By Jessica Heflin, marketing intern; Karl Pratt, executive director

The Main Street Arts Council (MSAC) announces the 2019 Main Street Summer Theater Festival. Area youth ages 5-18 from Northwest Kansas are rehearsing throughout June and early July as they prepare to perform shows based off musical movie classics. Shows, dates, and locations include:

• July 6, 7, Goodland:  Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland JR”

• July 6, 7, Quinter:  Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka KIDS”

• July 12, 14, Hoxie:  DreamWorks’ “Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR”

• July 13, 14, Colby:  Disney’s “Cinderella KIDS”

• July 20, 21, Atwood:  Disney’s “The Lion King JR”

The 2019 shows are made possible in part thanks to the generosity of Dane G. Hansen Foundation Community Fund Grants received from: Sherman County Community Foundation ($4,000 for “Alice in Wonderland”); Thomas County Community Foundation ($8,862 for “Cinderella”); Gove County Community Foundation ($7,000 for “Willy Wonka”); Sheridan County Community Foundation ($4,902 for “Madagascar”); and Rawlins County Community Foundation ($12,905.20 for “The Lion King”).

Participants in “The Lion King” cast get the added bonus of working with native African artist Baba Wague Diakite and his wife and fellow artist, Ronna Neuenschwander, a Hoxie native, who together will conduct a special traditional “bogolanfini” (mudcloth) workshop where they will experience the art, history, culture and music of the Bamana people of West Africa. Diakite and Neuenschwander will be traveling from their home in Seattle, Washington to conduct the workshop held in conjunction with the production for the second time in festival history.

Participation in the festival is free to all cast members thanks to the generosity of these grant funders, members of the MSAC and from ticket sales, which are available for purchase online at www.mainstreetartscouncil.com/msstf2019 and/or at the door of each performance.

Additional grant support from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation in the amount of $8,800 will assist with staff fees for festival directors, choreographers and student director interns.

The arts council is led by Karl Pratt, executive director, and Bonnie Cameron, creative director/founder. Pratt is a native of Hoxie who graduated from Fort Hays State University, Hays, in 2014 with a B.M. in vocal performance. He currently serves as choir director at the Colby United Methodist Church and is the board liaison to the Sheridan County Community Foundation while also maintaining a private voice and piano studio with approximately 30 students across northwest Kansas. Cameron studied vocal performance at the University of Colorado, Boulder and finished her master’s degree at the Hanns-Eisler Conservatory in Berlin, Germany, before singing opera professionally across Europe for ten years. In 2011, Cameron and her husband, Carloff Wiltner, returned to the region to pursue her true passion for bringing culture and high-quality learning/performing opportunities to rural Kansas. She founded the arts council in 2015 but has been producing children’s theater in the area for the last eight years.

Board members of the council include Renee Spresser, president; Mackenzie Best, vice president; Ellen Weiner, secretary/treasurer; Sheyenne Dillehay; Aaron Heim; Lu Neuenschwander; and Shirley Popp.

Along with the summer theater festival, the arts council sponsors various programs for the community to participate in and learn about different aspects of culture and expressions of art and music. These include adult theater production(s), community choir, art classes, and the annual Main Street Art Walk to be held this year on Friday, Aug. 23.

All MSAC programming is made possible through the financial support of paid members, donations, and grants. To support MSAC in its endeavor to promote the arts, encourage creativity, serve the Arts community, and act as an advocate for the Arts, consider paid membership. Varying levels are available for both individuals and businesses, each offering a multitude of benefits and advertising premiums in acknowledgment of support.

Visit www.mainstreetartscouncil.com/join-us for more information and to join today.