http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/09/07/river_city/doc50494f09b83a0126229901.txt

 

‘Don’t Let The Bedbugs Bite’

The Yankton Children’s Theatre Co. Presents A Two-Fer Next Week With ‘Bedbugs’ And ‘YCTC Sings Disney’

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Are wicked witches always bad? That depends on your perspective.

In the latest Yankton Children’s Theatre Company (YCTC) production, children and teenagers will perform “Bedbugs”, along with an encore performance of “YCTC Sings Disney”, which was performed at Riverboat Days.

“Bedbugs” and “YCTC Sings Disney” run from Sept. 13-16 at Marian Auditorium at Mount Marty College. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Sept. 13-15, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sept. 16. Tickets are available at the door or reserve your tickets by calling 605-660-6414. Tickets are $10 for adults, kids ages 3-18 are $5, and children under 3 are free.

In Bedbugs, Marie is a little girl who likes to jump on her bed, but the bugs that lay beneath get squished, and she becomes the “wicked witch” that causes earthquakes for the bugs.

“The play is basically about how the bugs react to the little girl,” said Allison Spak, executive director of YCTC. “The girl causes the bugs to get their arms and legs broken, but they all regenerate themselves. They try to attack the girl through their bug bites.”

When Marie’s mom finds out, she thinks her daughter has chicken pox. However, the girl keeps jumping on her bed so the bugs start attacking the girl in other ways.

Peter, who is an impassioned bedbug, feels as if his troop of bugs must take action against the witch before the “don’t let the bedbugs bite” rhyme’s “squeezing” begins.

Patsy, however, prefers to use a peaceful approach and wants to talk to the witch to work out an agreement.

Despite Patsy’s objections, the bedbugs launch an attack against Marie, prompting her to investigate the bugs with her magnifying glass.

Much to Marie’s surprise, there are bedbugs she finds and Patsy leads the peace talks, with Marie finally realizing she has caused damage to the bugs and apologizes for it.

“The morale of the story is really that people should talk things out and come to a decision together,” Spak said. “It’s a short little play that is perfect for the young kids.”

Spak notes that the set for the play takes a children’s surroundings and magnifies them.

“We take everything and really make it twice as big,” she said. “There is a normal size bed, but everything else is a larger size. They are things we might think are normal, but they are all big size for the kids.”

The second half of the show will feature an encore performance of “YCTC Sings Disney”.

“There are a lot of the older kids in the ‘Disney’ production, with a few younger ones,” Spak said. “While ‘Bedbugs’ is geared more towards younger kids, ‘Disney’ is geared more towards older kids. I think everyone will enjoy both shows.”

Spak said the reception for the “Disney” production at Riverboat Days was so positive, she decided to bring it back for an encore performance.

“The kids put a lot of hard work into the ‘Disney’ show, so I didn’t want to do it just one time,” she said. “’Bedbugs’ was always going to be there; ‘Disney’ is just an add-on to the end of the play.”

Spak notes that coupons were mailed out and given out at Riverboat Days that allow a child to get into the production for free, with the purchase of an adult ticket. The coupons were also sent out to schools in the area.

Rehearsals for “Bedbugs” and “YCTC Sings Disney” both began at the end of August. While Spak said rehearsals have been going well so far, there are still challenges.

“The kids in ‘Bedbugs’ are a younger group, and it’s a lot more stressful because there are a lot of new little kids,” she said. “There are a lot of kids trying to get into theatre and this is their first production. We try to get the kids in as much as we can and fit them in. We also try to adapt to all the kids and help them out as much as we can.”

Other challenges include the potential of children in “Bedbugs” blocking out fellow cast members and putting their backs to the audience during the show.

“The kids have to think about all these things that come with growing and getting more mature,” she said.

Spak noted that even though she really enjoys “Bedbugs,” she likes the “Disney” production just a little more.

“My favorite thing is the ‘Disney’ show. The kids have all worked so hard and it’s really well done,” she said. “Everyone has a special part within the show, and a few of the dancing and singing numbers are just awesome. It’s really fun to see all the kids up there singing and dancing.”

“YCTC Sings Disney” features 14 different Disney songs from movies such as “The Lion King,” “Pocahantas” and “Tarzan”.

“The songs in the ‘Disney’ production are great and always touch people’s hearts,” Spak added. “We wanted to do the show again after the positive reception we got at Riverboat Days.”

“To me, the kids go out there, they work so hard, they really put a smile on my face and should definitely put smiles on audience members’ faces,” Spak said. “These are really priceless experiences.”

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“Bedbugs” Cast List:

Mother — Ivyonna North

Marie — Kaitlin Paulson

Squish — Warrin Krull

Doodle — Althea Rembold

Ledoo — Makayla Palecek

Zoop — Emma Eichacker

Boogle — Emily Wieseler

Mayor Snickles — Jaden Pearson

Sue — Aziah Clough

Patsy — Haylee Heinemeyer

Peter — Blake Wieseler

R — Adele Benoit

X — Cate Perakslis

Penelope — Kaycee Smith

Whoops — Anna Carda

Extra Bugs — Carson Heinemeyer, Joselyn Pearson, Raina Schaeffer, Trinity Strike

Follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal