Young Thespians Break A Leg

The Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) made a stop in Glasgow last week, teaching 35 future thespians the art of performing. Auditions for the traveling production of Johnny Appleseed started on Sept. 30, and the thespians had five days of practice before putting on two live shows, one on Oct. 4 and one on Oct. 5 in the auditorium of Glasgow High School.

The play told the story through the eyes of Gramma (played by MCT tour actor/director Carly Weldy) of how Johnny Appleseed (younger version played by Addison Jones and older version played by Noah Runner) came to be and his journey out West to plant apple orchards. With performances by Riley Clampitt (who played Molly and Sarah Prescott), Samantha Combs (who played Wolf), Mirax Lipscomb (who played Bison), Amelia Gilchrist (who played Sir Peter Prescott) and Annika Smith (who played Rupert), in addition to Ava Runner, Sebastian Gregg, Mali Allen, Natalie Fast, Jourdyn Fercho, Emily Cronmiller, Ainsley Loftsgaard, Paxton Wesen, Liam Allen, Ellie Kauffman, Aleah Fast, Gwen Turner, Maycie Fast, Arrow Henry, Ella Gilchrist, Micaiah Olfert, Sarah Runner, Silas Runner, Eva Hlad, Allenah Emeline, Leshia Stutheit, Journeigh Fercho, Kennedy Flaten, Julia Kauffman, Aby Cole, Azariah Olfert and Lyla Marlenee playing supporting roles to make the story complete.

With family, friends and the community in the audience during both performances, the young actors certainly did not disappoint. The students had many lines, choreography and stage presence moves to learn in such a short amount of time, it was apparent the hard work paid off. There were some moments during the show where the character needed assistance remembering their line but with Weldy ad-libbing and providing improv, the actors were guided to their lines and moves on the stage without the audience knowing there was anything amiss.

After the performance on Oct. 4, Director-Tour Actor/Director Carissa Lund thanked the community and assistant director Whitnae Wing for their support and the parents for borrowing their children during the week. "We could not do this without the support of the community and our sponsors. The Missoula Children's Theatre Domestic Tour is sponsored by Cosmic Crisp, a new apple grown exclusively in Washington state. The residency in Glasgow is brought to you by the Fort Peck Summer Theatre with support from Christoffersen & Knierim, P.C., Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Glasgow, Thrivent, Irving Law, PLLC, Robyn's Nest, Taylor Storage, Ed Buechler Insurance, Tire Rama, Hi-Line Eye Care, Triple A Glass, Soroptimists, Hiline Collision and Repair and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation."

According to Desiree Johnson, who has been the liaison between the MCT and the students during MCT's tenure at GHS, the MCT has been coming to Glasgow for many years but haven't had Johnny Appleseed on the road for 30 years. "We have a talented group of students in our community. They [MCT] have just raved about our kids," said Johnson. In addition to teaching these thespians, Weldy and Lund also hosted an acting and improv workshop for 25 juniors and seniors during their Intro to Public Speaking Class on Oct. 2.

The MCT International Tour has existed for 45 years and this year alone will work with 65,000 children in more than 1,200 communities in all 50 states and 17 countries. When starting their 46th year, they will be making a stop in Opheim in March of 2020 for the production of Gulliver's Travels.