The Portrait, The Wind, The Chair
© 1994

Chris Bennion, Seattle Children's Theatre

During the windstorm of the century, ten-year-old Lucy and her fourteen-year-old sister, Terroba, find themselves marooned alone in Gramma's old house. With the phones dead, the electricity out, and Mom nowhere in sight, Lucy must deal with a chair with a mind of its own and a dead Gramma who won't stay in her portrait. Her night of imagination and adventure leaves Lucy with a new ability to face her fears and embrace the love that is all around her.

"A skillful examination of the very real fears of childhood, created in a fun and entertaining manner. Characters are well developed; dialogue is rich and stretches our worldview. York has captured a world through the eyes of a ten-year-old and has brought that innocent and uniquely imaginative world to life." — Children's Book and Play Review

GEVA Theatre Rochester, NY

"[This play] focuses on everyday matters that many preteen children face...Things like trying to get along with your older/younger sibling, even when they're driving you nuts. Trying to be brave even when you don't feel brave. Learning to accept the illness and death of a loved one. And using fantasy as both an escape and a route to self-discovery." — Seattle Times

Shaking the Tree, Portland, OR

"The Portrait the Wind the Chair pits imagination against some of the scary things about growing up. The Queen of the Amazon wears a slip on her head. And even when her big sister warns her not to make a mess, well, imagination can be a messy business. So, too, is the business of dealing with the muddled feelings that arise with the decline and death of a loved one. "The Portrait the Wind the Chair," a touching two-act play presented by Shaking the Tree Studio, goes exploring in some of those places where imagination and emotion overlap, turning a simple scenario -- young sisters stuck in an old house during a fierce windstorm -- into a subtle lesson about growing up, making friends and making peace with the past."— The Oregonian

Childsplay, Arizona

Commissioned and premiered by Seattle Children's Theatre. Produced by GeVa Theatre, Childsplay (AZ), and others.

2 female, 1 male
full-length
unit set

available from Dramatic Publishing
also published in
Seattle Children's Theatre: Six Plays for Young Audiences, Smith and Kraus

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