Step aside, boys. Tilly is in town.
"Tilly the Trickster," a musical based on the children's book by Molly Shannon, tells the story of a young girl who likes to play tricks on people. She learns, though, that while playing tricks can be fun, it can also hurt people's feelings. The Young Actors Guild production has three shows this weekend.
FAQ
‘Tilly the Trickster’
WHEN — 7 p.m. today & 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE — 5 Star Productions in Fort Smith, 801 N. A St.
COST — $10
INFO — weareyag.com
"I love the fact that the main character is a girl," says Missy Gipson, executive director of Young Actors Guild. "It goes against the stereotype that girls are well mannered and boys are wild. Tilly's a wild one in this show, and there's fun in that."
"She's definitely an alpha girl," Gipson adds. "It's not like she has all these sidekicks helping her. She freely initiates these tricks on her own. She's a confident female character."
The show is part of YAG's Junior Musical Theater Conservatory program, which gives younger actors more experience in musicals. The musical is always literature based and is produced in conjunction with Fort Smith Public Library, Gipson says.
"What we are trying to do with this program is foster a love of theater. We want kids to love coming to rehearsal. We want kids to get braver and be willing to take risks in a nurturing environment," Gipson says. "Eventually when they get to our bigger shows where our older kids are, they can hang. They can be challenged more in rehearsal. They can handle more difficult choreography and three-part harmony. ... It's a neat program. I really like seeing these kids get this kind of training and experience in a show format."
The children in the show range in age from 6 to 14.
"Audra Bocksnick, the director, has a really good knack for how to work with children," Gipson says. "She's really patient with children, but she also really gets nice creativity out of them. With this age group, that's the perfect confirmation."
The show's venue is 5 Star Productions in downtown Fort Smith. Gipson says this is the first time YAG has staged a show there, and it was chosen, in part, so families could see the show before or after checking out "The Unexpected," the downtown mural project going on in Fort Smith through this weekend.
The family-friendly show will offer cotton candy concessions and a balloon artist will be making creations before the show.
-- Kelly Barnett
NAN What's Up on 09/09/2016