It’s been a busy week for 57 students of all ages who are participating in the weeklong Missoula Children’s Theatre at the Salem Community Theatre.
The week concludes on Saturday with performances of Princess and the Pea at 3:00 and 5:30 pm.
The two Missoula Children’s Theatre directors this year who are in a different community each week this summer are Ashlyn Leonard and Emma Giltner. Leonard is a Theatre Performance Major at Oklahoma State University who fell in love with theatre after starting in the orchestra pit in high school as a French horn player. Giltner is earning her degree in Musical Theater Performance at Southeast Missouri State University.
Leonard say they have only five days to go from auditions to dress rehearsals to get ready for the Saturday shows.
“Princess and the Pea is not your typical story. We have leprechauns in this one. It sounds silly but they are really funny and cool. Each week one of us will perform. This week I am performing as Chief Head of the leprechauns to help narrate and move the story along. We have classic princess, pea and two opposing kingdoms trying to find a bride for the prince. It’s the same story, but Missoula always puts a fun spin on them.”
Giltner explains how they get so much done so quickly.
“We will rehearse 2 different groups simultaneously in 2 different rooms. We each have a set that we are structured to do so basically teach half the show. Keep them motivated, we have different attention grabbers, a bunch of training to get students energized and ready to put on the show and using our time wisely. But all the kids are always passionate and love doing it.”
And the two say there is a lot more to the Missoula program than just performing a play.
“Cooperation and teamwork, putting in all your energy to make a craft idea by the end of the week is special. It also empowers them. They come during the audition and we see who is outgoing and who is shy, but by the end of the week, it’s those shy ones whose voices boom throughout the whole theater. And we were only with them for 5 days, it’s amazing to see their improvement through that time.”
Tickets to the Princess and the Pea can be purchased online at salemiltheater.org, in the Salem Theatre lobby from 10 to 2 on Friday, or a half hour before the three and 5:30 pm show times on Saturday.
Missoula Children’s Theatre workshop participants work on ‘The Princess and Pea’ which will be performed on Saturday at the Salem Community Theatre. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Rehersal for “The Princess and the Pea”. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
