Pollyanna: What's In a Name?

Many people have asked us why the name of our company is “Pollyanna.” The answer is as simple as the outlook of a child. The answer is also as complicated as childhood itself can become.

The founders of Pollyanna Theatre Company believe in the power of the arts to bring much needed joy and hope into the lives of young people as well as into the life of the child that is alive inside each of us regardless of our age. And no other character we know embodies this timeless power of optimism better than Eleanor Porter’s timeless little girl, Pollyanna.

Eleanor H. Porter (1868-1920) began publishing books in 1907 with a series of three novels about a young girl called ‘Miss Billy.” But at that same time a different little girl was taking shape in her imagination. In 1913 Pollyanna was published and the character Pollyanna Whittier was introduced. The book was an overnight success with over a million copies of the book sold in the first year. The demand for a sequel was immense, and two years later the equally successful Pollyanna Grows Up was published. These two books became popularly known as “Glad Books,” because this is Pollyanna’s favorite word. While dated in some respects, the book continues to charm and delight readers today.

Pollyanna is a young child who faces great disappointments, poverty, and even cruelty. She is orphaned, shuffled from place to place, pitied by many but loved by few. She finally ends up living with her very strict Aunt Polly, a woman who would actually prefer that the little girl was not around. But through it all, Pollyanna, with the wisdom and optimism of a child, sees reasons to be glad. When she feels down, Pollyanna plays a game she has invented, The Glad Game where she literally counts her blessings and looks for goodness. Ultimately, it is through this character that we meet the outlook of Eleanor Porter who once wrote, “I have never believed that we ought to deny discomfort and pain and evil: I have merely thought that it is far better to greet the unknown with cheer.”

It is this basic understanding and belief that is at the heart of all that Pollyanna Theatre strives to produce. Childhood can be a very difficult time with very real problems facing both parents and children. Theatre should speak to those issues honestly, but ultimately with an empowering sense of hope. Therefore, HOPE and GLADNESS is at the heart of all Pollyanna Theatre creates. By honestly and imaginatively addressing the dreams, cares, concerns, and challenges facing today’s children, Pollyanna does not attempt to candy-coat the world we create but rather always show our audience that hope is REAL and does exist in the world that they live in every day.

Our audience is full of Pollyannas: Children who face great challenges of all sorts but who are growing stronger as individuals and who have the creative power to overcome great obstacles, whatever those obstacles might be. It is our goal to inspire them to be the best at “The Glad Game” that they can possibly become. And our season of plays is chosen to speak to their very real needs with a message of joy and hope, and yes, even gladness. Won’t you play The Glad Game with us?