Long live the King

Summer time is full of all kinds of fun things: swimming at the pool, summer sports camps, vacation bible school and vacations. But for Marshfield Community Theatre’s Education Department, this summer looks a lot like Africa. Well, sort of. 

“Our education institute productions are designed to be an educational experience for every child. Every kid registers online and the first day of camp we hold placement auditions,’ explained Carolyn Billinglsey, the Education Director at Marshfield Community Theatre. “Everybody who signed up for camp gets a role in the show.” 

According to Billinglsey, the education institute is a place for theatre education students to hone their skills in a positive and fun environment, “Our Education Institute productions are a crucial part of our (education) program because it gives our kids an outlet to demonstrate what they learn in our classes all year.” 

However, kids who want to participate in the institute do not have to have any prior experience in theatre or acting.“The Institute is also the perfect opportunity for kids to practice and experience theatre for the very first time! As instructors, our primary focus is on creating a fun, positive environment for our kids to learn new skills and techniques to perform for their families and friends,” explained Billinglsey who started the program only two years ago.

“We selected The Lion King because it’s been a family favorite for so many generations! It’s a show that both boys and girls love, and it has great themes throughout the show,” explained Billinglsey who also says that show selection goes deeper than what’s popular. “It’s also a bit more difficult than a lot of the shows we had to choose from, as there are complex harmonies, foreign languages, and some more serious topics that are covered throughout. We felt like our kids were ready for a push, and they have risen to the challenge!”

Aside from the fact that this years education institute drew in a cast of 65 kids ranging from age 4 to 16, the entire show is produced by students. “So we have three amazing instructors for the camp. We’ve got Lyssa Willis who is our acting instructor, Michael Thurston is our music instructor and Megan Bone is our dance instructor,” Billingsley explained with excitement. Even the cover art for the show’s playbill was designed by a student explained Billingsley, “We opened it up to children everywhere, all over the world actually, to submit artwork to be on the cover of our program. We had kids from our show submit artwork, kids from Webster County, we even had a student from Bangladesh submit artwork.” 

With Lion King Jr. The Experience, Lyssa Willis makes her Acting Directorial debut and she couldn’t be more excited. “I have been involved with MCT for a whole lot of years,” chuckled Willis. “I think my first show was Alice in Wonderland when I was young and I just absolutely fell in love with MCT.” With a love of acting and a love of kids, Willis is the perfect person for the job. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” expressed Willis with a big smile. “I (have) always loved kids, I’ve always thought they are so fun to be around.”

“The really cool thing about institute’s is our first all cast is auditions. So that’s really awesome for us because we really get to see exactly who we have, exactly who is going to be in our show,” smiled Willis. “It’s really cool…so we come in with the sixty five crazy kiddos who we all just immediately know and we’re like this is going to be so much fun.” 

Kids who register for the summer institute spend six weeks preparing for opening night. “We spend lots of time playing theatre games, learning acting terminology and dance terminology and we delve a little bit deeper into technique than we are able to with mainstage shows…” explained Billinglsey. “It’s really been great, with these rehearsals over the past six weeks we’ve really got to delve deep and meet the kids and form relationships and connections,” added Willis. “I can honestly say I love all of these kiddos with my whole heart. They are all absolutely incredible. So talented. I could not have asked for a better cast with this show.”

With Lion King Jr. The Experience audiences can expect the story of their childhood, just shortened. “It IS The EXPERIENCE,” laughed Willis. “It’s not dumbed down at all but it is shortened. There is a couple of measures out of songs, some of the lines are shortened to really make it more manageable for a cast who is trying to do something educational.” The show runs an hour long with an intermission for audiences to grab a Lion King themed snack. The show performs at the Four Rivers Church in Marshfield on July 28, 29 and 30. Show times are at 7:00 p.m. each evening with a 3:00 p.m. matinee on the 30th. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the MCT website or at the door for a higher cost. “We are already sold out for opening night,” shared Billingsley. 

“Most of the money (from the show) goes toward our scholarships: for both our senior scholarship that we give annually and our benevolent fund-that allows kids to take classes, or will help them pay for tap shoes or a binder or whatever they might need to come study with us and further their education in theatre,” explained Billingsley. 

While the future show schedule is still tightly sealed and not ready to be announced, Billingsely shared that the Education Department offers education classes year round. “If you want to get involved we have more camps happening this summer-information is on our website. And then our fall weekly classes begin in September.” 

As the remaining days of rehearsal come to an end and the cast prepares for opening night, there is a lot of emotion and reflection taking place. “These kids are just phenomenal,” reflected Willis. “This process has been incredible. I am so grateful to Carolyn and to MCT for allowing me to come in and to learn and to hone those skills I wanted to be using for the rest of my life. This has really cemented that for me, that this is what I want to do forever.”