Cookeville Children’s Theatre is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a production of Peter Pan on the Cookeville Performing Arts Center main stage.
Artistic Director Jennifer Welch said this will be the third time the show has been produced in Cookeville. Welch said the show was performed in Cookeville in 2014 and during the 1990s under the direction of Jerry Henderson.
“There is so much creativity,” Welch said, “It’s a story that kind of resonates with the child in everyone. It’s really hard to find somebody that doesn’t, isn’t interested in seeing or doesn’t want to, talk about Peter Pan.”
Welch said the theatre plans to partner with a professional flying company called Vertigo to bring the magical elements of the show to life. Welch said the company installs specialized equipment and rails into the existing fly system at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center to facilitate the onstage flight sequences.
“They kind of have like an engineer come in and put up the system and then we spend about three days rehearsing with the with the fly captain that comes in and then we have like we train our people and they’re the ones that do it for the show,” Welch said. “It is a really fun experience. I’m a little bit selfish in that I love it because I always make sure I get a chance to try out the flights myself, but it’s just it’s such a cool experience and it’s such a great way to say, oh, this is like all these different areas of expertise coming together to make something really special.”
Welch said the production offers various ways for the community to engage with the narrative following a different Peter Pan-related play held at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center last year.
“I think it’s important because especially in today’s world, I feel like kids are asked to grow up so quickly,” Welch said. “We’re all kind of bombarded with information and asked to be serious at a really, maybe an earlier age than we used to be. And I also think that the more creativity we can bring to kids’ lives and the more the more we can kind of expand their framework and let them kind of think outside the box, the better rounded that they end up being as adults.”
Welch said the organization typically sees approximately 200 students from grades 4 through 12 audition for its productions. Welch said while the theatre tries to cast as many children as possible, they must maintain a safe environment on the stage.
“I think that one thing this production does, it it does have that little bit of of spectacle and magic to it,” Welch said. “It kind of celebrates all the things that I think that those first founding folks wanted for the organization itself, for the community to have something that families could go and enjoy together and also a place where young people could could really be a part of something bigger than themselves.”
Welch said the 50th anniversary coincides with a capital campaign intended to pay off the mortgage on the theatre’s facilities. Welch said the organization purchased its own building in 2016 to host classes and rehearsals, and the current goal is to establish a black box theatre space in the Cookeville Westside.
“We’ve also really enjoyed getting to know and being on this side of town on the Westside, getting to know our neighbors and kind of seeing the growth that’s going on around us,” Welch said. “We just love being a part of this community and want to make sure that Cookeville Children’s Theatre has a home forever in such a great accessible area of town.”
Welch said audition dates for August will be announced on social media and the organization’s website within the next few weeks.
