Thursday, May 11, 2017

24 Hour Shorts Fest Info!

Hello, Theatre Society-ers!

As the date is May 11, we officially have NINE days before our 24 Hour Shorts Fest. As our writers and Marshall have gotten the ball rolling on it, it's time to send that ball barreling full speed down the side of this cliff. Before we dive into this, a quick reminder to anyone that has yet to sign up to tech the show or to act in it, sign up sheets are on the whiteboard in the drama room and you must sign up ASAP to be included. First draft scripts have been written for our five shows and they will be performed as well as a bit of improv in between. 

If you've been an active member of improv and haven't yet made it known to Marshall that you want to do improv, please do that and ensure that you're coming to Thursday meetings (also to prep for Civil War [May 26, tell your pals] but we'll talk about that later).

SO LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.
There's a lot of info to get through here, but this is the current plan we have for the entire day.

General Itinerary for Everyone

7:00 am - All participants meet in the drama room.
7:30 am - Crews start work, actors start rehearsals.
9:30 am - Directors must have all revisions to tech needs given to tech crews
11:00 am - Show 1 goes into tech onstage
12:00 pm - Show 2 goes into tech onstage
1:00 pm - Show 3 goes into tech onstage
2:00 pm - Show 4 goes into tech onstage
3:00 pm - Show 5 goes into tech onstage
4:00 pm - Do a full run through of the entire show
5:00 pm - Dinner (provided by our wonderful Boosters
7:00 pm - Showtime

Directors

Our directors for these shows will be:
Rebecca Strom
Hannah Mohlman
Alex Bayer
Amanda Bertrand
Katie Anderson

Directors need to get their scripts from Marshall on Thursday after school. They should be read thoroughly and [very] flexibly cast given the list of actors we have. Before we all meet on the 20th, directors need to have a fairly clear vision and plan, as well as a list of necessary props and set pieces. For the sake of our tech crews and the little time they will be given, please be flexible in all technical decisions you make prior to the day. You will meet again Friday after school to discuss casting.

Actors

Acting decisions will be made by directors Friday and scripts and roles will be assigned at 7pm Friday night. Every actor needs to start memorizing their script the moment they have it. Memorization will be undoubtedly a great challenge for every actor. I don't care if you memorized a monologue moments before an audition that one time, or that you're great at improv-ing when you forget a line onstage, you have 24 hours to get your script and know your part and every single person working on this is counting on you to be working tirelessly on memorization. That being said, be flexible on the 20th to change up how you may have learned something the night before.

Tech

The first time you will be required to do anything is at the beginning of the day on the 20th. Show up bright eyed and bushy tailed to make these shows the best they can be. For this event, we need you guys to be creative, flexible, and more than anything, team players. Work patiently with your fellow crew members, with other crews, with directors, and with actors. You will be given all the information you need that morning.

General Vital Information
  • We are only providing dinner and small snacks in the morning, so eat a good, filling breakfast and bring a lunch. There will be enough insanity without your hangriness.
  • Get a good night's sleep Friday. We're meeting early and working hard.
  • Anyone who has drafts of the scripts, do NOT share them under any circumstances. Don't give summaries to anyone, don't read anything to anyone, don't talk about the specifics of the shows. In order to maintain the integrity of this project, we will give people scripts when they need them. 
  • PUBLICIZE PUBLICIZE PUBLICIZE. We need to build up an audience! Talk to your friends, tell your classes about it, bring enthusiasm to every conversation about it. Tell people to follow @jhstheatresociety on Insta for info, ask teachers if you can write the show info on the board, talk to your family about coming and supporting you and the arts and just talk about it. You guys getting others excited about this show is such a vital part of our success.

It's a lot to plan for, but this project has to be so intricate and a little bit insane. This is the first time we've ever done this or attempted to pull off anything as crazy as this, and flexibility has been a common theme throughout this email because it's going to be vital. Please be okay with plans changing, with things not going exactly as you envisioned them. Perhaps this goes without saying, but bring positive energy and excitement to this project! Pulling this off would be an extraordinary feat to complete together, and an amazing last hurrah for 2016-17 Theatre Society. We're used to three months of work together before something goes onstage, but we need every single participant to give it their all for just one day. 

Can't wait to see you guys on the 20th!

(PS. If you did not get this information in an email, email jacksonhstheatresociety@gmail.com to sign up for those! If you signed up for acting/tech and didn't get an email, it may be because it was hard to read on the signups. In that case, also email the theatre account to get that fixed.)

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Radium Girls Bio Info

Hello, Radium Girls Cast & Crew!
It is that magical time of the show in which I get to pester you guys to turn in your bios for the lobby display! Your bios will be displayed under your photo and are now required to be turned in if you are going to be a part of the display at all. You’ve all worked very hard on this show and I know the work will only intensify from here, so please turn these in so that our audience can know of your participation. 

Bios are due by February 10, 2017.
Your bio MUST include:
- Your Name
- Your Grade
- Your Job/Your Character(s)
- Theatre credits prior to Radium Girls
- Any comments you have about the show/your experience (optional)
- If your bio does not follow the guidelines set above, it will not be used. 

I always get a thousand questions about what one can and cannot do, so here’s a quick FAQ:

Can I use my bio from last show and just change the show name and my experience?
Yes. Just get it done.

Can I hand it to you on a crumpled up piece of paper scribbled on in crayon?
No. Get it together.

Can you just write it for me?
No, you’re a big kid.

What if I never have internet access and also my email got hacked and my computer lit on fire and I can’t use someone else’s computer because I have a chronic fear of computer keys and have recently become mute and can’t dictate my bio to someone who doesn’t share this fear?

If anything is working against you technologically, you can come to me or one of the other publicity members and do it during theatre time. Being as you may now be mute, you may act out how you think your bio should read.

Can I use a comedic bio?
   Heck yes. 

A very basic example bio (you’re more than welcome to be more creative than this):
Rachel Anne Kearns is a senior working as Publicity Manager on Radium Girls. Past shows include Into the Woods (Rapunzel), Macbeth (Publicity), and Hot Mikado (Publicity). She loves this theatre community and is proud to be a part of Radium Girls as her last show at JHS.

Thank you so much, guys! Writing bios can feel a little awkward, but it really does class up the whole production and we're looking forward to putting them together!

EDIT: Some of the crew members got an email with the wrong Gmail account linked to it. The email is not jacksonhstheatre, it is jacksonhstheatresociety@gmail.com. If you sent a bio to the wrong email, please resend it! Sorry for the confusion!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Radium Girls Headshot Schedule

Hello Radium Girls Participants!

This is Rachel Anne (your friendly neighborhood Publicity Manager) contacting you to let you know that it’s that wonderful time in shows in which I coral you to take headshots for our lobby display (the photos & bios in the lobby before shows). Our theme this year is a newspaper spread so unlike our photos in the past several shows, these won’t be so homogenous. The plan is to use a bunch of different silly poses, imitating that which would be over an article in a newspaper. Basically, we gon’ have a good time. 

CAST:

Monday:
  • Jonathan
  • Piper
  • Matthew
  • Maxwell
  • Jeremy
  • Emerson
  • Mai
Tuesday
  • Rebecca
  • Alexa
  • Austin
Wednesday:
  • Jackson
  • Opal
  • Shaelyn
  • Karson
  • Emily N.
  • Lauren
  • Tessa
  • Claire
Thursday:
  • Hannah

TECH

Monday:

Props
  • Taylor B.
  • Tatiana G.
  • Jessie H. 
  • Ann S.
  • Sam F.
  • Nicole L.
  • Emma S.
  • Anne R.
  • Hunter L.
  • Katie M.
  • Haley J.
  • Jack Moon

Tuesday:

Costumes
  • Sam M.
  • Jamie M. 
  • Hallie 
  • Max D. 
  • Hayden B.
  • Becca M.
  • Emma M.
  • Jada R.
Lights
  • Amanda B. 
  • Megan B.
  • Sawyer G.
  • Tom S.
  • Luke D.
  • James Adams
Wednesday:

H&M - 
  • Nikki B.
  • Natalie F. 
  • Shelby S.
  • Kaley H.
  • Hailey S.
  • Evey MS.
  • Katie A.
  • Taylor G.
  • Leslie V.
  • Allegra N.
1/2 SAINT - 
  • Lydia H.
  • Sam E. 
  • Lucia M.
  • Jordan A.
  • Laura M.
  • Cat D.
Thursday:

Sound - 
  • Tivona V. 
  • Alex B.
  • Tyler F.
  • Ryan G.
  • Elisabeth T.

1/2 SAINT -
  • Skylar B.
  • Becca B.
  • Cate B.
  • Emily L.
  • Audrey
  • Madison
  • Kade B.

To all my publicity crew members, we’ll take our photos as we go - there are a lot of people to get through so ours may be a little more spread out!


If there is a problem with the schedule or you won't be here on the day you're scheduled, let me know ASAP. Have a great day, kids!