Students at John Milledge Academy auditioned and performed in a production of The Secret Garden hosted by the Missoula Children’s Theatre this past month.
“Our Head of School Clint Humphrey had worked with the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) previously at Southland Academy annually and his kids grew up participating in it. He thought it would be a wonderful way to integrate the arts into the school day at John Milledge Academy,” said Jennifer Watkins, director of Curriculum and Instruction at John Milledge Academy.
Missoula Children’s Theatre is a traveling nonprofit center for the performing arts that aims to reach small communities with few creative outlets or resources for children, according to its website. MCT travels to all 50 states, five Canadian provinces and 16 countries. Each season it rotates shows.
“They audition children for a predetermined show each season with a variety of roles to be featured in. From flowers and geese to parents and children, there was a large cast of characters,” said Watkins.
When the theatre group visited JMA, 40 students between the ages of 5-13 auditioned and joined this season’s production of The Secret Garden. The Secret Garden is an original MCT rendition that is a “retelling of a story of hope and celebration and all good things in life.”
“Mistress Mary Quite Contrary embarks on a journey from India to her uncle’s home in England. Along the way she makes friends with the hilarious Canadian Geese and the colorful Giant Bugs that Rock. In time she learns to appreciate everything around her…,” reads the show synopsis.
Auditions for the performance were on March 4 and once the cast was selected, students would practice with MCT faculty for four hours a day to prepare for their performances on March 8 and 9.
“Practices were led by the children’s theatre after school, however, during their residency the theatre also hosted an all-school assembly to teach about improv and plot structure for the entire school body,” said Watkins. “I think the arts are important for any student’s life and that exposure is important.”
March was ‘Theatre In Our Schools’ month, which made the impact of the partnership emphasized for students and their families. Watkins hopes that the exposure to professionals and the work that was presented showed the JMA community the importance of art education and its inclusion in a school’s curriculum.
“This opportunity allowed us to make theatre available to everyone and spread awareness of what we offer and how the arts, in general, impact young minds,” said Watkins. “We now have lots of interest in doing more things, like bringing theatre opportunities to our upper elementary and middle school. Many students caught the ‘theatre bug’ from this experience and have expressed a desire to perform more.”
Parents have continued to approach and offer their support to bring more art opportunities to John Milledge Academy. According to Watkins, they have “galvanized a base of artsy theatre-positive parents and students” that will be helping in the creation of new opportunities.
“The sky’s the limit right now,” said Watkins. “We will continue to work on bringing more performing arts opportunities to the school and seeking partnerships like this that benefit not only our students in school but extend those benefits beyond school grounds.”