FAQ

The Hicks Canyon PTO is excited to bring back Top Hat 8 Repertory to direct the production of Madagascar Jr. The company is a local nonprofit community theatre that directs school productions as well as their own studio productions for all ages. The Top Hat team consists of talented and professional actors, singers, choreographers, and directors.

The program fee of $335 includes 2 hours of auditions, 10 weeks of 2-hour of rehearsals, 2 technical rehearsals, 1 school performance, and 2 weekend performances. Each student will be provided with a script, cast T-shirt, production poster and 2 General Admission tickets. This program is different from Wednesday After School classes because at the end of the 11-week session, the students will perform with costumes, sets, props, and professional lighting and sound.

Auditions will be held after school on September 10th. Every student that registers for the production will be cast with at least one role. Before the auditions, you will receive an email with audition materials, including a vocal and instrumental portion of a song and a few lines from the script. Your child can practice this ahead of time so that they are comfortable at the auditions. During the auditions, the students will learn a dance, practice the song, and read the lines. Students will then perform the song and lines for the directors. If a student is interested in a role with a solo, they will be asked to sing by themselves. All students must attend audition day and stay for the entire length of the audition.

There will be 2 casts of up to 40 students. Each cast will be a mix of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. After auditions, the directors will decide which student best fits each role. The directors will do their best to put siblings in the same cast. However, requests to put a child in a cast with their friends will not be considered. This is a great opportunity for students to get to know other students that are not in their class or grade level. The Musical Theater Committee is not involved in casting and cannot make any changes. 

Every child, regardless of their role, will learn much more than lyrics and dances in our musical theatre production. They will learn collaboration and communication skills. They will have a chance to find their voice and creative ways to express themselves. They will learn perspective taking and, hopefully, hidden talents they might not know they have. More important than anything, they are going to have fun and create new friendships.

As with all musical productions, not all roles will get a speaking part. However, every role is important and plays a critical part in our musical production. Some students will have roles with lines and other students will be in the ensemble. All musical productions have ensemble roles, including those on Broadway. All children will be included in multiple songs and dances. Even if they do not have a speaking role, the actors help tell the story with their singing and dancing. Please note that, as part of the licensing agreement, we are not allowed to create lines or divide lines among actors. We must stay true to the script. When the cast list is posted, we hope you will share your excitement with your child and celebrate their part in the production. Please encourage your child to remember that they are part of a team, and all roles are equally important.

Your child will receive a script that they need to bring to every rehearsal. We also recommend a labeled water bottle. Backpacks will be kept outside during rehearsals. During tech rehearsals and the performances, you child will be asked to wear base clothes under their regular clothes. Base clothes typically include tank tops and bike shorts so that costume changes can happen quickly and in front of other cast members. The students will also be asked to wear jazz shoes or plain tennis shoes, depending on their role. More information will be provided once the roles are assigned. 

We recommend that your child practice their songs, dances, and lines at home. You will be provided a link to a Google drive that has rehearsal tracks, performance tracks, and videos of the dances. Each song or dance will be uploaded to the drive once the students have learned them. The link will be sent to your email so that they may access it on personal devices and school iPads. There will also be a QR code on the students' scripts so that they can scan it and practice on any device.

Tickets will go on sale for our actors’ families in October. We will open ticket sales for VIP seating first. VIP seating is assigned in the front rows of the audience. We will then open ticket sales for General Admission. Once all performing arts families have had a chance to purchase tickets, General Admission tickets will be available for purchase to the rest of the school. As part of your program fee, you will receive 2 General Admission tickets. 

Tech week is the final week of rehearsals before the performances. The students run through the entire show with costumes, props, lighting, and sound. Each cast will rehearse separately after school. If a cast has a later rehearsal, they will leave at dismissal and return for their rehearsal time. There will be no supervision for students that are not rehearsing. In addition, each cast will be performing for the rest of the school during the school day. This is a great opportunity for the students to see what it is like performing for an audience. 

Please visit our Calendar page for important dates and times. Unless your child is sick, they should not miss rehearsals or performances. The children will be working together on scenes and blocking for dances, so it is important that they attend all rehearsals. Please note that tech week is after Fall Break. Students are required to attend all tech rehearsals. Please plan any vacations for after the performances. 

Putting on a musical theatre production takes a lot of work! To ensure the safety of our students and a fun experience for all, we need all hands on deck! We will need volunteers to help with checking in and out of rehearsals, ticket sales, programs, backstage supervision, costuming and hair, concessions, grams, decorations, ushering, and more. We are asking that all parents commit to at least 2 hours of volunteering. Volunteers can help after school, during tech week, and during performance weekend. No experience is necessary! The cast list will not be released until all families have signed up to volunteer. If families do not sign up to volunteer, they will be assigned by the Musical Theater Committee. 

The HCE Musical Theatre Committee can be contacted for any questions you may have. Along with Stephanie Policare, a Hicks Canyon teacher, the committee will be responsible for all communication with parents. They will be organizing volunteers, ticket sales, and production logistics. If you have any questions, please contact musicaltheater@hickscanyon.org or spolicare@tustin.k12.ca.us.