MAT looks for summer interns for youth program

Montana Actors' Theatre is looking for four or five college students who want to help it continue its two-decade tradition of summer youth theater.

The paid interns will oversee MAT's youth programs including the touring KidsMAT Summer Children's Theatre camps and its annual youth production for older children, this year "The Wizard of Oz."

"They will run all of our Kids MAT productions up and down the Hi-Line," MAT's youth program director Angela Pratt said. "They will learn leadership skills, teaching skills, acting, directing, set and costume building and tech skills."

"Anyone who is currently attending college and has theatre experience is encouraged to apply," she said.

MAT's Executive Director Jay Pyette said the acting troupe is expanding its youth involvement outside of the summer activities.

Next month, he said, Pratt, who also runs the Havre High School theater program, and several other MAT members and volunteer high school students plan to conduct several area workshops for middle and high school aged students dealing with social issues, Pyette said.

"This new phase of youth theater will be vitally important to our overall vision of MAT Youth," he said.

Pyette said the MAT youth program started in 2000, with its first children's production,"The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" that took place in Pepin Park.

He added that MAT decided to also offer a youth production with "Ten Little Indians" later that summer

"Since then, MAT has offered both children's theater and youth productions every year," he said. " In 2015, the program started a new phase with the hiring of summer interns."

With the help of having interns, he said, the MAT youth programs and camps not only grew, but expanded in having their productions showcased in other towns across the Hi-Line.

"MAT expanded the number of children's camps to include Malta and Chinook and adopted the name of KidsMAT," he said.

Since that time, 2015, the summer program has grown to include Chinook, Malta, Lewistown, Shelby, Box Elder and Hays.

He added that last year, 2019, MAT hired Pratt as youth programs manager, to facilitate the entire project.

People interested in applying for the internships can visit  http://mtactors.com/ypp to complete the application. Deadline for applying is April 10.

For more information, people can contact Pratt at [email protected] .