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In the Spotlight: Dr. Stu Kaplan

December 30, 2024

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I first moved to Missoula in 1999 to be Camp Director for Camp Mak-A-Dream.  I returned twice and was Medical Director/CEO for Camp Mak-A-Dream and in total have lived in Missoula for about half of the past 25 years.

As a single adult, it is particularly difficult to enter a new community.  I always loved theater and performing, and I learned about MCT from a coworker the day I arrived in Missoula.  I auditioned for The Adventures of Molly Brown my second day in town and got to perform at the last MCT Wilma show!  Since then, I’ve been in about 12 productions, and MCT has been a tremendous part of my life. Even when I lived outside of Missoula, I tried to make it a point to catch the tour at a local school and come to town for at least two community productions each year.  Life is about connections and community.  Having lived in and moved away from Missoula three times, and having lived in eight different cities, I know there is no community quite like Missoula; and MCT is the epitome of the Missoula Community. 

I have so many fond memories of the past 25 years at MCT; some favorites include having the chance to wear a baseball uniform in Damn Yankees, wearing tights on stage in Once Upon a Mattress (thanks, Linda), getting to understudy and go on the road with Bits and Pieces, performing in Into the Woods (a show that shaped my life), and being eaten by a plant in Little Shop of Horrors, and watching countless kids grow from the stage experience who have become amazing and lovely parents and adults, using the skills every day in work and at home that can only be gained in the various aspects of theatre.

It takes a village, or a community, to put on a show, from writing a kids show to planning a tour, from design and production meetings to auditions, from rehearsals to strike, and many steps along the way.  The procurement and maintenance of trucks, the cost of gas to bring our magic across the country, the cost of maintaining one of the most beautiful and functional performance spaces in Missoula, and paying our incredible and dedicated staff a fair wage, all costs money.  Consistently giving to an organization that means so much to me, so much to our community, and so much for kids across the nation and beyond is an investment in the future.  MCT makes and builds strong community.  MCT shapes kids into kind, thoughtful, and insightful adults.  And MCT defines fun.  Please join me in helping this to continue; and by being a monthly donor, you can “set it and forget it”, and know your steady gift is providing such a vital gift to so many others!

-Stu

Stuart J. Kaplan, MD, MBA, FAAP

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