PIRATE at Children's Hospital

By young performer Teddy Warren, who played Swill in HOW I BECAME A PIRATE

Thank you First Stage! Of all the productions I’ve done with you, this is the first time I’ve been in the end of the season show to participate in the performance that visits Children’s Hospital, and what a show it was! The production is called HOW I BECAME A PIRATE.

We left the Todd Wehr Theater at the Marcus Center in downtown Milwaukee in our costumes and five of us “pirates” (Jeremy Jacob, Pierre, Seymour Braunschwagger, Scurvy Dog, and me – “Swill”) rode in my dad’s van. It was particularly amusing to pass people on the street that noticed a van full of pirates. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, the staff at Children’s Hospital couldn’t have been more gracious and friendly. They joked with us about how we probably didn’t need to wear visitor passes because we would be fairly easy to identify. We were taken to the auditorium and practiced for a few minutes before the children came in with staff and family members. They were so happy and excited to see us! Keegan Cimler, who played Jeremy Jacob, and I started the show and Keegan and the rest of the cast did a really nice job at keeping us on task in this abbreviated version. We all had a great time during the show, particularly one little girl sitting right in front of us. She was our biggest fan! Afterward, we stayed for a few minutes and took pictures with some of the children.

This was a wonderful experience! I’m so happy I was a part of it. My Dad took this snapshot of me playing the keyboard. I thought I’d share it with you.

First Stage Children’s Theater’s production of HOW I BECAME A PIRATE had its final performance this week. If you’d like information on First Stage’s 2009-2010 season, please click here.