High-Flying Tarzan Marks Directorial Debut

There is palpable excitement among area theatergoers about the prospect of Fort Peck Summer Theatre actors swinging from the old-growth rafters during their upcoming production of Tarzan. The Disney-inspired show, which opens July 31 and runs through August 16, is definitely going to involve some aerial acrobatics, albeit of the DIY variety.

"Tarzan will swing," promises director Megan Wiltshire. "The space isn't very conducive to flying people," she adds, "so we've had to get creative."

Wiltshire, whose background includes a dance degree and work with the Missoula Community Theatre and the Missoula Children's Theatre, explains some of the creative solutions that she and her crew have invented to work around obstacles at the aging performance space: "There is an old school rope, for one thing, like the kind we climbed in gym." She also describes a "launchpad" platform designed to help Tarzan (played by EJ Dohring) get some momentum. "We have a full size trampoline, slide, fire pole, cargo net . . . There's more, but I can't give it all away."

Tarzan will be Wiltshire's directorial debut for FPST. She served as choreographer for last season's production of Buddy Holly. Past productions from the company have typically included bits of audience participation. Wiltshire mentions a few differences from the usual offerings in that department:

"It isn't so much audience participation as audience immersion. There will be gorillas stampeding through the aisles, exotic flowers flying overhead, and the show opens with a storm scene featuring simulated waves."

Pressed for further detail, she replies, "What we are creating with this production is the feel of a theme park attraction that is interactive. Guests will be fully engaged from the moment they enter the theatre in a simulated jungle that reaches clear out to the lobby. The entire show is really a movement piece. From scene to scene, there is a movement landscape happening involving the entire ensemble."

The cast includes Dohring and Kaylin Poirier as Tarzan, opposite Taylor Caprara as Jane. 12-year-old Poirier is a four-year veteran of FPST's Performing Arts Camp. She says playing Tarzan is, "really exciting and fun, but it takes lots of work to show the physicality and all the emotion."

Scenic Designer Sara Gunderson's set is created almost entirely from re-used, re-imagined and re-purposed materials, collected via donations from the local community. According to Wiltshire, a portion of the funds saved by using recycled materials will be donated to the World Wildlife Foundation's Adopt a Gorilla program. Materials and information about the latter will be on hand at the theatre.

For tickets and information, call the Fort Peck Summer Theatre Box Office at (406) 526-9943.