Revised LS and MS Rehearsal Schedule- for the final two-ish weeks please read!

GREETINGS ALL!

We are a handful of rehearsals away from an exciting opening day! 

Both the Lower School Schedule and the Middle School Schedule have been updated with hours listed for the TBD's from the previous schedules, and some times have been changed to allow our LS cast time by themselves for a shorter duration of overall
time (M-2) and to allow extra optional time for our 3rd-5th graders who like to stay with the MS for as long as they can! MS please note your schedule as well. 

The updated schedules are linked at the end of this post as well as under the forms and schedules tab, the MS schedule page, and the LS schedule page.

CREW attends all rehearsals the two weeks prior to the opening of the show plus the show performances (if on running crew) and strike. These dates are MARCH 4-MARCH 19. Tech week is mandatory for ALL crew members. If your crew member is makeup-only, they only have to attend March 14th-March 19th. 

Middle School Cast and Crew, please note on Friday, March 8th half day, we will walk you all down to the LS for rehearsal. Please pack a yummy lunch for the day and bring your water bottles.

Please email Ms.Kendrick with any questions at kphillips@davisacademy.org 

Thank you all for your support, time, and flexibility as our village of 150-ish pulls off a Peach of a Show!

THE FINAL TWO WEEKS OF Lower School James & the Giant Peach Jr. Rehearsal MODIFIED Schedule

UPDATED FINAL TWO WEEKS OF JGP MS SCHEDULE

What section and where should I buy tickets if I have a LS cast member?

To help you have a better idea of where LS grades are performing for ticket purchasing, here are the following general blocking guidelines so far for the LS cast.

Please also note LS grades are blocked all over the theatre and stage areas. They do not stay in one area.

M-2 breaks down mostly as follows:

• 1st-grade center aisle of theatre when standing in the aisles/ on house left and house left risers in front of the stage

• M/K house right/aisle 3 when standing in the aisles and on stage house right risers or stage (this is the aisle on the right side of the theatre when you are in the audience facing the stage)

• 2nd-grade house left/aisle 1 when standing in the aisles and on risers or on stage house left(this is the aisle on the left side of the theatre when you are in the audience facing the stage)

• M-2 are the Seagulls and the Sharks

Please note when in aisles M-2 cast members are arranged in lines from the front of the stage to the back of the rows by height, smallest in front of the stage to tallest towards the back of aisles.

3rd-5th grades down mostly as follows:

• All three aisles. They are rarely in the same location.
• 3rd grade in the center aisle

• 4th grade in house right/aisle 3 when standing in the aisles(this is the aisle on the right side of the theatre when you are in the audience facing the stage)

• 5th grade in house left/aisle 1 when standing in the aisles(this is the aisle on the left side of the theatre when you are in the audience facing the stage)

• All 3rd-5th will be on the main stage for a scene.
• They are various roles (Agents, Reporters, Garden Chorus, Ladies Garden Guild)

Please note when in aisles 3rd-5th-grade cast members are arranged in lines from the front of the stage to the back of the rows by height, smallest in front of the stage to tallest towards the back of aisles.

HERE ARE DIAGRAMS THAT VISUALIZE WHAT & WHERE HOUSE LEFT AND HOUSE RIGHT ARE:

General Admission Tickets

 Ticket purchases will be all completed using our online system. You will be able to select your seats, pay online with a credit card, and print out your receipt/ticket confirmation (which will serve as your ticket on the day of the show). Ticket sales will open online tomorrow, February 28th, in the very early morning. The school community will be emailed this link in the Friday Shabbat Shalom Message, which will enable cast members and their families to purchase tickets before the whole school community has this link. All tickets will be purchased through an online ticketing system, using the following link. http://www.seatyourself.biz/davisacademy  

REMINDER: PLEASE JOIN REMIND

Hi all!

We are loving using Remind this year and are so happy that about 70% of our cast and crew families are currently using it and love it. Please take a moment to join remind if you have not already done so. We send out reminders, updates, and clarifications to questions through this real-time app; as we draw nearer to the show, the frequency of reminders and communication updates increase dramatically.  You may choose to receive your reminder by text or by email.  More information and the links to join are below.

What is REMIND? 
Remind is a free text messaging app that helps teachers, students, and parents communicate quickly and efficiently. 

Please click on link(s) to join our James and the Giant Peach message groups. We have two different links one for Lower School Cast and one for the MS Cast and Crew. You will receive reminders about rehearsals, news, forms, and more! 
Join Remind for reminders in real time.

Please click on link(s) to join our James and the Giant Peach message groups. We have two different links one for Lower School Cast and one for the MS Cast and Crew.

JOIN LOWER SCHOOL CAST REMIND


JOIN MIDDLE SCHOOL CAST & CREW REMIND

MONDAY UPDATE

REGARDING:

 FINAL 2 Sunday rehearsals, 

 MS weekday rehearsals, and Tech week. 

Dear Parents: 

We are hard at work preparing for a fantastic show!  The enthusiasm is great and the songs and verses are coming along nicely.  We are less than 21 days  until show opening and only a handful of rehearsals left, rehearsal attendance is absolutely vital to the success of the show and to each actor/crew particpating in it. 

The next two Sundays are mandatory as explained in the registration packet and tech week is mandatory for the duration of the rehearsal. 

We have been inundated with a plethora of early dismissal, late in and/or missing entirely rehearsal requests, which causes duress on the children and all involved in the production.   

If all of these requests were to be granted, we would never have a full cast rehearsal!

Absent students cause cast consistency problems and make putting on a production extremely challenging. 

When cast members are absent, other children cannot learn the proper moves, music part,  and/or staging. Every time even one child comes in late or leaves early, we have to re-block and re-adjust for the 140+ actors  and crew participating.  

Parents, please understand that a show is a team effort and relies on every child being present for the duration of the time for which their part is called.  We only have 2 Sunday rehearsals left to accomplish blocking and the remaining dances, and trying to run the entire show from start to finish before the actual show. There is no time to relearn what is missed or to replace those missing actors.  

We recognize how busy all of our talented children are with other events and activities but, as stated in the production contract, each child is only allowed a certain number of absences.

So please choose which rehearsals or activities your child will miss with this in mind.  In addition, having every child stay for the rehearsal’s entirety is vital to each child’s confidence, success, and participation as well as the entire team/cast;  students who are not present for these final rehearsals/the scenes that are blocked, readjusted, or polished will sit out for those scenes and/or curtain call.

We thank you greatly for your understanding and cooperation.   The children are working so hard and doing a phenomenal job so far.  We can’t wait to ignite your imagination and have you join us on our GIANT adventure as we present of James and the Giant Peach!

THIS WEEK'S REHEARSALS:

Tuesday, February 26
4:00-6:00pm 
MS ALL CAST * (optional to stay 6:30)
6:00-6:30pm Ladahlord

(3rd-5th grades are invited to join us from 3:20-5:00 on Tuesday)

Wednesday, February 27
3:20-4:30pm 3rd grade

Thursday, February 28
4:00-6:30 pm James, Ladahlord, Spiker, Sponge, Main Insects

EXTRA INVITATION FOR 3rd-5th Grade to join Tuesday middle school rehearsal! 3rd-5th graders may come to MS rehearsal from 3:20-5:00 this Tuesday 2/26 (tomorrow). Sunday's invitation to stay longer and exact hours for 3rd-5th grades will be posted tomorrow. 

ALSO, Middle School Cast is invited to stay until 6:30pm tomorrow for extra blocking time and rehearsal if you would like to stay, 






WHAT SONGS DOES MY LOWER SCHOOL CHILD SING IN?
Please click the above link for more information about what part/in which songs the LS cast sings

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE: COSTUME & SHOES FOR LS AND MS CAST/CREW, Click on link below please.
JGP ADDITIONAL COSTUME AND SHOE NEEDS TO BRING IN FROM HOME

Volunteers

In order to pull off the amazing show and help our 140+young thespians shine, we need your assistance.  This year we are using VolunteerSpot to organize our signups: Click this link to go to our page http://signup.com/go/vePdxbY 

Additional volunteer help needed 

Volunteers to prime stairs and set blocks, help us move things in and out of storage units, and help us with set retrieval and delivery of sets – these are TBD on exact days/times. Our stairs and set blocks can be primed anytime over the next 15 days and is a super urgent need for which we are eternally grateful for the help. Please email kphillips@davisacademy.org if interested in helping out with this vitally important part of the production!

Sponsor and Patron Seating Closing

Sponsor seats will cease to be available Tuesday morning. Sponsor reservations are available in advance of public ticket sales, which will begin in the pre-dawn hours of February 28^th.  As we expect high demand for tickets, please be aware that sponsor seating will not be available after sales are open to the general public.  If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor of the Arts, please click here to select and purchase your seats at the sponsorship rate of $150 per ticket.

General Admission Tickets

 Ticket purchases will be all completed using our online system. You will be able to select your seats, pay online with a credit card, and print out your receipt/ticket confirmation (which will serve as your ticket on the day of the show). Ticket sales will open online February 28^th in the very early morning. The school community will be emailed this link in the Friday Shabbat Shalom Message, which will enable cast members and their families to purchase tickets before the whole school community has this link. All tickets will be purchased through an online ticketing system, using the following link. http://www.seatyourself.biz/davisacademy  (To help you have a better idea of where LS grades are performing for ticket purchasing, below are the general blocking guidelines so far for the LS cast.) 

What section and where should I buy tickets if I have a LS cast member? – This will be communicated in a blog post on late evening Monday 2/25 /early Morning Tuesday 2/26.

Concessions 

We need everyone’s help this year to have a successful Concessions Stand serving refreshments during intermission for all of our Sunday and Monday performances.  We are asking all families to participate by purchasing store-bought individually packaged treats for our Concessions Stand.  All items will be sold for $1.  The Davis Academy will be providing the drinks.  No Nuts Please! Please drop off your treats at the rehearsals from Sunday, March 3^rd – Thursday, March 14^th.  You are welcome to bring the treats at drop off or pick up on any of these days. 

Star Wall 

We are once again going to be creating a STAR WALL to feature our amazing young thespians. By Sunday, March 10th, please send in a 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10 headshot/school picture/close up photo of your child (only your child in the picture please), with their name and grade printed on BOTH the back of the picture and the envelope you submit it in.   You may drop this off at Sunday practices or leave with the front desk of either campus. Please write on the envelope Star Wall.

Cast Party

Cast Party will be held during the Friday (March 15th) dress rehearsal.  The Party will be after our lunch break, and cake, snacks, and drinks will be provided by The Davis Academy. This party is only for cast and crew members.  Volunteers who are assigned to help on this day will also attend and assist.   

Letter from Gift Chair

Dear Parents,
 
I am writing to ask you for your support in recognizing our Director Kendrick Phillips and several other people who have gone over and above to make our show the huge success that it will be. Each year Kendrick, our director, works tirelessly, long after rehearsals are over to make sure our school production resembles something you may have seen on Broadway – staging the show, creating the design of the costumes, designing the sets, props, creating all of the choreography, shopping, and more.
 
There are also a number of dedicated staff and volunteers who give countless hours of their time to ensure the high quality of our production. For those of you that are new to this experience, you will be amazed to see close to 150 children ages 5-14, come together for some unforgettable performances. Please show your support for Kendrick and the production staff by donating amount of your choosing per child in the play to help purchase a Director’s gift and flowers/thank you's for all who make our kids smile and shine when they are on stage. 

 

Please put cash in an envelope and write your child's name and "Director’s Gifts" on the outside.  You can leave these envelopes at the front desk at both schools or at any of the upcoming rehearsals.  We would love to collect all the money by the cast party on March 15^th.
 
Thank you in advance for your participation. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at jamikohn@yahoo.com.

Thank you so much,

Jami Kohn