The Princess and the Pea comes to town

"I'm not afraid of anything and... EEK! A mouse!" Older students demonstrate their acting skills as they recited their lines during Monday's auditions.

They got excited. They got sad. They stomped their feet or raised their hand to make their point known. In some cases, they strayed from their cues and improvised.

For many of the more than 90 children and teens that gathered at Mountain Home High School on Monday, it was their first step into the limelight. It was a chance to shine as they took their first steps into the world of theater.

During the afternoon, representatives from the Missoula Children's Theater listened and watched as these youngsters played the roles of excited children and Wild West heroes.

By the end of the day, the theater group selected 60 of these children to join their production of "The Princess and the Pea," which takes to the stage here in just three days. Once every two years, the traveling theater company comes to communities like Mountain Home to produce a play as they introduce youngsters to the world of theater.

The company does a phenomenal job teaching the basics of theater, said Sally Cruser, executive director of the Mountain Home Arts Council, which hosts the event. She appreciated that anyone from kindergarten to high school can perform with the group.

The auditions actually started out very simple. Expressing themselves with unbridled excitement in their voices, the children shouted out their names and ages. Those with prior theatrics's experience exaggerated the look on their faces and exaggerated their body language for added emphasis.

With some of the initial jitters out of their system, each student was again asked to state their name and age, this time using a different expression. Taking their cue from the theater representatives, several of the older children and teens tried their best to react under the different scenarios.

It's these reactions that the theater group seeks when selecting its cast, said Kalin Honaker, one of the representatives conducting Monday's casting call.

They should never be afraid to "go big" and make their personality known to the audience, said Honaker, who started her first year with the Montana-based organization. To tell the story, they also needed to be able to project their voices along with big, expressive faces and body gestures to catch the audience's attention, she said.

Leadership is also an important trait, especially among the older students, said Andrew Ross from the theater group. It's the older students that help the theater group keep everything running smoothly. With the production compressed into just five days, that skill becomes critical to the success of the presentation, he added.

Those selected to join the team accept a heavy commitment they can't simply relinquish, according to Ross. To put on a play in just five days requires a minimum of four hours of rehearsals each night leading up to Saturday's curtain call.

It's a piece of cake, the theater representatives admit.

Based in Montana, the Missoula Children's Theater started out in the 1970s as a small-scale traveling group with shows in cities across Montana. Today, the team reaches out to communities in all 50 states with additional tours each year in 17 countries.

Each student had their own reasons for auditioning. Sarah Conway has been involved in acting since her first Christmas play when she was just six years old. Two years ago, she landed a role as a wizard when the children's theater team visited Mountain Home back in 2013.

"Theater seemed so natural to me, so I wanted to audition," Conway said.

Others like Char'vet Long came to the audition with a few years of stage experience under their belt. A sophomore at Mountain Home High School, she took formal acting classes in junior high school and has continued to pursue her acting dreams ever since.

"I'm a big Disney person, and I've always wanted to be on a Disney show," said Long, who enjoys imitating characters like Minnie Mouse.

The teen was very familiar with the story of the Princess and the Pea and was hoping to land a part in the production.

"That would be the most amazing thing ever," she said.

Younger students attending the audition included Lillian Devore, a third grader who simply enjoys the thrill of acting.

"It's really fun to be an actor, and it's fun to be in the spotlight with people watching you," Devore said.

While most of the children and teens were drawn to acting on their own, Joey McFadden admits that it was his mother that convinced him to get into theater. As the day's auditions drew closer, the fourth grader admitted that he was a bit nervous despite appearing in two of the theater company's past productions here.

"I haven't done it (any acting) in a while," said McFadden as he tried to shake off the butterflies in his stomach.