Students Invited to Highwood Theatre's New Year-Long Production

On Wednesday, August 30, and Tuesday, September 5, The Highwood Theatre will hold auditions for their Year-Long Production - the latest addition to their full season of student and professional programming.

The Year-Long Production is a conservatory-style program designed to offer an intensive training experience for performers in grades 7-12. Beginning in September and running through the performances in June 2018, the Year-Long Production is intended to give participants a conservatory-style production experience in a professional theatre environment, providing a chance to delve deeper into the material, and including Master Classes and instruction by extremely accomplished artists.

"The program stays true to Highwood's established atmosphere of inclusion and building community through theatre, while at the same time challenging students and providing them with an unparalleled artistic experience," says Matthew Nicola, Highwood's Artistic Director and one of the directors of the program.

In addition to learning, rehearsing and performing the ambitious, full-length production, students will also take part in multi-week masterclasses by Nick Blaemire, an acclaimed New York-based Broadway performer and writer, and Los Angeles-based Cate Caplin, a 34-time regional and international dance champion who has produced, directed and choreographed over 200 productions. Additional masterclasses will be held with local theatre artists and group course work designed to promote growth as collaborative artists. Intermittent rehearsals take place throughout the fall and winter, including private vocal and acting coaching for each student, before rehearsals pick up in April and May.

The program is designed to allow students time to focus on the material and their personal growth - challenging and pushing themselves. Similar to Highwood's Summer Musical Theatre and Acting Intensives, in which students produce a full musical or play in just two weeks, the Year-Long Production is designed for serious students, whether they are novice performers or theatre veterans, willing to commit time and energy to the process.

"Rather than merely producing a show, students will actively learn, collaborate, and develop their skills as performers of musical theatre," says Nicola. "They will work in an atmosphere that emphasizes building each other up as a group to achieve a strong final product."

In June 2018, the group will mount a production of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's landmark dance-heavy musical, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the name of which cannot yet be released due to licensing restrictions. The production will be directed and choreographed by a team of Highwood staff members.

Auditions for the Year-Long Production will take place on Wednesday, August 30 from 6 to 8:30 PM and Tuesday, September 5 from 6 to 8:30 PM at The Highwood Theatre's Silver Spring location, 914 Silver Spring Ave. Audition slots may be reserved online at www.thehighwoodtheatre.org. Students must stay for the entire audition slot from 6 to 8:30 PM, but are only required to attend one of these dates. Students should attend auditions only if they plan to commit to the program if offered a spot. Auditions are for acceptance into the year-long program, not casting for individual roles.

The Highwood Theatre is a non­profit organization dedicated to bringing the community together through theatre. Now in its 15th Season, Highwood's guiding principle is "anyone can do theatre." Highwood was founded in 2004 and began executing its mission through seasons of professional­ quality theatre featuring all­-student casts, design teams, and production staff. In 2013, in conjunction with its relocation to the heart of downtown Silver Spring, The Highwood Theatre expanded to carry out its mission more fully and develop innovative, engaging programming for artists of all ages through professional and studeNT Productions, classes, and programs in schools and for home schooled students.