Announcements

October 26

 

Hello all,

 

If you take a look on the schedule, you’ll note that today is the day I post the cast list. I may delay that to the end of the day or to tomorrow.

As I stated before, this was a very difficult process for Mr. Kohut, Miss Pooley and I, and I want to recheck with them again before we post to make sure the information is 100% correct before it goes public.

 

Also, if you emailed me requesting to know your part and didn’t receive an email in return – please email me again. I know that I missed one email for sure, and with the flood of emails I received, I’m sure it’s possible that I could have missed more than one. None of this is done intentionally – I apologize if I have missed your email.

 

Thanks, again, for all your hard work – we really look forward to working with all of you.

​

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September 29

​

Hello potential cast of SHREK!

 

I am super excited to work with you this year!

 

Please take a moment to read through the following items:

 

1)Audition forms are due one week from today on Friday, Oct 7 at 5PM.

 

2)Our second musical meeting (the first one was in June) will take place after school in the theatre on Friday, October 7. You should make every effort to be there.  We will also be holding our audition workshop at that time.

 

3)The following people need to hand in their audition form:

• Ashley Faron

• Kiara Higgins

• Kenyon Davidson

• Bradley Costello

• Gloria Bahati

• Erin Ryan

• Andrew Loria

• Nikko Belaro

•  

•  

• 4)If you haven’t done so already, you are VERY STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to sign up for the Musical REMIND NOTIFICATIONS. Instructions are HERE. Please do not delay, so that you receive all the updated info at a moment’s notice via text.

 

5)Please take a moment to check out the musical’s website (link below). Many of you have had questions about auditions. A lot of your questions can be answered by visiting the AUDITION INFO portion of the page. Just click the link in the last sentence to get you there directly. Please be sure to have a look. There are some new requirements this year (ie – you must choose the monologue from a list we have provided for you).

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Mr. Crowe.

 

​

May 17

I’m pleased to let you know that Mr. Kohut, Ms. Pooley and I have reduced our choices for next year’s show down to 5.

 

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be studying these 5 and reducing our choice to 1, which will be announced at our first meeting of the season on Friday, June 3, 2016 at 4PM in the theatre.

 

I can tell you that it’s an amazing list of 5 shows and we are super excited about the prospect of working on any one of them, so it’s going to be an exciting year, indeed.

 

I also want to extend a thank you to those of you that gave your feedback regarding this year’s show.  I can honestly say that your input is very valuable and it truly helped us in getting together this fantastic list of five shows.

 

Also, if you haven’t done so already, I strongly encourage you to sign up for REMIND. Simply send the text “@mrgcro” to (204) 809-9781 and you will be registered to receive instant musical updates via text.

 

You can also register by following the instructions/prompts HERE.

 

Thanks so much and see you on June 3!

 

April 6

--The lost and found table outside of the theatre will hold items until Monday, April 11 at 4:00PM. All unclaimed items will be discarded or donated. Take a moment to go through the table to makes sure none of your items are there.

 

--Next year’s musical calendar should be available on the website by noon on Wednesday, April 6.  Next year’s show is scheduled to be announced on Friday, June 3 at 4:00PM.

 

--A last call to submit an order for a musical hoody.  The deadline will be at 3:45 tomorrow.

 

--Finally, if you need to come see me for a post-musical interview, please make an appointment with me ASAP. I’m free before school, after school, C block and E block. I can also do Wednesdays at lunch.

 

 

March 6

This years Boston Pizza night will be on Wednesday, March 16th. Our reservation is from 10pm-12am at the 1919 Bishop Grandin location. Everyone is to bring $13 to get in the door, and bring an extra dollar for the tip, which they can give to our stage manager that night.

 

March 3

We are looking for a pink, blue or white rug to use for Marty's bedroom. Please let us know if you have one we can borrow.

 

Also, we need to clarify if the pompoms for the cheerleaders are for props to find or costumes and can you give a note to Mrs. Forester if she has spare fancy floral jacket and pants for Marty? It's for Freddy My Love, the guys bring gifts to Marty which are those things. 

 

 

Feb 20

1. Every rehearsal from here on out is an ALL CALL. You may not be needed for the entirety of each rehearsal, but plan to be there until the end time of each rehearsal. Regardless, you will be needed at the start of every rehearsal. We have yet to have a single rehearsal with perfect attendance - let's try and make that happen this week.

 

2. Bring all costume pieces to next Saturday's (Feb 27) rehearsal.

 

3. It's time to step up your game.  Be absolutely sure you are using the resources given to you (choreo videos, audio study tracks, etc.) to make sure that you are coming PREPARED to each and every rehearsal. Don't aim to get prepared during the course of the rehearsal. We want to "RE-HEAR" what you have prepared in the RE-HEAR-SAL.

 

4. Vocally speaking, here is my list of priorities (below). If you are involved in one of these numbers, be sure that you have it learned forwards, backwards, sideways, inverted, etc. before Tuesday, February 23.

 

 

This production has great POTENTIAL to be amazing - the choice is now yours. Do you want it to be amazing? The show's awesomeness rests very heavily on what you do OUTSIDE of rehearsal. It's up to you.

 

 

Mr. Crowe's Priority List (prioritized top-down ie)I'm most concerned about Beauty School Dropout, then Mooning, etc....):

 

Urgent Category

Beauty School Dropout (Angels)

Mooning

Rock & Roll Party Queen

 

Semi-Urgent Category

Alone At The Drive-In Movie

You're The One That I Want

Those Magic Changes (ensemble)

Born To Hand Jive

Shakin' At The High School Hop

 

Haven't revisited in a while Category

Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (reprise)

Summer Nights

Greased Lightning

Rydell Fight Song

We Go Together/Finale​

 

 

 

Jan 27

Below is our list of CHEERLEADERS ‎

Look at the Fight Song for Saturday, please.

 

CHEERLEADERS are:

 

1. Erin Ryan - Patty

2. Kaitlin Cruz

3. Katie Anne L'Arrive

4. Jessica Penner

5. Jewel McLaren

 

Girls TRYING OUT to be CHEERLEADERS are:

 

6. Genevieve -Sandy

7. Trishlin Dela Cruz

8. Lilja Best

9. Gloria Bahati

10. Sabrina Witwicki

11. Victoria Turko

12. Amanda Koersvelt

13. Jessie Aldana

14. Devon Helm

15. Morgan Werschler

 

 

Jan 23

1)Please expect schedule changes over for next week's rehearsals. We will forward them as soon as we know the exact details. After today's rehearsal, it is clear that there are some areas in act one that will require more attention. Please be sure to check your emails and this website ​regularly for updates.

 

2)Please review Ms. Forrester's costume document (emailed to you). It is your responsibility to know this information and act on it accordingly. The information will also be available on the website under MATERIALS > COSTUMES. The link is HERE if you need it.

 

 

Jan 20

Tickets are now on sale in the main office.  I want to stress the importance of selling these shows out as a)the show is going to be amazing and deserves to be seen by as many people as possible and b)this show is really expensive to produce, so the sales will help to keep the program nice and healthy.

 

Also, reserved seating can only be done if the person in question has an ailment that prohibits them from enjoying the show. If a person you know is coming to the show and in need of priority seating, you must fill out the a PRIORITY SEATING REQUEST FORM and bring it to me well in advance of the show date.

 

Jan 2

Enselmble assignments - please be sure you are at each rehearsal for which you are called in the following:

 

****Miss Lynch's call for Beauty School Dropout will be on FRIDAY Jan 29th, NOT on the 28th***

 

 

SUMMER NIGHTS

 

T-Birds (all)

Pink Ladies (all)

Patty (Erin Ryan)

 

Spencer

Gloria B

Lilja B.

Kaitlyn C.

Thrishlin D.

Victoria T.

Amanda K.

Jewel M.

Sabrina W.

Madison C.

Katie Anne L.

Kyra O.

Morgan W.

Thomas M.

Liam S.

Carson T.

Wes G.

Ben H.

Jessie A.

 

THOSE MAGIC CHANGES

 

T-Birds (all)

Pink Ladies (all, will exit early)

Patty (Erin Ryan)

Eugene (Spencer)

Ms. Lynch (Courtney)

 

Enny O.

Twashta R.

Maggie C.

Ashley Hunter

Megan Ryan

Anastasia A.

Alexis F.

Ashley Heilmann

Emma H.

Devon H.

Jessica P.

Nikko B.

John C.

Kenyon D.

Eric L.

 

BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT

 

Teen Angel (Ben Hill)

Ms. Lynch (Courtney) *** only called on FRI Jan 29th NOT on the 28th

 

Gloria Bahati

Erin Ryan

Victoria Turko

Jewel McLaren

Sabrina Witwicki

Kyra Outhwaite

Morgan Werschler

Jessie Aldana

 

 

 

Dec 14

Changes to the schedule:

Tuesday, Dec 15

Danny, Doody, Roger, Kenickie, Sonny, Vince and Eugene are no longer called with Mr. Kohut at 4:00

Pink ladies are to prepare Secene 4, NOT scene 7

 

Thursday, Dec 17

Spencer, Eric and Thomas are now added to Freddy My Love

 

 

Nov 30

Please do me this little favour, if you don’t mind (follow directions below).

 

1)Print off the Alma Mater Scene attachment. Go HERE if you need a copy.

2)Cut out pages 7 (all)  and 8 (up to Scene 2) from the attachment – be sure to cut really close to the text.

3)Find page 3 in your script – note – it’s blank!

4)Paste, tape, glue, adhere, affix pages 7 & 8 from the attachment perpendicular to the text on page 4 of your script.

 

Nov 20

After three days and 51 auditions, I just want to extend a huge congrats on behalf of myself, Ms. Pooley and Mr. Kohut.  There were SO

MANY great auditions and it was clear that a lot of time and effort was invested into your endeavors. For what it’s worth, I’m very proud of all of you. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to do what you’ve done and you have my utmost respect for your bravery.  Thank you for sharing your talents with us.

 

I’m an incredibly lucky person to work with such a fine group of individuals such as yourselves.

 

For those of you who have callbacks on Monday – I wish you all the best. Break a leg.

 

Next Friday (Nov 27) we begin (at 4PM sharp!) with our read through. Let’s make this the best production of Grease this side of Broadway!

 

 

 

Nov 12

As a result of the small number of people who have signed up to perform in tomorrow night’s talent show, I have decided to cancel it for now. If people were really wanting this event to take place, we could look at doing it sometime during the process

 

 

Nov 3

Notes from Mr. Kohut:

 

PREPARING A GENUINE MONOLOGUE/SCENE/SONG

 

1) CONTEXT

• Read the play or musical that the scene/song comes from to understand its context and how it fits into the whole play/musical

• If you can't find the play or musical, use the internet - wikipedia, google and youtube for research

• What is the meaning of the play?  Why did the playwright/composer write it? (again - use internet - ask google these questions and read analysis articles and blogs)

 

2) GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES

• Who are you? 

• Where and when are you?  

• Why are you there? 

• What has happened right before this moment? What caused this moment to happen?

 

3) CONNECTING EMOTIONALLY

• Think about the given circumstances and how the situation must feel for the character

• If you haven't personally experienced the circumstances create a parallel for yourself using 'It's As If' - drawing from your own personal experience.  

• Make an 'it's as if' comparison that is as high stakes as possible - approaching life or death is ideal.

 

4) FOCUSING THE PERFORMANCE

• Who are you speaking to?

• Where is this person or audience in the room?

 

5)  ESSENTIAL ACTION

• The essential action is CRUCIAL.  It is the most important part of any performance!

• What do you want from the person you are talking to in the scene/song?  

• What do you actually get if you are successful in achieving your essential action?

• What happens to you if you are unsuccessful in achieving your essential action.

 

6) TIPS ON DELIVERING A CLEAR PERFORMANCE

• Be clear who you are speaking to and where they are in the room

• Let your performance be driven by your essential action 

• BREATHE - steady breathing will enable your mind and body to connect 

• LISTEN to both your scene partner and/or your own internal thoughts

• THINK THINK THINK - don't pretend to be or portray an emotion, instead think about what you just heard, about what you just realized and actually think in your performance.  These thoughts and how they relate to your Essential Action are what will spur genuine emotion, genuine reaction and a genuine performance.

• REACT spontaneously in response to these thoughts.  This is being in the moment.

 

7)  ENDING YOUR PIECE

• Make sure you end your piece.  Sounds obvious, but it is often overlooked

• The last word or note is not the end of your piece - its the moment after!

• Take a moment to hold that last pose and more importantly -  that last thought.  This tells us that your performance is over and we feel it is complete.

• Once you have established an end, then you can release the character and return to the real world.

 

 

Nov 2

Notes from the workshop:

 

General Expectations:

• You will be expected to have all your material memorized.

• Each segemnt of your audition should not exceed 90 seconds (90 second dance, 90 second monologue, 90 second song).

• You must bring your own music for your dance piece (phone, ipod or mp3 player).

• If you don't bring your own music, Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry will be your default dance music.

• The characters in Grease are very genuine and have loads of confidence. We will want to see that in all elements of your audition.

 

Questions and ideas to consider when preparing all elements of your audition:

• What are the given circumstances?

• Who are you (character)?

• What can you tell us about her/him/them?

• Where is this (monologue/song/dance) happening?

• Make sure you know the difference between Grease the film and Grease the script.

• When does this event take place?

• What is your character thinking at the time?

• Know the play as a whole!

• Consider the question "it's as if...." and push it to the most extreme - raise the stakes as far as you can (life or death).

 

Specifically on Dance:

• Feel free to use the elements of what you learned in the workshop to supplement your dance piece.

• The dance pieces learned in the workshop included The Bop and The Jitterbug.

 

Specifically on Song:

• Choose a piece from the correct genre (Rock musical).

• Know the difference between musical theatre singing and choir singing as they can be very different.

• Choose a piece with which you are familiar and makes you sound good.

• Choose a key that fits best with your voice.

• Choose a song that has lyrics that resonates with you.

 

Other:

• Take time to read "Inside Grease" for greater insights.

 

 

 

Oct 31

All potential cast must provide a copy of their monologue by Nov. 13 on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.