New theater company holds auditions for Shakespeare play

A new theater company the Montana Art Theatre or M.A.T. is holding auditions for its first production on July 2-3.

The company is planning to bring to the stage a “fresh take” on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”

Auditions will be held at the Flathead Valley Community College Theatre (AT-239) on July 2 at 6 p.m. and July 3 at 5 p.m.

Performances are set to be held at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish on Aug. 26-28 and Sept. 2-4.

Nicholas Rapp serves as the artistic director, Caitlyn Goeman the executive director, and Abigail Brooks the company manager for M.A.T. The company was founded in May with the goal of providing new opportunities for creative and inclusive community participation.

“We aim to host performances that our local audiences can see themselves and fellow community members engaging in issues or concerns relevant to the Flathead community through the uncanny resonance that classic plays hold in modern times,” the company says. “We plan to bring new life into old works through our productions from playwrights ranging from Sophocles to Shakespeare and from Henrik Ibsen to Tennessee Williams.”

Rehearsals for the production will run four hours a day at least five days a week starting July 5. Exact rehearsal times to be determined upon actor availability. Rehearsals will consist not only in the building of the production itself, but of exercises in the realm of voice and speech, movement, and Shakespearean elocution.

Participation is volunteer based.

For more information, contact Caitlyn Goeman at (360) 827-1246 or email montanaarttheatre@gmail.com.