Play takes on bullies

'Tomato Plant Girl' plants seed for good friendhips

Kansas University theater professor Jeanne Klein is always on the lookout for new plays for children. One of her recent finds is “Tomato Plant Girl,” a fable that teaches young children about the true meaning of friendship. It will be presented Saturday night at KU.

Klein, who directs the play, was introduced to the drama in 1997 in Texas.

“I saw the opening performance of the school tour at the University of Texas in Austin,” she said. “I was intrigued but thought it needed some tweaking.”

The play was developed at the University of Texas by its creator, Seattle playwright Wesley Middleton, and playwriting professor Suzan Zeder and her graduate students. It was further developed and produced by the Metro Theatre Company in St. Louis, Idaho Theatre for Youth and Denver Theatre Academy.

Klein liked how the play evolved and tried to get Metro Theatre Company to bring the play to KU. When that didn’t work out, she contacted Middleton to obtain the script.

“Last fall, the script was at the publisher’s getting printed,” she said. “So I got the proofs of the scripts for auditions.”

“Tomato Plant Girl,” which is geared toward children ages 5 and older, looks at bullying and how it strikes at the heart of early friendships among children. The drama is movement-oriented and expressionistic.

“It is especially timely as parents and teachers agonize over its subsequent effects in the form of school harassment and even violence,” Klein said. “We often think of bullies as a male phenomenon among boys, but girls likewise have their own insidious means of manipulating and controlling emotional relationships with their peers.”

In the play, Bossy Best Friend makes up rules to control Little Girl, who is new in town and wants to fit in. When Bossy’s tomato plant dies, she convinces Little Girl to give up her healthy plant. While Bossy is gone visiting her grandmother, Little Girl nurtures the sickly plant until it grows into the Tomato Plant Girl. When Little Girl tries to manipulate Tomato Plant Girl like Bossy treats her, Tomato Plant Girl rebels and shows her how real friends should respect each other’s needs.

Another theme of the play becomes evident when Bossy calls Little Girl a “foreigner” when she does something that displeases her.

“The play’s dealing with the issue of difference and how we want others to conform,” she said. “(By the end of the play), Little Girl says she likes being a foreigner if that means being her true self.”

In addition to Saturday night’s performance, the play will be presented Monday-Friday to local students in first through third grades and their teachers.