While most seniors will be entering the adult world after graduation in June, Speech seniors David Sabel and Shannon Scrofano will be doing child’s play.
“The BFG,” an innovative puppet show held in April at Shanley Pavilion, will be showcased in Summer Solstice, a 24-hour presentation of art, dance and theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Summer Solstice will begin June 22, a week after Northwestern’s commencement.
Sabel and Scrofano, who co-directed the play, will perform “The BFG” along with approximately 20 members of the cast and crew.
“We had mostly seniors, some juniors,” Sabel said. “They are gonna stay or go (home) and come back for it.”
Sabel heard about the event from a friend who was interning with MCA and mentioned the show to her boss. Her boss came to see one of the performances and asked to include them in Summer Solstice, which showcases mostly professional artists.
“We were very excited when we found out the woman from MCA came to see the show,” Sabel said. “We were flattered that she liked it.”
“The BFG” is an adaptation of the children’s book “The BFG” by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of a young orphan named Sophie who befriends a big, friendly giant after she catches him blowing dreams into people’s homes. Together they figure out a way to save England from a band of cannibalistic giants who prey upon sleeping children.
Sabel said she decided to produce the show last May because he had worked with puppets on two previous summer internships. He thought it would be interesting to see one of his favorite childhood novels performed onstage.
After enlisting the help of his friend Scrofano, they petitioned the theater production groups on campus and the idea was picked up by Vertigo Productions. They also received funding from the Center of Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts, a panel of NU professors who award grants to student and faculty projects.
They started designing the show last summer and built most of the puppets during Spring Break, Scrofano said. Sabel and Scrofano made the puppets mainly out of cloth, clay, metal and papier m
