PLAYING ALONG : With the Missoula Children’s Theatre, the Audience Does Lots More Than Sit and Watch

What’s left behind when a traveling children’s show leaves town? Ticket stubs get tossed; programs are tucked into drawers and forgotten. Even memories, no matter how pleasant, eventually fade.

The Missoula Children’s Theatre wants to leave something with more staying power. According to founder Jim Caron, the troupe wants to give children not only a keener appreciation of the arts but a lasting sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Even if it takes hauling them out of their seats to do it.

On Saturday, 60 Orange County children age 6 to 14 will put MCT’s method to the test when they join a pair of professional actors in an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Fisherman and His Wife” at 2 and 4:30 p.m. in Orange Coast College’s Fine Arts Recital Hall.

MCT, founded in 1970, has a repertoire of more than a dozen classic folk or fairy tales adapted for large casts. This year, Caron said, the Missoula, Mont.-based company has 13 two-person actor/director teams on the road giving 23,000 youngsters in four countries a chance to perform, many of them for the first time.

When an MCT team arrives in town, it auditions as many as 200 local youngsters for positions in the cast and technical crew. Recruits are then led through a whirlwind week of rehearsals before a public performance. MCT’s colorful costumes and simple but imaginative sets and props round out the finished product.

Although the team appears in the show, the children are the focus. Caron says the shows can accommodate a wide range of talents and experience. They “are written so kids can maximize their ability levels,” he said. “We place the kids in fail-safe positions where they are going to succeed, but where they are also challenged.”

Adapted by MCT associate artistic director Don Kukle, “Fisherman” is the story of a down-on-his-luck angler who hooks a magic fish. In exchange for its freedom, the fish promises to grant the fellow’s wishes, basically a win-win arrangement until the fisherman’s ambitious wife horns in. She wastes no time issuing a string of fantastic demands that end in a knotty lesson on the dangers of avarice.

Originally a three-character tale, “Fisherman” was well-suited to the company’s needs, Caron said, “because we could develop humor that is good for adults and children and characters that are challenging at all different levels for the cast.”

To accommodate the large casts, the list of characters has been stretched to include several choruses including a nasty band of villains (“the Hooks”) and a school of pint-size dancing starfish. Most actors take part in the dialogue, and all appear in at least one musical number.

The idea of using local children in a professional touring show came almost by accident in the early ‘70s, when the fledgling company was asked to perform “Snow White” one winter in tiny Miles City, Mont. Instead of bringing the youngsters who played the dwarfs across the state, Curan hit on the idea of casting children from Miles City. The audition turnout was omen enough: More than 400 youths auditioned for the seven roles, Curan recalls.

Although it plays its share of big cities, the backbone of MCT is formed by far less-populated areas, such as the remote school district in Alberta that requires not only the entire student body but the teachers and janitor to fill out the cast.

“This project was developed for places like rural Montana, where a population of 1,000 is considered a big town,” Curan explained. He noted that in many cases, his company’s visits have prompted residents to start their own children’s theater programs. Sometimes, the newfound enthusiasm even spills into the adult world.

“Say somebody’s grandchild is in our ‘Wizard of Oz,’ ” Curan said. “They drive 60 miles off the farm and see what may be the first live theater of their lives. Then maybe the next time they’re in Seattle, they go to the Rep. They’ve learned the excitement of live theater.”

What

The Missoula Children’s Theatre’s production of “The Fisherman and His Wife.”

When

Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 and 4:30 p.m.

Where

Orange Coast College’s Fine Arts Recital Hall, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts

From the San Diego (I-405) Freeway, take the Fairview Road exit and drive south. Turn right onto Merrimac Way and enter Parking Lot D.

Wherewithal

$5.50 to $8.50 in advance, $7 to $11 at the door.

Where to call

(714) 432-5880.