Moorestown Theater Company Closes Out Summer Season

(MTC) closes out its Summer Stage this week with a performance of Winnie the Pooh, Kids, the last MTC performance until October.

Rookie director Ashley Brimfield said working with roughly 50 6- to 12-year-old actors has been a unique challenge, as she battles for attention with iPhones and game systems for her cast’s attention.

“But it’s been a good challenge, because it’s been one where I’m learning something new myself, and learning that they can handle just as much as the older kids,” she said. “It’s coming together really well. And I have to thank my choreographer, and my musical director, and (producing artistic director) Mark (Morgan) and everyone here. If we didn’t have such a knowledgeable staff and group that I could just trust, this would not come together as well as it does.”

One of the keys to the success of the show, according to Morgan and Brimfield, is the quality of the costumes created by costume designer Thom Sirkot.

Sirkot, who came to MTC after spending 70-plus productions with a theater company in the Poconos, said the key to designing captivating costumes is being forced to think creatively within the constraints imposed by the size—in terms of finances and time—of the production.

“Some of the biggest issues with the camp shows is we have a very limited time frame, so a lot of times it’s trying to just be creative on a budget, under a time constraint,” Sirkot said. “So it really makes you think outside of the normal availability and just creating the best you can create within all those constraints.”

According to Morgan, Sirkot has performed admirably under pressure, designing fantastic costumes (as well as some makeup and prosthetics) for two of the company's most recent shows:  and . 

Brimfield said the costumes make it easier for the younger performers to slip into character.

“The number one question I hear throughout the day is, ‘Are we gonna be doing this in our costumes? When are we getting our costumes?’ And as a director sometimes it’s frustrating because you’re like, ‘I want them to focus on knowing their lines,’” Brimfield said. “But you know what? As soon as they put their costume on, it’s like a whole other kid. It makes the experience more real for them; they feel like that character and they put a show on.”

Morgan said costumes are especially important for a show like this, where the characters—Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, et al—are so iconic.

“Costumes are part of what makes this show,” he said. “You want to see a Pooh that looks like Pooh.”

“With this kind of show, it really helps get the point across,” said Sirkot. “And these are shows where the kids are going to come see it and that imagination factor’s there, where you really want it to be authentic enough that it’s believable to that audience.”

Winnie the Pooh opens at 7 p.m. tonight. at , with additional performances at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at the MTC website or at the door.

MTC’s next performance won’t be until Oct. 20, at the fourth annual dinner-dance and auction.