Just the FAQs: Musical Theater Workshop at Hope Academy 2014-2015

This blog post will tell you everything you need to know about Musical Theater Workshop at Hope Academy, including the schedule for Saturdays, the calendar for the entire year, what to wear and bring; our safety and respect rules, policies and procedures; and performances.

If you have any questions, or need more information, please complete this online information request form.

ABOUT Musical Theater workshop

Musical Theater Workshop 1 – Grades 2 & 3
Acting, Singing and Tap Dance – Saturdays, 9:15 am to 12 noon
A fun-filled and exciting musical theater opportunity for 2nd and 3rd graders. This beginning workshop uses games, improvisation activities, creative dramatics and team-building exercises to introduce young children to singing, tap dancing and acting in a nurturing and non-competitive environment. The focus this year will be on fairy tales, and the students will work on a version of “Cinderella” during the winter term.

Musical Theater Workshop 2 – grades 4 to 6
Acting, Singing and Tap Dance – Saturdays, 9:15 am to 12 noon
Students in this workshop build technical skills for theater, such as voice production and projection, basic acting and movement, improvisation and stage presence. The fall term will focus on musical theater and the winter term will focus on monologue and scene work for the Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest in February. The musical theater focus will be on the play, “Into the Woods.”

HAT Co JR – grades 5-7 by audition
Hope Academy is now inviting students to audition for our new HAT Co JR, in order to build a foundation for the more intensive HAT Co (Hope Academy Teen Theater Company) program. Selected students will take the morning Musical Theater Workshop 2 classes (tap dance, singing and acting), an afternoon Ballet 2 class, and receive extra coaching sessions for voice and acting. Students applying to CAPA for theater, voice or dance are encouraged to audition for HAT Co Jr. These students will work on scenes for the Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespeare Contest and perform in our concerts and recitals. The focus of the musical theater work for this group will be “Into the Woods.”

Pittsburgh public theater shakespeare contest (grades 4 and up)

Preliminary Round Feb 5 – 13, 2015
Hope Academy Musical Theater Workshop 2, HAT Co Jr and HAT Co students will take part in the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare Monologue & Scene contest at the O’Reilly Theatre, downtown in the Cultural District. The contest is open to students in grades 4-12. Students may enter the monologue, scene or both portions of the contest in either the upper division (grades 8-12) or the lower division (grades 4-7). The preliminary round takes place during the day (8:30 am to 6:00 pm) at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Teams of judges evaluate each performance and those selected – about 30 of 1,200 – will progress on to the Showcase of Finalists. Hope Academy’s date and time for the preliminary round will be determined by the start of the winter term.

SHOWCASE OF FINALISTS MON Feb 16, 2015
An evening of monologues and scenes by the finalists of the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare contest at 7 pm at the
O’Reilly Theatre downtown in the Cultural District. FREE.

MTW Saturday SCHEDULE at HOPE ACADEMY

9:15 am            Check-in and announcements
9:30 – 10:15     Acting (1) or Singing (2)
10:15 – 11:00    Tap (1) or Acting (2)
11:15 – 12:00    Singing (1) or Tap (2)

TEACHING ARTISTS for MTW

Tap Dance: Kerra Alexander
Acting: Tonya Lynn and Alisa Cullison
Voice: Monica Stephenson
Accompanist: Paul Yeater

 WHAT TO WEAR & Bring

Loose, comfortable clothing that you can move in easily and that does not ride up or expose anything during physical work (you should be able to bend over, touch your toes, and still be covered). Yoga pants and a t-shirt that tucks in would be great. Clean tennis shoes. No boots, heels or flip flops.

A water bottle (labeled with your name), a folder for scripts and music, and a sweater or sweatshirt. A tote bag to hold your belongings. Please do not bring valuables or electronic devices.

Students staying for Ballet 2 (12:30 to 1:30 pm) should bring a lunch that does not need to be heated or refrigerated. Please make sure your child has all of the utensils they need and that everything is in a bag labeled with their name.

Tap shoes for dance class. You do not need to have tap shoes for the first session, unless you already have them. We will measure you during the first class and order various sizes for you to try on the next week. You can pay us directly for the shoes we have ordered for you (they will be between $20 and $30, depending on the size and style). If you would rather buy your own tap shoes, you have a few options.

Students who know their tap shoe size can order them online at Discount Dance (search for “tap shoes”). They have styles for girls and boys. If you do not know your size, and need to try shoes on, Payless has tap shoes for girls for around $26 (but you can get a better deal with their BOGO specials). We will be ordering from Broadway Baby’s on Liberty Avenue, so you can either go there to try them on or purchase them from us to take advantage of our discount. Here are examples of the kinds of tap shoes we recommend:

We will have a few “Dance Clothing Recycle, Donate and Swap” events during the year. If you would like to donate clean, gently used dance clothes and shoes please leave them in a bag, labeled “Hope Academy,” at the front desk of East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Parents/guardians, siblings and friends are not permitted to be in Musical Theater Workshop classrooms while we are in session. The last class of each semester will be “open” to allow observation by parents, family and friends. This policy helps your child to adjust to the classes more easily, and provides fewer distractions, and a safer environment, for all of the students.

Drop-offs and Pick-ups

As a courtesy, you may drop your child off at the Highland Ave entrance between 9:00 and 9:30 am. There is a circular driveway that you can pull into (and not have to park). Someone will be at the door to greet your child and make sure they arrive to their first class safely. If you arrive before 9:00 am or after 9:30 am, you will need to park your car and escort your child into the building, to their first class. It is unsafe to drop your child off when we do not have staff at the door to meet and escort them to class.

You may pull into the circle driveway on the Highland Ave entrance to pick your child up between 12:00 and 12:15 pm. Again, this is a courtesy so that you don’t need to park your car. Someone will be there to escort your child out to you. If you arrive after 12:15 pm, your child will be in the Ballet waiting area on the ground floor. You will need to park your car to come in to get your child. Children will not be permitted to leave without a parent or guardian unless arrangements have been made in advance.

Please do not ever leave your car unattended in the circle driveway Highland Avenue entrance.

SAFETY  RULES

• Sign in and out at the Security Desk
• Children under 12 years old are not permitted to move to and from classes or private lessons unaccompanied
• Children should not have money, valuables or electronic devices with them
• Walk (quietly) through the building and stay in designated areas
• Stay on the right side of the stairways and hold the handrails. Do not lean or look over the railings or sit on any windowsill

RESPECT RULES

• Show respect for yourself, your teachers, each other and the space you are in
• Be kind to each other
• Be here (in body, mind and spirit) and on time
• Good attendance is important. Scholarship students must request excused absences in advance.
• No gum, ever.
• Please don’t create distractions: No cell phones, pagers, CD players, iPods, handheld games, or any other electronic devices
• Parents should leave the waiting area or library to talk on their cell phones.
• No soliciting (that means selling, for yourself or any other organization) while at Hope Academy.

CALENDAR OF Musical Theater Workshop CLASSES FOR 2014-2015

FALL TERM

Week 1   09/20/14
Week 2   09/27/14
Week 3   10/04/14
Week 4   10/11/14
Week 5   10/18/14
Week 6   10/25/14
Week 7   11/01/14
Week 8   11/08/14
Week 9   11/15/14
Week 10 11/22/14
Closed    11/29/14 Thanksgiving Break
Week 11 12/06/14
Week 12 12/13/14 OPEN CLASSES (families and friends are invited to observe this class)

WINTER TERM
Week 1   01/10/15
Week 2   01/17/15
Week 3   01/24/15
Week 4   01/31/15
Week 5   02/07/15
Week 6   02/14/15
Week 7   02/21/15
Week 8   02/28/15
Week 9   03/07/15
Week 10 03/14/15 PICTURE DAY
Week 11 03/21/15 OPEN CLASSES (families and friends are invited to observe this class)

Spring Music Festival  03/28/15

 CANCELLATIONS

We will post cancellations on the local television and radio stations, as well as on our website, facebook and twitter accounts.