Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thank you for your interest in the Calais Recreation Association - Drama Program. This is a skills-based, co-ed program for any child in the fourth, fifth, or sixth grade.
Our coaching priority is simple. We want every child to have fun and learn more about working in the theater. Our main objective will be to promote team play and help the kids believe in themselves while working towards the common goal of an amazing performance of Robin Hood on May 6, 2011.
PRACTICE:
Our practice schedule will start Thursday, January 27th and will continue through May 5th. Practice and performances will be held at the Calais School. Practice will run from after school to 5:30pm every Thursday afternoon. We will need to end at 5:00 on nights there are basketball games (until 2/17.) A more detailed practice schedule will come home in a few weeks. Each child should bring a filled water bottle to each practice and performance. Parents are responsible for transportation to and from practice and performance.
MISCELLANEOUS:
We are looking forward to a successful season full of lots of fun. If you have any ideas, questions or concerns, please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email. Attached you will find a signup form, a copy of our policies and a confirmation you must sign with your child acknowledging you have read and agree to follow the policies outlined. While Robin Hood is a large production, space is limited to the number of roles available. We will do our best to follow a first come, first served plan. Please turn your forms (signups and policy confirmation) in at the front office with Mrs. Cioffi as soon as possible and if you are concerned about timing, you may ask her to date stamp your signups. You will be contacted by e-mail before the first practice to confirm your place in the program.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
2010/2011 Drama Club
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Revised Schedule
Monday, February 8, 2010
Posting for Alice in Wonderland
The bottom line is, every person is important, and the play cannot proceed without every actor taking part. We urge you to encourage your child to try to understand that just because they may not have gotten what they wanted; there is still value in participating in the experience. They may just have the best time ever and learn something about themselves in the process.
Posting Results - We will post our casting decisions online at www.calaisdramaclub.blogspot.com . We encourage students to review casting decisions in private at home with the support of their families rather than at school or with friends. No matter the role, there are often unpredictable and emotional reactions that can be made worse when acted out in public. With that in mind, it's also important to remember that the Drama Club at Calais is not a school function but rather is associated with the Calais Recreation Association. So any questions or concerns should be directed to the drama coaches (not teachers) and if the issue is not resolved you can request for Cat Fair to arrange for you to meet with a member of the CRA board.
Many of the roles pasted in will probably not make a lot of sense until you see the script. Each person's role will have lines and a few people will have more than one role. Again, wait until you read the script for your part to make a little more sense. We'll discuss characters with each of you on Monday's practice, 2/15.
Alice 2 (Medium)- Maddie Smart
Alice 1 (Small)- Bailey Olander
Alice 3 (Large)- Lydia Bohn
Mad Hatter- Reed Patterson
Rabbit- Olivia Peltier
King- Altan Cross
Queen- Addie Cusick
Hare -Faith Fair
Gryphon- Logan Middelton
Mock Turtle- Chris Killoran
Duchess- Carly Webb
Mrs. Talon- Schuyler Forest
Dormouse -Jules Perkins
Cheshire Cat -Helen Bohn
Knave- Bradley Smart
Cook- Rebecca Thompson
Caterpillar- Lindsey Noordsij
Creature 1- Willoughby Forest Creatures are all life size puppets
Creature 4 -Taylor Forest
Creature 2- Jackson Root
Creature 3- Amariah DiGiovanni
Puppeteer -Kelcey Hudson
Dodo- Dakota Dunham
Bill Lizard- Samantha Fielder
Spike- Josh Carbo
Noodle- Cole Richards
Executioner- Simon Kennedy
Lady Lavender- Kelcey Hudson
Lord Milquetoast- Aidan Gongloff-Piche
Card Seven- Ashima Fillbach
Card Five- Ruby Lamb
Card Two Emma Olmsted
Juror 1- Ben Ward All Jurors will be guests at the teaparty
Juror 2- Molly McCreedy
Juror 3- Jayden Hudson
Juror 4- Aidan Gongloff-Piche
Juror 5 -Josh Carbo
Juror 6 -Lindsey Noordsij
Mouse- Ben Ward
Mole- Molly McCreedy
Horsefly -Jayden Hudson
Monday, February 1, 2010
Policy Review
Drama Club Policies and Information
Goals - The goal of Drama Club at CES is to provide each child with a positive theatrical experience. We believe that at this age, the child’s experience in the theater should focus on the skills of singing, dancing and acting to the best of their ability. We also believe that there should be a strong emphasis on the cooperative nature of performing. Please note that Drama Club is not a school function. We operate in conjunction with the Calais Recreation Association.
Behavioral Expectations – All children will be expected to participate in a positive and respectful manner with each other, the coaches, and all materials and equipment. Kids are expected to remain supervised in the gym by coaching staff until picked up by a parent or guardian by 5:15 pm in the gym. Leaving practice to: wander the hallways, go to the playground, or to go to the library is not only unsafe, it is not allowed. We will follow a “1, 2, 3” warning system for problems arising in drama club. The first warning will entail a private conversation between coach and student that will clearly describe the behavior that must change. The second warning will also entail a private conversation but will include a phone call home to parents letting you know that this will be the second (and final) warning. The third issue will not be a warning, but an agreement between coach and parent that the child is no longer motivated enough to participate in drama club and will be asked not to return. These decisions will be made at the discretion of the head coach with a goal towards identifying early on whatever may be contributing to the problem for that child and supporting continued success in the program.
Practices and Performances - Practice and performances will be held at Calais School in the gym. Practice will run from after school to 5:15 pm every Monday afternoon. Parents are responsible for transportation to and from practice and to and from performance. Please be prompt at pickup as the gym will need to be available for Basketball starting in November and our coaches often have other commitments. Remember please that the Drama Program is not being facilitated by the school, so changes to your child's schedule/pickups must be communicated to one of the coaches. Each child should bring a filled water bottle to each practice and performance. We will provide the school with a copy of our roster to allow your child to stay after school. You do not need to send a bus note after the first week. Changes to your child's schedule should be communicated to the coaches. As we approach performance dates, there will be a few mandatory, extra practices. Those extra practices will be communicated as soon as possible.
Costumes, Staging and Props – Costumes are the responsibility of each family. Ideally, we hope there would be no need to purchase expensive costumes and we plan for and encourage families to work together to outfit all from dressup boxes, old wardrobes, and the Salvation Army. In an effort to keep the cost to families low, your $15 registration fee is only enough to cover the cost of script rentals, music, cd’s and paint. We will rely heavily on the generosity of families in time and/or money for additional items.
Performance Selections – Choosing performance pieces is a subjective process. The decisions are based on several factors: rental cost, musical choices, directing staff availability, and ability to costume with some ease. We’ve written some pieces in the past and can be open to ideas from one and all for up to the first two weeks of practice. Ultimately, the decision will be made by the current directing staff. Please note that when we must rent and/or lease the rights to perform any production from the authors, this makes our group subject to copyright laws. Those laws almost always require us to agree to not make changes to numbers of roles or to the script. So when you might ask, why can’t we just make up a few parts, this is why.
Music Selections – Choosing musical numbers, is also a subjective process. The deciding factors are: if musical rental is available with script rental, cost and availability of karaoke versions, ability to adapt the lyrics for appropriate content, and “good” fit with performance selection. We’re open to suggestions within the first month of practice. Ultimately, the decision will be made by the current directing staff.
Tryouts –
Grades 1 thru 3 - This is an introductory co-ed program for any child in the first, second or third grade. We are excited about working with the kids and take our coaching responsibilities seriously. Our coaching philosophy is simple. We want every child to have fun. Throughout the season, we will lead by example in teaching the kids the fundamentals of Drama. A couple of our main objectives will be to promote a positive team atmosphere and help the kids believe in themselves while learning theater basics. The basics will emphasize stage presence (projection, confidence, movement), singing, acting, and dancing. Children will be cast at the discretion of the directors based on the performance of the first few practices, and/or past performances. Please keep in mind that while it may sound easy to do, placing the right child in the right role is quite challenging.
Grades 4 thru 6 - Casting Approach
We will consider several factors to determine roles for each child. These include:
- Skill – acting, singing, movement, projection
- A positive attitude (being a good sport)
- Past experience
- Commitment
- Ability to show you can play nicely with others
All of these are important aspects of successful theatrical experiences. We will be considering each child’s abilities in these areas over the course of the next few weeks as well as at tryouts. It is important to hold a day of tryouts so that children get used to this universal method of casting. It also allows the directors to hear and see children individually. On this day, we will ask each child to perform a song and a few lines from the play. Parents can help their child prepare for tryouts by practicing the song and lines that have come.
These are a few thoughts for parents and students that we consider when making casting decisions. It may be helpful to discuss these with your child before and after the casting decisions are announced. Hopefully, it will help with whatever emotional response may happen at your house!
Casting 101
Sometimes parents, and students, ask how we arrive at our casting decisions for these elementary school productions. During practice and auditions we observe the students and ask:
- Does the student read with a voice that projects volume?
- Does the student read with expression and interpretation?
- Is the student able to sing on pitch and in tone?
- Can the student follow the music while singing or dancing?
- Does the student exhibit a willingness to try different parts?
- Are they willing to be team players?
- Can the student take direction as to different ways of reading lines and interpreting the parts?
- Does the student have experience with Drama Club?
- Is the student willing to commit to the time for rehearsal and practice at home?
A few more details about the decision process…
If we have worked with a student before, we will try to think about the past experiences the child has had in drama club. For example, a student who may have recently played a villain may be cast as a hero, to give that child another aspect of theater and acting. If a child recently played a leading role where they may not have had to be part of the ensemble, we may give them an ensemble role to get them acquainted with that type of acting. We also think about our past experience with the child: did the child follow directions in the past? Show interpretive skill? Participate willingly with the group? We do also consider especially with older students that they deserve a chance to shine before moving on to U32. If the student is new to us, we have to lean a bit more on their audition, reading and interpretive skills.
With students at this age and skill level, we basically think of them as all equal in acting skill. A few kids may stand out as natural talents, but in most cases it is more beneficial at this point in their theatrical education to give them a variety of roles to play and experience. So, while most kids equate "getting the lead" with "I'm talented" and getting a smaller part as "I'm not good enough", what we are really trying to do is mix things up for them so that by the time they get to middle school and high school, if they are still participating in theater, they will have experienced enough different types of roles to find their niche and understand their own capabilities and talents.
We ask students to be open to any role they might receive. On the day of the tryouts, we will be asking the students to tell us only if they do not wish to be considered for a lead role.
The bottom line is, every person is important, and the play cannot proceed without every actor taking part. We urge you to encourage your child to try to understand that just because they may not have gotten what they wanted; there is still value in participating in the experience. They may just have the best time ever and learn something about themselves in the process.
Posting Results - We will post our casting decisions online at www.calaisdramaclub.blogspot.com . We encourage students to review casting decisions in private at home with the support of their families rather than at school or with friends. No matter the role, there are often unpredictable and emotional reactions that can be made worse when acted out in public. With that in mind, it's also important to remember that the Drama Club at Calais is not a school function but rather is associated with the Calais Recreation Association. So any questions or concerns should be directed to the drama coaches (not teachers) and if the issue is not resolved you can request for Cat Fair to arrange for you to meet with a member of the CRA board.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Drama Club 2010 for Upper Unit
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Dress rehearsal and performance
Dear Drama Club Parents,
Tomorrow, Friday, is performance day! I understand that a few children were under the impression that they should be prepared for a dress rehearsal on Wednesday which was not the case. The dress rehearsal, as noted in all of our past schedules, will be tomorrow morning at 10:15 during school. You are more than welcome to attend. Your children need to come to school with hair and makeup already done. For most this simply means clean and groomed hair with some makeup. Makeup, even for boys, serves to bring out facial features under the brighter lights we'll use for performance. So a little eyeliner around the eyes, light blush on the cheeks, and light lipgloss or clear chapstick really help with this. We will take your children out of class approximately 30 minutes before the dress rehearsal to change into costumes and practice music. Our performance is scheduled for 6:30 pm Friday night and the same details apply. Bring your child in with hair and makeup done by 6:00 pm to change and warm up on their music. Tonight you can help your child prepare by running thru lines and music a few times. The reminders I use for everyone are:
1. Slow Down
2. Stay in character, especially if someone makes a mistake.
3. Be loud
4. Make eye contact with Cat during music
5. Look to Carolyn for lines if you need a little help.
6. Find your JOY:)
Thanks and break a leg,
Cat