Thespians perform forty shows in twenty-one days

Longtime friends London Bauman and Hunter McAndrew are preparing for an exciting summer of acting on tour.

The two thespians have known one another since grade school. Both grew up finding joy in the fine arts, performing in plays from high school on. Talking with both of them, it seems as if they do everything together. Both work at 60 Minutes to Escape where they entertain many intoxicated people, and normal people, by locking them in a room filled with clues. When they aren’t working, they attend MHCC, go to their many play rehearsals, and hang out with one another, making music and writing their own screenplays.

After auditioning at the Portland Area Theater Auditions (PATA), Bauman got a callback from the Traveling Lantern Theater Company. The company hires actors for a number of traveling shows, with a goal is to educate and entertain young kids in a fun way by sending actors to different locations across the U.S. There is a show for every season in the Northeast, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest regions; this production will cover the Northwest.

Upon getting the role of Vladimir in “Vladimir Goes for Gold,” Bauman was asked if he knew anyone who would be a good fit for the second acting part in the play – which brings in McAndrew.

The play “Vladimir Goes for Gold” was written by Traveling Lantern to fit with this year’s summer reading theme being the upcoming summer Olympics, and is getting its world premiere. The story follows Vladimir going to the Olympics to play badminton. On his way there, the athlete has a dream that sends him back in the past to the very first Olympic games.

Bauman’s character will be teaming up with the audience to explore the original Olympic Games and teach children in an interactive way.  And McAndrew will be playing “everyone who is not Vladimir,” he said.

“I have five to seven characters,” said McAndrew, listing off “the president of the country Vladimir is from, his longtime rival, the Olympic Harold, and a hostess.”

The production is really just the two thespians on the road. Bauman and McAndrew will be setting stuff up, acting, breaking it down, and moving on to the next show, all by themselves. Most days the actors will perform two shows, driving from one to the other and them to the next town. On the bright side, both are left-handed, so during their quick lunch breaks they won’t bump elbows in the car.

In their free time, the actors dream of having their own theater company someday.

“There is so much favoritism, and hoops to jump through,” said Bauman regarding the acting world. “We have the tenacity and ability – so we should just make our own theater.” Though the two have this great opportunity, they still have trouble balancing work, school, and “weird rehearsals times, from 10 p.m. to midnight.”

They explained that most people don’t realize that being an actor isn’t just fun and games; it takes hard work.

“I grew up in a single-income household. Constantly moving place to place – it’s hard dealing with those issues while trying to be an active artist,” said McAndrew.

In fourth grade, Bauman saw “The Giver” and knew he wanted to be an actor, which is why he believes being able to travel and teach kids new things in a fun and entertaining way can change lives.

In McAndrew’s words, “Art is an important outlet, and that’s the beauty of having theater in our schools.”

Currently Bauman is working with the Steep and Thorny Way to Heaven theater group on a play called “Beirut.” Beirut will be showing at 7 p.m. on May 26-28 and June 2-4.

McAndrew is a part of MHCC’s spring production, “Man From Nebraska,” which kicks off 7:30 tonight and Saturday night and runs again at 2 p.m. Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. on May 19-21.