When the little red truck rolls into town, it's showtime. The truck, packed to the gills with light fixtures, sets and 60 costumes, rolled onto Glen View Elementary's campus earlier this week, bringing with it two women who will expose the children to the art of theater, some for the first time.
Kristin Crase, 31, and Jenn Hogan, 28, are actors with the Missoula Children's Theatre, based out of Missoula, Mont. For the last year, Crase has been city hopping, spending every week in a different town. Eight weeks ago, she was joined by Hogan and since then, they've traveled all over the West Coast, selecting kids for musical performances and producing entire plays in a week's time.
Each week, the pair travels to a new town, spending their day preparing children for the play and their night getting to know a new city. Monday morning, they were introduced to the 165 Glen View students who had high hopes of securing a role in their production of "The Little Mermaid." By the end of the day, the group of 165 was whittled down to 60 lucky stars.
The students stood in height order as Hogan and Crase went around the room, asking for their names and a little bit about them. The students with the best attitudes, most expressive bodies and loudest voices were selected. Their ability to listen and follow directions was another key deciding factor, Hogan said.
"We broke a lot of hearts," she said. But the students were encouraged to come out again next year.
"If you come in shy, you might not get the part," Glen View Principal Scott Otteson told his students. "You can tell he's got it," he said of a little boy who didn't hold back his enthusiasm when sharing his name. Otteson has worked with the MCT before and plans to invite them back next year. "This is pretty amazing to watch. Most of these kids have never been in anything like this," he said from his perch on the school's stage.
After auditioning dozens of students, the two women spent Monday night in a laundromat, washing and drying 60 mermaid, seahorse and various other underwater creature costumes.
The kids didn't get to see their costumes until the day before the show. The suspense factor kept the kids focussed, Hogan said.
Alanna Ledwell Calkins, 10, hadn't seen her costume as of Wednesday and, as one of the lead characters, was anxious to know what she'd be wearing. The play is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale version. Instead of Ariel, the littlest mermaid is named Celia. Ledwell Calkins plays Ophelia, Celia's older sister.
"My teachers are fun and help us act out our characters," she said before scampering inside to practice her lines. Backstage, Hogan and Crase claim there is a method to their madness.
"You get used to not knowing what to expect," Hogan said as she and Crase sorted the clean costumes into piles for each student. Completely collapsible sets painted with swirls of green and blue stood in the background. Gilroy is the last stop on the women's tour and after the play ends this weekend, the duo will be returning home. Happy to return home, the women said they loved their time on the road.
Of their experience in Gilroy, "It does smell like garlic and it's scrumptious," Hogan said.
Show times
Today: 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Saturday: 5 p.m.
Where: Glen View Elementary School, 600 Eighth St.
'The Little Mermaid' comes to Glen View
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