Taking The Show On The Road

    In days of yore, traveling minstrels moved from town to town entertaining the masses with their displays of revelry. These days, there are still traveling theater groups but the small towns of Northeastern South Dakota aren’t usually destinations for such groups. Yet somewhat of an equivalent would be the Missoula Children’s Theater that visited Britton last week. Putting on a production with over 40 kids in a week is no easy task. The two women who were responsible for this feat chatted with the Journal about how they accomplish that task as well as what their lives are like doing a job they love.
    The birth of the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) dates back to the 1970’s when Jim Caron, an unemployed actor, broke down near Missoula, Montana. While waiting for his van to be patched together, Caron noticed an audition poster for a play. He would eventually partner up with a fellow Missoula actor and together they organized a company of adults to perform plays for children on a make-shift stage in a local movie theatre. The plays, as well as the idea of developing live theatre for kids, were well-received in Missoula. Soon, nearby Montana and Idaho communities requested performances of their own.
    A couple of years later, while performing Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Jim and the other directors were not excited about the prospect of traveling across the state with child actors in winter to perform a show in Miles City. They decided to take a radical step: they would attempt to cast the dwarfs from children in Miles City. When 450 children arrived, the astonished team auditioned the huge group and cast the seven roles. This opened the eyes of the MCT staff and the doors to the future.
    Decades later, the Missoula Children’s Theatre brings the arts to all 50 states, 5 Canadian Provinces and 16 countries. And just last week, the Theatre company was in Britton with their play “Princess and the Pea.” The MCT team members who made the show happen were Lindsay Wilk and Brianna Dorsey. 
    Both of the directors are self-proclaimed “theatre geeks” and are no stranger to the stage. Wilk is a native of Annapolis, MD and attended Towson University in Maryland as a theatre and mass communication double major. Dorsey hails from Eatonton, GA and attended Greensborough College in North Carolina as a theatre major with a concentration in acting. 
    The women both started working for MCT soon after graduation. Wilk explains that she spent her last semester of college auditioning for theaters when she was contacted by the children’s theatre company. “They liked my work, and I liked their mission,” she said. “Plus, I enjoyed their fast-paced East Coast vibes.”
    For Dorsey’s part, after she graduated from college, she was working as a production manager. A friend of hers was involved with MCT and turned her onto the idea of working for the company. She loved the idea of working for a children’s theatre company she confirmed. “I personally wasn’t exposed to theatre until I was a freshman in high school,” said Dorsey. “So I liked that I could have a job exposing younger kids to theatre. I wish I would have gotten that chance myself.” 
    They explain that the whole process started with a week of training in Missoula. “They teach us how to teach the show,” Wilk said. “There is a very specific way they train us to teach a whole play to kids in just a week.” Plus, she notes that they learn every single role and the administrative tasks that go on behind the scenes. After that training, the directors hit the road in teams of two.
    Wilk has been working for MCT for six months now and Dorsey for about a year. And by both women’s accounts, they are enjoying the experience of facilitating a traveling play. Wilks has been directing “The Princess and the Pea,” the show put on in Britton last week, since she started while Dorsey has been in charge of three different plays during her tenure. 
    Though the schedule is a whirlwind of activity, the women love the job. They describe their busy week. Monday is auditions and rehearsals, followed by several days of afterschool rehearsal. There is blocking, teaching songs, putting songs to music, building the set, introducing props and so much more before the weekend performances.
    The women not only direct the play but also take turns acting in it, while the other assumes the behind the stage duties. They say their production can accommodate as many as 60 actors though they have done it with only a handful in some cases. They were happy to have over 40 kids in Britton last week. 
    During the days, the women stay busy. They work on things like the set and wash the entire cast’s costumes. They also get to have a bit of fun when they put on acting workshops for a couple of grades at the school, the kindergarteners plus homeschool kids. 
    The directors do admit their traveling job comes with some unique challenges. “You do get homesick,” said Dorsey. “We get a couple of weeks off here and there but we are usually pretty far from family and have to communicate via phone for the most part.” 
    Wilk added that every week is different even though they are putting on the same show. “We have different kids, different personalities, so we always have to be on our toes,” she noted. When asked if panic ever sets in, Wilk laughed, “Sometimes at dress rehearsal we have a minute of panic, but for the most part, that wore off after about a month.” 
    The two women say they love when a show comes together but most of all they enjoy seeing kids grow. “We see kids building confidence and character right before our eyes,” said Dorsey. “When they realize they can do anything, it’s really special.” 
    As Wilk and Dorsey look down the road, they aren’t sure about long-term plans. They are cherishing their MCT experience now and plan to stay on with the company for a while. Additionally, both women have the dream of being on the company’s ‘fly tour’ where they travel internationally to put on the plays all around the world mostly at Air Force bases. 
    This past weekend, Wilk and Dorsey put on their successful show here in Britton to the enjoyment of the crowd. Afterwards they promptly packed up their truck and got ready to hit the road on Sunday when they traveled to Crosby, MN, a four-hour drive. They emphasized that that is a pretty short trek compared to the occasional 12-hour drives they’ve had to do.
    The schedule might be grueling, but Dorsey and Wilk enjoy being traveling modern-day minstrels. Afterall, there’s no business like show business.