Sunshine players
The Cultural Arts Division of the Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to announce the 20th anniversary of its children's theatre program, the Sunshine Players. The Sunshine Players is a teaching theatre for children and youth ages 4 to 17. The troupe produces six plays per season. At least one production is cast with all who audition, in other words, you audition for “which part”, and not “will I get a part?”
The Sunshine Players is a membership group with a, once a fiscal year, fee of $30. This fee helps offset the costs of producing theatre – sets, props, costumes, space, staff and marketing. It also allows the member to receive free acting lessons, a season t-shirt and discount tickets to shows in which he or she is not participating.
Sunshine Player juniors are ages 4 to 10 and at least two shows are geared towards these age groups. Sunshine Player seniors are ages 11 to17 and are eligible to audition for five productions.
For Cultural Arts program information click here.
- Do you have a lot of kids come to auditions? Do you tend to see more girls versus boys (or vice versa), and what is the average age range that participate in productions there? It depends on the show, the age group and the season. On an average, we probably see more girls than boys and the average age is probably 11.
- Why do you think kids want to be in shows? One of our staff members is a former Sunshine Player. Her answer to this question was “It’s fun!” We suppose it gives them a sense of accomplishment, camaraderie, builds self-esteem, a chance to showcase an individual's talents.
- How much time is required for being in a show (from the child’s perspective), and what kind of time is required of their parents? We usually have seven weeks from the time of auditions to performance. Our rehearsals usually run three days a week, for an hour to two hours. Not all characters have to be there at all rehearsals in the beginning but the last two weeks, the entire cast and crew is required. Some of our shows also include a 12 hour lock-in for extra character study, and time for the cast to get to know each other. If the show is a musical then we usually add one to two more days (usually Saturdays and Sundays for music and dance rehearsals.)
- How much of the youth theater program relies on volunteer aspects of the parents, and what kind of volunteer needs are there, if any? Since most of our children do not drive, our parents must bring them to rehearsals. Parents are asked to assist their child in learning their lines, especially if the child does not read. We also like parents to volunteer to help with sets, props, costumes, backstage help, marketing, etc. A sign-up sheet is available at auditions and the first rehearsal requires all cast members and their parents so we may go over the Sunshine Players’ handbook.
- If a child wants to be in a show, what are the skills required going into an audition? Most of our auditions consist of cold readings, and if a musical, a group dance number and a group song. Those auditioning need to be able to say their name, so that it’s heard and understood, after that, we can teach them what they need.
- If a child doesn’t do well in an audition, what kind of behind-the-scenes opportunities might they have to still be involved with a production? Sometimes a child might do well in auditions but we don’t have a part for them and in those cases we ask if they want to help with costumes, be a stage hand, assist the director with watching the script, etc. We remind them that their participation backstage is just as important as those on stage. It could be that something happens to one of our actors and this person, familiar with the show, can step in and fill the part.
- Do you agree that a child’s involvement in theater is helpful to his or her everyday life, and why? We’ve seen kids make friends, build self-esteem, learn to communicate better, be more observant, memorize things for school. When one former Sunshine Player was questioned about her going out for job interviews and was she nervous, she replied that all of that theatre training gave her the confidence to walk in with her head held high and be able to communicate her skills as applicable to the job at hand. We have others that have maintained the friends they met over 10 years ago while doing theatre. We believe it is because we are a teaching theatre and our philosophy is “the process is more important than the outcome” that we are able to maintain a core group of kids that can’t wait until the next audition.