Theatre Bristol entertains, educates people of all ages

Photo By Abby Morris Amy Tallmadge, director of Theatre Bristol's production of "The Miracle Worker," checks the stage and props before a performance of the play.

By Abby Morris
Star Staff
amorris@starhq.com

   One area not-for-profit organization has dedicated itself to introducing children to the world of live performance theatre and is bringing adults along for the ride.
   Theatre Bristol was founded in 1965 as the Bristol Children's Theatre. The organization was incorporated in 1970 and produced its first adult season in 1980 and changed its name to Theatre Bristol. The organization is now in its 38th theatrical season.
   "We were founded as a children's theatre and that is still our primary mission," said Emily Ann Thompson, general manager for Theatre Bristol. "Our mission is to entertain, inspire and educate children of all ages."
   In addition to introducing children to theatre, the Bristol Theatre is working to keep the tradition alive in adults as well.
   Each season, the theatre produces some plays just for children, some just for adults and a few that are what Thompson calls "crossovers," where the plays are offered during the day for school children to attend and then again in public performance. Some examples of the shows for adults include "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Chicago" while people of all ages will enjoy shows such as "Alice in Wonderland," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Annie."
   In addition to offering the plays to school-aged children, Theatre Bristol also offers acting classes, workshops and even a summer camp. In addition, members of the Theatre Bristol ensemble also visit area classrooms in an effort to introduce children to the world of theatre and show them that learning can be fun. The theatre also gives out free study guides to teachers planning to bring a student group to the theatre on a field trip to help both the teacher and the students prepare for the theatre experience and the play they will see.
   But the education efforts of Theatre Bristol do not stop at children. Acting classes and workshops are also available for adults.
   Amy Tallmadge, who works with Theatre Bristol as a director, said she loves the focus on introducing both young and old to the theatre. "What I like about Theatre Bristol is that it is helping to bring the arts back," she said. "There is nothing like live theatre. In the MTV world, where images change every five seconds, people's attention spans have gotten shorter and people look for that instant gratification. Live theatre changes that. It makes you look at yourself and that is the goal of live theatre.
   "I feel that with many of these children we have to show them there is more to entertainment than video games."
   Stephany McEvoy, who works as an administrative assistant at Theatre Bristol and also volunteers her time as an actor and stagehand for some performances, also feels that bringing the excitement of live theatre to children is important. "We have a lot of kids that have never seen live theatre before," she said. "It's a different kind of experience having the actors in the roles right there in front of them."
   Performing for children is different than performing for adults, according to McEvoy. The children will "get different parts of the show," she said, adding that the humor aspects vary between children and adults.
   "Kids can be the worst audience sometimes because once you lose their attention, short of an explosion or a prop fall it is hard to get it back," she said. "But kids can actually be the best audience in the world because they will forgive you anything. As long as you are entertaining them they don't care if you mess up a line."
   For more information on Theatre Bristol or to find out the schedule of their performing season, call (423) 968-4977 or visit their Web site at www.theatrebristol.org.