The show goes on at Youth Center

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samuel Taylor
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  There are some who say that art is declining. Apparently they were not in attendance when the children and teenagers of the Youth Center performed "The Secret Garden" on stage Aug. 19, 2011, at the Youth Center gymnasium.

Two tour actor-directors from the Missoula Children's Theater teamed up with Youth Center staff and members to put on the show. The Missoula Children's Theater sends tour actor-directors to 50 states and more than 15 countries to put on plays using school-aged children from sponsoring communities.

Sixty actors were cast and more than 160 people attended the final performance. The show was set up, cast, rehearsed and performed in a five-day timeframe.

"We're able to put on a show so quickly because of the way we train and how the show is written," said Kristen Conley, a tour actor-director. "Plus, these kids are smart and well-behaved, and there is good involvement from the parents."

The Secret Garden tells the story Mary Lennox, a foul-tempered young girl living in India with her parents. She moves to Misselthwaite Manor in England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, after her family perishes due to an outbreak of cholera. There, she hears of a secret garden, and sets off to explore it with new-found friends.

The play was adapted from the book for a younger cast. Some of the Youth Center members have acted in several plays, but for many it was their first experience on stage.

"This was my first play in Delaware; I was excited but not nervous," said Morgan Hunt, who played a squirrel.

Others weren't so unshakable.

"I got nervous on stage sometimes; it was hard to remember all the lines," said Zachary Diffenbaugh, who played a spider. "When I would get nervous on stage, I would close my eyes."

The show went on though, with the cast trained to push through nervousness and mistakes during the performance. According to those involved in the play, this training and experience is useful on and off stage.

"The actors have to be brave and branch out while on stage," said Alex Jenkins, a tour actor-director. "From that, they learn to be more confident every day."

According to those who acted in the play, that lesson was learned with friends having fun.

"If [the company] came back, I would practice hard because I enjoyed it," said Hunt. "The next show will go just like the last one: fun and exciting."