Experienced Hands Pass On Tips At Summer Theater For Kids

Ten minutes before show time, a disgruntled actor removed his costume, stamped his foot and told fellow cast members he was quitting.

Within minutes, Don McLaughlin rescued the troupe’s temperamental player with a pep talk. The actor was back in costume, and the curtain rose on time.

McLaughlin, director of Eastern Washington University’s Summer Theater for Youth, is an old stage hand at handling young actors - in this case a 7-year-old in the chorus of “Oliver!” who needed a bit of reassurance.

McLaughlin has directed the children’s summer theater program at EWU for three years. During the academic year he is a theater professor.

What makes the summer program unusual is that children, student actors and professional actors all work together on a production, McLaughlin said.

“We’ve got some very polished actors and some that are very raw,” McLaughlin said.

“They get a chance to see how a show is put together in a community theater. Each generation teaches the next generation.”

This year’s production is based on the Charles Dickens novel “Oliver Twist.”

Twenty-six kids, ages 7 to 17, participated in this summer’s program.

Beginning in June, they built sets, made costumes and rehearsed lines, four hours a day, four times a week.

Even McLaughlin got into the act, playing the role of Fagin.

The title role, Oliver, was played by Aaron Nicholls, 9. The role of Mr. Bumble was played by EWU student Matt Hemmelman, while the lightboard was operated by a 10-year-old boy, Josh Melton.

Students spent eight weeks rehearsing the musical.

The audience was a mix of people from Spokane, Cheney, the university and Fairchild Air Force Base.

“We never know how many people are going to show up,” McLaughlin said. Oliver! played at the EWU theater last Thursday and Monday through Wednesday, with another performance today.

McLaughlin’s dream is to create a summer theater program known for producing new scripts.

“We can’t keep copying Dickens and Dostoyevsky,” he said. “We need some new works to turn into plays for families.”

, DataTimes