Mission Statement
Enchantment Theatre Company exists to create original theater for young audiences and families. We accomplish this through the imaginative telling of stories that inspire, challenge and enrich our audiences, on stage and in the classroom. In doing so, we engage the imagination and spirit of our audience until a transformation occurs and the true grace of our mutual humanity is revealed.

Originality
Everything Enchantment Theatre Company produces for the stage is original material. We do not use existing scripts that have been performed elsewhere. Each show is completely created by Enchantment, based on a fairy tale, fable or other classic story for children. The music is written specifically to support the show, and masks, puppets, costumes and sets are built for our exclusive use.

Why is originality important? It demonstrates, for one thing, our thoroughgoing respect for children. We believe they deserve theatrical productions that are as carefully and thoughtfully crafted as shows created for adults. We want what our audiences see to be consistent with that respect, and different from the commercialized and often superficial products that are staged for children. One of our colleagues in Philadelphia, Thea Diamond, director of education at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center, says that "mass marketing often panders to our worst instincts, desensitizing children to violence...rather than opening their eyes and hearts, refining their emotions...and transporting them beyond the known to new realms." We couldn't agree more. Having to think through an adaptation of a classic tale from start to finish demands a level of insight into children's needs and perceptions of the world that is not always available in other approaches.

This commitment to originality takes the investment of considerable time and resources, but most of all it demands of us that children take top priority in what we do. We know that our productions are appreciated by the adults who accompany children to our shows, whether family members or classroom teachers. We also know that some adults, especially the elderly, attend our shows without children. But children come first in our thinking and planning. We aim to create a totally new world for them on stage, one that has never been seen before. We think that too much of what children experience today on the stage, on television, and in the movies has been unnecessarily "dumbed down" or styled in cartoon fashion. A teacher whose class attended one of our performances said that in contrast, "Enchantment takes them to a world beyond their current perception of reality," which she said is an experience of particular value for urban children.

As an example of what it takes to be original, our 2007 holiday production will be The Velveteen Rabbit, and we've been working on it since the middle of 2006. While we are using the story outline of Margery Williams' classic book, we are bringing the characters to life in a totally original way. To do this, we are combining puppets and live actors in a musical setting as contemporary as today's Broadway, but using techniques that have their roots in such ancient theatrical traditions as Indonesian shadow puppets or the mime from commedia dell'arte. That combination is both unusual and original, and now that the show is finished and on stage, we can see that it is also compelling.

Imagination
Maybe it goes without saying that a theater company is creative by definition. But we believe Enchantment takes it one giant step further by operating based on a value called imagination. To produce high quality children's theater takes extraordinary imagination to best answer how to combine an array of arts, including traditional theater as well as mime, mask work, puppetry, and always, great story telling. Enchantment does this by the highly creative way it brings together the old and new with the best of Eastern and Western theatrical techniques. We believe it also means to be completely open to new ways of doing things, both on stage, in the classroom and even behind the stage curtain. And, in the case of The Velveteen Rabbit, it means adding dimensions to the book to make it theatrical in the most imaginative way.

In fact, one of our established company beliefs affirms, "We have a responsibility to nurture, honor and respect the imagination of our audience." We also know that combining different art forms in exciting and creative ways can stimulate children's imaginations and get them seeing the world differently. One young attendee at a recent Enchantment production said that he learned from the show, "If you use your imagination, things might turn out better."

Transformation
This value is embedded right in the company's mission statement which says, in part, "We engage the imagination and spirit of our audience, until a transformation occurs and the true grace of our mutual humanity is revealed." While we're in the business of entertainment, we again want to go one step further. We want children to see that the characters on stage can work through their problems and come to a transformed understanding of themselves and their circumstances. This can give hope to children, a sense of possibility, and importantly, the belief that their lives, too, can change for the better. When Pinocchio, in our 2005 production, yearns to be a real boy, he hits some very rough patches in his life and makes a series of bad choices. Ultimately, his love for his father redeems him, helping him understand what it means to be real and the responsibility that comes with that state. In The Velveteen Rabbit, it is a stuffed rabbit that longs to be real, but a wise older toy advises him that only love can make you real. As the rabbit discovers, sacrifice and devotion to the very ill young boy who owns him is finally what makes him not only real to the boy, but a woodland rabbit able to dance and soar in the forest as an independent being, real to all.

Love and family relationships are at the core of many of our productions and the vehicle for transformation to a better life. This is an important life lesson for our young audiences, one we teach through the stories we select, the way we stage them for young people and the message that evolves through the development of characters on the stage. This emanates from our fundamental respect for the children we put at the heart of our company's work. A school child attending one of our performances of Cinderella said, "I want my family to see the show. It would probably change their lives forever."

Community
This value takes two forms in Enchantment's activities. One is our conscious and continuing attempt to serve the Greater Philadelphia community. The other is our effort to build community by our actions. At Enchantment, we make every effort to reach out to the most underserved people in Philadelphia – the disabled, the elderly, those for whom English is a second language, the underserved and the poor. We do this in partnership with community-based organizations that support these groups.

Not only do we work with and through community organizations, we try to create special communities of our own. A single performance, for example, brings together about 400 people, and for one hour of their lives they, in concert, experience a new reality and a timeless set of emotions. For the children of Philadelphia, 74% of whom live at or below the poverty level, we introduce them to a whole new world – that of the theater community, to inspire, uplift and entertain them in a way that gives them a shared experience and a new language to express their own feelings. For the young actors of the city and its environs, we are creating opportunities for work and learning. One result is the development of a cadre of young actors who have performed for Enchantment and who love the experience. It is very gratifying to see them reaching out to other aspiring performers to work with them and teach them how to be an Enchantment actor. This, too, has created community.

Thea Diamond at Penn has also said that high quality children's theater "affirms life and attempts to promote community and harmony." What better way to operate a theater company than to strengthen the community in which they live, to draw together families in uplifting shared experiences, and to work closely with schools to assure that the arts remain an important part of the education and development of our youngest citizens.

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