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Amy Lynn Budd
Stage Director, Theatre Educator
The Secret in the Wings by Mary Zimmerman
Purdue University Theatre, 2016
One of Zimmerman's earliest works, The Secret in the Wings moves through a series of little-known fairy tales, stopping and skipping to a new tale at the crisis of each. The last tale is told straight through and then the series reverses as the ending of the stories are played.
Zimmerman describes the setting as a forest and a basement. We played with these ideas as components of the interior life of a child and attempted to make this life visible in our scenery. The players in this world are children, dressing up and taking on adult roles as they move between times and places. The revolving house opens in different ways, creating space for each story.
!["An Orange roughy-smoothie!"](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_80d06621773b4d31bb192b57fb707717~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_80d06621773b4d31bb192b57fb707717~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
"An Orange roughy-smoothie!"
![The rose in the lapel...](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_c5902ff99857465bb9ba80ad814db24f~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_c5902ff99857465bb9ba80ad814db24f~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
The rose in the lapel...
![Mr. Maxwell reads his book...](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_6452828b10a14e7186f63ac4c96744f4~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_6452828b10a14e7186f63ac4c96744f4~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
Mr. Maxwell reads his book...
![Three Blind Queens](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_e644ec443e864736b22c9bd770a2de99~mv2_d_3889_2009_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_76,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_e644ec443e864736b22c9bd770a2de99~mv2_d_3889_2009_s_2.jpg)
Three Blind Queens
![Three Snake Leaves](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_019a399df9624d9eb6487310b7be7838~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_019a399df9624d9eb6487310b7be7838~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
Three Snake Leaves
![Three Snake Leaves](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_6a7394cc900549b0a6694f6e7a803dab~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_6a7394cc900549b0a6694f6e7a803dab~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
Three Snake Leaves
![The Princess Who Wouldn't Laugh](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_efffe8a7b4e84ac4ad42876b0e7a8a4e~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_efffe8a7b4e84ac4ad42876b0e7a8a4e~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
The Princess Who Wouldn't Laugh
![The Princess Who Wouldn't Laugh](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_8889784db1324755853a204a85ceb671~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_8889784db1324755853a204a85ceb671~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
The Princess Who Wouldn't Laugh
![Allerleira](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_f379449b7a0c412a99117d5bb8230096~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_f379449b7a0c412a99117d5bb8230096~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
Allerleira
![Allerleira](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_5b7e37564b8d480db55e0f158c7cf587~mv2_d_3215_2206_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_101,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_5b7e37564b8d480db55e0f158c7cf587~mv2_d_3215_2206_s_2.jpg)
Allerleira
![Seven Swans](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_41eb31fa02fd464fa01e7a46b599eec1~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_41eb31fa02fd464fa01e7a46b599eec1~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
Seven Swans
![Seven Swans](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_d249b69e42a342d6936ad5f9aaef1913~mv2_d_3604_2403_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_d249b69e42a342d6936ad5f9aaef1913~mv2_d_3604_2403_s_4_2.jpg)
Seven Swans
![An interlude](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_a9935f6262f6490490e0696041e9fb50~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_a9935f6262f6490490e0696041e9fb50~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
An interlude
![About to wake from the dream...](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_d153c9f7a4f9400c958ebb89a6b947e6~mv2_d_3888_1968_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_74,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_d153c9f7a4f9400c958ebb89a6b947e6~mv2_d_3888_1968_s_2.jpg)
About to wake from the dream...
![The End...Good Night](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/163cce_4f4d9e2d412a4e5ebb4c0a132b668a58~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/163cce_4f4d9e2d412a4e5ebb4c0a132b668a58~mv2_d_4200_2800_s_4_2.jpg)
The End...Good Night
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