‘Matilda’: A look at working with 13 child actors at The Smith Center

When a musical starring a lot of children hits the road for a national tour, it involves far more than staging a normal play. Consider it a conundrum of a jigsaw puzzle, and Michael Altbaum, company manager of “Matilda the Musical” provided an insight into what is involved with 13 children in the cast.

“Matilda” arrives March 14 for a six-day run at our Smith Center, and Michael told patrons and ticket holders working with the children: “It’s a lot like working with adults. Everything you might imagine children to have issues with such as homesickness, stage fright or confusion are rarely issues.

“We have yet to encounter a kid who isn’t up to the rigor of the performances. It’s a grueling schedule, and we’re upfront about that, but the kids we have now and the kids we’ve had in the past have been much wiser beyond their years.”

A FULL SCHEDULE

With the 13 children in the cast, including three rotating actresses playing Matilda and two swings to fill in for other roles, there are a lot of factors to keep in consideration. An important one is how children receive an education traveling to a new city nearly every week.

Two tutors traveling across the U.S. with the cast assist with this, providing each child with tutoring a minimum of 15 hours a week, Michael said. To meet labor law requirements of different states they visit, the children’s days don’t exceed nine hours, he added.

In general, they start with tutoring in the morning, with time later for homework, followed by rehearsals in the afternoon, then dinner and that night’s performance. Even though the days are “pretty packed,” he acknowledges, there’s still time for children to have leisure time, including going to malls, relaxing by the hotel pool and general “kid stuff.”

They also enjoy field trips in cities to see the sights, he continued. “We’ve made sure since day one that the kids are a priority.”

A SENSE OF NORMALCY

Keeping a sense of reality for the children is key, he noted. “We try to keep them as contained as possible to make sure when they leave the show that they’re able to go back into real life.” It helps that every child travels with a guardian such as a parent or sibling.

Two more show-sponsored guardians also are constantly on hand to ensure that the children are never unsupervised. For many of the children cast members — a mix of American and Canadian performers — the routine is fairly routine by now.

Most of the young performers have been with the show since last year. Some have been in other touring productions before this one, including 12-year-old Jordan Hall, who has performed in “Motown the Musical” and “The Lion King.” “He’s pretty much a pro,” said Michael.

With the cast of “Matilda” divided about 50-50 between children and adults, the show features children performers more than most. Michael believes that is one of the reasons the show has such energy — it showcases highly skilled child actors who are ecstatic to be there.

“They understand what they’re doing and the specialness of their environment and this experience,” he said. “They’re more aware than anyone how cool this is to perform on a professional stage.”

“Matilda the Musical” runs from March 14-19 at The Smith Center. For tickets, visit TheSmithCenter.com.