“Robin Hood” Rehearses in Preparation for Weekend Musical

Armstrong Community Theater rehearses each scene in preparation for their musical performance Thursday through Saturday this week.
by Sarah Steighner
A young and eager “Robin Hood” cast gathered excitedly backstage at the Casino Theater waiting for dress rehearsal practice to begin in anticipation of this weekend’s show.
The Armstrong Community Theater will perform “Robin Hood” the musical Thursday through Saturday at the theater in Vandergrift (Westmoreland County) featuring their cast of children in kindergarten to eighth grade.
The highly attentive cast practiced reciting their lines while feeding off the energy they drew from being on stage. The girls twirled around in their dresses while the boys couldn’t seem to put down their sword props as last adjustments to costumes and microphones were made
The murmur of scripted lines and the low hum of songs broke out as musical director Troy Dinga went over some last minute reminders. Though soon the cast jumped into position as a complete run through of the musical began under the command of Director Hannah Younkins.

Robin Hood engages another character during dress rehearsal.
This is 20 year old Younkins’ third year directing the kids play for the Armstrong Community Theater (ACT). The ACT Board of Directors picked “Robin Hood” as this year’s musical after Younkins’ suggestion.
“It’s gone pretty well for us. We have a lot of kids in 8th grade, so it’ll be their last year. There’s a lot of talented kids to work with, (and) a lot of kids I know well. So, it’s good fun to work with them again,” Younkins said.
Younkins graduated from Freeport High School, and is currently attending Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster for a degree in History. She acted both in high school, and college and has participated in over 15 shows for ACT.
“I think we have a lot of people that have been committed to the theater for a long time. I started acting in the kids shows, about ten years ago. We also have a lot of families that are involved. It’s a very close community, but we’re always looking for new people,” Younkins said.
The lead character, Robin Hood, is played by 13 year old Donovan Jack. Jack has previously only been in one prior play, “In Search of the DoDo Bird,” at Kittanning Junior High School. However, he is already extremely involved with other activities.
“I play clarinet, piano, saxophone, some trumpet and oboe. For school I’m in Science club and I was the vice president of student council for Kittanning Junior High School. (I’m) in Leo club, (and) I was the treasurer for science club. I play basketball and baseball,” Jack said.
As Jack was dressed in his full Robin Hood attire, he disclosed that the sword fighting and archery contest were his favorite parts of the play. While the cast has only been practicing for less than two months, Jack explained that things have really started to come together lately.
“They (practices) have been going pretty well. I can see a lot of improvement from Sunday to Monday. On Sunday we were doing all right, but we were forgetting some lines. But it’s coming along really well,” Jack said.
“Robin Hood” will be performed by the Armstrong Community Theater for three nights tomorrow through Saturday. Doors open at 7 PM, while the musical starts at 7:30 PM at the Casino Theater located at 145 Lincoln St. in Vandergrift (Westmoreland County). Tickets are $10 each, and will be available at the door.