Conjure Plays are similar in feel to Snuggle and Tinker Plays, in that the action & stage directions offer activities and ways for families to embody the drama at home. Conjure Plays focus on cooking, baking, mixing and concocting spells. The goal is to get the whole family involved in some fun play in the kitchen, the basement, the bathroom…or wherever you choose to conjure.
The Limitless Sandwich
For sandwich lovers & haters alike. The Limitless Sandwich explores how a chore wheel can send you into a huge adventure that involves testing the limits of what you can do with a sandwich. This story looks at what three siblings get up to with a solid internet connection, a courageous appetite & a craving for doing some good in the world.
Join Kris, Teags, and Jamie on an experimental project that shows why the sandwich is the go-to option for lunch and why it’s important to consider whether those around us have enough to eat, too.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #ConjurePlays and #TheLimitlessSandwich.
Expelliarmus
Have you ever wanted to just #magic something away? Maybe COVID-19, maybe something else… This play looks to a situation just like that. Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or not, this family friendly play opens up your home (and kitchen) to a wizarding world of fun, engaging in positive ways to respond to troubling times.
Expelliarmus is a dive into the world of conjuring spells and the magic of youth that can go far beyond the walls of Hogwarts. If you’ve never heard of this spell (pronounced “ex-pell-ee-arm-mus”), it’s a powerful one that works as a “disarming charm,…that removes a weapon…and forces people to drop what they are holding” (from @wizardingworld). In the case of this play, the weapon is social media and the wizard casting the charm is a passionate elementary aged student named Luna. Luna is a Potterhead, as is her cousin, Oakley. Expelliarmus explores an afternoon with these two passionate and creative muggles (the name for non-wizarding folk). There is no Harry Potter knowledge required to enjoy this play, but if you’re a fan, there might be an extra spark to all the magic these two marauders explore.
The stage directions offer up fun ways to jump into the action, with 10 activities to turn your kitchen into a conjuring chamber of sequins and giggles. And don’t worry, there is some butterbeer to be had.
This play also explores themes of transphobia and some of the controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s comments with regards to gender. The goal of this piece is to explore the wonder of magic and youth, while contending with a person whose opinions you may be at odds with.
Grab your wands and get ready to explore this magical world, filled to the brim with conjuring fun, empathy, and perspective.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #ConjurePlays and #ExpelliarmusPlay.
School Lunches
Just in time for back to school! School Lunches focuses on exactly what its title suggests, and how during these pandemic times, school lunches can be a complex indication of privilege, income inequality and a real cross-section of how safety protocols can sometimes lack consideration for those who need assistance.
School Lunches also explores aspects of zero waste lunch options that families can conjure up at home. There are some fun DIY lunch projects included in the stage directions.
School Lunches explores community initiatives focused on helping others, while respecting their dignity. There are some supporting links and discussion points for parents and teachers who may be nervous about tackling some of these topics surrounding what is going on for students in need during these times.
Share with teachers, educators, librarians, parents and theatre-loving wee ones.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #ConjurePlays and #SchoolLunches.
Campfire
Campfire is the final Conjure Play and uses food as a way to bring community together. What starts off as a parent’s attempt to reconnect with their nostalgia for camping and Scouting, quickly becomes a journey into identifying the true needs of their community.
This play engages in ways to get outside and explore in the city, while at the same time exploring the dire situation for the city’s homeless, and tangible acts that can bring about calls systemic change.
It looks to some fun meals and deserts you can cook up in your backyard cook-out with young ones. And at the same time it gives room for conversations on complicated topics like addiction, systemic oppression, Scouting’s problematic past, and it highlights some of the ways to engage in support the city’s most needy.
The play is written to allow flexibility of gender in casting.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #ConjurePlays and #CampfirePlay.
Brendon Allen 