BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
“I was (am) like every kid who thinks superpowers are cool,” says Missy Gipson, founder of Pilot Arts, a Fayetteville-based theater company. When it came to creating an original show for children, “I’m also a musical theater fan, so I thought why not just write a kids’ musical about superheroes? Also, the struggle between dark and light, good and evil — it always makes for a good story!”
The result, on stage Nov. 22, is titled “The Mighty.” It’s set at Hero Middle School, where Gipson says there are three factions: “The Mighty (the good guys), The Notties (the bad guys), and the In-Betweens (the ones who just don’t know who they are … yet).”
“It comes time for the annual Superlympics, the schoolwide competition for who is truly the mightiest,” she goes on, “but before the competition even really gets started, the Notties do something that has only happened once in history of the school. Can they all band together to stop them?”
Gipson’s cast includes 19 youngsters ranging in age from 7 to 12. They are also her students.
“This is part of our Pilot Arts Learns program,” she explains. “It’s a production-based education program for kids of all ages. We meet for a class once a week for about an hour and 15 minutes, and after eight weeks of class we culminate in a production for the public. We kicked off our Pilot Arts Learns program last spring with our original kids musical, ‘Ninjas: The Musical.’”
Gipson says she believes two things which have influenced her commitment to teaching theater.
“Do theater because it makes you believe in yourself. See theater because it makes you believe in others.”
“If I see a kid walk out after their experience with us a bit braver, and not afraid to go beyond their ideas of their own capabilities, I am satisfied.”
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FAQ
‘The Mighty’
WHEN — 6 & 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22
WHERE — Drake Field airport terminal in Fayetteville
COST — $7
INFO — pilotarts.org
