Coming this Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the Crocus 80 Theatre group will present 'Twice Upon a Time', a fun trip through familiar childhood stories with twists and turns that will have their audience leaning in for the next quips and puns around each corner. Brittany Nightingale, president of Crocus 80 Theatre, shares that the young players have been putting intense work into preparing for opening night, meeting twice a week since their registration night in June.

"This year is actually a whole new bunch, which is really exciting, with the exception of my Assistant Facilitator, Jaxson. He was in the youth theatre many years ago and has been amazing. It's a big group we're working with, 19 kids, but I feel like we've all worked as a team to pull it off on opening night!"

Wrangling 19 children on Summer Break is no small feat for two facilitators, but Nightingale says the final result makes it all worthwhile. "My favorite part of doing youth theatre is when you have a couple [kids] holding their mom's hand for the first time, or nervous to come inside, and watching them shine at the end. It's the reason I do this, and it's very heartwarming!"

Some of the actors in the upcoming play have assumed multiple roles, switching costumes and characters as the stories progress. While every character is vital to the stories being told, there are some favorites amongst the crew. "For me, it's probably Big Bad Bear because he's this super big scary thing, and I'm just a 4'3" tiny dude," shares Hunter. Hunter's Co-star, Jersie, says that she prefers her character named Blink: "He's kind of like a show host, so he's very upbeat and it's super fun to do!"

Nightingale describes the play as having a little something in it for everybody; "It's essentially Grandma telling a bunch of her grandchildren her version of the fairytales, or how she would have enjoyed the fairytales better than the originals."

Currently just a summer program, Crocus 80 hopes to expand in order to operate year round in the near future. Nightingale would like to see new members join the board in order to see the program benefit from fresh ideas that will attract new members.

"We're always looking for new people to join the Board, and brainstorm with us and help us find other ways that we can engage with youth in the community. Our Crocus Board and members have gotten older, and we worry about how we'll continue. So we want to bring the next generation of youth in and share the love of theatre with them."

Crocus 80 invites the community to come out and enjoy their production titled Twice Upon a Time on August 4th at 7:00 p.m. and August 5th at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for only $10 per adult and $5 for children. You can see the impact of the arts on Weyburn's youth and decide if finding a place on the Crocus 80 Board is the next step for you. Children are also encouraged to come enjoy the play for a taste of what it's like to be in the spotlight. 

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