Gina Scott / Winonan

Winona State University students will be traveling to 21 different elementary schools to perform their production of “The Cat in the Hat.” Rehearsals began during the first week of the semester, and they are ready for their first performance on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Immanuel Lutheran School in Lewiston, Minn.

The theatre and dance program has not put on a children’s production since performing “Peter Pan” in 2013, giving the actors a refreshing and new experience in their acting careers.

Brett Burger, who will be playing the Cat and Thing Two, will be graduating this spring, and “The Cat in the Hat” will be his last show before leaving Winona State.

“I’ve had a wide experience in different genres of theatre here so I wanted to add one more,” Burger said. “I have never done a children’s show before, but I’m very excited.”

Actors who have been involved with children’s theatre productions agree how performing for kids is no simple task. Adam Calcagno, who will be playing the boy and Thing One performed a production of “The Wizard of Oz” when he was in eighth grade for the elementary students of his district.

“To this day, they have been the toughest crowd of my acting experience,” Calcagno said. “This does make me slightly nervous performing in front of the same age group again, however the entire cast is far more experienced.”

Rebecca Borchardt, who will be playing Sally and the Fish, thinks the audience is what makes this production fun for the actors.

“I like the idea of performing for children, because you never know how they are going to react,” Borchardt said.

This production is pushing the actors to act in a way and style they have not been accustomed to. Keeping a child’s attention for 20 to 30 minutes requires a lot of entertainment.

Cody Anderson, who plays the Fish, shared what he has learned from the different style of a children’s theatre production.

“This experience is vastly different from shows like ‘Elephant’s Graveyard’ or ‘As You Like It,’” Anderson said. “It’s a different form of acting where everything is more exaggerated and whimsical to keep the kids attentive and entertained.”

Borchard agreed and said, “I have learned to go above and beyond. These kids want big and goofy.”

While the play is made to be loud and silly, a lot of work has been put into this production.

“Some people probably feel like it’s just an easy form of theatre because you can be loud and fun and run around, but it’s not,” Burger said. “You still need to focus and be in control of knowing who the character is, what their super objective is and be sure to find the relationships between your character and the others.”

The production will be traveling around schools within the region, performing the show up to twice a day, keeping the actors busy. The performances will conclude in mid-March and the two final shows will be performed at Winona State in the Vivian Fusillo theatre in the Performing Arts Center on March 18 and 19 at 2 p.m.