<p>i'm not a parent, but i'm a kid...does that count??</p>
<p>i actually have 3 jobs this summer....it's starting to get a little crazy!! </p>
<p>i'm in a paid production of Fiddler on the Roof (i'm Tzeitel) that starts on saturday...I CAN'T WAIT!! it'll be so nice to be back on stage. i'm also working for a piano restoration business as the office manager and doing aesthetics work (re-finishing, making everything look nice. i do very little actual fixing, but i do some). and i also just started working at the ben & jerry's ice cream factory near where i live. i am part of the hospitality staff as a tour guide, it's really fun...and i suppose a TINY bit like being on stage. </p>
<p>i'm also volunteering with a summer theatre group i was with for 4 years. they put together a show with only 12 days of rehearsal, 8 hours a day. it was my favorite part of every summer, so i'm incredibly happy that they asked me to come back and help.</p>
<p>add in voice, dance, and maybe one more show and i'm pretty busy. it's nice, though. </p>
<p>it's nothing like the amazing stuff other kids are doing, but it's what i could find within my limitations, i guess!</p>
<p>Okay, I'll bite. I wasn't going to post...much rather lurk these days I guess, but after reading NotMamaRose's post she motivated me to share.</p>
<p>My two guys are home for the summer. Had opportunities elsewhere but they felt the need to come home for little brother's graduation from high school. okay....all together....<strong>Awwwwwwwwww</strong>! And it is superb around the house....lots of energy to say the least.</p>
<p>BUT have to tell you, Ss absolutely LOVE what they are doing this summer!! They are working for an equity theatre located on the Beloit College campus. During the first show of the company's summer run, Ss learned to operate the light and sound boards for the show. They have also had fun helping run the box office.</p>
<p>As the first show is finishing its run, Ss have begun their rehearsals for "Biloxi Blues"....one S is Eugene and the other S will play Arnold. This is an encore performance for the guys as last year they did "Brighton Beach Memoirs". Beloit, WI is the sister city to Biloxi and all the proceeds will go to the hurricane victims in Biloxi. There is a bit of gossip that they may do the 3 part of the trilogy, "Broadway Bound" next year, but we'll have to wait and see.</p>
<p>It has been a great learning experience!! Not only with all the tech stuff, but they are also able to gauge how much they have learned this last year in their Conservatory (i.e. making choices in their characterizations, breathing, movement, etc.)</p>
<p>Their director, who is also playing the part of Toomey, is an equity actor who studied under Stella Adler. He has become a mentor for the boys. Thank goodness for those wonderful people out there who have been around the block and take these young ones under their wings. You are glorious!!</p>
<p>Okay, sorry if I got longwinded. I try so hard to keep things to the point and specific. Looking forward to reading what everyone else is up too!!</p>
<p>Sporti (I always think of the Spice Girls when I see your screen name :)) and Sue (aka 5Pants), it's so much fun reading about your summer adventures! Maggie, it sounds as if you won't have time to breathe this summer, much less sleep in or read a few books! Congrats on your role in a PAID production of Fiddler. I love that show and Tzeitel is a great part. You must have really impressed 'em! Keep us posted on the show's progress, and don't eat too much Cherry Garcia when you are scooping. :) (I spent a summer in my teen years working at Friendly's, and was surprised that I actually got sick of ice cream. Sounds impossible, I know, but when you are around it so much ....) Sue, it must be fabulous to have all your sons at home and underfoot, though it doesn't sound like they will be underfoot much! They will obviously be busy this summer and be gaining fabulous experience in the process. My summer -- spent mostly working, as usual :) -- seems very dull in comparison. Keep the summer stories coming, so I can live vicariously.
:) :) :)
L</p>
<p>it's funny, ice cream isn't really my favorite thing ever. i mean, i enjoy it, but i really don't eat it that much. the only time i eat any is when we open something new -- and that's because we HAVE to taste it! we get 3 free pints a day, and i'm giving them away like crazy. next week i'm taking about 15 down to where i'm volunteering....i know those kids will LOVE it!! hahaha. only scoop the samples they give out at the end, so most of the time i'm either outside in the sun parking cars, etc. or inside talking about B&J's. i love it. (cherry garcia is the biggest seller, btw :) )</p>
<p>little known fact -- sporty spice is the source of the name. she was my FAVORITE spice girl when i made my screen name in 5/6th grade, and it's easier to remember if i keep everytihng the same...so you're right to be reminded of her! hahaha.</p>
<p>My d, while not a MT major, is a dance minor and has just finished her first year of college at Barnard in NYC. She is in the middle of a run of "Crazy for You" at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, PA (this is her "summer job"). We were blessed to be able to go and see the show and it was wonderful and she is having a BLAST!!!</p>
<p>In a couple of weeks she comes home and does some dance workshops, voice lessons and spends time with family (and earns...hopefully....a bit more $$$ with another local performance opportunity and then baby sitting!). Then, back to studying neuroscience and dance in the fall...</p>
<p>Ahhh, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!</p>
<p>Just wanted to report on a summer stock performance that I was fortunate enough to enjoy a few nights ago. My d and I saw Grease at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and thought the talent was just incredible! The theater was magnificent and could compete with any NYC broadway house for sure! Just beautiful! There was no mistaking which schools were represented in the cast! Michigan, CCM, and CMU students nearly complete the cast list! They are truly talented! Some wonderful voices! </p>
<p>My d is fortunate enough to be going to see 42nd street and Seven Bridges for Seven Brothers through CMU pre-college over the next few weeks which are additional shows in the PCLO summer stock season. Congrats to the parents who have performers in these shows! It is my understanding that the practice time is truly limited and to be able to put on something so wonderful is a true testiment to all of their talent.</p>
<p>To all you experienced summer stock audition people! -</p>
<p>It looks like one can't audition at NETC and StrawHat both. I noticed that the NETC application asks a student to verify that they have no prior commitments and "I am available for work". If the student auditioned also at StrawHat, how can the student assert that they are available, when they might get a callback at StrawHat?</p>
<p>I'm confused, or am I making this more complicated than it really is??</p>
<p>Chris,
I really do believe you can audition at both and many do. You have to first get accepted into the audition. Some I know only got accepted into NETC but not Straw Hats and some into Straw Hats but not NETC. I imagine some got into both and went to both. NETC was the week or so before StrawHats. </p>
<p>When asking if one has prior commitments...I see commitments as actual job contracts, not possible auditions or callbacks. With auditioning in general (not just talking these two big combined auditions), you just have to keep auditioning until an offer comes (and you want to accept that offer). The only ethical issue arises once you accept an offer...THEN you truly are not available to work. But until you accept any offers, you have to keep auditioning as you don't know what will transpire, right? Once the student has done all these callbacks...and frankly, might also be attending other summer stock auditions (my D did others on top of Strawhats), offers can come at any time. You can hold off signing a contract until you hear from others but there likely is a limit of time that the offer is good for. But each theater operates differently too. For instance, one theater offered my D a job right at the StrawHats callbacks. Another, where she has ended up working, offered a contract about six weeks later with yet another callback on site. Anyway, a person IS available for work, until they have signed a contract with a theater. If one were to not attend any other auditions because they MIGHT get an offer at the first audition, they'd be sunk because it can take many auditions to get an offer and even then, one might not want the offer and so one must schedule auditions and hope that offers come in a timely way before having to accept another offer that came sooner. If you get an offer, you can also ask how long you may have until signing. If you are waiting to hear from a callback at a theater, yet have another offer in hand, one can ask when offers will be made because they don't wish to sign another offer until hearing back from that theater, etc. </p>
<p>It is tricky with the timing when auditioning for many things that make decisions in different time frames. However, one is "free" to audition if one has not signed another contract. Nobody can say you can't audition because you have other auditions or callbacks coming up. You're available until you have a signed contract some place.</p>
<p>My D gets home from Europe at 11 pm and starts an internship as the understudy for Sarah in Ragtime at noon the next day. She will perform in the ensemble during the show but work with the director and music director in rehearsals learning the part of Sarah. She will stay on with the same company as a choreography intern for Cabaret. But they were clear that they were NOT casting HS kids in Cabaret, which is OK because it will still be running when school goes back.</p>
<p>We are interested to see what and how the internship works. And I am thrilled because her father is also cast in Ragtime (as Grandfather) so I don't have to do the driving!!</p>
<p>Haven't posted in quite a while, but it's fun to see what everyone is up to for the summer. My D will be going into rehearsal shortly for Music Man where she will be playing Zaneeta. This will be a world premiere of the concert version of the show which will then be marketed and sold as a concert package to performing venues. The leads in the show are all equity and then there is a 30 person non eq ensemble as well.
She is also busy working on her senior project for PSU...can't believe that while some of you are just starting this adventure ours is quickly coming to an end, at least in the "college" sense of it. Then the adventure truly begins!
BTW...PSU is also represented at PCLO!!! Yeah Natalie!!</p>
<p>Just returned from out West where my S is performing in summer stock at a vacation area theatre and occasionally getting the chance to enjoy his other passion the wilderness (It really is where the deer and the antelope play right outside his housing.) He is the youngest actor in a troop of 15 and is finding it a real learning experience. They use volunteer actors to round out the chorus and smaller parts. Hes paid a small salary and provided with housing and works six days a week, 8 10 hours a day, on rehearsals and stage craft. The last two weeks of the season, since they dont have rehearsals, they teach summer musical camp for area kids. He is Albert Peterson in Bye, Bye Birdie, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes. He had three summer stock auditions this spring, got call backs at all three and three job offers from the last unified audition. We miss him a lot, he only was home for 10 days before starting rehearsals and will have only three days home before going back to OCU this fall. We plan on catching the last two shows of Beauty and the Beast and the first two shows of Anything Goes when we make the 800 mile trek back to see him later this summer. One of his job offers was only 150 miles away and the other only 300 miles, but he really wanted to live out West for the summer.</p>
<p>I'm going to ask a potentially stupid question here: Where do you find out about summer stock auditions? Obviously this does not apply to this summer, but I'm thinking ahead to next one.</p>
<p>Broadway Bound - not a stupid question at all. I only found out about some of them through my daughter's theater friends. Let me tell you though, she sent in her applications for Strawhat and NETC (both have websites; just google them!) in January for March auditions and she was still too late! So I'd send them in by at least early December!!</p>