Inchling is a three-act children's fantasy play by American poet, painter, playwright Ira Mallory Remsen. It was performed in the summer of 1922, at the Forest Theater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was the most popular children's play ever performed at the Forest Theater. It played again in 1928 and 1936 at the same venue. The 1936 revival of Inchling helped overcome an accumulated debt that had taken its toll on the Forest Theater during the Great Depression. The play has been produced by schools and children's theater groups throughout the county, including New York and London.
Summary
On December 27, 1919, Ira Remsen wrote a three-act children's fantasy play called Inchling, that tells a story of Inchling and his struggle for wings. The typewritten script was 66 pages long. The Forest Theater Society's board chose it for their thirteenth season summer play. It was played for the first time on the outdoor stage of the Forest Theater, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, for two nights, from August 19 through 20, 1922, and captured the fantasies of young children. It was directed by Blanche Tolmie. The cast included almost every child living in Carmel playing a "creature of the forest." Walter Flanders played the character Inchling. Rhoda Johnson did the costumes of the children. Richard Johnson did the scenery. Priscilla Gadsen danced the Butterfly dance and trained the children on the dances for the Fire Flies and Dew Drops. Edward G. Kuster (Cello) and Jeanne Burton (piano) played music for the dance members. Thomas Vincent Cator wrote the incidental music. Jack Williamson and Lewis Josselyn were the electric light artists, and Hilda Wallace Argo handled the publicity. Talbert and Winsor Josselyn, and others were engaged in the production. Citizens were asked to lend a hand, to bring oak leaves and maple branches of to the Forest Theater.
Remsen, who often wore jeans and a broad brimmed hat, camped on the Forest Theater grounds during the tryouts and rehearsals. He rewrote the script to fit with the forest theater, designed the Inchling sets, the costumes, and the lights. He loved working with the children and they loved him. Carmel's master builder M. J. Murphy's daughters Kathleen and Rosalie had parts in the play along with many other Carmel children.
Plot
Inchling is a story about Mr. Inchworm, the owner of a factory that makes green leaves for the return of Spring. Inchling, the son of Mr. Inchworm, fails at the task of making enough leaves because he is preoccupied with his ambition to fly. Subplots include a shortage of green to fill the orders for new leaves; the fears that Fire Fly might start a fire; the Robin can't sing to bring in Spring because of laryngitis; and the terrible and villainous Mosquito. At the end of the play, Inchling emerges from a cocoon and is tranformed into a Butterfly.
The scene is set with moonlight in the forest, with a large cocoon hung above the stage. The set remained throughout the play. There were three acts:
Act I. Evening - Mr. Inchworm's Factory for leaves Act II. Night - The Encampment of the Terrible Mosquito Act III. Morning - Played on Top of a Daisy
Characters
(In order of their appearance)