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Community Corner

ETHS Grads Shape Young Actors at Mudlark

Patch opinion columnist Christine Wolf talks to two ETHS grads who are now leading Evanston kids in gutsy adaptations of plays like Franz Kafka's "The Trial" at Mudlark Theater Company.

Growing up, I never had the guts to perform on stage.

Believe me, I wanted to be a star – anyone from a singer like Debbie Boone to a bunhead like Princess Leia; from the ultimate older sister, like Marcia Brady, to rainbow-chasing Dorothy Gale; from adorable baby sister Gretl to any one of the sassypants actresses in the 1982’s Annie. Instead, I could only imagine the applause while belting out Olivia Newton John songs in front of the bathroom mirror and admiring all the kids who’d found their way onto a stage.

I’m happy to report that, thanks to the heroic efforts of Mudlark Theater Companykids throughout Evanston are offered chances to get there.

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Mudlark’s not the only kids’ theater company in town, but it’s got something special. Led by two Evanston Township High School grads who have been working together for years, the company is dedicated to treating kids like real performers, not just members of a school play. And, as the mom of two very happy Mudlark performers, I can’t say enough about what a creative outlet can do for a child’s self esteem.

It’s not hard to see how Mudlark’s stewards — artistic director Andrew Biliter and executive director Michael Miro — are like the “Matt Damon and Ben Affleck” of Evanston. Best friends since 6th grade, the two have practically always acted (at Evanston Township High School, class of 2002), written and directed (at the Ridgeville Park District) together. Summer breaks during their college years were spent running the drama programming for Ridgeville’s improv and sketch comedy programs.

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In a recent phone conversation, Miro explained how he and Biliter ended up running a thriving theater company for young actors: Mudlark founder Amy Eaton stepped down in 2009 after four years, and Biliter became the company’s artistic director in 2010; a couple of months later, Miro came on board as executive director.  They’ve maintained Eaton’s founding mission of “providing professional-level, theatrical training” to Evanston’s youth and expanded Mudlark programs throughout the community.

I must confess: when my daughter signed up for a Mudlark audition, I wondered if and how it differed from other acting companies. Parents of kids with former Mudlark experience raved about the staff and – most notably – about what their children gained. I heard phrases like “my kids feel understood here,” “the staff all take the young actors seriously,” and “they really understand kids here.”

After speaking with Miro, it’s easy to see why kids have such a good experience. He says he and Biliter have crystal-clear memories of their own emotions as young people.

 “I’ve never forgotten what it feels like,” Miro says of growing up. “Your feelings change so often, but they’re real feelings, and they mean everything.” That understanding helps inform Mudlark’s young actors as they become confident in their craft.

 “It’s rewarding to see kids flex their creative muscles for the first time, and to see a kid say, ‘I can make an audience laugh,’ or ‘I am the vehicle in which this story can be told,’” Miro explains. “The collaborative experience of theater is what brings a cast and crew together…realizing the dramatic stakes of moving and thinking and reacting together. There’s something to putting on a production…it puts you at the risk of relying on each other.”

Comparing theater to being on a sports team, Miro says, “It binds you together. You get addicted to it…to the adrenaline rush of your characters.”

Proof it’s never too late to catch the acting bug, Miro didn’t audition for anything at ETHS until his junior year – then performed in twelve shows before graduation. Some of his closest friends remain those with whom he performed at ETHS, including Biliter, who will be the best man at Miro’s upcoming October wedding.

Asked what it feels like to see graduates of Mudlark performing in ETHS productions, Miro says, “It’s amazing and rewarding.”

When asked how the staff keeps the magic alive for so many young actors (often rehearsing just after school and on weekends), Miro says, “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to keep the magic alive. The moment we start lowering our standards, thinking, ‘It’s just kids we’re working with,’ it’s over. We hold the kids to the same standards as professional actors. Sometimes we go in with even higher standards.”

I’ve seen firsthand how kids rise to the challenge. Believe me, this isn’t childcare with stage time. The kids get to know each other, figure out how to work together and how to help one another. They work hard. They get stressed. They struggle with lines and blocking and props. Yet somehow, Biliter and Miro and their staff keep kids coming back. As one young actor says, “They actually prepare you for bigger things and don’t just treat you like kids doing a school play.”  

Most of all, Mudlark chooses, adapts and directs performances that appeal to audiences beyond the families of the performers. For instance, this season’s upcoming show, The Trial, is Miro’s adaptation of Franz Kafka’s 1925 novel of the same name.

Kafka? With KIDS?!!

“We get it all the time,” Miro says about questions like those. “Our intention is to do theater that’s compelling beyond the moms and dads. We’re performing for the guests who come without any connection to the performers.”

When asked about such a dark story, Miro reflects. “It’s a challenge working with a novel this dense, with unfinished chapters. And we’re doing it with 12-15 year-old actors, so we need to change the R-rated elements to PG-13. But the ages of the characters [in this story] are not essential to their identities. They’re all larger than life. And, there’s a reason people continue to read this story.”

Miro once thought directing Antigone was ambitious, but now concedes, “That was child’s play compared to The Trial,” a performance with more lines than any previous Mudlark performance. Laughing, he says, “I’ve fulfilled my dark stuff for awhile. I’m ready to go back to light and fluffy…”

I’m so glad there are people in Evanston like Michael Miro and Andrew Biliter who never forget what it’s like to be young and aspiring, who dig in and make a difference, and who embrace their Evanston roots.

And (sorry, but I can’t help myself), I just have to say: Bravo!

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