NWA Kids Guide

In keeping with annual tradition, Malco Theatres presents Wrapped with Love for the continued research of childhood diseases atMemphis’ own St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

This program, in its twelfth year, kicks off Thanksgiving Day (November 26) and runs through Christmas Day (December 25) at all 31 Malco Theatre locations in Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Mississippi. Theatre employees will be selling the bows for $1.00 each and the bows are hand-made from actual film. Each bow is made of about 24 frames, which is about one second of a movie. The sound for each movie is encoded on the edge of the film and appears green. It’s believed these bows may eventually be collectors’ items if the film industry progresses into digital technology.

As the materials and volunteer production hours for the bows are donated, there is no cost to Malco Theatres; the true beneficiary is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  In a joint effort for this cause, patients of St. Jude and their families participated in the creation of the bows at the hospital. During the activity, reels of movie trailers were cut, stapled and sealed with a special sticker that reads “Wrapped With Love… To Benefit the Kids of St. Jude.”

Since 1999, Malco Theatres has raised over $375,000 for St. Jude.  Over 65,000 bows were sold during the 2008 Wrapped with Love campaign and this year’s goal is to sell an additional 70,000 of the collectible film décor.

Camera-ready artwork and actual bows are available for media use. Please send a request via email to karen@malco.com. 

Malco Theatres is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and is fourth-generation family-owned and operated. Malco operates over 300 screens at 31 locations in 5 states across the mid-south.

Trike Theatre is showcasing local 3rd-8th grade actors in its Academy Players production of The Polar Express. The original musical will tour to various downtown Bentonville locations on December 5th, 2009: 10:00am in the Bentonville Public Library Walmart Room, 12:30pm at Trike Theatre, 120 S. Main St. and 2:00pm at Crystal Bridges at the Massey. The actors will also share the show with the residents at Bentonville Manor Nursing Home in the afternoon.  The thirty-minute show is free to the public. At each performance, Trike Theatre is accepting donations of “Polar-Wear” (mittens, hats, socks and scarves) for the children at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. 

The Polar Express is a fantastical train that travels all over the world on Christmas Eve. Children board the locomotion with expectations of witnessing Santa give out the first gift of Christmas at the North Pole.  Based on the book by the same name written by Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express, is written by Trike Theatre musical director, Kay Fish.

The Academy Players is a 3rd-12th grade ensemble-based performance program within Trike Theatre’s Drama Academy. The Polar Express cast includes: Trace Eike, Mason Jones, Jacob Lewis, Rhianna Lightle, Abby Mattingly, Claire Redlaczyk, Chloe Suarez, Laina Suarez, Isabella Thomas, Rebecca Vukin and Zyan Ward. 

The performance is co-directed by Kassie Misiewicz & Jason Suel. Kassie Misiewicz is Trike Theatre’s founder and Executive Artistic Director. She recently directed The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for Trike Theatre.  Kassie received her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Theatre for Young Audiences from Arizona State University has taught and/or directed at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Arizona State University, Walton Arts Center, Growing Stage Theatre for young Audiences and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a former executive board member of TYA/USA, the national service organization for youth theater professionals.

Jason Suel, Trike Theatre Artistic Associate, is originally from Central Arkansas but moved back to the area after four years teaching and acting in England, UK. He has an MA in Theatre from Bowling Green State University and has enjoyed acting in Trike Theatre’s production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as well as playing Dromio in The Comedy of Errors, Ensemble in The Laramie Project, Sam in Personals, and Edward Lyons in Blood Brothers.

Kay Fish, Musical Director and playwright, earned a Masters degree in Operatic Performance from the University of Missouri and a BA in Music from Stephens College. After school she studied with the Houston Grand Opera and has been teaching for the past 32 years. She was the assistant choir director at her church and has written many musicals for children.

Trike Theatre is Northwest Arkansas’ only professional theatre for youth. Located in the heart of Downtown Bentonville, it is founded on three equal programs: The Trike Playhouse, producing professional Mainstage and Touring productions; the Trike Academy, offering year-round programming for 4year old through 12th grade, taught by trained theatre professionals and integrating Arkansas Department of Education literacy and reading standards with cutting edge drama training curriculum; and Trike Residencies, drama and literacy integration programs reaching students and teachers in the classroom.

More information can be found on-line at www.triketheatre.org or by calling 866-331-3681.