Mythical creatures, beasts casts spell on audience
Hero-trainer Dave, played by Ben Galpin and his trusty wren dragon pet George, the comic relief.
Mythology and folklore took over Wheelwright Auditorium during performance group Dragons and Mythical Beasts’ national tour on March 17.
Hero-trainer Ben “Dave” Galpin led the audience through a quest where they encountered creatures of myth and legend in this interactive show so everyone could achieve the rank of champion hero. There was a massive stone troll, rambunctious griffin, majestic unicorn, the Japanese Baku, mischievous tooth fairy, and even ferocious dragons.
Audience members were awestruck by the puppets and overall storytelling. The audience called for some of the creatures to come back onto the stage for an encore, especially those students who were studying the arts of music and theater.
“This show was very whimsical and fun. I hope to think this will be a cool memory for all the children who attended,” senior Kaylie Carpenter said.
The plot consisted of individually selected members and the entire audience coming up on stage to help Dave retrieve six magical items from each creature to summon the great Russian Indrik, the fabled king of all animals. Russian Indrik would then bestow the title of hero on everyone.
In the end, a noble sacrifice was made, which meant losing all the items needed to successfully perform the summoning ritual. The Russian Indrik beast appeared anyway, granting the audience the title of hero due to the selfless act.
“This was an exciting and entertaining time; the puppets are beautiful, and the performance was awesome,” senior Olivia Ayers said.
The performance serves as a reminder of how hatred and violence do not solve problems.
Audience members could take the fun home with Dragons and Mythical Beasts merchandise sold before and after the show.
“I loved selling the merchandise and interacting with everyone,” ticketing and patron services house manager Rachell Slainner said. “It always brings me joy to see people happy.”
