They roll into town with everything they need to teach your child about theater.
Missoula Children’s Theatre has come to Franklin with the script, sets, make-up and props to put on “The Princess and the Pea.”
The theater troupe now just needs your kid to complete the show.
The Artcraft Theatre is hosting the Missoula Children’s Theatre this week. Auditions are today.
In just a few days they will teach the 50 to 60 kids they cast everything they need to know to put on a full scale, full length production.
Directly after today’s auditions, some students will go into rehearsal to start creating the show they will present to family, friends and community members this weekend.
The Artcraft Theatre has hosted the directors from the company for about five years as a way to keep arts education accessible to students in the community and as a way to help return the theater back to the type of programming that was done at the historic theater when it was first opened, Jamie Shilts, director of programming and events at the Artcraft Theatre said.
“We would like to get back to running different things throughout the week,” she said.
Interest in the program has grown in the last few years, with 90 children auditioning for the 60 spots Missoula opens to community children, Shilts said.
Each student will learn their lines, where they need to stand on the stage and enough songs and dances to put on a full length show.
To adults, this may seem like a big task. To students, they do not know any different, Shilts said.
“Nobody tells these kids they can’t, so they do,” she said.
Missoula’s directors handle any cuts that would need to be made after all of the students audition. Theater officials may add a second run of the program in the fall, if the theater’s schedule would allow. The theater received a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to help defray costs, Shilts said.
For now, they want to offer affordable arts education to local students in the summer. The cost for the week is $50, with some scholarships available to students who need them.
“We want to keep the arts affordable and accessible for everyone,” she said.
Missoula is also offering free drama classes for students to learn about stage make-up, drama in general and improvisation.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Auditions for “The Princess and the Pea.”
When: 10 a.m. today.
Where: Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St.
Cost: $50 fee for participants in the show. Limited scholarships are available.
Performance times
When: 3 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Artcraft Theatre, 57 N. Main St., Franklin
Cost: $4 to $6.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
