiful staging. For example, when the siblings encounter the sand fairy, they come together and create the being themselves through the use of a blanket and lights for eyes. This writer did remove the blindfold briefly, and is glad she did, because watching the actors come together to create something entirely new was breathtaking.

However, the creation of the play as a whole was inspired by children who are visually impaired, and the moments that Russell works outside of the norm are for this writer particularly exciting. The play is recommended for ages 8 and up, and it was easy for this writer to see how there is a little something for young people throughout that age range. Rather than simply performing the story for the audience to see, everything is described, such as the route that the children and their mother took from Chicago to Michigan. As the children build an imaginary map of their surroundings, from the roads along forests to the Chicago city skyline that exists across the water, Adventure Guides bring physical maps for audiences to touch. We can feel the prickly nature of the trees, and the taller, more defined shapes of the Chicago skyscrapers. This writer will admit that she occasionally removed the blindfold to take in the room, and it was easy to see how excited the young people were at this opportunity to experience the story in various modes.

Thrilling Adaptation

Russell not only creates opportunities for touch, but also creatively utilizes the other senses in her production.

One exciting moment in particular was the game that the children played on the long car ride to Michigan. One of the children would describe the qualities of a color, and the others had to guess what that could be. However, rather than naming what one might expect, like objects that could be found in that color, Russell and the team were far more specific. The children described how a color might sound, taste, or feel. Red might feel like a skinned knee for example, and orange can taste citrusy like a tangerine.

As the actors revealed each detail, Adventure Guides came around with those elements for the audience to experience, such as bubbles to feel for blue, or a cinnamon flavored candy for red. It was easy for this writer to feel the excitement emanate from the actors as they discovered each new way to describe the qualities for a color, and in turn, the young people fed off this energy. The Adventure Guides are every bit as generous, looking for consent and prepping each audience member for what they are about to experience through the given sense. The experience is certainly not like a traditional trip to the theater, and Russell clearly does what she can to ease her audience into the event as smoothly as possible.