Pirates!
Sword fights! Gold!
Eastern
Oregon Regional Theatre
performs ArtReach's Musical Treasure
Island
By
Lisa Britton Go! Eastern Oregon, Baker City
Jim
Hawkins is having a bad day.
It's
one of those days where nothing goes right. First, he missed
the school bus. Then he dropped his essay in the mud and
couldn't present it to his class.
"The
kids are having a ball. It's a fun one."
Characters
of ArtReach's
Treasure
Island (from left, Scarlett Scott, Zoe Griffin, Marilyn Novak
and Marquesa Peterson)
come
to life in a production by Eastern Oregon Regional Theater.
Also,
Siena
Heights University School Tour, Adrian MI
And
when he gets home, he finds out his mom is making tofu patties and
bean sprouts for dinner. "What is this? Torture Jim
Hawkins Day?" he says. He ends up in his room until he
changes his attitude. Frustrated, Jim just wishes that people
had more imagination and less work and school and tofu. He'd
rather be a pirate sailing the high seas and searching for gold and
fighting with a sword.
Then,
suddenly, there's a knock at the door and in strides Billy Bones, a
"nightmare of a pirate" who demands that Jim fetches his
sea chest. And just like that, Jim Hawkins plunges into the
world of "Treasure Island"
in this youth production presented by Eastern Oregon Regional Theater.
"The
kids are having a ball. It's a fun one," said Cindy Ratterman,
who is directing the play.
"In
strides Billy Bones, a 'nightmare of a pirate'"
ArtReach's Treasure
Island - Siena Heights University School Tour, Adrian MI
The
cast of 24 ranges in age from 5 to 16 - plus one adult, John
Brockman, who plays Long John Silver.
The
show opens Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m. with a special ticket price of
$8. More performances are set for Saturday, April 13 at 6 p.m.
and Sunday, April 14, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 adults, $8 EORT
members and $5 students.
The
second weekend of shows is April 19-21 - 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday
and 3 p.m. Sunday. All shows are at the theater, 2101 Main
St. New and familiar faces Ratterman said auditions drew a lot
of youngsters who are new to the stage, in addition to actors who
will be familiar to the audience.
Rehearsals
started about two months ago, and the actors have learned lines as
well as songs and dances. And the audience can join, as
well. "There are fun songs - people can sing along with
us," Ratterman said.
"There
are fun songs - people can sing along with us."
ArtReach's Treasure
Island - Siena Heights University School Tour, Adrian MI
"It'll
be an immersive experience," Marquesa Peterson, who plays
Captain Smollett, said with a smile. She and Justin Wolfe, who
plays Billy Bones, are the lone high schoolers in the play.
Although the play is based on the novel "Treasure
Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson, it has been adapted by
Kathryn Schultz Miller to be "a musical participation play for
young people to perform."
Ratterman
said the kids have helped build props, such as treasure chests made
out of cardboard boxes. Also, the play requires set changes and the
cast helps change scenes from Jim's bedroom to a ship on the ocean to
the jungle at Skull Island.
The
play runs about an hour. To buy tickets in advance, visit
easternoregonregionaltheatre.com or call 541-523-9652. Tickets are
also sold at the door. "Treasure
Island' This youth production is presented by Eastern
Oregon Regional Theater over two weekends: April 12-14 and April 19-21.
Orr's
Rising Stars bring ArtReach's 'The
Reluctant Dragon' to life
TAMI
MOSSER Staff Writer, The Daily Record
ORRVILLE
-- They're called the Rising Stars, and this time, they're going to
tell a tale about a dragon.
The
youth theater division of the Orrville Community Theater will
present "The Reluctant Dragon" on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 7
p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2:30 p.m. at the theater in the
Save-A-Lot Plaza on Hostetler Road in Orrville.
A
minimum $5 donation per person is asked for tickets, which are
available at the door or by calling 330-439-2051.
According
to director Staci Hochstrasser, "The Reluctant Dragon" is
"the story of a king who hears there's a dragon and wants him
killed, but then realizes he is a nice dragon and wants to save him."
"12-member
cast has kids ranging in age from 7-12."
A Children's Theatre, Mesilla,
Las Cruces NM - ArtReach's The
Reluctant Dragon
The
play is based on an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame and
formed the outline of a 1941 Disney film. The script being used by
the Rising Stars cast has been adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller and
is offered through ArtReach Children's Theater Plays.
The
12-member cast includes children ranging in age from 7-12,
Hochstrasser said. "We have kids from Wooster, Orrville and
Norton, Wadsworth," she said, "so we have them from a lot
of surrounding areas."
"It
helps get them out of their shyness."
A Children's Theatre, Mesilla,
Las Cruces NM - ArtReach's The
Reluctant Dragon
The
idea, the director said, is not just to learn lines, go on stage and
say them. The Rising Stars program is, rather, a workshop-type
experience in which young actors can learn their craft and it is
hoped they have fun, too. "It helps get them out of their
shyness and their shells," Hochstrasser said.
Following
"The Reluctant Dragon," will be the organization's annual
Christmas musical, "Christmas Double Play," which will be
performed Dec. 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 4 and 11 at 2:30
p.m. For more information, contact the theater at 330-439-2051.
