Area Attractions: Babble Lab at Children's Theatre (MN)

 Autumn Ness is the Playwright and Solo Performer of the upcoming World Premiere Babble Lab, which will perform at Children's Theatre Company from March 9-April 14, 2024.

 

The idea for the show actually came from a workshop session between Autumn and CTC Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. Autumn presented a few ideas to Peter; the least fully fleshed-out idea was her pouring refrigerator magnets on the floor and making sounds. And Peter went “that one! I like that idea!” 

“I am so excited that with the world premiere of Babble Lab I get to return to performing for my favorite audience, the pre-schoolers,” said playwright and performer Autumn Ness. “This play is about discovering the power of your own voice, and learning to be fearless in using it. I want every preschooler that sees our show to find their own magical, musical, courageous, EPIC voice!”

 

“It is truly a thrill to bring to the stage Autumn Ness’s exploration of sound, language, science, discovery and the celebration of the curious spirit,” said CTC Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. “Autumn has been a fearless and wonderfully inventive creator and this piece is sure to spark imagination, the joys of scientific exploration and the love of discovering new worlds. We can’t wait to share this delightful, totally original new piece with you.”
 

Sarah Agnew, Director of Babble Lab, said “I am so pleased to know that this wonderfully weird piece that Autumn has created, a convergence of Da-Da art esthetics and preschoolers, with Autumn at the helm, will be the first theatrical experience for many of our audience members. Lucky them!”
 

Strap on your safety goggles and clean out your ears! When an experiment unexpectedly goes awry, a concoction of sneaky, sprightly L E T T E R S takes over a weird and wondrous science lab. Watch them jump into jars, spring from drawers, bounce around the room, and even play hide-and-seek as our scientist makes her surprising findings: Bluku terullala blaulala loooo! Rakete bee bee? Rekate bee zee! Enjoy the blubbering and blibbering exploration of spoken blurbbles as they spring forth in this one-of-a-kind laboratory. The World Premiere of Babble Lab is created with early learners in mind.

I had a chance to interview Autumn to learn more.

Can you share a little bit about the title? 

Sure! So, this play takes place in a world where language has yet to be discovered. No talking, no singing, no reading, no writing, no fun. But on this very special day, a Scientist in a fantastical laboratory accidentally creates speech. The speech sounds like gibberish to us, but for her it’s miraculous! She creates the power of letters and verbal communication, which is scary and exhilarating and chaotic! People do often read the title wrong and think the play is called “Bubble Lab,” but that actually sounds amazing, so I don’t mind the mistake. 

• Why is it so important for people of all ages to learn how to discover their voice?

I come from a household with special needs where we communicate differently. For too long, children were expected to communicate in one “right” way. There was one way of developing, one way of learning how to get your needs met, one way to have give and take with another person. And now we know those communications can look different from child to child, and different is not “less than.” That’s what I mean when I say the play is about discovering your voice. It means each unique way of presenting yourself is valid.

• Why is it especially important for little ones?

I created the show for a pre-school because they are in the thick of so much development. Learning how to express their feelings, learning words can hurt, or make people laugh, learning letters, it’s such an incredible time. And I’d love for the little ones to leave the show with a playful feeling about expressing themselves, instead of the frustration we see so often with the very young. 

• What was the most surprising thing about working on this production?

The show has live animation happening, where words and letters that come out of my mouth go o to a giant screen in real time, and that has been such a cool thing to learn. I have dots and tape marks all over the set, so that I stand in the exact spot I need to have a word bubble pop out of my mouth, or dive into an ocean of letters. It’s such a cool part of the show, I think the audience with see it as magical!

Autumn's Bio

Autumn Ness (she/her) is celebrating her 23rd season as a member of the CTC Acting Company! A few of her favorite CTC shows include: Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Annie, Cinderella; Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical; The Biggest Little House in the Forest; The Jungle Book; and Romeo and Juliet.  Autumn is a recipient of the 2018 TCG Fox Foundation Fellowship, the 2020 MRAC Next Step Fund, and the 2022 MN State Arts Board Creative Support Grant.