Thursday, November 28, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Families,

We are almost there! We can tell a lot of your kiddos really practiced hard over the break and that is fantastic! We just need to keep it up, practicing those high notes, high kicks and keeping track of all our lyrics and entrances!

You have had two documents shared with you, the final countdown list of everything your kiddo will need in the coming week, including hair and makeup instructions. We also need to remind you that it is past the deadline for labeled garment bags, jazz shoes and base layers. If you've not already taken care of these things, please do so ASAP.

The final countdown list can be viewed HERE. What you need-The Final Countdown!

The other document is our final tech schedule. Please look at it closely and note the adjustments to our call on both Friday and Saturday. ALL cast members are required to attend from noon to 3pm on Saturday. They should have a good lunch before arriving and bring a snack and water to rehearsal.

You may find the current schedule HERE. TECH WEEK SCHEDULE

Also, as a reminder, at every rehearsal next week, students should have a water bottle and a healthy, non-messy snack. We need to stay hydrated and sustained! They will have a short snack period before getting into costume at each rehearsal.

Thanks again for all you do to support your children's participation in this show! We are getting super excited to share all their tremendous work with you.

Cyn & Lex

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Monday, November 12, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Families,

Whoo hoo! We are in the home stretch! You all should have received a copy of the updated schedule. Please read carefully as Wednesday has very specific calls for costumes and rehearsal. We have tried to arrange things so that the brave and busy costume crew can make the most efficient use of their time. PLEASE check to see if your child is called for one of the rehearsal groups--there are some new ones!

If your child is ONLY called for a costume call, they are welcome to come only for their call time on Wednesday. Friday will be a full run-through for the entire cast - MEMORIZED!

IMPORTANT - EVERY STUDENT NEEDS TO BRING A GARMENT BAG TO THEIR COSTUME FITTING, MARKED WITH THEIR NAME. This is how we organize and track their multiple pieces, so we appreciate your help with this. If they already have their base layer (see below) they should wear it for their fitting, otherwise close fitting garments that we can fit costumes over are a good choice for Wednesday.

In the week to come, we are not going to be set up for a lot of extra supervision, so if you think your student will have down time, they need to bring a book, homework, or some other quiet activity. PLEASE NO TECH/PHONES except to call parents on release. They are too distracting and will be confiscated!

Once we have completed costume fittings, we will start sending detailed information about hair and makeup, what students will need to come prepared with, and what we will help them with at school. For now, please note the following:

SHOES REMINDER - All students should have their jazz shoes! Please contact us ASAP if there is an issue with this.

BASE LAYER - All performers will have quick changes, and so will need a "base layer" of clothing for quick changes. Neutral leotard is prefered for the ladies, gentlemen may wear neutral shorts and a t-shirt or undershirt, but they should be close fitting, so they are not too bulky under the costume.

That's all for now, but keep your eye on the inbox--there will be more to come!

Cyn & Lex

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Families,

First off, APOLOGIES! There have been some technical difficulties and I am sorry that y'all did not receive the schedule update this weekend. Please do check out the changes in your email, and I will copy this week's schedule below here as well.

We are truly cooking with gas now, and are about 85% finished with the staging part of our process. Yay! Now we begin to refine and improve--which is tough but exciting work. Please help your kids stay healthy, rested and focused. Also, as we are moving into longer rehearsals, so remembering proper rehearsal etiquette and safety are SUPER IMPORTANT. Please encourage your student to remain respectful of the rules in our rehearsal space.

Thanks to those of you who are working hard and have memorized your music, lyrics and choreography--we see you! For those of you who still need to step it up in this department, now is the time!

Thank you to all for your commitment, support and understanding.

This is the plan for this week:

Mon 11-5

• ONLY THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS:
• Narrators, Wolves, Belle, Beast, Gaston, LeFou, 3 Sillies, Maurice, D’Arque, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Babette, Madame DLGB
• WORK THRU UNTIL 3:30

Wed 11-7

• ALL CAST 12:30-3:00
• 3:00-3:30 - Human Again/Belle Soloists ONLY

Fri 11-9

• ALL CAST 12:30-3:30

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Families,

Hopefully your students reminded to look for the email--and here you are! A few folks missed the last schedule update, so we do encourage you to check the schedule and email updates regularly. We do our best to plan in advance, but we also need to be responsive to the needs of the rehearsal process. Your understanding on this is appreciated!

IMPORTANT CHANGES!

THIS FRIDAY, October 26, the schedule has changed, so please check the schedule. There is no general ensemble call, but we have ADDED the soloists from "Belle" and the Wolves to Friday's rehearsal. We would appreciate it if they can attend, if they are available. The call and release times are now as follows:

Date - Fri 10-26

Who is Called: Belle Soloists, Beast, Belle, Gaston, Le Fou, Sillies, Enchanteds, Narrators, Wolves & Maurice

Unit 1 :

2:30-3:00 -“Belle” solo review (Belle Soloists released at 3:00)

3:00-3:30 - Enchanteds Music

3:30-4:30 - Enchanteds Staging

Unit 2 :

2:30 -3:30 - Wolves, Narrators, Maurice, Beast, Belle (Wolves and Narrators released at 3:30)

Also, for NEXT WEDNESDAY (Halloween!) after the company has been released at 2:30, the Napkin Dancers for BOG will rehearse from 2:30-3:30. Your student will know if they are one of the featured dancers.

REMINDERS:

SHOES!

All students should have jazz shoes, black, no laces are preferred. They should be labeled, and brought to every rehearsal. Our director/choreographer Lex recommends Discount Dance in Oceanside for their service and fitting expertise. They are located at 2216 El Camino Real #101, Oceanside, CA 92054, and you can look at their website at https://www.discountdance.com/. If your student has been assigned to any "tricks" or featured dances, please note that they MUST have their shoes at every rehearsal from next Wednesday forward, or their dance part will be reassigned. This is essential for their safety.

WE ARE NOT YOUR MAIDS!

After Wednesday's rehearsals, we cleaned up a ridiculous quantity of trash, personal items and half-eaten food (GROSS!) Due to this, we will no longer be allowing snack time in rehearsal. We will revisit bringing it back after next week, but the privilege of having snacks out in rehearsal is revoked until further notice. Students must eat their snack before or after rehearsal only. Water bottles only will be permitted in the rehearsal space.

- - - and finally,

THANK YOU to the many students who have stepped up their rehearsal game. We still need more of them coming with music practiced and learned (If you are having trouble accessing practice tracks, please contact us!) but these are some tough rehearsals and most of you are really hanging in there--keep it up!

The updated schedule is posted HERE, as always contact us with questions and concerns.

All best,

Cyn & Lex

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Parents,

Whew--It's been a big week! We've tackled our biggest challenge, BE OUR GUEST. Or as I like to call it by it's rap name, the Notorious B.O.G. It's still rough, but it is greatness in the making.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS!

On Fridays, we wear BLACK! Cast headshots will be taken of each performer, so please remind your student a black top for their pro-style headshot. This is a fantastic DMH Drama tradition, and we are fortunate to have the support of our volunteers to make this happen. Also remember that release will happen as soon as their headshot is taken, so while the Ensemble is released at 3:30, no one is released until their photo is taken.

SCHEDULE CHANGES: As BOG took a little longer than expected, we have made next Wednesday a FULL CAST call until 3:30 to make sure there is plenty of time for learning Gaston and group review. A new schedule is on the schedule page, and you can download your own copy HERE.

SHOES! All performers will need jazz shoes for this show. Everyone is encouraged to bring their dance shoes to every rehearsal at this point. Please make sure they are well marked, so everyone goes home with the right shoes!

and finally. . . COME PREPARED! Too many kiddos are showing up without scripts and pencils, not knowing the words to their music, not preparing our practicing outside of rehearsals. There is just no way this show is going to work if our performers don't all start to STEP UP. Everyone has choreography and music to practice, some have lines to learn (as well as lines with underscoring), and blocking to memorize. Also please note, practice should be both intentional and mindful, just like any other homework. Performers should practice on their feet, using good projection, enunciation and character-filled expression, and that goes for every villager, fork and wolf!

Thank you to the many students who are already upping their game, bringing the focus and energy--keep it coming!

Cynthia & Lex

Monday, October 8, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Parents,

This week is a short one, but with some choice nuggets of information, so thanks for reading!

Last week went well, with many things accomplished. YAY!

Also, your feedback was heard, and we have created a new schedule, in PDF form that will hopefully be easier to read and access. It will be on the website and in your email. As rehearsals go on, we may need to make slight changes, especially regarding costume fittings, so we will send out adjustments as they are made. There is a slight change to this Wednesday's rehearsal--please note the general release time has been moved to 2:30. Belle, Gaston, Le Fou, Sillies & Wolves stay to 3:00 and Narrators, Beast, Enchantress stay to 3:30.

You also now have access to a full chart of what students are assigned to which group numbers via the PTA site (and I will link here) - Thanks Lex! That said, your children should know by now all the songs and scenes they are assigned to--ask them, they are the experts!

Finally, while most of our performers are demonstrating fantastic enthusiasm and focused work, any performers who are still struggling with abiding by the terms of the student contract this week can expect an email to parents and a serious discussion about their participation in the show. If your child has any special needs that make focus and appropriate rehearsal behavior difficult, please do reach out to us directly so we can formulate an accommodation plan. We want every child to have a positive and safe experience and that requires the cooperation of every student.

Looking forward to another exciting week of singing and dancing!

Cynthia & Lex

Friday, September 28, 2018

Dear Beauty and the Beast Parents,

Well, here we are, one week into the rehearsal process! We are still working through some logistics with our fantastically large crew, but we are all SO excited to be getting started with what is sure to be a magical production of Beauty and the Beast Jr. We do have a some housekeeping to attend to, so please read this email carefully. Your patience is appreciated!

• Communication: Hopefully most of you received the link to the information website and the shared rehearsal schedule on the google drive. Please make sure you bookmark https://sites.google.com/view/dmhbbjr/home for all updates and information. We will also be sending out weekly updates and information. Of course, you can always contact us at this email address, dmhbeautyandthebeast@gmail.com.
• Pick-Up: We know it is challenging as we finalize the schedule, but please make sure your child is picked up on time and/or is clear on his or her after rehearsal plan. We are not an aftercare program and cannot provide supervision after your child is released, so we appreciate your help with this.
• Rehearsal Etiquette: There is a link on the webpage to the Student/Parent contract that each of you and your children signed. You can find it HERE. Please review this with your student this weekend. With a group our size, even just a few people engaging in distracting or disruptive behavior (including talking) can be the difference between fun rehearsal and a dysfunctional one. We are here to put on a great show together, not to constantly nag and shush our performers. Every student is accountable for their own positive experience. This means making positive personal choices and encouraging positive choices in others. This includes full participation. If you want to be in a show, you have to sing and dance. :)
• What to Bring: At every rehearsal (once they have received it) each student needs to bring their script. Even if they are memorized, they should bring it for notes and reference. They should also bring a pencil, a water bottle and if they wish, a non-messy snack. Names should be on EVERYTHING, especially water bottles and scripts!
• Why We Are Here: We come to the theatre to play, to tell stories, to challenge ourselves, and to TRANSFORM! Just like our Enchanted Objects, our students are here to take a journey from "just a (BIG) bunch of kids" to a cooperative and joyful theater family. Like all journeys worth taking, this one will have challenges, so please talk with your child, make sure that they are excited and committed to their participation.

Thank you for being part of our show family--next week your child will be dancing their feet off!

Cynthia & Lex