Newspaper Page Text
June 8, 2016
PAGE 1C
Monroe Entertains You
Reporter
Magic & laughter are coming to The Rose
The Children’s Theater Troupe brought “The Frog Prince” to The Rose in
2015.
BY DENNIS SMITH
magine you are
listening to a
Circus Barker
implore you to
step right up and
see the best magic show
on earth. It is being pre
sented right before
your eyes, live on
stage, at The Rose
Theater Saturday,
June 25th.
Come one, come
all! Magic lovers
of all ages are wel
comed. Especially
our younger
friends who love
to laugh and have
fun. Get your tickets
now! Only $10 per per
son! You will see a real
live magic show. You
will thrill to the antics
of Lew-e the Clown and
get special treats. Plus,
you will see a real live
stage performance of
the musical “A Little
Bit of Magic.” Step right
up and get your tickets
now!
The neatest part about
this Morning of Magic
that starts at 10 a.m.
on the 25th is that it
is a good old-fashioned
double feature of live
theater. You and your
youngsters will be
entertained by members
of Forsyth’s Backlot
Players Children’s
Theater Troupe, a group
of seasoned actors who
find great joy in get
ting young audiences
to laugh at crazy stuff
“big” actors do.
“What do retired peo
ple who are stage bums
at heart do when they
don’t have an audience
at work to entertain?”
said Jane Walker, co
director of CTT. “Some
volunteer to go
on stage and
help us bring
fun and joy to
young people.”
Typically, CTT
presents plays
and offers a ‘live
theater’ field
trip to students
in surrounding
counties. This
year members wanted
to provide children some
summer fun here in
Forsyth.
“A Little Bit of Magic”
by Gail Gordon presents
the story of three wiz
ards who are preparing
magic for the birthday
celebration of Prince
Patrick. Do-Nothing-
Dale wants to know
what her little bit of
magic is.
On her journey to find
out, she meets different
characters and finds
that she’s just as special
as everyone else in the
world. The cast includes
Debra Moore, Joe Reed,
Sara Reed and Jane
Walker.
The Children’s Theater
Troupe became a real
ity in 2011 when Jane
Walker, a retired teach
er, thought the Backlot
Players could provide
meaningful
entertainment
for elementary
school students
in our area. At
the time groups
generally went
out of town to
attend live the
ater, increas
ing costs and
travel time for
schools.
Walker
and Marion
McDougall,
Backlot’s
Artistic
Director, agreed
to give the idea
of a Children’s
Troupe a
go. What a success. The
first season featured
“Who’s Afraid of the Big
Bad Wolf,” which was
presented several times
over two days and enter
tained about 300 young
sters, their teachers,
and some parents.
Last year the Troupe
entertained about 1,000
youngsters, teach
ers, and parents over
a five-day time frame
when they did the clas
sic “The Frog Prince,”
resplendent with gor
geous costumes, special
lighting, sound effects,
and all the pizazz of a
Broadway production.
“The Troupe has grown
from some seasoned
vets having fun to some
dedicated senior actors
putting on some very
sophisticated produc
tions,” said Sara Reed,
who now teams with
Walker as co-director.
The two work together
to choose plays that
have a positive mes
sage for youngsters and
provide opportunities
for audience participa
tion, keeping students
engaged.
After each produc
tion, time is provided
for children to ask the
cast questions about the
production process, cos
tume and set creation,
and to discuss outcomes
and morals of the story.
CTT also provides teach
ers with vocabulary
words, information on
theater etiquette, and
follow-up learning activ
ities.
Monroe Entertains
You had to know. Where
do you get your money
for this project? Walker
with her always disarm
ing smile said, “We beg.
We ask friends, family,
almost anyone we know
for help because our
goal is to keep the ticket
price for the schools and
kids as low as possible.
It may take us $1,000 to
get performance rights,
build sets, create cos
tumes, buy scripts, and
pay other key expenses
in order to get the pro
duction on stage. So
we are always asking
for support and we are
always working hard
to do as much as we
can for as little cost as
possible. We just want
to bring a smile to the
face of a youngster as
we bring stories to life,
think about how to treat
friends, and perhaps
give them a memory
they will treasure
forever.”
The Children’s
Theater Troupe will
be presenting “The
Gingerbread Man”
by Patrick Rainville
Dorn this coming
Nov. 10, 11, 13,
14 and 15. Public
and private schools
from Bibb, Butts,
Crawford, Lamar,
and Monroe
Counties have
already signed up
to attend. You can
help underwrite
this wonderful ser
vice to the youth
of middle Georgia if
you choose. Contact
Jane Walker, C/O The
Backlot Players, Inc.,
23 W. Johnston Street,
Forsyth, GA 31029 or
at backlotchildrensthe-
ater@gmail.com
Lew-e the Clown
Hang on to your hat.
Watch very closely, and
whoosh there goes your
hat. How did he do it?
It must be magic. No
one can move thatttt
fast!
Lew-e the Clown can.
Folks of all ages delight
in Lew-e the Clown
and his magical tricks
as well as his ability to
make you laugh with
funny routines of jug-
Continued on Page 5C
Dennis Smith