Putting together a play in a week isn’t an easy task.
Yet it’s one just over 40 South Cariboo youth took on last week as they worked with Missoula Children’s Theatre to put on a musical rendition of Rapunzel. The end result was an entertaining take on the classic fairy tale, with plenty of other tales sprinkled in for good measure.
Leading them in this endeavour were Missoula’s Tyler Bowlin and Elizabeth Avery, two young actors from Champagne, Illinois, and Valley, Nebraska, respectively. In addition to their love of acting, both find it rewarding to introduce young people to the theatre world.
“We’re both performers but we also have a love and a passion for teaching. I think for both of us this is a nice middle ground to further our experience in both of these fields at the same time,” Bowlin said. “We travel to a new community every week and we teach a new set of kids the show Rapunzel.”
Based out of Missoula, Montana, Missoula Children’s Theatre has sent actors like Bowlin and Avery on tour for 50 years now, with a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Missoula performances take place across 17 countries every summer and the company works with up to 65,000 children in a given year, Bowlin said.
“We either have the joy of coming to communities (like 100 Mile House) where Missoula has been for several years, or we go to communities for the first time ever that have never had Missoula before,” Avery said.
Bowlin said regardless of where they are, they always have a lot of work to do and a small amount of time to do it. Each group of kids is different and he adjusts his teaching strategy accordingly to meet them at their level.
Avery said it’s important to let children make their own creative choices during the show. While she and Bowlin provide guidance and a framework, they want to encourage participants to be creative and have fun.
“When you see the gears turn in their head and a lightbulb goes off and they are having the best time of their lives, it truthfully makes me so happy,” Avery said. “I think theatre is something everybody should experience in their life. The arts are needed and having it at a young age is really crucial and important.”
Both agreed that trying acting, even if it’s just one time, is a valuable experience for young people.
One of this year’s first-time actors was high school student Grace Yang. She said she thought it’d be fun to take part, noting she was an assistant director the last time Missoula came to town in 2019.
“It was pretty scary going on stage but also fun. (Tyler and Elizabeth) made it more about having fun than performing,” Yang said. “I thought it’d be pretty hard but rehearsing every day (for a week) really helped.”
Yang took on the role of the Troll in Rapunzel, an identity-stealing bridge troll who causes mischief for everyone who crosses her path. She said she enjoyed the chance to play a more humorous role that got plenty of laughs from the audience.
The experience has made her open to auditioning for one of the 100 Mile Performing Arts Society plays, she said.
Calvin Kreschuk, meanwhile, is a Missoula veteran. Rapunzel is the third notch on his acting belt. This year, however, he got an individual speaking part for the first time, playing Maurice, Rapunzel’s father.
“This was my first year actually having a script and it was way more difficult,” he said.
Calvin thanked Bowlin and Avery, mentioning that it can’t be easy to drive 20 hours and then run a show with a bunch of children. His appreciation was echoed by 100 Mile Performing Arts member Karen Smith, who hosted the pair for the week, along with her husband Gord. She said the society has brought Missoula to 100 Mile House since 2015.
“It’s so amazing for the kids. Some of them might be a little nervous, but in theatre you just start small and work your way up,” Smith said. “It’s so amazing in a week what the Missoula people do. They’re so nice.”
Their time in 100 Mile House marked both Bowlin and Avery’s first time visiting Canada. Bowlin said it was everything he could have hoped for, adding B.C. is “incredibly beautiful” and in each community they stopped in people were helpful and welcoming.
“100 Mile House is a smaller community and very tight-knit but one that has been welcoming to us. We really enjoyed our time here,” Bowlin said.
