FORT STEWART, Ga. - With character names like Oggy Froggy, Maraca Rattlesnake, and Lizzard McChill, the Missoula Children's Theatre's rendition of The Tortoise versus the Hare promises to be a real treat for the Fort Stewart and surrounding communities.
Children of all ages came out to audition and were granted various roles within the production. The young thespians have one week to pull the play together with the help of Missoula's tour actors and directors.
Missoula tour actor/director, Sarah Levy, a Minnetonka, Minn. native, said Fort Stewart is her second military installation she has had the opportunity to come to, and she is passionate about her craft.
"I think that it's important in general for kids to be exposed to the arts," Levy said. "I really feel strongly in that … I was really fortunate as a child to have that and now I have been touring with Missoula for a little over a year. Across the country the arts are dying in our schools and it's really really tragic because it is such an important part of curriculum and just being a well rounded person."
Levy added that the MCT is a great opportunity for children to be immersed in a safe and fun environment where new friends can be made and children can foster unfound talents and creativity.
"Whether they want to be actors or they are just there to have fun, it's something that they can all benefit from," she said.
Playing the part of Coach Boback the Tortise, Lemalcus Baugh, a 14 year-old Liberty High School seemingly shy rising sophomore, joined the production through the advice of his mother.
"I have always wanted to do something with acting," Baugh said, "so I decided to go check it out."
Although Baugh had no idea of the play's title, he said he was excited for the opportunity to be in a play outside of school. He added that he plans to pursue acting in the future and is not afraid of having to learn his lines in less than a week.
"It's going to be a challenge but I'm pretty sure I can do it," he said.
Sarah Turner, a native of Wichita, Kan., and a tour actor with Missoula said she thinks it will be a treat for the community to come out and enjoy the show.
"I think that it is definitely important for us to be here," Turner said. "Ours is such a great experience for kids, they are kids who yesterday were really shy and quiet … and they are really coming out of their shell. So you can really see the color they have in them, the vibrancy they have in them and I think that if the community came out to see the show they would really and truly see the arts do impact our youth in a positive way."
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