Auditions for the musical Peter Pan are being held this Saturday May 10^th from 10 am till noon at the Prescott Christian Church, 501 S. Senator Highway. Young Star Musical Theatre is holding the auditions, and they are looking for approximately 50 children and young adults, ages 4 to 20.

Shmaine Shepherd, Artistic Director of the Young Star Musical Theatre says, “We’ve done Peter Pan before, and it’s such a fun show. There are tons of kids in it. We’ll have real flying.” Shepherd says that a company out of Las Vegas will be hired to rig the flying effects.

The play will perform at the historic Elks Opera House on Gurley Street, and rehearsals will be held at the Prescott Christian Church once a week. There will be different days scheduled for each age group. During the summer they will set aside 2 weeks and rehearse Monday through Thursday mornings. 

The theater group has been in Prescott for 7 years. Shepherd says, “It was originally my mothers, who ran it in LA 25 years ago. I grew up around theatre. It was great, and something I hope every kid has a chance to experience. It was a wonderful way to grow up. It builds self confidence courage and people skills.”

Many of the kids volunteer hours of their time for every show. And the hard work pays off. Shepherd says, “We have nine National Youth Theatre Awards, which is a big deal to have that many in such a small town.”

At the auditions themselves, Shepherd says, “We’ll have the kids do some group singing, line reading, and dance. If anyone wants to audition for a solo part they need to come prepared with a song. We have a piano and a good sound system to use if kids bring their cd’s.”

Each person who participates will pre-purchase a set number of tickets and sell them to friends, family and the public. Shepherd says, “Then you reimburse yourself. The costumes, theatre rental, rights to music and flying have to be paid for in advance.”

Shepherd says she has a huge costume room at her house and she mixes and matches wardrobe. Then if she needs anything new, she will purchase those items. There are also parents who volunteer to work on the costumes.

Shepherd believes that the theatre performances are popular with the general public, and that’s evidenced by their ticket sales. They will do two weekend performances, and she says, “We’re the only theatre group that sells out the house at the Elks.”