LIFE TRAINING IN DISGUISE BY TERRI GRAVITT
photo by Matt Cornelius
“There are so many things that theatre teaches that are lessons everyone needs in life.” explains Meredith Farren and Susannah Linnett, sisters, co-producers, managers and visionaries behind Silvermoon Children’s Theatre. “Through the process of auditions, weeks and weeks of rehearsals, making friendships, following rules, letting loose and not being afraid to laugh at themselves when they make mistakes, we have seen kids stretch and grow and excel at things that might not be in their wheelhouse. But they are given a safe place to try and try again with encouragement from their theatre family. We hope that through this process they will gain the confidence to do the hard things outside of the theatre on their way to being successful in life.” The beauty of this mission is how it has become a reality for so many of the theatre’s participants. April McCright, mother of David and Mark McCright, who have both been on the Silvermoon stage shared, “David learned the value of hard work and being prepared. He learned to respect other people, to be patient, and that every person is important for a job to succeed. Mark learned
that he does have a voice. He gained self-confidence and found that he could have fun in front of people.” McCright recalls, “There was a show that David auditioned for that he was not chosen for. I remember how disappointed he felt when he found out that he didn’t make it. I was not sure if he would try again. However, he was not disappointed for long. He was determined to be successful and make Ms. Susannah and Ms. Meredith proud! When he was able to audition again, he worked on his monologue for weeks, making sure it was perfect. He walked into auditions with a confidence that he did not have in previous auditions. He was determined and ready for the audition.” David’s hard work paid off, and he was given the role of the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Farren and Linnett’s father, Chief Justice of the Sixth Court of Appeals, Josh Morriss, and their mother Diana Morriss, opened Silvermoon on Broad in September 2011 as an event center downtown. Josh is a lifelong resident of Texarkana and has always had a love for theatre and a dream of bringing life back to the downtown area. When doing the renovations, the couple decided
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