After overwhelmingly positive responses to recent children’s productions, Albert Lea Community Theatre has gotten a boost to help produce more.

ACT has received a $4,000 grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council Inc. (SEMAC), through funding from the Minnesota Legislature. The grant will help support acting classes and three children’s productions.

According to Patrick Rasmussen, ACT’s artistic director, the board has been discussing the need and desire to produce more children’s shows for a couple years.

He cited the fact that 200 girls auditioned to be &uot;Annie,&uot; over 60 kids auditioned for 13 roles in &uot;Stuart Little,&uot; and many wanted one of the six roles for girls in the upcoming production of &uot;Evita.&uot;

&uot;So the question became, ‘Can we do four shows in a regular season and add a children’s theatre package too?’&uot; Rasmussen asked. &uot;We decided we could handle it, and so we asked for this grant from SEMAC.&uot;

Rosalie Truax, an ACT volunteer and past board president, volunteered to write the grant.

&uot;From my perspective, this is growing new audiences,&uot; she said. &uot;We’re getting new families who may not otherwise come to the theatre involved.&uot;

She said children benefit from theatre because they are eager and willing to learn. &uot;I’ve found theatre helps children develop poise and self-confidence in getting out in front of the public. I’ve seen that for years and years,&uot; Truax said.

In &uot;Stuart Little,&uot; Rasmussen said he could see many of the benefits firsthand. The warmups the group did broke down barriers, and the actors became friends. &uot;They were able to work with each other without outside pressures,&uot; he said.

ACT will produce a children’s show during the third or fourth week of June, another in September, and the third in May of next year. While the first show is yet to be announced, Rasmussen anticipates that there will be roles for between 15 and 20 kids.

But theatre doesn’t end there, he said, and there will be lots of ways for others to participate as well: backstage, on lights, sound, with props, serving as ushers and more.

&uot;What I want to see out of this is a building process,&uot; the director said. While he turned warmups and acting games over to a student during &uot;Stuart Little,&uot; he’d like to take it a step further.

&uot;I’d also like to teach kids the skills on how to direct a show,&uot; he said.

Young people, ages 9-18, will also have an opportunity to take part in workshops with Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop on July 25, Rasmussen said.

&uot;Then I’d like to continue that theme with acting classes,&uot; he said.