Community theater assembles cast for first autumn performance
EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – The Big Sky Community Theater has crystalized into a cherished Big Sky art staple since its 2013 inception, as the very members of the community we all live and work beside in our small mountain hamlet rally each year to put on a special performance. These intimate shows first took shape when John Zirkle, Warren Miller Performing Arts Center artistic director, and Jeremy Harder, then a fourth-grade teacher at Ophir Elementary, led the charge for the venue’s first-ever show, Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
The upcoming Community Theater play, “HOWL! A Montana Love Story,” written by local Virginia City playwright Allyson Adams, centers on the controversial reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park as told primarily through the experiences of ranchers and the hardships they endure, with or without the infamous canines loping through their lands. With live music and plenty of Montana spunk, the play is sure to please Big Sky audiences, young and old.
“It’s cool to be doing something that’s from a local playwright, premiering in Big Sky,” Zirkle said. “It’s an all-in local, grassroots effort—which I love. With that comes a lot of adventure and risk-taking, it’s a little different than producing a classic piece of theater.”
The WMPAC is seeking five men and three women, of varying ages, to star in the production. Auditions will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 6-8 p.m. on the WMPAC stage. Come try your hand at the ancient, yet timeless, craft of live acting, and join the many members of the community that have done so before you.
“Auditions are informal and fun, people can show up at anytime, and they don’t need to bring anything but themselves,” Zirkle said. “No prior theater experience necessary.”
The show, directed by Cara Wilder, is set to premiere on Nov. 14 and 15, the first-ever WMPAC Community Theater double feature, and the first-ever fall performance.
