The first-ever appearance by the Missoula Children’s Theatre in Oxbow proved to be a hit.
Fifty-nine students from the Oxbow Prairie Horizons School performed during the school’s showing of the Peter Pan musical Peter and Wendy on May 17. Most of the students were in Grades 1-6, but they had about a dozen in Grades 7-11.
Judy Jeannot, who is a teacher at the school, marvelled at how they were able to piece together the play so quickly.
“What they do with the students in one week is spectacular,” Jeannot told Lifestyles. “I teach music in our school, and I put on a Christmas concert. It’s always a musical. And I plan to do it in six weeks.”
But the Missoula Children’s Theatre shows up in the community, selects the youths who will be part of the cast, and brings together everything for the play in just a few days.
“It was really neat to watch. I was just kind of a bystander, and taking notes and watching how they did things.”
Kids were divided into two groups, and representatives of the children’s theatre used repetition to help the youths learn their lines.
Don Britt was the piano player, and he didn’t come to a rehearsal until two days before the performance.
Two showings were staged on May 17. The first was in the afternoon, and was largely attended by the school’s student body. The other was in the evening, and the gym was about three-quarters capacity with people from the community.
Missoula Children’s Theatre came to Oxbow after Jeannnot contacted their office. They sent her the necessary information. She booked a date and received the information needed for the school to be ready when the theatre arrived.
“There’s a checklist that you need to go through, and it was all very well organized and easy to follow,” said Jeannot. “It helped a lot.”
The school was happy with the turnout, considering this was the first time they have brought the theatre to Oxbow, and they hope it will be even better next year when the Missoula Children’s Theatre returns for a performance of The Snow Queen.
The United Church’s Reach Group funded the production with nearly $5,000 in support, and the Oxbow Arts Council’s support allowed them to have a piano player.
