For nearly 20 years, Kid’s Musical Theater (KMT) has delivered youth community theater to Orange. The program provides kids 8 to 18 the opportunity to participate in production performance in acting, song and dance.
In 2005 Mignon Whitaker wrote a proposal, resulting in Kid’s Musical Theater’s inception as a community outreach ministry at St. John’s Lutheran Church and School. For the next 19 years, Whitaker would eventually lead the program, producing some 60 shows with hundreds of kids.
“It was a love and passion,” says Whitaker. “I felt this ministry was super important to the community.”
“We are a Christian-based theater group,” says Tara Rynders, who became Executive Director this year after Whitaker retired. “We don’t do Christian stories per se; we do the typical Broadway-based musicals but we give them a safe space to do that.”
KMT produces three shows a year—two musicals and one Shakespeare—with around 50 kids in each musical and about 20 in the Shakespeare show, the latter requiring players 13 to 18 years old. The auditions are open to the community and nothing is pre-cast. All kids must audition for each show and everyone who auditions gets a part.
“You might not get a speaking part in your first audition,” says Rynders. “Most kids start in the ensemble, which is a ton of stage time, as ensemble players are in nearly every song.”
At the audition, kids should come prepared with a song.
“We want them to pick a song that reflects their vocal range and what character they want to play in the show,” says Rynders. “The 8 to 10 year olds who don’t have much theater experience can come in and sing the ABCs or Happy Birthday. We’re just trying to get to know them.”
Shakespeare auditions are different. There is a party for everyone who wants to be in the Shakespeare production where expectations are relayed, and everyone who shows up can be in the show.
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PERFORMANCE OPORTUNITIES:
Anastasia is June 7 & 8 in historic Walker Hall at St. John’s Church
The Shakespeare show is Macbeth at Pitcher Park (free will offering).
Auditions: June 14 / Performances: August 2 - 4
The fall musical will be Newsies Jr.
Auditions: August 23 & 24 / Performances: November 22 & 23
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“We have kids in our current show who have been in 10 or more shows,” says Rynders.
Siblings Emma, 15, and Ben Siaki, 19, have been acting in KMT for several years.
“It’s just as fun to be in the ensemble as it is to be in the lead role,” says Emma, a 10th grader at Star Academy in Brea and in her 6th production. “You are in a lot more numbers and it’s a good way to figure out what KMT is about.”
A 12th grader who loves to sing and dance, Ben says of his 9th and final KMT show, “My favorite part is the community that KMT has become. It feels like a family where everyone is working toward the same goal and it’s cool.”
Whitaker notes that theater training offers a different nuance for those who participate.
“The kid who is a baseball pitcher often remains pitcher through each season. In theater, the actor playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid may be an ensemble cast member in Anne of Green Gables. They learn humility, as the ‘star’ shifts more in theater.”
Rynders, who has a television and film degree with a minor in theater and currently works for Disney, first got involved with KMT 14 years ago when her daughter was in a production. As Executive Director, Rynders is the producer of each show. She is supported by volunteers who handle finance and administration, along with sets and costumes, and a creative team serving as director, choreographer and music director.
“The key thing that KMT does for kids is teach them how to tell their truth through storytelling on stage,” she says.
Kids Musical Theater
134 South Shaffer St., Old Towne Orange, CA 92866 / 714-906-7013
