Fairy Tales Take “What If” Spin in Grade 4 Production

The beloved world of fairy tales turned upside down as fourth-grade students offered a new perspective full of fun anecdotes and modern twists on the traditional telling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood in their cross-curricular stage production of Twisted Tales.

The students took center stage in the Taylor Performing Arts Center wearing handmade blue and yellow T-shirts to symbolize the two groups who would narrate the stories. The show opened with an original song performed by the students and played by Lower School music teacher Rachael Jungkeit on the piano before transitioning to the first story of Goldilocks. The narration began with the original telling of the story. In a new twist, the students acted out a re-telling of the tale with their own details including Goldilocks using her cell phone, performing dances, and other modern-day elements.

The second story of Little Red Riding Hood told the age-old tale of a girl on the way to visit her grandmother’s house in the forest. Students were dressed in costumes to portray the different characters along with props to elevate the story. The narration then turned around to the alternative version where Little Red Riding Hood saved herself using her karate skills and the wolf arrived on an electric scooter!

The performance ended with a talk-back as the students detailed the process start-to-finish and how the production came to be. Theater teacher Lisa Daly noted that the students created their own original alternate versions to showcase how the stories might look in a modern telling. In language arts class, the students learned about the history of fairy tales, their elements, and ways to deconstruct the original tale to create a “what if” version.

Following the performance was an art show and reception in the cafeteria. The installation featured both written essays and the colorful artistic depictions of the two stories on a circular canvas, which the students worked on in class with art teacher Sue Bennett 1973.