Children’s theatre is a new class being offered at Wayne State College spring semester. The class consists of the student’s creating shows from bottom-up.

“We patterned this idea off of a course that York College in York, Nebraska has,” Mollie Young, adjunct professor of theatre, said. The course is taught by Young and co-instructor Nina Buck.

“Since Nina has specialties in acting and children’s theatre, and my background is in directing and theatre education, she and I have skills that work well together in building this class,” Young said.

Young said WSC had earlier presented different productions in both spring and fall semester and children from nearby communities could attend on campus with their schools.

The WSC Children’s Theatre class will tour to preschools and elementary schools within a 10-mile radius of Wayne. Eight schools from Stanton to Laurel will be able to view the show this spring, according to Young.

The class will present a show titled “Ship of Dreams” this spring.

“The story is about two ships that collide and end up on an island where the sailors have to figure out how to work together and collaborate in order to be productive,” Young said.

Young said the plot is still in the making, but the students will ultimately learn through improvisation and experimentation style.

“Participants have to cope with the desire to direct it themselves,” Young said. “Every class is a real exercise in leading and following; and knowing which one to do, and when.”

WSC theatre students learn technical and production skills in performances. Any WSC student can sign up for the new children’s theatre course as there are no prerequisites.

“We have a really interesting group of students who are tackling the challenges of show-making and rising to any challenge Nina and I throw at them,” Young said. “Theatre of this kind requires people who are willing to experiment, try new things, take creative risks and not worry about looking silly.”