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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Presser Youth Traveling Company Selected to Perform at 2027 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Mexico, Missouri — Students from Presser Arts Center have been selected as an elite performing arts group, officially designated as the Presser Youth Traveling Company, and will perform at the 2027 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. The students will present a fully staged theatrical production in August 2027 as part of the world’s largest performing arts festival.

 Director Sara Given was selected by the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) to direct a production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Following her selection, a group of student performers was chosen to form the Presser Youth Traveling Company—an ensemble selected for its artistic excellence, commitment, and ability to represent youth theatre on an international stage.

Founded in 1995 in partnership with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, AHSTF provides select secondary schools, high schools, and community theatre programs the opportunity to perform on professional stages during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Since its beginning in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has grown into the largest performing arts festival in the world. Each year, more than 6,000 performers from around the globe present over 4,000 performances across all artistic genres during a three-week celebration of creativity and cultural exchange.

In 2027, AHSTF will celebrate its 32nd year of bringing student artists to the international stage. Acceptance into the program is highly selective, with participating groups chosen based on artistic merit, educational value, and their ability to represent youth theatre at a global level.

During their time in Edinburgh, members of the Presser Youth Traveling Company will perform alongside international artists while also participating in workshops, cultural exchanges, and professional theatre experiences that foster artistic growth and global awareness.

“These students have earned this opportunity through their dedication, discipline, and passion for the art of theatre,” said Sara Given, Director. “The Presser Youth Traveling Company represents young artists from across our surrounding communities, and it is an incredible honor for them to share their voices, creativity, and collaborative spirit on an international stage. This experience will shape them not only as performers, but as confident, globally minded individuals.”

Over the next year, the students will engage in fundraising and community outreach efforts to support travel and production expenses, gaining valuable experience in leadership, teamwork, and arts advocacy. Additional information about performances, fundraising initiatives, and ways to support the Presser Youth Traveling Company will be announced in the coming months.

Contact:
Sara Given, Director
Presser Arts Center
📧 sgiven89@gmail.com

Frozen The Musical Casting Call


-2 Female Teens-Young Adults: ages 16-30

-2 Male Teens-Young Adults: ages 16-30

-2 Any Gender Teens-Young Adults: ages 13-30

-2 Young Females: ages 8-13

-2 Mature Females: ages 30+

-4 Mature Males: ages 30+

-Diverse Ensemble of people ages 9+ 

Character Breakdown

Elsa

Future Queen of Arendelle and Anna’s older sister; born with magical powers, isolates herself from others out of fear.

Gender: Female

Vocal range top: Eb5

Vocal range bottom: E3

Anna

Princess of Arendelle and Elsa’s younger sister; an eternal optimist who longs to be loved and to connect with other people.

Gender: Female

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: G3

Kristoff

Hardworking ice harvester with a prickly exterior that hides a big heart.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: Bb4

Vocal range bottom: A2

Hans

Prince of the Southern Isles and youngest of thirteen brothers; charming and ambitious.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: A4

Vocal range bottom: A2

Olaf

Magical snowman with a childlike innocence.

"In Summer" (Alto Key): E3 - Eb5

"In Summer" (Tenor Key): B2 - Bb4

Gender: Any

Vocal range top: Eb5

Vocal range bottom: E3

Sven

Kristoff’s fiercely loyal reindeer best friend.

Oaken

Amiable salesperson and relentless advocate of hygge; cheerful and jolly.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: Bb4

Vocal range bottom: A2

Weselton

Duke from a neighboring kingdom; chauvinistic, impolite, and judgmental.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: A4

Vocal range bottom: F3

Young Anna

Younger princess of Arendelle with youthful exuberance; fun-loving troublemaker; mesmerized by her sister’s magic.

Gender: Female

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: Bb3

Young Elsa

Elder princess of Arendelle with magical powers; obedient daughter; protective sister.

Gender: Female

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: A3

Queen Iduna

Queen of Arendelle and child of the Northhuldra; strong and compassionate mother.

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: F3

King Agnarr

King of Arendelle; warm-hearted and protective father.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: C4

Vocal range bottom: B2

Pabbie

Mystical shaman and patriarch of the Hidden Folk; Kristoff’s wise adoptive father.

Gender: Male

Vocal range top: Gb4

Vocal range bottom: Ab2

Bulda

Spiritual matriarch of the Hidden Folk; Kristoff’s nurturing and vibrant adoptive mother.

Gender: Female

Vocal range top: D5

Vocal range bottom: Bb3

Ensemble

Includes the following roles: Townspeople, Staff, Guards, Hidden Folk, Oaken's Family and Friends, Volunteers, Bishop, Handmaiden, Lackeys, Hidden Folk Child

The Crucible Casting Call

Presser Art Center is holding auditions for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a classic drama exploring mass hysteria and religious extremism during the 1692 Salem witch trials.

Auditions: March 16 & 17 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM (Presser Art Center Art Room).

Performances: October 2–4 and October 9–11, 2026

The Story

The play follows a community consumed by fear when a group of young girls, led by Abigail Williams, begins accusing neighbors of witchcraft to avoid punishment for dancing in the forest. The story centers on John Proctor, a farmer who must grapple with his own past sins (an affair with Abigail) while trying to save his wife and expose the trials as a fraud.

Cast Requirements (21 Total Actors)

The production requires a diverse cast of 21 performers:

10 Mature Men: Includes authority figures like Rev. Parris, Rev. Hale, Deputy Gov. Danforth, and local farmers like John Proctor and Giles Corey.

6 Mature Women: Includes the virtuous Elizabeth Proctor, the respected Rebecca Nurse, and the grieving Ann Putnam.

5 School-Aged Girls: Includes the primary accusers, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Betty Parris.

List of characters in order of appearance:

  • Rev. Samuel Paris

    • The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.

  • Betty Parris

    • Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.

  • Tituba

    • Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request.

  • Abigail Williams

    • Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.

  • John Proctor

    • A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.

  • Elizabeth Proctor

    • John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.

  • Susanna Walcott

    • a young woman from Salem who joins Abigail Williams and the other girls in accusing townspeople of witchcraft. She represents how ordinary people are swept up in fear and hysteria, helping to spread the false accusations that drive the trials.

  • Mrs. Ann Putnam

    • Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.

  • Thomas Putman

    • A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.

  • Mercy Lewis

    • One of the girls in Abigail’s group.

  • Mary Warren

    • The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession.

  • Rebecca Nurse

    • Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.

  • Giles Corey

    • An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.

  • Rev. John Hale

    • A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.

  • Francis Nurse

    • A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but he is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.

  • Ezekiel Cheever

    • A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.

  • Marshal Herrick

    • The marshal of Salem.

  • Jude Hathorn

    • A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials.

  • Martha Corey

    • Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.

  • Deputy Gov. Danforth

    • The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.

  • Sarah Good

    • a poor, homeless woman who becomes one of the first accused of witchcraft. She is socially marginalized, speaks bitterly, and is easy for the community to blame. Her accusation shows how fear and prejudice in Salem lead to the persecution of the most vulnerable.

Press Release

Justin Hamm of Mexico
is Missouri's new Poet Laureate

Justin Hamm, Missouri Poet Laureate 2025-2027, performing a poem from his book The Inheritance

Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced the appointment of Justin Hamm of Mexico, Missouri, as the Missouri Poet Laureate for 2025-2027.

Mr. Hamm currently serves as the school librarian at Eugene Field Elementary in Mexico. He is the author of five books of poetry and several individual works, which often draw inspiration from Missouri's people and landscapes, and have appeared in journals and anthologies nationwide. In addition to his writing, he is a photographer whose award-winning hybrid poetry and photography exhibit, Midwestern, toured throughout the Midwest between 2018 and 2020. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from MacMurray College and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Southern Illinois University. 

“I'm deeply honored to be named the next Poet Laureate of Missouri. I look forward to serving the people of this state and repaying poetry for the countless ways it has shaped and steadied my life,” said Mr. Hamm. “For years I've tried to let my poems testify that Missouri is a place rich in story and worthy of literary attention. As Poet Laureate, I hope to uplift the voices of our state's poets higher, and to remind everyday Missourians that poetry isn't some distant art but a living thing—and it belongs to anyone with a heart that yearns for connection.”

The Poet Laureate program, created in 2008 and administered by the Missouri Arts Council, enriches the lives of Missourians by fostering the art of poetry statewide. Through public appearances, readings, workshops, digital and social media, the Poet Laureate helps elevate poetry in schools, communities, and cultural spaces. 

Justin Hamm's two-year term as Missouri Poet Laureate begins October 1, 2025, and runs through September 30, 2027. He succeeds David L. Harrison of Springfield, who served from July 2023 through September 2025.

Governor Kehoe selected Justin Hamm from among public nominations reviewed by the Missouri Poet Laureate Committee, composed of previous Poets Laureate David L. Harrison, Maryfrances Wagner, Karen Craigo, Aliki Barnstone, William Trowbridge, and Walter Bargen.

The Angel Next Door Casting Call & Synopsis

This will be our fall blackbox production running October 3-5 & 10-12, 2025

Oliver Adams is on the brink of a major success. His novel The Angel Next Door is set to be published, and famed Broadway playwrights Charlotte and Arthur Sanders have already adapted his book for what is sure to be a huge stage hit. And who do they have their eye on as the leading lady? Margot Bell, of course, the very person Oliver adores and about whom he has written his novel (though he hasn’t told her yet). When they all converge for a weekend in Newport, Rhode Island, the thin walls of the well appointed mansion reveal that the angel may not be angelic, and only the power of theatre can save the play, Oliver’s novel, and perhaps most importantly, his heart.

Casting Call

Ages can be adjusted slightly either up or down depending on the ages of those who audition.

CHARLOTTE SANDERS, a successful Broadway playwright. Quick-witted, resourceful, optimistic, the engine of the play. Female fifties to early seventies

OLIVER ADAMS, a young novelist. Naive, sincere; a romantic with both the brilliant mind and unwary heart of a poet. Male, early to mid-twenties

ARTHUR SANDERS, Charlotte's husband and co-playwright. A pessimist to her optimist who delights in being her foil; a skilled writer of quips, both on the page and in life. Male, fifties to early seventies.

OLGA, the housekeeper. A nebulous Eastern European accent from the Old Country; a proudly uncaring, unhelpful servant; intimidating if not frightening. Female, forties to seventies

MARGOT BELL, a Broadway singer and actress. Easily cast as the sweet and beautiful ingenue, but realizing  she's wiser and stronger than the characters she plays. Female, mid-twenties to early thirties.

VICTOR PRATT, a Broadway leading man--and an idiot. Impressively self-involved; the handsomest, sexiest, manliest man on Broadway according to him; always a beat behind. Male, mid-thirties to forties.

Audition Information

Auditions will be cold readings from the script and will be read with other auditioning actors. If possible, it would be helpful if actors could be present for the full two hours of the audition period. Attendance at both of the first two nights of auditions - while not necessary - would be helpful so as to allow the director to see as many possible actor/character combinations as possible. The third night of auditions will be reserved for callbacks if necessary. Accommodations can be made for anyone who is unable to be present at the scheduled audition times.