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Visit from Frog Prince

  • Published
  • By Lisa Terry McKeown
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Fly traps and knights and swamp things, oh my! 

It was a week of fairy tales and happy endings for about 30 Pope youth as they worked with the Missoula Children's Theater preparing and performing the play The Frog Prince. 

"The Missoula Children's Theatre is the largest children's theater in the United States," said David Weinheimer, one of the two instructors who visited Pope for the week. 

"Founded in 1970, the theater started touring in 1974. We go out in teams of two and spend a week in each town. We show up and hold auditions on Monday, rehearse through the week and have our show on Saturday. Then we pack up the set and move on to the next town to do it again." 

The nonprofit group currently has 44 teams of two touring all 50 states, Canada, Europe and Asia. 

"Our goal is to go into the new town, give them a play and let them know that here, in this setting, they can be successful and we will help you be successful in this performance art," said Corey Roberts, also an instructor for the touring theater. 

Both Air Force and Army children participated in the free theatrical opportunity. They rehearsed four hours a day and were also able to participate in workshops the instructors provided. They learned about improvisation, theater make up, and more. 

Many said they had performed other plays with the Missoula Children's Theater at other bases. 

Peter Mitchell, a 7th grader playing Bert the Alligator, said he'd performed at least one other time with the group. 

"I want to be an actor when I grow up," he said. "I get really nervous before I go onstage, but once I'm out there and saying my lines, it's all good." 

The young actors ranged in age from 5 to 18 years old. 

While waiting for dress rehearsal to begin, a fly and a fly trap sat dangerously close to one another. 

"I like pretending to be someone else and then learning from it," said Alyssa Rdesinski, a 3rd grader playing the part of a fly. 

"I like to get into costume, learn the lines and then have my family see me perform," 
said Megan Berry, a 2nd grader playing a fly trap. 

"It's fantastic what kids can do in a week," said Ms. Roberts. "Our script is about 50 pages long and we give it to them on Monday. It's now Friday and they're getting into costume and getting ready for a dress rehearsal. It's so inspiring to watch them."
The instructors say it's often a challenge to work with so many children at such different ages. 

"We'll see kids at the beginning of the week who think they're too cool for this or those who are really shy," said Mr. Weinheimer. "By the end of the week, they're not afraid to put themselves out there. They can be really successful and come out their shells. It can change their whole demeanor about things." 

Ms. Roberts grew up in the military and remembers how difficult it was as a child to move from base to base. She said the theater is one constant the youth have wherever they go. 

"There's so much change in the life of a military kid," she said. "It's really fantastic that when we come, they know what we do and who the theater is. It's something they know they can be successful at and a place where they can make friends. We work with kids who have just arrived at a base and some who are leaving in a week. It's neat that we're able to give them some sort of stability along with an exciting, fun activity they can be successful at wherever they are." 

The youth performed their play Saturday at the base theater and were welcomed with overwhelming applause.