KIDS + FAMILIES

Long live King Arthur! Seventeen Houston-area children ages 8 - 14, currently the students of Main Street Theater’s Kids On Stage Rehearsal and Performance By Audition class, present Excalibur! The Story of Young King Arthur by Michele L. Vacca. Arthur, Merlin, Morgan Le Fay and more are all on-hand for this classic adventure tale!

About the Play
The old king has died, and the baby prince is missing. Without its leader, the kingdom of Britain suffers famine and civil war. Meanwhile, a boy named Arthur grows up carefree in a knight’s family with adopted siblings Elaine and Kaye. Only two people know Arthur’s true identity as King of Britain—the wizard Merlin, and the wicked enchantress Morgan Le Fay, who will stop at nothing to bring Arthur under her power.

Will Morgan be able to derail Arthur’s destiny to pull the sword from the stone and heal his country’s wounds?

About The Production
Seventeen Houston-area children comprise the cast: Rayne Beckman (77005), Larissa Bernstein (77030), Roberto Blas (77087), Katy Byrd (77025), Kaitlyn Calvin (77096), Lenore Craig (77018), Patrick Greer (77024), Tommy Hayes (77025), Emily Hwu (77005), Anna Khalimov (77057), Jenny Matthews (77095), Ashley Mezyk (77035), Mitchell Mezyk (77035), Iza Molzan (77098), Jenna Taylor (77584), Jaelynn Walls (77584), and Marshall White (77005).

Professional artists direct and design all Kids On Stage R&P productions. Meghan C. Hakes is the director. Lendsey Kersey is the Assistant Director. Troy Scheid is the costume designer, and Art Ornelas is the set and properties designer. RicOrnelProductions produced the video sequences in the production.

The play will be performed Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, February 13 at 3:30pm. Performances are at Main Street Theater – Chelsea Market, located at 4617 Montrose Boulevard. For tickets, call 713-524-6706 or log on to mainstreettheater.com. All tickets are $5.00.

About Kids On Stage
Kids On Stage (KOS), now in its 22nd season, has been designed to spark a lifelong appreciation of theater by encouraging young people to participate in all aspects of play production, from movement and monologues to stagecraft and theater history. The curriculum teaches essential skills such as creative thinking, teamwork, self-confidence, and communication—skills that enhance the overall learning process. Through year-round classes, outreach programs, and camps both on-site and at satellite locations, students develop their voices, bodies, and imaginations in a challenging and fun curriculum, taught by professional artists and arts educators. 

Main Street Theater’s KOS program offers a wide range of classes for students of all skill levels, including individual audition coaching sessions, movement and dance classes, comedy improv classes, high school workshops, and a Summer Performing Arts Camp throughout the summer.

The KOS Rehearsal and Performance system includes classes for students at two levels: those who are ready to audition for plays for the public and those who want to hone their skills by producing a play in a “lab” context for family and friends. The current Spring R&P Lab class will perform Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit.

Classes range from $175 - $500; camp ranges from $60 - $520. For more information or to register for classes and camps, please call 713-524-9196 x 104 or 103 or log on to mainstreettheater.com

Troy Scheid is Director of Education. Jonathan Gonzalez is Assistant Director of Kids On Stage.

Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and Main Street Youth Theater. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 19 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.

Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors’ Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people.

Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston, the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

All photos by www.RicOrnelProductions.com.

Pictured above are foreground: Arthur (Tommy Hayes, 77025), background L-R: Merlin (Mitchell Mezyk, 77035) and Morgan Le Fey (Lenore Craig, 77018).