As a pre-K kid, Ava Johnson wanted nothing more than to learn how to do a cartwheel. After days upon days of coming home in tears, her mother, Arika Parr, said, “OK, Ava, you can’t do a cartwheel yet, but what can you do? What are you good at? What are you proud of yourself for doing?”
That parenting pivot became the basis of the local duo’s children’s book, But What Can You Do? A Story for Kids about Perseverance and Positive Thinking. As soon as Metro Theater Company artistic director Jacqueline Thompson heard about the book, she immediately ordered it for her nephew and godson. So when Parr reached out about an adaptation—and MTC had an opening in its 2025 season—Thompson says it felt serendipitous.
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“Something I’m very intentional and passionate about is celebrating St. Louis artists and stories,” Thompson says. “This book and play aligns perfectly with Metro Theater’s mission. It’s such a solid lesson on perseverance.”
The now 9-year-old Johnson and her mother collaborated with Thompson and playwright Myah Gary to translate But What Can You Do? for the stage. The story follows Johnson, discouraged from her attempts to do a cartwheel but then discovering all the amazing things she can do, from “drawing a masterpiece with colors and glitter” to “washing her hands until she made lots of bubbles.”
Running March 26—30 at The Sun Theater (3625 Grande Square), the play expands upon Johnson’s lessons in empowerment and self-awareness to incorporate details from her family life, such as how her mom and dad co-parent.
“What has always been really important for me is to honor the integrity of Ava in real life,” Thompson says. “Making sure that whatever we portray is authentic to her life but also not oversharing or something that she would be uncomfortable to witness and watch in front of her third-grade class. We actually premiered the show at her elementary school, New City School, so we were really intentional about making sure that the material was real enough to connect with kids that were going through or experiencing these things, but also safe enough for her to witness it in a way that is uplifting and not causing any type of heavy angst on her.”
Gary, also a children’s behavior specialist, created the play in just six months with the help of community feedback sessions that included parents, teachers, educators, students, and therapists. Thompson says the real-time responses from local kids who previewed the play made them all the more enthusiastic.
“It’s seeing the kids just erupting with cheers and claps and seeing how supportive they are watching her throughout the process… It’s been really cool,” says Thompson, who notes that MTC has a history of honoring children’s emotional intelligence with its performances. “This project is so special because it is being developed with a child fully at the center.”
Parr and Johnson were involved in every step, including casting and a mural that Johnson’s class made for the set—which made the students gasp when they saw it on stage. Thompson, who calls Johnson her assistant director, says the third-grader heavily influenced a varied ending for the play, as well as the music for the play, which composer Alicia Revé Like worked with her to create. Other major players on the all-local production team include choreographer Tyler White, scenic designer Seth Howard, stage manager Jimmy Bernatowicz, technical director Caleb Long, and costume designer Felia Davenport. The culmination is a work, recommended for ages 4 and up, that Parr and Johnson hope will spark joy and allow all kids—and grown-ups—to celebrate their individual gifts.
The story themes of self doubt are ones to which all people, no matter their age, can relate—even Parr. “The hardest part was getting the book published in the first place. My mom was scared because like she thought people were not gonna like the book or something or say something mean or whatever,” Johnson recalls. “But then I said to her, ‘It’s OK. It doesn’t matter what people say; it only matters what you think about the book.’”
That full-circle dose of encouragement in the parking lot of Johnson’s piano lesson was a proud-mom moment for Parr—and a turning point that motivated her to put her book out there into the world a little over a year ago. The duo was immediately met with scores of local support, including inclusion in St. Louis Public Schools’ Literacy for the Lou program, availability for purchase at the Missouri History Museum gift shop, meet-and-greet events at The Magic House, and now MTC’s adaptation.
Parr and Johnson hope that area kids are as emboldened by the story as they were by its evolution. “I hope kids see that if they can’t do one thing, always to remember that they can do something,” Johnson says.
Thompson has gleaned similar lessons from building the production. “Just because you can’t do it yet, it does not mean that it’s not going to happen,” she says. “Understanding how patience and hard work and discipline and determination will always guide you to the next step of your journey, I think that’s super important. Also, how her village supports her in discovering all the things that make her special without this one thing owning or labeling who she is.”
In true MTC fashion, authentic representation is another major takeaway for Thompson: “Children who are in co-parenting situations, for them to also know that they are not alone in that and that there are other kids experiencing the same things…hopefully they feel seen in how this child, Ava, is working through that as well. That’s just another cartwheel that she’s working through.”
As for Johnson’s other current proverbial “cartwheels,” the tween says: “I wanna learn how to moonwalk. And I wanna learn how to do some more gymnastics. Oh, and I guess I’m learning fractions.”
For tickets and more information, visit metroplays.org. Follow Parr and Johnson on Instagram at @ava_andmommy, and visit their website to purchase the book.
