submitted article
Auditions for the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of Gulliver’s Travels will be held on Monday, Feb. 6 in the Dunn Center for the Performing Arts at the Keystone Theatre in Towanda. Missoula Children’s Theatre in Towanda is generously sponsored by Dandy Mini Marts.
There are roles for those students in kindergarten through the 12th grade. Approximately 50 to 60 local students will be cast to appear in the show with the MCT Tour Actor/Director. There is no guarantee that everyone who auditions will be cast in the play. Students wishing to audition must arrive by the scheduled starting time and stay for the entire two-hour session. The first rehearsal begins approximately 15-30 minutes after the audition. There is a $20 fee per child that is payable on the second evening of the residency (after casting has been announced.) Scholarships are available for those who may have difficulty meeting the participation fee. No child will be turned away for inability to pay the participation fee. Please contact the BCRAC for details.
Rehearsals will be conducted every day from 4pm to 8pm at the Keystone Theatre. Although not all cast members will be needed at every session, those auditioning must have a clear schedule for the entire week and if selected, be able to attend all rehearsals required for their role. A detailed rehearsal schedule will be distributed at the conclusion of the audition. Cast members scheduled for the full 4½ hours of rehearsal will be asked to bring a sack lunch, dinner or snack.
The performances will be held on Saturday, February 11 at 2pm and 7pm and will be presented in the Dunn Center for the Performing Arts at the Keystone Theatre. All those cast must be available for all scheduled performances. Each child who participates will be given two complimentary tickets good for either performance. Tickets for the performances are $7 and are available at the door.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT), the nation’s largest touring children’s theatre, has been touring extensively for more than 40 years now from Montana to Japan, and will visit nearly 1,200 communities this year with up to 44 teams of Tour Actor/Directors. A tour team arrives in a given town with a set, lights, costumes, props and make-up, everything it takes to put on a play…except the cast. The team holds an open audition and casts 50-60 local students to perform in the production. The show is rehearsed throughout the week and two public performances are presented on Saturday. Creativity, social skills, goal achievement, communication skills and self-esteem are all characteristics that are attained through the participation in this unique, educational project. MCT’s mission is the development of life skills in children through participation in the performing arts.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre is based in Missoula, Montana, and also runs many local programs. These include musical theatre day camps and performing arts classes for local children, a summer residency Performing Arts Camp for students from around the world and the Missoula Community Theatre which creates an arena for local talent of all ages to participate in large-scale productions and attracts audiences from western Montana.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre Residency in Towanda is a program of the Bradford County Regional Arts Council. The BCRAC, established in 1976, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and supporting a thriving regional arts community by advocating for the Arts, cultivating quality arts programming and preserving Bradford County’s historic theatres as venues for performances, community events, and movies. For more information, visit BCRAC online at www.bcrac.org or www.facebook.com/BCRAC.