School’s out for the summer, but MCT is IN!
You are probably familiar with MCT’s Red Truck Tour- maybe you’ve even starred in one yourself! This past week, our new Tour Actor/Directors (or TADs) arrived in Missoula to train for upcoming summer tours all over the world! They spend their time here learning the plays they’ll take on the road, how to puzzle the pieces of the sets together, and how to take it all apart and get it into the backs of those classic Red Trucks. They also hear from our Tour staff and veteran tour teams about what to expect as they travel from location to location, gaining insight and experience in bringing theatre to communities nationally and internationally. The TADs come together for about 2 weeks here in Missoula to fine-tune every little detail in preparation to hit the roads!
This summer, MCT has some extra special tours planned, and some of them require a different mode of transportation than our beloved red trucks… planes! I had the chance to chat with a team of TADs, Maddy Ballard and Kassidy Kampmeier, about what it’s like out on the road…and over the sea! Maddy and Kassidy have been a TAD team for 2 years now and have traveled to lots of places during that time in their trusty Red Truck.
Last summer, their adventures took them all the way to Japan for six weeks of MCT residency programs. They told me about their time in Mifune and working with the children there, all of whom spoke only Japanese. The students learned the script phonetically before the team arrived. They practiced and performed the play in English with the guidance of Maddy and Kassidy. They reminisced about how communicating with the young actors in Japan was the same as communicating with children anywhere in the world. Even if you don’t speak the same language, smiles speak louder than words!
I wondered what they hope students will take away from their experience with the MCT tour. Maddy and Kassidy said they hope the students will remember that they are brave and capable! Some students are so shy on the first day of their show but by Friday they loudly say all their lines with confidence! The TADs always have plenty of inspiring stories to share from parents and teachers who are so excited to see the children they love grow and break out of their shells!
One of the most important parts of working on any tour is finding the balance between working and exploring. Of course the tour is no vacation, but there are moments when the teams are able to explore a city between teaching and road-tripping to the next stop. Maddy said that because they have been on tour for a while now, they’ve gotten used to the more “condensed” style of living- i.e. a few suitcases and a new location every week. She said that an important part of preparing for travel and teaching is remembering to take time to rest. At the end of the day, TADs are just human (even though they do seem like superheroes to me, I’ll admit)!
Maddy and Kassidy also were gracious enough to offer us a piece of advice from their perspectives as world-traveling performing artists! Kassidy says to be open to everything. Even something that seems negative can be a great experience, or a valuable learning lesson. Maddy wanted to add that kids are way smarter than you think! They love the hard work that they see students put in to learning a whole play in a week…sometimes in a language they don’t even know! It is amazing to see what you may accomplish with a can-do attitude!
To wrap up our interview, I asked Maddy and Kasidy if they had anything else they wanted to say about their experience. They both exclaimed “We love MCT!” And we are so lucky to have such an amazing team of TADs working with us here and abroad!
