Every MCT staff member plays an important role in the success of the International Tour (and there are no small roles), but we asked a few of them whose day to day work is intricately tied to the Tour Actor/Directors and the Tour Presenters….“What about working on the Tour brings you Joy?”
Abigail Gilbert – Tour Marketing Associate/Social Media Specialist
The aspect of Tour that brings me the most joy is the incredibly hard work by our home office and tour staff to give children across the globe a chance to shine on stage and use their voices. So much joyful planning, coordinating, and training goes into giving children access to the arts!
Amy Ellis – Tour Production Director
I find so much joy in hearing all the Tour Actor/Director’s stories. The love they have for theater and the students they teach is truly inspiring. I feel incredibly grateful and honored to be part of their journey.
Cristin Schieder – Tour Finance Associate
What brings me the most joy about working with Tour is having the opportunity to see just how expansive the community of Tour is. From the devoted home staff and energetic tour directors, to the presenters sending me thank you cards with their invoice payments, to the parents excitedly leaving messages for me wishing to purchase commemorative T-shirts for the entire family, to individuals wishing to make donations, to those random encounters with strangers who fondly reminisce with me about their time in an MCT Tour show as children. I am honored to be a part of this thriving community of individuals in various professions from all over the world, coming together to build self-confidence in children and youth through the performing arts.
Dory Lerew – Tour Marketing Associate
It brings me JOY to hear from folks who participated in our programming in their youth and are now in the position to coordinate an MCT residency week in their community. They often tell us that it was always their favorite week and they can still remember the songs they learned 20 years ago!
Jonna Michelson – Marketing Director
*Working every day delivering a mission that makes a positive difference in the world
*Colleagues who make me laugh each and every day
*A fully booked tour
*New presenters – nearly 70 this season!
*Tour Actors who depart our intensive 2 week Missoula training nervous and unsure, and return from touring bold and confident, just like the casts they mentored!
Kelsey Seals – Tour Production Associate
There is a ton of joy working with Tour! Something that stands out to me is training the new Tour Actors to do the best job in the world. Knowing what they are about to embark on and watching them fall in love with the job is incredibly special. I’m honored to be on this side of it now.
Steven Thomas – Volunteer Coordinator/Tour Support
Hearing from the teams on the road, especially when they’ve made a breakthrough. Tour acting/directing is a constant learning experience, as you watch the students perform their parts in wildly different ways you learn new things about the show you are teaching. Occasionally you will realize something amazing about the show or even about your own life’s ambitions just because of some off-hand remark from a student.
Terri Elander- International Tour/PR Director
Going to the airport at 3:30AM is joyful when it means teams are off to serve Military families and local communities overseas. Checking 12 pieces of baggage, meeting Covid protocols and making connecting flights are challenges. But this summer, one team toured Europe for 5 weeks no set or props and only a handful of costumes. They made it work with creative support from the Navy and Air Force contacts and the kids still had fun…THAT brings me Joy! (FYI, all the bags returned, after spending the summer inside the Paris airport). Joyeux Noël!