At one point, instructor Allison Muennich was smiling and praising her young actors. A few minutes later, she was still grinning, but was firmly asking the energetic kids to simmer down and pay attention.

“The noise that happens in between every little thing (scene) has got to stop. Sssh,” said Muennich, a member of the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) touring group, who visited Arrowhead Elementary in Kenmore with acting partner John Thomas Appling last week. It was the eighth year MCT members have visited Arrowhead to work with kindergarten through sixth-graders.

First, about 50 students endured intense and fun rehearsals for about 20 hours over five days in the school’s gym. Last Saturday, the actors practiced for four more hours and then donned their costumes and performed “The Princess and the Pea” twice at the larger Kenmore Elementary gym for a crowd of parents, friends and community members.

Kathy Greisen, Arrowhead parent-teacher’s association member and school MCT chair, watched rehearsals from a few different spots in the gym last Thursday and was pleased with the outcome.

“It’s a great learning experience, they do it because they choose to and they have a lot of fun,” she said of the group, which included her sons, Aaron and Matthew (Kathy joined in as pianist in Saturday’s performances). “As a parent watching, I see how much they grow and they gain confidence and they become empowered as far as talking in front of people and groups. I’ve seen kids in past years really blossom, and they’ve taken that with them later on in their lives.”

All that hard work paid off as evidenced by Arrowhead nurse Carrie Kaeter’s e-mail to Greisen a few days after the one-hour performances: “Congratulations on a huge success. The performance was amazing. The kids did a fantastic job … thank you, thank you for all of your time and effort.”

Although, Muennich did ask for silence during rehearsals, there were many scenes when the boys and girls were called upon to yell, sing and spazz out to bring “The Princess and the Pea” to life. Conceived and written by MCT’s Michael McGill, his version — derived from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale — features kingdoms of snow and ice (Glacierdom, where the Prince lives) and green rolling hills and running rivers (Riverdom, the Princess and Pea’s home). As the prince searches for his princess, they interact with Winter Wind Workers, Blizzard Bringers, River Runners, Green Shoot Growers and more inhabitants of the kingdoms.

The play’s main song describes how the two kingdoms bond: “Water, water, all around us, even in the air; Lots of water, plenty there to share.”

Muennich and Appling were backstage and on stage Saturday to further coach the students during the performances.

“We keep their spirits up for the show,” Muennich said. “It’s really rewarding because you meet these kids on Monday, and they’re kind of like, ‘Who are these crazy people?’ But they trust you right away, and you get to Saturday and they do a show — and they do it well — and they realize that all that hard work amounted to something. I helped them to do that, and it’s the most amazing feeling every single week.”

Added Appling: “You learn what a first impression is very quickly, because that’s what the audition is. A lot of kids are really nervous and don’t wanna talk — and then they come out of their shell by Friday and you’re like, ‘Why didn’t you do that (before)?’ All of a sudden, they’re great.”

MCT instructors have been doling out acting knowledge since 1970, and they staged their first show, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” in 1974. Company members now do their thing in 16 countries, 50 states, four provinces and two territories. This year, MCT cast 65,000 children into shows and played to an audience of 750,000, Appling said.

Kiley Radovich played the Pea and noted, “It’s really fun to be in a lead role because I’ve never been in a lead role in a play before. I think I’ve been better at this than I have been before when I’ve done other plays in MCT.”

Abigail Slaughter got in on the action, too, as a student assistant director. “It’s been really fun. I just cue everyone in — I take care of the Riverdom.”

Slaughter said that someday she wants to be a teacher, and thanks to her experience with MCT, she’s well on her way.