On Saturday, September 27th, the Luther College Theatre department put on Owl at Home, a children’s opera based off of a book by the same name by Arnold Lobel. There were two performances that happened at 10:30 and 1 PM, and many people attended each performance.

The show delved deep into different topics that children often experience in their daily life. The Narrator, played by Joey Maiden (‘27), helps set the story of Owl, played by Luke Smith (‘27). Owl goes about his daily life and explores different emotions and experiences within 5 short vignettes. 

Despite the focus as a children’s show, Maiden feels that it could be taken well for adults too. “[The show] still [has] a meaningful message that adults need to be reminded of.” Says Maiden.

The first story starts with Owl relaxing in his home while winter blazes outside. He eventually lets the winter in. The winter storms in and Owl has to chase it out, much to his struggle. This part resonated with people as something they experienced. 

“[I’ve] seen adults who still don’t always treat someone else’s space with respect and act how winter does in that scene,” said Maiden.

Next, Owl has to deal with fear and being scared. As he tries to sleep, he gets scared by bumps underneath his blanket. As silly as it may seem, he realizes eventually that he is just scared of his own feet. It helps to show young children that sometimes when they’re scared, it may not be as bad as their mind leads them to be.

The third story covers sadness and how Owl experiences it. Owl wants to create Tear Water Tea, so he has to continue crying to provide the water for the tea. He thinks of many sad things, such as “spoons that have fallen behind the stove,” and “mashed potatoes left alone on a plate.” Despite the playful nature of the production, Maiden feels that sadness is an important lesson to teach young children. 

“It’s okay to cry and be sad about other things that people may find ridiculous,” Maiden says.

Fourth, Owl talks about feeling lonely and wishing he could be in two places at once. This story seemed the most focused on the younger audience, with lots of counting and dramatic motions. This story covered the idea of longing for the ability to be everywhere. It is an opportunity for children to feel seen and validated in their emotions about missing out on experiences.

The last story is one of the most impactful. It shows Owl trying to make a connection with the moon, while also trying to create boundaries. This story discusses boundaries in an easy and digestible sense, and it also is a segue into saying goodbye and how that can be difficult. “I almost cried,” said Katie Wilson (‘28). She was an audience member at the performance, and the emotions she experienced goes to prove that adults can take this seriously as well. 

Despite the show itself running smoothly, there were a few stressful issues for the people involved. 

“We only started rehearsing about two and a half weeks ago,” Maiden said. “I was nervous about it being ready but everyone involved is super talented so it came together really well.” 

The audience loved the show, particularly the use of audience participation. 

“The opening was really beautiful, and the [humor] made me laugh a lot,” said Geneva, a mother who went to the show with her young daughter, Sedona. When asked about  her favorite part of the show, Sedona admitted shyly that she loved all of it.Maiden also agreed that involving the audience was impactful to the show. 

“I was scared that the kids wouldn’t respond to me or find me entertaining. I am glad that didn’t happen though and everyone seemed to enjoy it,” she said. However, her favorite part of the show was also the kids. 

“[We] had the opportunity to go to two elementary schools and perform for them last week, and [being able] to finally perform for kids and hear how they responded to it made me so happy.”

Children’s theater, especially this show, was a big drawing point for Luther students and the community members in the audience.

 “I would definitely come see something like this again,” Geneva laughed joyfully when asked. It also positively affected the performers as well. 

“Children’s theater is some of my favorite theater to do though so I was glad to have that opportunity at Luther.” Maiden said, reflecting on her experience.