EAST LANSING, Mich. — All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre (AECT) will be holding open auditions Feb. 20-21 for its first Young Playwrights Festival.
Area youth, ages 9-18, can audition for a part in the cast or sign up for a spot in the crew of the upcoming festival on Friday, Feb. 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. or Saturday, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m.-noon at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center (ELHCC), 819 Abbot Road. Whether auditioning or signing up for crew, individuals only need to come to one of the audition days.
The plays included in the festival are “The Journeys of Miss Pepper” by Abby Murray, age 11; “The Fairy Tale Book” by Ava Brewer, age 12; and “Our Binding Flaws” by Audrey Tieman, age 12.
In “The Journeys of Miss Pepper,” title character Pepper goes looking for her father and encounters both friends and foes on the journey. Other characters include Greyson, a human who narrates; Harper the Goose; and a pack of wolves. “The Fairy Tale Book” takes place in a similar land of make believe, interspersed with scenes of modern day New York, where Alice, Peter Pan and Cinderella implore Daisy to be the next caretaker of the fairy tale world. Daisy’s father and a mermaid also make an appearance. And to round out the three tales, “Our Binding Flaws” opens on Evelyn, a grieving widow, who speaks with Love, Life and Death to come to terms with her loss. Evelyn’s friend, James, and manifestations of her husband, Charles, assist in her recovery.
AECT Artistic Director Sarah Willis, who will be guiding the playwrights through the script development process, said, “I'm excited to be mentoring these youth and teaching them about creating theater from the ground up.”
Community members are encouraged to mark their calendars for AECT’s Young Playwrights Festival, which will be performed May 8 at ELHCC. Learn more at www.cityofeastlansing.com/allofus. AECT’s Young Playwrights Festival is sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater Lansing and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre (AECT) offers young people of all backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles the opportunity to produce professional quality plays, study many aspects of the dramatic arts and develop valuable life skills while providing outstanding entertainment to the community. AECT brings four major productions to the Greater Lansing community each year with the help of hundreds of youth from throughout the region.