For the second year in a row Emily from Newman Grove asked me to sign her shirt.  And for the second year in a row she caught me by surprise.  It’s customary for the kids to sign each other’s shirts, but I’m just the old guy who sits in the corner.  But, as Emily put it, I am a part of all this, so I scrawled my name next to everyone else’s.

It’s the kids, after all, who do the work.  In just one week they learn lines, songs and even dance steps.  They have to be “off script” by Wednesday and they learn the songs before their accompanist, Sandy Sorell, ever gets there to play the piano for them.

The presenters work pretty hard too, though.  Week after week they drive to new towns, audition aspiring actors ages 6 to 18 and then proceed to teach them not just the play but lessons about life.  They teach them how to make friends with strangers, how to work together as a team.  The plays themselves convey life lessons, lessons about bravery and keeping one’s word that the kids learn by acting them out.

I’m talking, of course, of the annual Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) which the Albion Area Arts Council has been bringing here since at least 1993.  Always the last full week in June, it attracts kids from near and far.  Many of these young actors have been coming faithfully for the eight years Lori and I have been co-directors of the Arts Council, and probably were coming before that.  Emily from Newman Grove is one of them, as are Sam and Josh from Columbus.

Lori and I don’t play much of a role during the week, but we do try to make sure one of us is always there during the rehearsals just in case we’re needed for something. And we help put up the set, set up chairs and sell the tickets, but the kids don’t see much of this so it’s natural for most of them not to think much about our role.

The kids don’t know that planning for each summer’s play begins 16 months ahead of time so we can start securing grant funding.  Ten months before the play we’ve begun promoting it through our season posters, brochures and advertising.  Six months out the actual contract is signed and a deposit made.  Six weeks out it’s time to start a multi-week advertising campaign in area newspapers and radio and TV stations.  At three weeks out it’s time to put up over 100 posters in the greater Boone County area, and at two weeks it’s time to send out press releases for the performance.  As we get closer to the event we make coupons for the kids to get free ice cream at Shorty’s and get the parent letters ready.  Once auditions are over and the cast list compiled, we check the spelling of all the names and enter them into the programs to give out the day of the show.  And afterwards we make sure all the bills are paid.

So I guess Emily from Newman Grove is right, Lori and I are a part of everything, but we don’t care if the kids realize it or not.  What’s important is that they have the opportunity each summer to get together with old friends and make new ones, to try out and learn a part, to get out there on stage and sing and act their hearts out, and most of all, to have a lot of fun doing it.