Sugardumplings took the stage Feb. 9 in “Sugardumplings: A Water Story,” a play that creates a fun and safe environment that encourages children to interact and express themselves in the performance.

“Kids and people can express themselves through art,” says senior Megan Adinolfi.

The stage in LaPenta End Zone was packed on Feb. 9 as the children in the audience were invited to come up and participate in the performance.

The Sugardumplings’ mom explained this way of performing as having “structure, but freedom within it.”

The play had four main actors who periodically switched costumes to assume different roles; amongst these actors were the children who were equipped with props that had been handed out to them before the play started.

They made birds fly in the park, created shadow puppets, played musical instruments and blew bubbles to the audience.

A projector was used to help set the scenes of Sugardumplings and her friends at home, at the park, and on the playground.

The children continued to stay up and about, dancing the hustle, and singing the ‘Happy Feet’ song.

Throughout the play Sugardumplings always found herself needing to have her water bottle with her.

When adults wouldn’t let her go and get it, she would insist that it was necessary to have.

The only assumption they could make was that she was either strong willed or that she was going through a ‘phase.’

This water bottle ended up coming in handy in many situations, like when they needed to wash their hands, water down the lemonade that Sugardumplings had made too sweet and wash dirt off of their teacher Ms. Apple Turnover’s shoes.

The cast fit the addition of children seamlessly into their play, using this opportunity to teach them lessons such as wear your seatbelts, drink water and be nice to everyone.

“What you just saw today was an example of interactive therapy with all ages and abilities for children,” said Chair of the Speech Communications department, Dr. Ferrero-Paluzzi.

This event was hosted by the Council on the Arts and the Speech Communications department, as they try to incorporate arts into therapy which is part of the Art of Healing Festival.

“The Art of Healing is based on the idea that art brings about healing and has therapeutic power,” said Ferrero-Paluzzi.

The theme of expressing oneself through art has been an ongoing technique for clinicians in the speech communications department as they have been creating works of art with their patients.

“They had the student clinicians do art work with our clients all week to be hung up around [the clinic],” said Adinolfi. “We did poems, we did writing, we did coloring, all kinds of things with our clients.”

These can be found all throughout February in the speech clinic.

The children were left with parting words from Sugardumplings’ mother to “remember you’re all amazing” and to “make every day magical.”