The Film | Director's Statement | Cast and Credits
The Little Red Truck reveals the magic that happens in children's lives when a little red truck from Missoula Children's Theater (MCT), rolls into town.
We follow the heartwarming stories of children in diverse communities as they strive for the same impossible goal: to stage a full-scale, professional musical from auditions to final performance--in just six short days. The little red truck has onboard everything necessary for the production-- scripts, sets, costumes, makeup, props, and two professional tour actor/directors--everything except the cast. And that's where the story begins.
On Monday, the tour actor/directors audition local children. Up to 60 cast members are selected, Rehearsals start that day and continue throughout the week. The kids work hard to learn the 50-page script packed with lines, songs, dances, and scene changes.
The intense week provides a profound opportunity for the children to express their individuality, become part of a team, develop self-esteem, and to learn how to trust and accept others. Tears and triumphs, pride and heartbreak are all part of the transformation that happens during the week-long residency.
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The film follows a one week residency in each of six different communities simultaneously.
A brief introduction to each community defines its characteristics to set the stage.
We check in with each community on a daily basis. Tension and doubt build as we discover unique circumstances that suggest some casts will sail through the week while others seem to be in such disarray that we can't imagine them even making it through the performance. Some children quit, one breaks down with stage fright, another overcomes her blindness and performs in a lead role, one trades in his former gang life and chooses to find a new set of friends through MCT.
In each community, the show does go on. The payoff is that no matter how slick or how rough the final performance appears, the journey to get there has changed the children's lives. And the audience loves them for it.
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