Central Texas’ most well-known children’s theatre company, Pollyanna Theatre, a resident company of the Long Center for the Performing Arts, presents Young Bear: Inspired by The True Story of Frances Slocum by award-winning playwright, Lou Clark. The production, best suited for students in grades 2-5, opens May 14 – 22 at the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 West Riverside, Austin, TX  78704.

Young Bear is a newly written play by Lou Clark, inspired by the life of Frances Slocum, a five year old girl who, in 1778, was taken to live with a Delaware Indian family in the Midwestern United States. The play is a condensed version of her journey, based upon events in her early life, which examines two very different cultures and how they clashed as seen through the eyes of a child.

Young Bear is sure to have young audiences thinking deeply about the definitions of family, what constitutes ‘home’, the importance of belonging, and the concept of unconditional love.

Judy Matetzschk-Campbell, Ph.D., Founder and Artistic Director of Pollyanna Theatre is thrilled for audiences of all ages to experience this striking production. “Young Bear does what theatre does best. It takes an historic, human story and tells the heart of that tale through the highly theatrical languages of light, movement, and sound to bring key conflicts and questions to life.  Lou Clark, our playwright, based her play on historical research, using it to inspire a new, unique and entertaining tale.”

The production utilizes imaginative elements of puppetry to bring various events in Frances’ life to the stage.  The story is also told through movement and projected scenery, set in many different locations and across a span of several years.

For the first time, Pollyanna is working with projection designer Sara Farr, who uses Native American motifs as well as stylized drawings of nature to fill the stage space. The images shift and change as Young Bear takes her journey to find home.