The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Come dressed as a fern?
by Dawne Belloise
There is a moment in Bodhi and the Rainforest when a reluctant caterpillar discovers that becoming something greater than herself is only the beginning. For Suzanne “Soupy” Pierson, local artist, educator, singer-songwriter and Red Lady, who wrote this children’s musical, that idea is at the heart of the story. Bodhi realizes — what good is personal transformation if it isn’t used to help someone else? It’s a question Suzanne has asked herself all through life. Now, 36 years after its Denver debut, the environmental children’s musical is coming to the Steddy Theater at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts, performed by a cast of 20 talented local kids ages six to 14. The production runs August 20 and 21 at 6:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2:30 p.m. on August 22. “It’s a dream come true for me,” Suzanne says of bringing the show to the local Steddy Theatre.
Suzanne’s path to writing Bodhi and the Rainforest actually began with her music. She spent 30 years as a performing singer-songwriter, starting in college as a girl and her guitar playing folk music. Eventually, her performing career led her into teaching and she realized that music could also be a way into language, community and connection.
One of her earliest teaching experiences was in Denver where she worked with Laotian refugees. Her students were five-year-olds who she was teaching English to through music. But the entire apartment building showed up, elders, parents and siblings who would sit packed into the living room because they wanted to learn English as well. “And they were respectful and quiet,” she says. She taught them basic English, numbers, colors, shapes and the beginnings of language skills, all through music and songs like the Alphabet Song, which became a teaching tool.
Suzanne’s ability to use performance and music as an educational tool made her an ideal fit for Denver Public Schools, which had few to no elementary music programs in the late 1980s. She became an itinerant music teacher, traveling from school to school and eventually teaching in nearly every Denver public school before settling into permanent positions at two schools.
Then in 1990, Suzanne was asked to put a group of fifth graders onstage. She wanted to give them something more meaningful than the children’s musicals she had seen, but she couldn’t find one, so she decided to write one herself.
Bodhi and the Rainforest premiered with 100 fifth graders onstage, fully costumed as spiders, bugs, bees, caterpillars, trees, flowers, hummingbirds and jaguars. The children sang and danced their way through a three-act production featuring 10 of Suzanne’s original songs. The name Bodhi comes from Bodhisattva, a Buddhist term of someone who does good in the world and helps others thrive. The story follows the familiar concept of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, the narrative of many adventure stories that even Indiana Jones followed, where the reluctant hero faces challenges, passes through metaphorical hoops of fire and strives toward a great prize or enlightenment.
Suzanne says she wanted her hero to ask the question that comes after the quest, “What do you do with enlightenment once you have it? You take it and move it forward,” she says. “You do good in the world. You help others thrive.” She feels that is what it means to be a Bodhisattva, taking whatever goodness or knowledge you have gained and reflecting it back into your community.
“And that is the greatest message or teaching I could possibly give to a child,” she says. “But that’s what teachers do every day. I made a vehicle for it.”
Suzanne feels the most powerful song from the play, and one that became particularly meaningful to audiences, is her composition, “No Child of Mine.” “The song is a prayer for peace, for a healthy environment and for a future that remains possible for generations to come,” she feels.
Although the musical takes place in a rainforest, Suzanne sees a direct connection between the challenges faced by tropical forests and the environmental questions confronting not only the Gunnison Valley but the Rocky Mountains and the world. “Rainforest issues parallel the environmental issues that we have in our Rocky Mountain forests,” she says. “Our kids here love our wild. This play gives them another way to make a difference in their future.” The message is serious, but the delivery is wonderful and fun. Bodhi and the Rainforest uses colorful characters, music, dance, humor and the vibrant energy of local kids performing together.
Assembling a cast of 20 children in the middle of a Crested Butte summer is no small feat, Suzanne says. “Rehearsals have had to be squeezed between dance classes, camps, athletics and the many other activities that fill Crested Butte kids’ summer.” But Suzanne says the families and young actors have shown remarkable commitment. “They bring their children to rehearsal no matter how hard that is. They’ve just been wonderful.” The production has the talented and much loved thespian Mary Tuck as assistant director, with dancer and choreographer extraordinaire Angela Carroll, and Andrea Pepitone and Neil Windsor also helping bring the show to the stage.
For Suzanne, the production is also a celebration of the extraordinary creative ecosystem in the Gunnison Valley. She credits the Crested Butte and Gunnison arts communities, local theaters and dance programs for offering advice, costumes and support. “There’s so much theater in our very small valley. The dance community is incredibly impressive in this valley. And with the athleticism combined, these children here are exceptional in their skill levels.” Suzanne raised the funds for the production herself, with the support of a fiscal partner that allows contributions to be tax deductible.
She’s also excited about the play being staged at the Center’s Steddy Theater. “It’s the most incredible stage I’ve ever produced on.” True to Crested Butte’s love of wildness and costuming up for any occasion, the audience is encouraged to become part of the world of the musical by coming as their favorite rainforest creatures, animals or other wilderness characters costumes.There will also be a merchandise table. “Spontaneous dancing for rain in the Grace Atrium is not only permitted, but encouraged,” Suzanne says, and adds, “The world belongs to all of us, and each person has a role in caring for it.”
Info:
Bodhi and the Rainforest
Steddy Theater, Crested Butte Center for the Arts
• Thursday, August 20 – Doors 5:30 p.m.; show at 6:30 p.m.
• Friday, August 21 – Doors 5:30 p.m.; show at 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday, August 22 – Doors 1:30 p.m.; show at 2:30 p.m.
Audience members are encouraged to dress as rainforest creatures or wilderness characters and arrive early for selfies in the rainforest setting.
