Every summer of her childhood, Andrea White traveled from nearby Georgetown to Charleston with her family for the spring arts celebrations, Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto.
“Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto, as an artsy kid, was everything,” White said.
Today, White —a College of Charleston graduate who teaches music at the Porter-Gaud School —brings the next generation of young performers to the festival stage through Twisted Fairy Tales at the Cannon Street Arts Center.
The original musical was written and directed alongside Low Country Arts Theater co-founder Simone Liberty.
Aimed at children, Twisted Fairy Tales is a comedic musical featuring a small ensemble cast from ages 7 to 15. The play focuses on villains from classic fairy tales, folklore and Disney to pose the question: Who’s the real villain?
Twisted Fairy Tales uses reimagined characters like Gaston and Captain Hook to introduce young audiences to theater in a fun and engaging way.
Twisted Fairy Tales will be performed June 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cannon Street Arts Center.
Since its inception in 1979, Piccolo Spoleto still uplifts and showcases the South Carolina local arts scene as a community-driven companion festival to Spoleto Festival USA. White said Piccolo Spoleto is the perfect fit g for the Low Country Theater Group.
White and Liberty decided to start the theater after noticing a lack of open, informal theater troupes throughout the greater Charleston area.
“We want arts to be accessible to every student, not just students who are in full-on troupes,” White said. “The idea behind the theater company is less that students have to be at something every single week and more that they can sign up for one-off dance classes or performances.
“We really wanted to offer opportunities for quick performances and experiences that allow [kids] to be involved in theater.”
Liberty, also a College of Charleston alumna, grew up in Connecticut where the community theater scene was not only popular, but open to everyone. .
“In Connecticut, there’s a very large community theater scene. If you audition, you are in,” said Liberty, a Charleston-area teaching artist.. “That’s kind of what [Piccolo Spoleto] is starting to feel like – allowing more community members to get involved with the arts scene and be seen by more community members. It just feels like another barrier to entry is being knocked down.”
A theater program open to all still cultivates children’s talents while nurturing their love for the arts, White said.
“For the audition, they had to dance, sing and act,” White said. Following auditions, both White and Liberty found a place on stage for everybody.
Allison Knight, 13, who is entering eighth grade, plays Ursula, one of Twisted Fairy Tales’ seven villains. She has performed under the direction of White and Liberty before, but Piccolo Spoleto is a level up for the young performer.
“I am so excited for Piccolo Spoleto,” Knight said. “This is my first huge theatre gig other than school musicals and theatre company performances. I am the most excited for the rehearsals, the inside jokes in the cast, and making my debut on the big stage.”
Another cast member, Genevieve Perrine, returns to Twisted Fairy Tales playing Jafar. The rising sophomore was in a 2021 production of the show and is the only member of the cast to appear in both versions. As a fourth grader, she played Smee.
As White intended, Twisted Fairy Tales creates opportunities for children at all experience levels.
“If you want to be a rock, if you want to be Sharpay, that’s what this show is about,” White said. “Arts is for everybody, and it should be for every student, regardless of their background.”
For White, Twisted Fairy Tales is also a chance to reconnect with the arts-infused childhood she experienced through Piccolo Spoleto.
“To give these kids the opportunity to be at that festival that meant so much to me when I was a kid really means everything to me.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
“Twisted Fairy Tales” will be performed June 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cannon Street Arts Center, 134 Cannon St. Tickets start at $10.
Jordyn Britton is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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