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Thanks to a $10,000 grant secured through the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) with help from the Austin Culture and Arts Commission, students taking part in summer programming through the Matchbox Children’s Theatre are taking part in a unique experience that is broadening theater horizons.

The money secured through SEMAC, is helping the MCT transform its troupe programming throughout the year into a hybrid Summer Troupe program that makes it free for attendees. It’s also made it possible to bring in Jennifer Reif, creative director for the Seattle-based Drama Notebook.

Drama Notebook is a website that provides plays and lesson plans and professional development for drama teachers around the world.

Called a focus week, Reif is in Austin through Friday to work with members of the Summer Troupe in person, but she is also meeting with them on Monday’s through Zoom. The culmination will result in two performances of a play created by the students at the Austin ArtWorks Festival this year.

It’s an experience troupers haven’t had before, said MCT Executive Director Angela Sedgwick Perry.

“We’re letting them create themselves,” She said. “It has to do with a lot of different pieces of movement, music and poetry. It’s not your standard script you hand them. Flex their muscles and see what they come with. It’s a way to bring to the community awareness of what Matchbox does.”

“It’s much more extensive,” she continued. “This is probably the most extensive theater program we’ve done so far for teenagers, in my opinion. We’ve done a lot of different things in the past and they’ve all been great, but this is a level with that partnership with the Culture and Arts Commission to say, how do we broaden their knowledge of the arts?”

From Reif’s perspective, opportunities like this are a chance to broaden a kid’s perspective in a number of ways, even those outside of theater. It not only becomes about growing the student on the stage, but also in creating a better human being.

“Not only are they learning how to use their voice, body and imagination to create a character for the stage,” Reif said. “They can use those elements in life and any job they have. They are learning about commitment, they are learning about communication. They are learning all of those skills in theater education programs. Of course, acting is a side of it.”

A major component of the Summer Troupe program is the theme of belonging and community. To that end, the program is bringing in several people from the community to speak to the students about the importance of art and how it can shape lives.

This interaction, Sedgwick Perry said, opens up the importance of community to the participants

“They get to hear in an hour-long visit from each of them through the summer what theater arts or any art has done for them in their life,” she said. “How do they use it now? It really gets these kids all these different angles to get those wheels to turn on their own.”

That aspect has been especially drawing for Reif, who said that being connected to the community is an important part of theater.

“I especially love the connection between Matchbox Children’s Theatre and the community,” she said. “This particular project has the theme of exploring belonging through theater. I love how a town like Austin is all about belonging and being a part of the community. It really is an exciting project.”

The experience won’t end after the ArtWorks Festival either. Connections will continue into the future to include more work with Reif as well as through other connections, including a Tony-award winning director.

These connections will help MCT explore what’s working and what’s not working in order to better build for the future.

“From the three-year-olds all the way up to the 18-year-olds; we have this new support system to expand and level up what we do,” Sedgwick Perry said.

Upcoming Fundraiser

Those helping to support the Matchbox Children’s Theatre will have another chance to do so with an upcoming fundraiser on Oct. 19.

Details are still in the works, but Sedgwick Perry said Thursday that the event will circle a spaghetti western theme that will include an auction.

To stay up to date on plans as the are confirmed, visit: https://www.matchboxchildrenstheatre.org/