Children’s Theatre in Arlee for 35th year
Karen Peterson photo
The crabs act crabby during Arlee's Missoula Children's Theatre performance of "Blackbeard the Pirate."
Karen Peterson photo
Missoula Children’s Theatre directors Greg Stowers and Coryn Bourgeois applied stage makeup to 60 student actors before the big show.
Karen Peterson photo
The beach bums wish for magic water during the Missoula Children’s Theatre performance of “Blackbeard the
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ARLEE – The Missoula Children’s Theatre has shown-up to help Arlee students present a play in one week every year for the past 35 years.
“We keep doing this because it lets the kids gain confidence, it lets them make a commitment and stick to it and it’s fun,” teacher Carrie Drye said. “And this is a chance for the kids to work with professional actors. The actors bring the set, the costumes and the play. We couldn’t do this as well without them.”
Drye participated in the organization of every one of the school’s productions.
“It’s become a generational thing. We have the children of the children who have been in it. It’s a great experience but it’s hard work. The kids are here four hours a day after school for a week.”
Professional MCT actors Greg Stowers and Coryn Bourgeois directed sixty students during this year’s productions of “Blackbeard the Pirate.”
“This takes a lot of patience and gumption,” Stowers said. “The kids have to have intense focus and work very hard to put a show on in one week. They’ve done a great job learning the lines and putting it all together.”
Starr Mahseelah played the part of a parrot.
“I love being an actor,” she said. “I get to wear costumes and act in an actor’s voice.”
Kaia Larson enjoyed flexing her vocal cords as an actor.
“My favorite part is when I have to scream when the pirates say ‘argh.’ They scare me so I scream. I really like to scream.”
The cast included Darren Marks as Blackbeard, and Elizabeth Morigeau, Megan Shick, Natalie Yokum, Tyler Brown and Jason Miller were his bearded pirate crew. Savannah Bertolit, Autumn Hettick, Tanner Larson, Jake Knoll, Kaia Larson, Shelby Smith, Sage Nicolai and Cheyenne Pablo were sailors.
Willow Boes, Myrna Bertolit, Kaylee Samsel, Kelsey Harris, Bella Starratt and Saige Koetter played the part of beach bums. Skylar Vernon was Sam the Clam. The cranky crabs included Robert Knoll, Noah Coulson, Izayah Smith, Melaia Matt, Amanda Couture and Maddii Yocum.
Drew Knoll and Jalena Coulson were crocodiles. Sophia Forgey, Joslynn Felsman, Karli Doerr, Raven Parson, Kat Coates, Emma Ries, Danica Fyant and Kambrie Rubel performed as mermaids. Kolby Belcourt, Tucker Brown, August Starratt, Teigen Hettick and Joseph Pablo were seaweed creatures.
Baylee Lemm, Madisyn Hanken, Aaron Haynes, ShyAnne Manzanares, Moses Curtiss, Chris Wall, Maizee Ries, Ruby Wieler, Starr Mahseela, Kailee Scott, Natalee Coulson, Haidyn Bradshaw, Nakayla Gibson-Hill, Josephine Fyant and Andrea Gonzalez were the parrots. Assistant directors included Skylar Vernon, Ashley Potts, Jerny Crawford and Michelle Jury.
