
The Friends of Pacific Beach Elementary School (FOPBES) recently welcomed two visiting directors from the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) in Missoula, Mont. The pair produced and directed the musical “Treasure Island,” which starred about 60 school children on Oct. 16 at Pacific Beach Elementary School. The magic of this production, however, was that all of the performance was produced, taught, and performed in just one week’s time. “This will be the ninth year that Missoula Children’s Theatre has come to PB Elementary,” said Lani Ryan of FOPBES, a parent’s organization. Having just completed a successful production at a school near the Redwoods National Forest in Northern California, MCT’s Dan Davidson, 27, and Katie Murk, 23, arrived in San Diego on Oct. 11 to produce “Treasure Island.” “We bring everything in our red truck needed to put on a musical production,” Murk said. Murk is a certified teacher and co-director, while Davidson has a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting. “During the week, students learn about the audition process, acting, choreography, music, makeup, costumes, script reading, memorizing lines, cues, props, stage sets, lighting and — at the end of just one week of really hard work — they are able to perform a one-hour musical that is always absolutely amazing,” Ryan said. Each day, there were four hours of rehearsals, which were divided into two, two-hour sessions. The week culminated in two public performances. Performances were open to the public and held Oct. 16. All of the proceeds from the ticket sales stayed with the school.