19 May 2016 Red Curtain Theatre enjoys third season
Story and photos
by Callie Sterling
The Red Curtain Theatre is halfway through its third season, providing acting opportunities for children and adults and welcoming all experience levels.
“Our mission is to provide an atmosphere that nurtures and inspires actors of all ages by offering performance opportunities through workshops and community theatre,” said RCT Executive Director and Co-Owner Kristen Sherman. “After volunteering at another local community theatre, Amber Welch and I found a tremendous need in the Faulkner County area for a theatre where both seasoned and inexperienced performers were given an equal opportunity to perform. Our desire to create a safe and supportive environment for local actors to hone their craft and be part of a family of performing artists led us to start Red Curtain Theatre.”
Red Curtain Theatre has performed three shows so far this year: “Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Jr.,” “Carnival of the Animals” in collaboration with Central Arkansas Ballet and “Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids.” There are three shows remaining this season: “The Music Man” (July 23-31 in the Bridges-Larson Theatre in the Snow Fine Arts Center at the University of Central Arkansas), “The Addams Family” (Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in the Trieschmann Fine Arts Building at Hendrix) and “Elf, Jr.” (Dec. 3-11 in Staples Auditorium at Hendrix).
“This season we are extremely excited to be offering our largest adult cast shows with our productions of ‘The Music Man’ and ‘The Addams Family’ in the fall,” Sherman said.
Auditions for a large community theatre production of “The Music Man” were held recently and rehearsals begin the end of May. It will be directed by A.J. Spiridigliozzi. “The Addams Family” will be directed by Justin A. Pike and “Elf, Jr.” will be directed by Sherman.
“One of the big attractions to RCT is our youth musical theatre workshops,” Sherman said. “Our youth productions are typically for ages 7-18, though that can vary depending on the show.”
The popular RCT youth workshops teach children and teens valuable theatre knowledge while they gain genuine experience.
“Most youth workshops include eight weeks of instruction and rehearsal, during which time children learn all about musical theatre,” Sherman said. The workshop students also prepare a full stage production for the community. Auditions are held for role placement only, as all participants are cast in the production.
“Registration fills up quickly,” Sherman said. “All 30 spots for our youth musical theatre workshop and production of Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ were filled within 36 hours.”
RCT appreciates differences and provides an accepting environment for performers.
“At Red Curtain Theatre, we believe that theatre is a magical place,” Sherman said. “It is a home for all who want to be there. It embraces our differences. It highlights them rather than hiding them. It is a place of love and acceptance. Theatre heals us.”
The Red Curtain will have a new home this month in Downtown Conway at 913 Oak St. “In our new space, not only will we be able to have rehearsal for upcoming productions, but we are also adding six different week-long youth theatre summer camps, and will now be able to offer coaching in many aspects of theatre such as acting, voice, dance, etc.,” Sherman said.
