Writing for the wee folks

Jean Pierce has lived in the same house in Mountain Brook for 54 years. The scenes and songs she creates there have reached well beyond its walls to around 28,000 children a year.

And at 83, she is still writing.

After 40 years with Birmingham Children’s Theatre, the playwright is still passionate about her craft.

She focuses on writing and directing for the professional actors of Wee Folks, a set of productions tailored to an audience of preschool through first grade. The musicals require that she also work on the sound track to accompany the plot she develops. She composes the lyrics and scratch melody then allows sound designer Jay Tumminello to work his magic on the remainder of the set. 

Pierce’s productions include numerous works of her own in addition to the much-loved shows she adds her own spin to. Whatever she writes, she has her audience in mind.  

“I try to include age appropriate lessons about kindness or sharing with good and unlikable characters,” Pierce said.

With the end result, unlikable characters slip in lessons without the children noticing. 

“City Mouse, Country Mouse is about two mice from completely different lifestyles that still like each other, even though they are different,” said her son, Stephen Pierce, who works as the office manager of Birmingham Children’s Theatre.

The play teaches the beauty of diversity in a simple and understandable way to children. It is currently touring Kentucky and Mississippi.

Pierce has had a love for acting since her days as a theater major at Birmingham-Southern College, where she fondly recalls performing plays such as Antigone. 

Her talent for writing plays was first recognized when she served on Birmingham Children Theatre’s Board of directors. The managing director asked Pierce and a friend to write a play for the company. Soon it was being performed at the Kennedy Center. 

Pierce’s plays have proved popular with a hard-to-please audience of little ones, so much so that her work with children’s theater was recently recognized with the Governor’s Arts Award. The award honors Alabamians who have made outstanding contributions to the arts. The honor was a total surprise, Pierce said. 

“It was wonderful. I was thrilled that Children’s Theatre got some notice,” she said. 

Currently Pierce’s Santa’s Adventure in the Merrywood Mega Mall is on stage at the Wee Folks Theatre. In the script, Santa finds himself locked in the mall on Christmas Eve, just before he is supposed to deliver his presents. Characters in the mall, including a friendly mannequin that comes to life, save the day by helping Santa escape. 

But before Santa got to the on-stage at the mall, he was an idea that Pierce put on paper.

Santa’s Adventure in the Merrywood Mega Mall

Birmingham Children’s Theatre Production 

Written by Jean Pierce 

Dec 7-8 and 14-15 

Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex 

Tickets available at bct123.org