\u201cThose two things,\u201d says mom of three Laurie Hazelton, \u201creally got us through some hard times. Our extended family is in North Dakota, and it\u2019s important to me that the kids know where their roots are. But our theatre family\u2026they were really there for us when we were going through some difficult things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Four summers ago, the arts council of the Hazeltons\u2019 small Missouri town decided to put on a musical — <\/span>The Music Man<\/span><\/i>. There had been a few plays done in town over the years, but nothing organized \u2026 and nothing this big.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere must have been sixty people in the cast,\u201d Laurie recalls. \u201cHigh schoolers, older people, kids \u2026 I had no idea there were so many talented people in this little community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Laurie has always loved singing, and she wanted to try out for the show. The Hazelton kids — Maison, Hallee, and Ty — were 11, 8, and 6 at the time, and since the kids\u2019 dad lived in another town, Laurie realized that either all of them participated in the show, or none of them could.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe younger ones just wanted to stay with me, so they were no problem,\u201d Laurie says. \u201cBut Maison was having none of it. I tried everything I could think of to get him to agree to be in the show, but he absolutely refused to get up on stage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, Laurie knew that what happens onstage is only a part of the whole theatre experience. Maison was quickly tapped to serve on stage crew, and he spent the summer lifting set pieces, flats, and furniture \u2014 all in the pitch blackness of a dark stage between scenes. It was backstage that Maison found his niche; he has served on the stage crew every summer since, and even trained with the stage manager in the most recent production.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat summer, we needed the theatre,\u201d Laurie remembers. \u201cWe needed warm, caring people to be around. We needed something important to do that would take our minds off our difficulties. We needed tasks that would let us spend time together as a family, and that would bring the kids positive attention and affirmation. Nothing can do that like working on a show together. Your family becomes part of the larger family of the show.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After that summer, several cast members formed a new theatre group that has carried on the tradition of the summer musical. Laurie was elected to its board of directors, and every summer since, the Hazelton family can be found in the city\u2019s theater facility — acting, singing, dancing, and moving sets.<\/span><\/p>\n The Hazeltons aren\u2019t the only ones who find value in the theatre as a family activity. At least a half a dozen entire families are involved in the summer musical, and a dozen more parent-child or sibling-sibling combinations. Some are even multi-generational \u2014 Laurie\u2019s mother, Polly, has been on stage, and often works on the costume crew, and her father, Bill, puts in hours building the sets and dismantling them again when the show is over.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really great way for families to spend time together,\u201d Laurie says. \u201cParents can be with other adults while still keeping close to their kids, and kids learn skills that can\u2019t be taught any other way. In our first show, my two youngest were so shy they\u2019d hide behind people on stage, and now they have lead roles and singing solos. And Maison has gone from doing crew work to being Assistant Stage Manager \u2014 the kind of responsibility he\u2019d never get in school. They\u2019ve really learned to believe in themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Community theatres exist all over the United States, and they are constantly looking for people with every imaginable skill set. They need help creating tickets and programs, sewing costumes, building sets, finding props, raising funds, and much more. Whether you and your children shine onstage or excel backstage, you can find an important role in a theatre community.<\/span><\/p>\n Visit \u00a0your local theatre to learn more, or find a nearby theatre group on the website for the American Association of Community Theatre.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n If your kids would like a little more experience before looking into community theatre, consider signing them up for<\/span> local theatre classes, acting classes, and performing arts classes<\/span>. Many programs welcome adult assistance with set construction, costuming, and pre-show planning. Some even offer family workshops that involve the adults as part of the curriculum. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cYa got trouble, with a capital T\u201d when your family time feels scattered and you\u2019re not connecting with your kids. Here\u2019s how The Music Man helped this single mother strengthen family bonds — while doing something special for herself. By Katherine Teel For the past four years, two things have happened every summer. The Hazelton […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[717,711],"tags":[270],"class_list":["post-3825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-theater","category-performing-arts","tag-acting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3825"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14061,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3825\/revisions\/14061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Making an Entrance into Musical Theatre<\/h4>\n
![\"community-theater\"](\"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/community-theater.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/h4>\nThe Extended Family of Musical Theatre<\/h4>\n
Building Character and Family Bonds — on Stage and Off<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/h4>\nReady to Take Your <\/i><\/b>Family to the Theatre?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Get your kids in performing arts!\u00a0Set the stage with local theatre classes, acting classes, and performing arts classes in your area.<\/a><\/h3>\n