Valley students were granted a very special opportunity last week when Missoula Children’s Theatre visited Bella Coola and put together an amazing performance of “Rapunzel,” complete with puns intended.
Missoula Children’s Theatre is the brainchild of Jim Caron and Don Collins, who met in the early 70s and began the tradition of casting children in the local communities. The idea for a traveling theatre production was born, and since then MCT has grown to include International Tours, Community Theatre, and Summer Day Camps.
The format for their productions is daunting but somehow they pull it off! Two actor-directors (in this case Shelby Art and Tatjiana Moffitt) are responsible for the entire production from start to finish, auditioning, prepping and rehearsing with the cast of dozens of students in only four days! The results are astonishing and Bella Coola was no different.
Roles ranged from mushrooms to bears, billy goats to trolls, ogres to wood fairies, goblins to unicorns, ears of corn and the hilarious potato, right down to Rapunzel and her (somewhat confused) Prince. It was a lively show full of jokes, singing, and funny twists. The main roles of Rapunzel and the Prince were played by SAMS students Faith Fontaine and Aodhan Cearnaigh, and both of these performers did a wonderful job.
The students did an excellent job after spending only four days rehearsing, and an especially long day on Saturday at the theatre. The camaraderie was evident backstage as the entire cast supported one another and helped learn lines, tackle stage fright, and participated in every aspect of the production.
Two performances were offered to the community on Saturday night at Lobelco Hall and the reviews were excellent. A big thank you to SAMS music teacher Caroline Johnson for playing the piano, and the BCE and SAMS PAC and SD 49 for sponsoring this production.