Running late? Going to be absent? Just need to talk?

For this production, we're all about communicating....in a very 21st century way.  Blogs, on-line calendars, email blasts...we're working it!  Now we want to add to all of this with our official "here's how you can quickly leave a message for the directors" system.  OK, so the name needs a little work!  We have a dedicated email address to this show:

frcsarts@gmail.com

If you (as a student), you (as a parent) or you (as just a groupie), want to contact us, tap out an email, and it will be picked up before the next days rehearsal.

But wait, how do students use this if they don't have a computer handy?  Oh the miracles of technology.  Most (not every but most) cell phones that can send a text message (assuming you haven't been grounded from texting...) can send a text message to an email address.  Just type that email address into the "To" field on your phone.  My old phone had a separate box for email addresses, but they're all about the same.

Remember:  in any email or text message, be sure to tell us who this message is from.  An email from ihrtbarbiedolls@yahoo.com that states "I'll be late for rehearsal" won't do us all much good!

The Jitterbug

It's a whatsis?

For those of us who were raised on the movie, the Jitterbug is kind of an unknown.  But in the stage play, it's a big dance scene that sets up the big finale in the witches castle.  What is the Jitterbug?  It's really left up to interpretation by each show, but it's described as some sort of diabolical monster that causes you to dance until you drop.  Along with the Winkies, and the Flying Monkeys, the Jitterbug is one of the 3 branches of the evil armed forces of the Wicked Witch.

Regardless of what exactly it is, I'm certain that this is going to be incredible!  Connie Rice, who is back for her third FRCS musical is pulling out all the stops for this dance number.  The students involved have rehearsed it for 2 nights...and are really feeling pushed to their limits...in a good way!  Connie has created some amazing numbers for our past shows and I can tell you first hand, that this one will be a performance that our audience is never going to forget.

And more importantly, it will be a performance that these students will remember for the rest of their lives.  And that's the main reason we're doing this.....

FRCS Wizard of Oz Scene and Cast List

What????? What is this?

OK, in the continuous effort to communicate who does what when, it's standard to create a complete scene list. So at this link:

FRCS Wizard of Oz Scene List

you will find a 3 page Adobe Acrobat document (from now on referred to as a PDF) that has all of this information. So to explain further, on page 3 you will see a list of the 27 (27 scenes!) in the play. Each one is number with it's act and then scene number. So for instance, when the scarecrow sings "If I only had a Brain", that's Act 1 Scene 9, or scene 1.9.

So far so good?

Now on the first two pages of the scene list document is a matrix of every character and every scene and a little check mark next to the character if they are in the scene. So again, Scene 1.9 will include Dorothy, Scarecrow, Toto, the Yellow Brick Road and the Crows. So if you or your student is one of these characters and we are rehearsing that scene, it would be nice to see them at the rehearsal!

So how do you know what scene is being rehearsed on a particular day?

Great question.....thanks for asking. There will be a number of ways to find this out. On the Wizard of Oz calendar (there's a link to it at the top of this web page), we will be listing the scenes that we are planning to work on, hopefully in enough advance notice for you to plan your days. We will also be listing the next weeks rehearsals right here on this page (in fact, that over-achieving Mrs. Sutherland has already done that!). This will also appear in the Falcon Flyer and lastly, like everything written here, it will be posted on the Fine Arts bulletin board in the High School.

Whew....trying to over-communicate is tough business!

Rehearsal Schedule for 1/26-1/30

Monday- ALL CAST meeting and rehearsal : 3:15-5:00
Tuesday- Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, Prof. Marvel, Miss Gultch 3:15-5:30 pm
Wednesday- Jitterbug Dance Rehearsal; Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion 5:30-8 pm
Thursday- ALL Citizens of Oz Rehearsal and Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and Guard 3:15-5:00 pm
Friday- Munchkinland Rehearsal- 3:15-5:00

The Full Cast List

Here is a link to the cast list. It's a PDF which uses Adobe Acrobat...you've probably got it installed on your computer!

2009 FRCS Wizard of Oz Cast List

Rehearsals for the Week of 1/19/09

OK, so the previous post had the rehearsal plan/schedule. And in our first week...we have our first change. So the Wizard of Oz rehearsal schedule for this week is:

Monday - no rehearsals....no school!
Tuesday - no rehearsals....but there are try outs for the FRCS Variety Show....everyone should show their stuff!
Wednesday - Dance Rehearsal for the Jitterbug at Revive, 5:30 - 8:00. Right now, the cast list for the Jitterbug hasn't been posted, but it will be!
Thursday - no rehearsals: we'll be running through the Variety Show right after school
Friday - Munchkinland Rehearsal @ 3:15 PM in the PAC (or the commons if the Jr. High play is using the PAC)

Rehearsal Times

So when are rehearsals for the Wizard of Oz?

That's the second most asked question so far in the production.  (The first most asked is "When are you going to post the cast list?")

We are working diligently to create a complete rehearsal schedule...one that has the exact scenes we plan to work on that day, but right now we have the basic plan as follows:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 3:15 - 5:30 Jr./Sr. High


• Wednesday: 5:30 - 8:00 Dance Jr./Sr. High + breakaway for singing & acting


• Friday 3:15 - 5:00 Munchkinland (Elementary plus Dorothy, Glinda & Wicked Witch)

We should have the complete scene by scene schedule up this week.

Auditions! (continued)

It was truly the week of auditions. And as of right now, the casting is just about done. It was a grueling process to say the least, on everyone involved. And talent that has been displayed on stage this week is truly amazing. Not too long ago, we prayed that we'd have enough students to put on performances like this. Now we are forced to make difficult decisions between many, many talented kids. As my dad is fond of saying: "It's tough to put 8 pounds of rice in a 5 pound bag". God has truly blessed this community with many pounds of very, very talented rice! (Click on the photo for a larger view)

So without further ado....

Dorothy - Summer Downs
Miss Gultch/Wicked Witch - Sage Kilmer
Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz - Brandon Bate
Hunk/Scarecrow - Whitnee Sherman
Hickory/Tin Woodsman - Kyla Hollis
Zeke/Cowardly Lion - Alie Harte
Aunt Em - Courtney Kay
Uncle Henry - Alex King
Emerald City Guard - Allie Shaffer
Glinda - Sarah Dalton
General of the Winkies - Micah Stump

A full cast list will be posted here sometime this weekend (hopefully) and posted at the campus's on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone who tried out and is in this cast. We are going to have a cast larger than the Music Man...and that's quite a statement for a little school like FRCS!

Auditions!

The first "wave" of auditions are complete! As this is being written,
a new list of call backs will somehow be created, whittling down the
original list. I was not part of the decision process at all, but I
was blessed with opportunity to witness every audition...and here are
my completely unedited and unbiased opinions:

Mattie Dalton - awesome!
Jacki Barker - awesome!
Gretchen Wilburn - awesome!
Summer Downs - awesome!
John Pontius - awesome!
Kara Bates - awesome!
Deborah Good - awesome!
Micah Stump - awesome!
Courtney Kay - awesome!
Emily Philipson - awesome!
Deanna Porth - awesome!
Anne Choquette - awesome!
Carrie Caldwell - awesome!
Becky Moritzky - awesome!
Allie Shaffer - awesome!
Tammy Gonzales - awesome!
Whitnee Sherman - awesome!
Taylour McDaniel - awesome!
JT Goethe - awesome!
Kyla Hollis - awesome!
Travis Davis - awesome!
Alex King - awesome!
Dana Mazzoni - awesome!
Shawn Randolph - awesome!
Danielle Wade - awesome!
Annie Reed - awesome!
Sarah Dalton - awesome!
Garrett Bentley - awesome!
Brandon Bate - awesome!
Sage Kilmer - awesome!
Jenny DeWitt - awesome!
Haley King - awesome!
Alison Harte - awesome!
Ian Foster - awesome!
Ethan Renoe - awesome!

Perhaps this gives you a little insight as to why im not involved in
the casting! For such a small school, God has truly blessed us with
amazing talents, for this play and for future productions! To alll
who have and wlll try out: way to go!!!

Audition Permission Forms

With auditions only a few days away and the performance a mere 103 days away, here are the auditions forms for you and your students. Remember: to be cast in the Wizard of Oz all students have to provide a signed copy of one of these. We don't want to limit any participation, but we really need to make sure that all parents are on board with this effort. Print one of these out and you'll be off to see the Wizard!

Elementary Audition Form
Jr./Sr. High Audition and Permission Form

Supporting Roles/Chorus audtions - Jr & Sr High students

Who are the supporting characters (there are a lot of them!) - Toto, Trees, Crows, Winkie General, Nikko (leader of the Flying Monkeys), Oz Men and Women, Flying Monkeys, Winkies (the witches guards), Munchkins, Poppies and Snowmen, Jitterbug lead Dancer and Jitterbugs

Thursday, January 15th from 3:15-5:15 in the PAC.

Grades 7-12 Students MUST sign up on the Fine Arts Board this week to indicate that they will be auditioning.
REQUIRED: Singing in Groups: My Favorite Things and Bare Necessities. (music available in library)

Preparing a monologue is strongly encouraged for those who are trying out for a solo acting part. (Monologues also available in the library)
Students will also have the opportunity to try out for solo and small ensemble parts. Both singing and acting only parts are available.
REQUIRED FOR ALL AUDITIONS: An audition/permission form must be read, completed and signed by a parent and submitted AT THE TIME of the audition. They can be picked up at the Fine Arts Board at school or will be sent out via e-mail. Good luck to everyone!

Main character auditions - High School students only

Who are the main characters?

ACTING & SINGING: Dorothy, Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Wicked Witch, Glinda, Wizard of Oz, and Emerald City Guard
ACTING ONLY: Professor Marvel, Miss Gultch, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, Hickory, Zeke and Hunk.
There may be separate roles some of the Kansas and Oz characters

Monday/Tuesday, January 12th and 13th from 3:15-5:30.

students MUST sign up at the Fine Arts Board this week for a 10 min. individual time slot during one of those two days.
REQUIRED: 1 min. monologue and 1 min. song (exception on the song is for main characters who do not sing)

The students who make callbacks will be posted Wednesday morning on the Fine Arts Board. CALLBACKS will be held Wednesday evening, January 14th from 6-8 pm in the PAC.
Students who do not make receive main character roles will be considered for the supporting roles and should come to the auditions on Thursday, January 15th from 3:15-5:15.

REQUIRED FOR ALL AUDITIONS: An audition/permission form must be read, completed and signed by a parent and submitted AT THE TIME of the audition. They can be picked up at the Fine Arts Board at school or will be sent out via e-mail. Good luck to everyone!

Elementary auditions

The auditions for Elementary students (grades 4-6) is

Friday, January 16th from 3:15- 4:30 in the PAC.

Students will be asked to sing Do-RE-Mi in groups and will also have the opportunity to try out for several solo parts. Copies are available at the elementary front desk.

REQUIRED FOR ALL AUDITIONS: An audition/permission form must be read, completed and signed by a parent and submitted AT THE TIME of the audition. We hope to see a great turnout......good luck to everyone!

106 Days....and counting

Let the countdown begin! FRCS is "following the Yellow Brick" and starting our journey to see the Wizard! Speaking for everyone involved (and there are already a lot of people!)...it is going to be a blast. This little spot on the web is where you will find the most up to date information about the show. It is our goal to make this a memory that your students will never forget (in a good way naturally!) You will also get to see things progress in the words of many cast members and see lots of photos too! This page has a counterpart, a dedicated calendar where you will be able to see all the events as we know them. You can get to it by clicking on the "Go to the Oz calendar" at the top of this page.