For Children’s Theater of Madison actors and audiences, life has taken complicated turns in recent years. CTM’s challenge to educate and inspire has only become more formidable in recent social and political climates.
But the 55-year-old theater troupe, co-founded by the late Nancy Thurow in 1965 as a Zeta Phi Eta communications sorority project, has risen to that challenge. For every season of “A Christmas Carol” there are also productions such as last year’s “Mockingbird,” Kathryn Erskine’s drama about a girl on the autism spectrum played by a young actor who is also on the spectrum. Promoting diversity and inclusion has long been part of CTM’s mission, and artistic director Roseann Sheridan says that mission has never been more critical.