The Children's Theatre Series at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre opened each of its shows this month, and they will continue to run each Saturday at noon throughout the summer. The latest production, A Sour Study in Lemonade, included the high school students solving a mystery through science experiments. Kate Struble, a freshman at Clinton High School, plays the lab technician at Max's Lemonade Stand. She explains to the children in the audience how to create ooze, invisible ink, and volcanos by using regular household products. Clayton Melvin, a freshman from DeWitt, plays the owner of the Lemonade Stand that has been sabotaged. His employees, played by Audrey Simpson, Ireland Knapper, and Emma and Cassie Van Zuiden, run a full-scale investigation to solve the mystery. Spoiler alert: there is a volcano that erupts on stage.
The second show of the series is The Beginning of the Armadillo, playing this Friday in a special free performance for Independence Day, and again July 12 and August 2. This charming musical, written by Bill Kincaid of Macomb, Illinois, brings the Rudyard Kipling story to life. Allison Winkel, a junior at Fulton High School, and Matt Espey, a senior at Clinton High School, play the Hedgehog and Tortoise, who try to trick the Jaguar, played by Clinton High junior, Danica Smith. Two more Clinton High School students complete the cast of this exciting new musical: Alice Lind and Savannah Medley.
The first show of the series, A Very Clinton Variety Show, is a vaudeville performance including musical numbers, comedy acts, and sketches outlining the history of Clinton and the Showboat. DeWitt Clinton, played by Kayla Zeimet of DeWitt, even makes an appearance. Hailey Goble, a recent graduate of Clinton High School, helps lead the show as one of the emcees, even helping audience volunteers create an animal symphony on stage. "It's inspiring to see the high school students taking the lead when the younger children want to get involved," says Kristin Katsu, Education Director at the Showboat. "It's different at every show, but they know how to keep the audience entertained."
Each performance leaves the audience of children with an excitement to create their own theatre at home. The talkback sessions give the children a sneak peak into the world of theatre, connecting their lives to the message of each show. The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre definitely builds a curiosity in the children, giving them a reason to create their own science experiments or lemonade stands or animal costumes. The internship program creates productions that inspire the younger children to become life-long learners as well as life-long theatre patrons.
The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre is located on Riverview Road in Clinton, Iowa, and the interns are from Clinton, Fulton, Camanche, and DeWitt. Haley Appel, Kaela Baker, Liv Clark, Erin Hardigan, and Aiden McMinimy complete the cast of high school students that create these outstanding productions. Children's Theatre performances take place on the Showboat stage every Saturday at noon. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door. To find out about show times and tickets, visit www.clintonshowboat.org or call the box office today: 563-242-6760.
