31 Jul Local Knowledge: Living the Dream

Mike Morelli leads a tour of wide-eyed adults through the inner workings of Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) prior to the opening of one of five performances the theater puts on as part of its Community Series. An expressive and exuberant speaker with dancing eyes behind distinctive red-framed glasses, Morelli quickly demonstrates why he’s the ideal ambassador for the beloved theater company as he explains every aspect in wonderous delight, from lighting to costumes to the history of the red-brick building fittingly located along Missoula’s Broadway Street.

Morelli stepped into the role of executive director in 2022 as a natural continuation of a life devoted to the theatrical arts. His educational background in the field is extensive. “I have four degrees awarded in four different decades,” he says. “We’re halfway through this decade, and I’m seriously considering another one because five degrees in five decades would just be cool.”

McKay Cheney makes his MCT debut as hapless Seymour — alongside Audrey II, the bloodthirsty carnivorous plant — in the 2024 production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Those degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in theater from the University of Wyoming, a Master of Fine Arts in directing from Utah State University, a Master of Business Administration from Regis University, and a Doctorate in Fine Arts with a concentration in theater and specializations in acting, directing, and arts administration from Texas Tech University.

“I have always wanted to run — and knew I would run — theaters,” says Morelli. “I also knew I wanted to build one, and I got to do that prior to coming to Missoula, when I built and ran a performing arts center at Kent State Tuscarawas. That was the culmination of a years-long dream. After I did that for a couple of years, I had that what next feeling.”

Morelli’s next became running the Entertainment Management Program at the University of Montana in Missoula for seven years, where he was awarded Most Inspirational Teacher of the Year in 2021 and where he continues to teach as an adjunct professor.

Many MCT productions are adapted as sensory-friendly performances, which allow neurodivergent patrons the opportunity to attend shows with shorter run times and minimized loud noises and bright lights.

Morelli first became familiar with MCT before his move to Montana. As a child, his oldest daughter acted in one of their performances in Laramie, Wyoming, as part of the theater’s famous Red Truck Tour. “After moving to a military base in Germany with her mother a few years later, she had all the culture shock you can imagine going from Laramie to Darmstadt, Germany,” recalls Morelli. “Then the Red Truck Tour came to the base. Our phone calls went from her saying she wasn’t making friends to, ‘Oh Daddy, oh Daddy, MCT is here!’”

Once Morelli found himself living in Missoula alongside MCT, he began donating to the theater in honor of his daughter’s cherished experiences. “Someone from MCT called and said, ‘Hey, this is really great. Thank you so much, and who are you?’” Morelli says with a laugh. “They said, ‘We don’t have any record of you buying tickets, so can you tell us why?’” He shared his personal story with a member of MCT’s board of directors, who took Morelli to lunch to hear more. This eventually led to a board seat of his own. When the position of executive director opened up, Morelli relinquished his seat and applied for the job. 

Mike Morelli continues his lifelong dream of running a theater while sharing his passion for all aspects of the theatrical arts in his role as MCT’s executive director.

Morelli wears many hats as executive director, but his main responsibility is to help carry out MCT’s core mission: “Empowering children and adults through theater education and performance to develop lifelong skills while enriching communities worldwide through live productions.” Their Red Truck Tour is recognized as the world’s largest touring children’s theater of its kind, traveling to over 1,100 communities and military bases in all 50 states and 16 countries, from Chinook, Montana to Yokosuka, Japan.

Whether at home or abroad, pulling off the logistics of the annual tour is nothing short of magic. Small teams of tour directors arrive at a location on Monday equipped with a script, set, costumes, and props. They hold open auditions, cast local children, rehearse, and present the production to the community at the end of the week. Then, it’s back on the road — or plane — to start all over again at the next destination.

Despite the name, MCT isn’t just for kids. The theater pulls from Missoula’s expansive pool of artistic talent to put on adult-themed productions like Rent and Little Shop of Horrors for its Community Series.

These tours have been ongoing since 1973, with approximately 1,500 to 2,000 performances held each year. “We were doing some fast math the other day and realized we’ve had more than 2 million kids on stage, and probably 20 million people have seen our performances over MCT’s lifetime. That’s stunning,” says Morelli. “We often talk about MCT developing life skills. We give kids a voice, encourage them to have confidence, help them stand up for who they are, and teach them to work in a group toward a common goal. Many of our kids haven’t had a way to do that.”

A significant portion of Morelli’s time is also spent spreading the word about MCT and drumming up support, whether by speaking at a Kiwanis meeting or providing tea and a tour to residents at a local retirement community. “So many people in Missoula don’t know or understand the scope of the tour, so we talk about that a lot. Networking and friend-making are a big part of my job,” he says.

MCT’s Theatre for Young Audiences gives aspiring thespians the opportunity to watch professional actors perform kid-approved plays such as Charlotte’s Web.

MCT also stands apart from many other community theaters in that it has a full-time staff, which means that Morelli has many people who report to him every day. In addition to the tour directors, the company employs over 40 people in Missoula whose jobs range from coordinating tours to building sets and props, running lights for the local productions, and designing and sewing costumes, which can total over 26,000 outfits for the tour alone.

Sitting on the top rung of the ladder, Morelli often finds himself having the final say in lively discussions among staff over ongoing projects or new ventures. Title aside, his calm and thoughtful demeanor makes him an obvious choice to bounce ideas off of and address concerns. “The problems I help solve aren’t necessarily technical problems,” he says. “Rather, they are issues on a larger scope, or questions that are kicked to me because someone may be uncomfortable with the ramifications.”

One of those ramifications stemmed from a noteworthy reformation Morelli enacted, which empowered the company to make choices that differed from the artistic direction of the past, especially with the two adult-themed productions held during MCT’s annual Community Series. “It’s not that we’re doing anything wild, but shows like Rent and Waitress are a departure from MCT because we just haven’t had that kind of focus before. We had really shied away from shows that had that kind of social messaging because those can be tough things to deal with. So, I want to say it’s OK to do a show like that.”

Morelli recognizes the worth in MCT’s highly skilled and talented employees who have become like family to him. He understands the importance of taking care of everyone, continuing to keep their hard work and expertise at MCT as long as possible. “We have people who have been doing the same thing for decades, and they are experts in their field. Some do eventually move to another job in a bigger market, but generally there are not too many people changing theaters because there are not too many theaters in the area where you can make a full-time living,” he says. “Our people are passionate and good at their jobs, and I love being around them. They believe in the value of what we do for kids and adults. Being a part of that bigger whole, for me, is really great.”

Ensuring MCT runs smoothly is a significant part of his job, but Morelli has also leveraged his business education and background to contribute new ideas that have helped the theater financially. These ideas vary in scope from small to large, but all have had an impact, “Like making sure we take credit cards for t-shirt purchases. That doesn’t sound like a big change, but if our tour actors don’t have to deal with cash, that is a big deal,” he says. He is also working on growing MCT’s endowment, which had not been a substantial focus in the past. 

In 2024, Morelli was excited to step from behind the stage to the front when he directed A Christmas Story: The Musical. “The board had asked me not to direct my first two years, since there was a lot of other stuff to get done. The next year, I said, ‘Boy, I really want to direct!’ Our artistic director, Joe Martinez, told me A Christmas Story was mine if I wanted it. It turned out great. I especially loved seeing all the families audition and go through the whole process together,” he says.

Being the executive director of MCT is, without a doubt, a taxing and stressful job, but spend five minutes with Morelli, and it’s evident that he’s living his dream, sharing his love of the performing arts and inspiring confidence in generations of up-and-coming — and sometimes unexpected — thespians. “Yes, of course running a theater in Missoula is great, but running the world’s largest touring children’s theater of its kind is amazing,” he says with outstretched hands. “I can’t overstate our impact. We get letter after letter saying ‘my child was shy,’ ‘my child was an introvert,’ even ‘my child has Tourette’s,’ — pick your thing — but now they’ve found their voice. That makes it all worth it.”

Susie Wall is a freelance writer in Missoula, Montana whose work focuses on a range of subjects, from travel to small-scale farming to scat identification. Her writing and photography have appeared in numerous publications, and she is the author of 100 Things To Do In Montana Before You Die.