Guild puts on the Ritz

The Young Actors Guild will be Puttin’ on the Ritz: From Broadway to Hollywood at its second annual benefit June 25 at Golden Years in Fort Smith.

The oldest youth theater in Arkansas annually works with more than 300 kids ages 6-18 to provide theater production opportunities and workshops led by professional theater artists. Kids aren’t charged a fee to participate in the theater’s productions.

Missy Gipson, executive director, said if the group did charge a fee, about 65 percent to 70 percent of the children the theater works with would not be able to afford to participate. She said it could cost a student $300 to participate with some other theaters.

Gipson said the biggest effect on kids she sees is a gain in self-confidence. She said the key to that is “tackling things you’re not sure you can do, and doing them. I’ve seen kids go from no eye contact in their audition to performing for a larger audience” with no problem.

The guild’s summer musical is its biggest program and places emphasis on quality, Gipson said. Cast and crew members learn to meet high expectations and “know things are not impossible.”

Because the group serves children from 16 Fort Smith-area communities, “Kids come in, and they don’t know each other. Then, by the end of the production,” the 30 to 50 cast and crew mates become close friends, “building their own community.” The fundraiser will include a cocktail hour, dinner, cabaret-style entertainment and a live auction.

FILE PHOTO/ /BEN GOFF Goldilocks (left) — played by Cecilia Long, 10 — and the witch — played by Tylo Gardner — take part in a scene in March as the Young Actors Guild of Fort Smith presents Goldilocks: The Real Story at the Springdale Public Library. “Puttin’ on the Ritz:...