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Kids learn theatre's bear necessities

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Marasky
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Things got a little primal at Kadena Air Base Aug. 22, as local youth performed a musical rendition of "The Jungle Book."

The opportunity was provided by the Missoula Children's Theatre in conjunction with the Schilling Community Center and Kadena's School Age Program.

The Missoula Children's Theatre came to the base to provide a week-long residency "starring" 57 local students in a full-scale musical, in this case, "The Jungle Book." Auditions were held at the beginning of the week, and the students, grades K-12, were cast in their roles. They rehearsed throughout the week, learning lines, songs and choreography and preparing to perform as an ensemble in a full-length musical.

Choosing members of the cast proved to be difficult as more than 130 children turned out for auditions, with less than half finding a part in the play, said Anna Miller, an actress with the MCT.

"It was a really talented week, and making that selection is the hardest part of our job," she said. "This is a really talented, wonderful group of kids."

The team that visited Kadena will handle roughly 40 shows over the course of the year, and the MCT as a whole will conduct 1,100 shows around the world, giving more than 65,000 children a chance to enjoy the spotlight.

Kadena marks the end of the team's tour of overseas bases. The tour was funded by Pacific Air Forces, and offers a bit of stability for dependents stationed overseas, said Ms. Miller.

"Sometimes, I feel we're almost more needed here overseas," she said. "When we can come to a base, and kids come up to us and say 'Oh, I saw you in Germany, I had so much fun,' it means a lot. Because military kids are constantly moving, if we can be a constant in their life, I think that's a really good thing."

Beyond providing a constant for the local kids, the children's theatre teaches them important life lessons as they prepare to put on the play, said Sheena Bergeron, an actress with the MCT.

"Basically our motto is 'Teaching life skills through theater,' so it's not about the theater as much as it is giving them the confidence to be able to do something," she said. "Sometimes these kids won't get the same level of responsibilities in the schools, but here we're able to hand it to them and say here, take this, you can do it.

"We tell them throughout the week that it's their show, not our show," said Ms. Bergeron. "By the end of the week, we'll hand the show over to the assistant directors and let them run it. We're just here to supervise and handle the emergencies by show time."

Being trusted with the responsibility of putting on the show, as well as playing the part of role model for the younger kids is a new task for many of the cast members, according to Matthew Cole, who's playing the role of Shere Khan.

"When you're expected to carry the show, to make sure it looks good no matter what, it puts a different perspective on it," he said. "We're not just a part of the show, but you're a part of making it come together. I definitely appreciate it a lot. I'm at the high school and do what they have available there, but there's still not a ton of opportunities. So, it's nice that we can have something like this."

While providing the acting opportunties and life lessons for the kids is its own reward, the team appreciates the welcome they've had throughout PACAF, and specifically here at Kadena, said Ms. Bergeron.

"The parents here are wonderful," she said. "We've had so many parents come up and say what can we do, how can we help you out, do you need lunch, can we help with costumes? It's just nice to come into a community and to feel so welcome. We feel right at home here. It's been a great tour overall. Thanks for having us."