Educating Risa

This past weekend was the Victoria Day, or “May 2-4”, weekend, a little bit of wordplay as the holiday often lands around May 24th, and a “two-four” is slang for a case of 24 beers, which are often enjoyed during this “kickoff to summer” long weekend in Canada. I had a great time gardening and birding during my blogging break. And on Sunday, we went to a free performance of Flushed!, a musical comedy for ages K-6 from Evergreen Theatre. Evergreen Theatre is a local Calgary troupe that does original science / environmental educational musical theatre. They visit schools all over Alberta, as well as Saskatchewan and BC, and have even created a show about tiger conservation for the Smithsonian National Zoo!

The play Flushed! is about water and how it is cleaned in our sewer system, and the ‘scoop on poop’. I was not aware of all the details as to how the cleaned waste products are used as the basis of fertilizer and hence are as much “the beginning of the food chain” as the end. In Flushed!, Lolli the bored goldfish is accidentally flushed down the toilet by her owner, and she meets various characters during each stage of the water treatment plant en route to the river, learning as she travels. Here’s the set, before the play began. Note the kids on the right-hand side in brown T-shirts, being prepped to be part of the play.

Lolli, the bored goldfish, swimming aimlessly round and round and round her aquarium:

Jake, Lolli’s owner, dumping poison and other chemicals down the toilet rather than cleaning up properly.

The actor who played Jake played many other roles in the play, including Tilapia the tilapia fish (“I had practical parents”) that Lolli meets in the first stage of the water treatment plant, and “Peter Poo”, here. Yes, we watched a poo sing and dance with sludge (the boys) and scum (the girls). The actor did different accents for each character, and was very funny and enthusiastic. Peter Poo had a “proper British accent” for extra juxtapositional humour.

Bacteria and Lolli in a slow-motion fight, as Lolli tried to save the remains of her friend Peter that the bacteria is eating to decompose it to be used in fertilizer:

More singing and dancing, with some bacteria kids blowing bubbles for effect:

Everyone waving arms and singing along to the water song at the end. It was well received with giggles and applause throughout—and the kids (and adults!) learning something too.

For those of you reading in Calgary, Evergreen Theatre does programs and performances for homeschoolers as well as conventional schools. Just email them (contact info on their website) for details.