Hi Everyone!
This email is a bit longer and includes a ton of important information! Please read through carefully.
Info for Saturday Costume Day 2/7/25
If you have not had a chance to sign up for a time, please do so here. I added a couple more slots for each time, but if none of the available times work for you, please email me with times that work if you need to be added and we can probably make it work.
Location- Chanhassen High School (Dressing Room)
There is a big Band event (Jazz Fest) happening at the high school on this day. Middle School Theater students can be dropped off at door 33 and will walk about half way down the hall to the theater dressing room (on the left). DO NOT enter through the auditorium– if students come from the main entrance, they must come down the music hallway, there will be no entry through the theater/auditorium. I will try to have signs as it will be a pretty busy place!
Please DO NOT arrive more than 5 minutes early for your assigned time.
Parents are not allowed in the dressing room. Students can absolutely be dropped off at the time of their fitting and picked up at the end– parents do not need to stick around. (Students who are not involved in the band festival need to be picked up on time- we can’t have extra students wandering around the school).
If possible, it is best to bring or wear your base black clothes to try on costumes so you can see how things fit. If you do not have those items yet, it’s not the end of the world, but it helps.
If you have anything you think will work for your character that you would like to bring in to try as part of your costume, you are welcome to bring it in to show me– it is best not to go out and buy anything, as I don’t want you to buy something that we end up not using. But if you already own something you’d like to try, then feel free to bring it in. (examples- Ladies Garden Guild may want to bring a flowered dress or hat/gloves, Reporters might want to bring a hat or satchel).
Base Layer
All students are required to have an all black “base layer” to wear under your costume. This helps make changing costumes quick and easy backstage, because you will never remove your base layer, simply add other costume pieces on top. For the song “Shake It Up,” all ensemble members will need long black pants (leggings, joggers, sweats, or possibly black tights with a black skirt are all acceptable). Other than that number, you may wear shorts or pants as you feel comfortable. You must provide your base layer, however if this creates any financial stress or if there’s any other reason your student can’t provide their own base layer please let me know and I will make it happen.
Make-up
Make-up is NOT required for any student. If students would like to wear stage make-up, we are going for a natural look. Stage lights tend to wash people out so a basic kit would include something to define eyes (eyeliner, mascara, or both), blush, and a neutral lip color. While this show involves some “crazy creatures” we see the human iterations of these characters, so they will still be wearing human make-up.
Next Week at High School
Starting next week (2/9/25) rehearsals will take place at the Chanhassen High School Auditorium. There will be buses provided from each middle school to the High School after school.
CMSW-students will get on bus #318. Will be parked in the LA parking lot. This will take them directly to Chan HS.
CMSE-students will get on bus #18 OR #22. Will be parked in middle school bus loop. This will take directly to Chan HS.
PRMS-students will get on bus #58. Will be parked in regular bus loop. This will take directly to Chan HS.
Schedule
Beginning next week, all cast members will be called to all rehearsals, so I will not be sending out an updated call list (though I will still be sending communication and answering questions!). Rehearsals will run from after school until 6:00pm, Monday-Thursday, and students should be picked up at Chanhassen High School (main entrance).
Parent Volunteers
If you are interested in volunteering to help with the show, there are a number of available positions! A sign up sheet will be coming out shortly.
We need help with supervision backstage, organizing our meal in between shows on Saturday, strike (help with taking down our set and gathering props/costumes after our final show on Sunday), and selling concessions and tickets at each performance. Volunteers will receive free entry to the performance they are volunteering at (backstage supervisors will receive free entry to another performance of their choice).
I have also had some parents interested in starting a parent volunteer group for the middle school musical so we can have some consistency in volunteers from year to year and keep better track of information. This is in early stages, but keep your eyes open for more information, or feel free to reach out if you have ideas or are willing to take on a leadership role (as you all probably can tell, with so much going on with running the show, I sometimes lose track of the extra things that need to get done!)
Tickets
Tickets are on sale! You can purchase here, on the website, or I will include the full url link below.
Thank you all so much for your support with this production! We are so excited to move to the stage and keep working on this great show!
Anna Olson
Purchase Tickets- https://district112.ce.eleyo.com/course/9878/winter-spring-2026/middle-school-musical-james-the-giant-peach