Mission Statement:
The Little Theatre invites our community youth to participate in an engaging and accessible introduction to theatre arts. We offer multimodal opportunities in a safe and supportive environment, paying particular attention to access, inclusion, and diversity.
True community theatre provides an unprecedented opportunity to work intergenerationally on common creative projects. Our stage has seen a grandfather singing in a choir while his grandson acts a part and whole families have been onstage together as units. Our space wouldn’t feel complete without our youngest participants working shoulder-to-shoulder with our seasoned mentors.
The Little Theatre embraces youth, providing shows specific to their age range and also inviting them to join regular season productions whenever possible.
In an effort to introduce kids to performing and creative pursuits and build a lifelong love of the arts, we offer three summer productions that offer different types of opportunities. All productions are by audition and tuition-free.
A Note On Auditions
All Youth Opportunities at The Little Theatre of Walla Walla are “come as you are” and do not require any prepared material.
Kids may be disappointed if they are not cast. There is not always a role for everyone. The first thing to remember is that there are so many reasons this can happen. Some roles need specific skills like a vocal range, emotional depth, or comedic timing. Sometimes physical qualities are needed, such as height, age, or gender. Other times directors consider how actors fit together.
If your child doesn’t get a role, take the opportunity to model how to handle life’s disappointments. Make sure you emphasize the courage it took to try out. Congratulate them on what they did well and review the reasons there may not have been a role for them (see above). Once a little time has passed, consider debriefing what they can do to work on their skills, bring them to workshops, and consider how they can be involved in a different way.
Playmakers Program:
“Captain No Beard and the Stowaways”
This summer, the Little Theatre of Walla Walla is charting an exciting new course for our youngest performers. We are proud to announce a brand-new, in-house youth theatre production designed and led by our own creative community. We are thrilled to invest even more deeply in a program grown right here at LTWW, shaped by familiar faces and local artists who know our stage, our town, and our kids.
At the helm will be longtime director Carol Anselmo, whose years of experience have guided generations of young performers at LTWW. Supporting her will be a team of high school and college student directors, including Natalie Knudsen, Emily Armstrong, Austin Applebee, and Francisco Mendoza, who will serve in leadership roles while being mentored by Carol throughout the process. Teaching artist Bronwyn Berna will also lend her expertise, creating a collaborative, multi-generational learning environment that reflects the spirit of live theatre.
Adding to the excitement, this year’s production will be an original, pirate-themed show written by students from Walla Walla High School. By placing youth voices at the heart of the storytelling process, the program offers young artists the opportunity to see their ideas move from page to stage, reinforcing LTWW’s commitment to developing the next generation of theatre-makers.
After four siblings follow their grandfather’s old treasure map, they find themselves as stowaways on a pirate ship. The stowaways travel around the ship, learning the way of the sea and meeting it’s inhabitants: the mice, the cooks, and the ship’s deck crew. All the while, the stowaways must hide from the evil captain no-beard. Their plans fail when the Captain’s (newly appointed) pirate spies spot the stowaways and hatch a plan to expose them. Who will win when they come face to face? Who will rule the ship and how will they come to power?
Ages: 1st grade (for 2026-2027 School year, must be reading) through age 15.
Roles: up to 40
Rehearsals: Monday-Friday, June 15-19,
10:00 am - 1:15 pm for younger participants (could also depend on role)
10:00 am - 3:30 pm for older participants
Performances: Saturday, June 20, 3:00 pm and 5:30 pm
Youth should expect to be at the Theatre from 1:00 to 6:30 pm on performance day.
Reservation Fee: $50 REGISTER FOR YOUR SPOT TODAY
The reservation fee ensures each youth a role in the play. The fee includes 4 tickets ($10 + processing fee value) to be used in any combination for the two performances, and a program T-shirt. There will be no refunds issued for youth/families who cancel or do not attend June rehearsals.
Scholarships are available for Free/Reduced Lunch families, please email executive.director@ltww.org or kate.vancleve@ltww.org, for more details. Due to limited available space, LTWW advises interested families to not wait but to go ahead and register for the program, pay the fee, and contact one of the emails listed. The fee with be refunded after eligibility status has been confirmed.
Program Details
*Participants will be expected to be in attendance every day, as they are important to the culminating performances.
*Children 10 and under will need to be signed out by an approved individual each day.
*Children 11 and older have permission to sign themselves out and then transport themselves with parent/guardian permission.
*Participants are expected to be picked up on time each day at the times indicated above.
*The Little Theatre of Walla Walla is looking to secure lunch service for program participants, but at this time, families should be prepared to pack a lunch for their child each day. LTWW will communicate any change to its ability to provide meals for participants in advance of the program start date.
Upstage Teens
“The Villain Wore a Dirty Shirt”
Auditions: Wednesday, July 1, 10 AM
Ages: 7th through 12 grade students
Roles: up to 30
Rehearsals: Monday-Friday, July 6 - July 17, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Performances: Friday & Saturday, July 17 & 18, 7:30 pm
Admission: $10, festival seating
Laundries are big business in the mining town of Digalittledeeper. The ’Tub and Scrub’ is operated by Olympia Klenz and Sweet Sally. The young sheriff is in love with Sally, but every time he gets close he turns into a babbling fool. Meanwhile, our villain, Phineas Flatworm, discovers Olympia has been rinsing gold flecks from miners’ laundry for years, and she’s amassed a tidy sum. The villain figures if he had the only laundry in town, he’d make a million! With the aid of his hilarious mother, Mrs. Mugwump, and Lola-Lola, a talentless flamenco dancer, he gets control of the ’Tub and Scrub.’ Lola-Lola plans to marry Phineas, but not if Mrs. Mugwump has anything to say about it! The other laundries ’mysteriously’ burn down. Mayor Haggle gives the ’Tub and Scrub’ a civic award, and a ghost accuses the villain of his crimes. The highlight of the wacky spoof is a laundry fight that hasn’t been equaled since the pie-tossing days of silent films. The evildoers are brought to the soap-bar of justice, and the sheriff conquers his shyness and proposes to Sweet Sally.
The program features Cheryl Sutlick as our seasoned teacher/director assisted by Kate Van Cleve. Rehearsals run during the day for two weeks and there are two performances on the last Friday and Saturday.
Spotlight Kids
“Fireside Fairy Tales”
Auditions (Grades 1-6): Wednesday, July 22, 10 AM
Crew Roles (Grades 7-12): Go here to sign up for production roles
Acting Roles (Grades 1-6): up to 20
Rehearsals: Mon-Fri, July 27 - July 31, 9:30 - 11:30 AM
Performances: Saturday, August 1, 3:00 & 5:00 pm
Admission: $10, festival seating
Fireside Fairy Tales is a Spotlight Kids production. This one-act play will feature elementary school-aged students on stage and middle/high school students in production roles. Guided by seasoned teacher/director Sarah Thomson, students can focus on creativity and bringing their story to life. Rehearsals run during the mornings for two weeks and there are two performances on the last Saturday. This production invites students to be involved at every level; actors, costumes, set, etc., while being guided by long-time Little Theatre volunteers. This year’s production is written by Advanced Writing students from Pioneer Middle School.
Students entering 7th Grade & above, please fill out the sign up form to the right. Students entering grades 1st - 6th show up for auditions with parent/guardian.
