Mudlark Theater Company presented “This is Just to Say” on Dec. 3, 4 and 5 at the McGaw Y Childcare Center. The play, directed by Mike Miro, was adapted from Joyce Sidman’s “This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness” by children’s book author Juliet C. Bond.
When Mrs. Mertz assigns her sixth grade class to a poetry unit on apologies, a mystery is solved, a friendship is saved and a catastrophe is avoided. Using William Carlos Williams’ beloved 28-word poem as a template, the classmates create heartfelt – or at least candid – apologies to teachers, parents, classmates, crushes, and even pets. Funny, touching, and sometimes tragic, these stories find resolution in the second act, when the addressees respond.
Since its founding in 2005 by current artistic associate Amy Eaton, Mudlark Theater has been providing an outlet for kids to channel their dramatic, artistic and farcical energy in the form of biannual plays ranging from cast-written musicals to historical fiction dramas to well-known book and poem adaptations. The theater’s actors are all people who generally aren’t old enough to vote; the same goes for the sound and light technicians. Kids also act as stage managers and costume couturiers, robbing the adults of all their jobs save director – and usually the assistant director is an adolescent too.
“This Is Just to Say”
By William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold!