Girl Scouts Had a Spoonful of Fun at Workshop

Starlight Theatre was thrilled to welcome nearly 100 Girl Scouts, troop leaders and parents to a special Mary Poppins educational workshop on July 29.

The girls, all members of Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri, gathered at the theatre to explore the inner workings of musical theatre. With help from Mary Poppins cast members and Starlight staff, they learned a lot during and even earned a patch during the 2½-hour workshop.

The girls learned “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” dance choreography from the show’s dance captain Michael Baerga, tried out their costume design skills with wardrobe supervisor Travis Whited, toured backstage with Starlight production manager Kent Andel, and enjoyed a lunchtime Q&A session with two stars of the show – Analisa Leaming who plays the title role of Mary Poppins and 13-year-old Fiona Scott who plays Jane Banks.

Many of the girls who attended the workshop planned to return to see Mary Poppins that same night. They will be joined by many of their fellow Girl Scouts as more than 650 are expected to attend the Wednesday night performance.

Mary Poppins is the third show this season that has brought large groups of Girl Scouts to Starlight Theatre. In total, more than 1,900 Girl Scouts have turned out for Girl Scout Nights at Annie, Cinderella and Mary Poppins – and everyone at Starlight thinks it’s a Jolly Holiday that they’ve joined us!

“Starlight and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri have enjoyed a partnership for several years, and it seems to get bigger and better all the time,” said Staci Shute, Starlight’s group sales coordinator. “We look forward to many more opportunities to share the magic of theatre with these exceptional girls in future seasons!”