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The Calumet Players Children’s Theater will be performing “Holmes on the Range” and “Young Sherlock” at the Pipestone Performing Arts Center Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24 at the Pipestone Performing Arts Center. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday will feature a 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and can be purchased at the arts center ticket office and at the door the night of the performance. Photo by Sirrina Martinez
Gather up your detective gear gumshoes because the Calumet Players Children’s Theater will be presenting two mystery-themed productions Friday, March 22 – Sunday, March 24 at the Pipestone Performing Arts Center. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7 pm. and Sunday will feature a 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and can be purchased at the arts center ticket office and at the door the night of the performance. Each production is set to last around an hour and a short intermission between the two will provide time for the first cast to meet and greet the audience.
The first show entitled “Holmes on the Range” will feature a cast of 24 first through fourth-grade students said Collene Landgren, the director of the production.
“Holmes and Watson are invited to a weekend at a hunting lodge and become involved in solving several murders,” she said. “It is a tongue in cheek comedy that everyone should enjoy.”
The second production titled “Young Sherlock” is directed by Amberlie Haak and will be performed by 22 fifth through eighth-grade students. The show tells the story of students who are kidnapped from the prestigious Butterworth Academy and after a psychic arrives to find them, things take a turn. Sherlock Holmes and his friends who are students at the academy work to solve the crime, and Holmes’ career as a great detective begins.
Landgren and Haak are a mother daughter duo from Pipestone that have worked with the Children’s Theater in the past in multiple capacities. Landgren started directing with the Children’s Theater in 2011 and has also worked as a costumer designer for several Calumet Players productions. Haak directed middle school Children’s Theater productions for the past two years, and has previously directed kindergarten and first grade plays.
After reviewing several scripts the pair chose the mystery theme because they thought it would be something new and different from what has been done in the past, they said.
“We usually do something with princesses, nursery rhymes, zombies, the usual themes for kids,” Landgren said. “We also thought it would be interesting to do the same theme, which worked out great as we are using some of the same set items.”
“We chose it together and we thought it would be fun to do something different this year so chose to do mysteries,” Haak said.
Working together as mother and daughter has worked out great, Landgren said, and collaborating on set ideas about helping each other out with rehearsals has been helpful.
“We can bounce ideas off each other and discuss what will work or not work,” she said.
Directing is not the only responsibility the two undertake in making the production a success. They also oversee and work on sets, costumes and props, whatever the show needs, Landgren said.
Seeing the children grow and improve their acting skills has been the best part of the whole process, Haak said.
“They have come a long way this year and I’m so proud of all the work and growth they have shown,” she said.
“The best part is watching the kids gain confidence and the character development,” Landgren said. “This cast this year is so caring and respectful of each other. When we had the first rehearsal and assigning parts, the kids clapped for each other as the parts were announced.”
The most challenging aspects of producing Children’s Theater shows is working with a large group of kids who are full of energy right after they are dismissed from school, Landgren said, as well as working around schedules, illness, and the bad weather the area experienced in January.
For Haak, the most challenging aspect of the production was choosing a theme and scripts before knowing how many cast members they would have.
“You don’t know how many kids will audition and you want to make sure everyone has a part, but if you don’t have enough kids then you’ll end up with extra parts,” she said.
The kids are doing their part in making the show a success, Landgren said.
“The kids have been working very hard on memorizing their parts, using their props, and working on movement on stage,” she said. “They are doing a great job. It is challenging to remember not to turn your back to the audience when speaking.”
Participating in theater productions provides an excellent opportunity for youth to explore performing and being in front of an audience, she said.
“It gives children another option other than sports to participate in the arts,” Landgren said. “Often the children are nervous at the beginning of rehearsals and I love watching their confidence level grow.”
