Missoula Children's Theatre Residency Comes To Lakewood

On Monday evening, January 28 th, a group of about 150 children in grades K through 12 arrived at the Lakewood Cultural Center (LCC) at 4:00 to audition for this year's Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) residency for the musical play production of RobinHood. No prior registration, acting or stage experience was required and all of the children were welcomed to try out for a part in the play. The audition process lasted two hours and involved the children in speaking and movement. There were a variety of roles available for casting ranging from major roles to smaller parts. Depending on the particular roles assigned, some children were asked to stay for an additional two hours on Monday night and others for specific evenings throughout the course of the week. All of the rehearsals were to prepare for the final three performances, Friday, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the LCC.

I've had the personal privilege of being involved with the MCT residency several years ago when I served as a family host for one of the directors and my son, Josh, was in the production of The Jungle Book . My dear friend, Marianne Vick, has also served as a family host and her daughter, Kerra has been involved with the MCT since its very first play at the Lakewood Cultural Center in October of 2000, The Wiz of the West .

When I was researching the origin of this traveling theatre, the story, a bit of a fairy tale in itself, put a smile on my face. Apparently, back in 1970, Jim Caron, who was unemployed at the time and searching for his life's passion, was traveling in his Volkswagen from Chicago to Oregon for his friend's wedding. The van broke down during his journey and the nearest service station just happened to be located in Missoula, Montana. While waiting for his van to be repaired, he noticed an audition poster for Man of La Mancha and on a lark, he decided to audition. He was cast as "Sancho" and he immediately befriended another actor, Don Collins, who was cast as "Don Quixote." Jim and Don joined together and formed a troupe of adults who performed live-theatre plays for children on a make-shift stage at a local movie theatre. The plays were so well received in Missoula that nearby communities requested their own performances. In the plays, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the MCT directors began to use children as cast members where they felt it was appropriate. When they were booked to perform Snow White in Miles City, a small Montana town 500 miles from Missoula, Jim and the other directors had reservations about traveling the distance with a cast of dwarfs comprised of children. It was at that time that they came up with the concept of finding the child actors in Miles City and they left a week before the production to cast children who might be interested in performing. Although they were skeptical about finding seven children to play the dwarfs, they were amazed when 450 children came to try out for the parts. That week in Miles City not only brought children, but also parents, teachers and the entire Miles City Community. Thus was born the traveling MCT, a world of involving children all over the globe as cast members in their many productions and it is presently the nation's largest touring children's theatre company. MCT's mission is to encourage the development of life skills in children through participation in the performing arts; the participating children learn to be accountable for their actions, responsible for their successes and confident in their communications.

We are so fortunate in Lakewood to have the MTC bring our community the riches of this traveling children's theatre residency. The production wouldn't be possible without the efforts of LCC Administrator- Susan Martin, Theatre Production Coordinator- Tim Hoffman, Theatre Production Assistant- Jonathan Scott-McKean, Cultural Center Specialist- Kelly Graham, Ticket Office Coordinator- Carol Shelly, - and all of the ticket office attendants. The LCC has been the venue for the past nine years bringing an assortment of MCT's wonderful productions: October 2000/ Wiz of the West, October 2001/ Red Riding Hood, April 2002/ Sleeping Beauty, February 2003/ Hansel and Gretel, January 2004/ Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, January 2005/ The Jungle Book, February 2006/ The Frog Prince, and January 2007/ The Little Mermaid.

Kerra Vick, now a 17-year-old junior at D'Evelyn Senior High School, has participated in all of the MCT residency productions; in fact, she was only 9 years old when she first played "Bad Dog" in the Wiz of the West. Her other roles included the "Locksmith in Red Riding Hood, one of the "Three Fairies" in Sleeping Beauty, the "Camper" in Hansel and Gretel, the "Tailor" in The Emperor's New Clothes, "Mogli" in the Jungle Book, the "Princess" in the Frog Prince, and the "Matchmaker/Sailor" in The Little Mermaid. In this year's production Robin Hood, Kerra was"Prince John." She has enjoyed all of her roles and being part of every production but she said of all of her MCT roles, her favorite part was the "Princess" because, "every little girl always dreams of being a princess." Kerra remembers her first acting experience in 2 nd grade at Dennison Elementary School when her teacher gave out parts for the school play, The Nutcracker. Kerra was cast as Clara and from that time on, she has loved performing, entertaining audiences and "becoming other fascinating characters." She especially enjoys the MCT residency because in a week's time, staging, lines and songs are learned, costumes and props are outfitted and the musical play is ready for performance!

The MCT residency is also a dream-come-true for the Tour Actor Directors, Samantha Cook and Steven Thomas. Samantha, who grew up in Missoula the oldest of 8 children, related how her mother instilled a love of music and theatre in them at an early age. She and her siblings were home-schooled and regularly put on plays for family and friends. She always wanted to be part of the MCT and joined the in 2005 as a pit singer in The Wiz. Having a degree in Elementary Education combined with her love of theatre, it naturally came together for her to become a MCT Tour Actor Director. Steven said since his dad was in the Navy, he has been "touring" since infancy so the MCT traveling all over is natural for him. He discovered his interest in theatre when living off-base in Japan for two years. He didn't know the language and felt isolated so he spent a good deal of time watching movies and television and it was at that time that he decided he wanted to be involved in theatre and entertaining. He has been with the MCT for 1/½ years. Samantha and Steven said they have three basic rules for the children when they come to audition: first- loud and clear voices, second-big, expressive faces and bodies and third-the ability to follow directions.

The city of Lakewood is indeed lucky to have the MCT residency come for this very special week-long visit each year bringing with them this unique opportunity for our children to learn, make friends and participate in the world of entertainment. It is equally terrific to hear that the Tour Actor Directors have said that of all the cities they visit worldwide, Lakewood is one of their favorite places to be!