ELK POINT – The Elk Point Theatre Project first hit the stage of the Elk Point Allied Arts in 2015 with their rendition of ‘The Little Mermaid’ and followed up that smash hit with four years of plays that packed the theatre each spring.
‘Annie Jr.’, with her harmonizing hound Sandy, the amazing woodland sets of ‘The Wizard of Oz’, the fish-slapping and parapet-defending action in ‘Spamalot’ and all the fun of ‘Seussical’ played to packed houses in the years that followed, and both set building and rehearsals for ‘Into The Woods’ were well underway when the March 2020 onset of the COVID 19 pandemic shut down all forms of entertainment here and around the world.
The Theatre Project’s hopes to return to the stage in 2022 were once again put on hold with the passing of both a cast member and one of its most dedicated organizers, but last September, Stephanie Earle, Kelsey Taylor and Lynda Young agreed it was time to get together and revive youth theatre in the area.
“We faced tragedy as a community, but we thought the way to honour those who are no longer with us was by performing a new show, and bringing theatre back to our youth,” Earle says. “It is such an important opportunity for so many kids looking for a place to belong.”
With enthusiasm shown by potential performers and their families at community information nights in both Elk Point and St. Paul, the organizers chose a play based on Roald Dahl’s novel, ‘Matilda’, which Earle says is “a great story, with lots of jokes and songs” and involves a cast of 16, with performers coming from both communities to rehearse every Tuesday and now “practicing hard” for their upcoming performances, scheduled for the last weekend in April and the first weekend of May.
