Northwestern students got the chance to relive childhood by coloring pictures of their favorite fairytale characters at the Rock on Tuesday.
In an effort to promote its spring musical “Into the Woods,” Arts Alliance teamed with Happiness Club to hold Fairytale Coloring Book Day. Passing students took a few minutes to release their stress with markers and crayons.
“We were thinking about different events on campus that would get students excited, just generally and also about the show,” said Communication junior Leah Harris, the show’s director of outreach. “We just thought people would get excited about coloring and arts and crafts and that it would make them happy.”
“Into the Woods” will run from May 19 to 21 in the Norris University Center’s Louis Room and will be presented in a unique way, Harris said.
“The musical is kind of about the psychological aspect of fairytales, and our version is a little more fun,” she said. “The spring musical has a very long tradition at our school, and I think everyone is super excited about this.”
Sean Brennan, business producer of “Into the Woods,” said Arts Alliance is aiming to bring a “darker edge” to the show.
“In this concept, the stories are being told by a group of refugees in the midst of a war,” he said. “It highlights the power of storytelling and is going to be very strong and impacting on the audience,” the Communication junior said.
Happiness Club board member Alex Wilson said the groups received $60 to purchase supplies from an NUnite grant, a diversity initiative housed in the Center for Student Involvement that encourages collaboration among student groups.
“An NUnite grant is basically a grant to encourage students to collaborate together,” the McCormick junior said. “Happiness Club kind of goes along with fairytales, so we’re combining all that and coloring.”
Weinberg freshman Emma Parker said she liked the event because it was “a nice break from the stresses of student life.”
“I stopped thinking about exams and tests,” she said. “And I got to hear about this show that sounds great that I didn’t know about before.”
Parker said she plans to hang her “masterpiece” up as decoration in her dorm room.
“I only sat down for a few minutes in between classes, but for those few minutes I felt like a kid again,” she said.
