This year, the Dance Theatre of Orlando presents The Nuthouse -- a new holiday tradition. The production reimagines The Nutcracker in an insane asylum. On Christmas Eve, the patients celebrate the holidays and welcome a new inmate, Claire. After overdosing on medication, Claire slips into an alternative reality, envisioning the other patients as characters from the traditional ballet.
It is too often a narrative that students who study theater in school are lamented upon, often being slandered as 'Theater Geeks' or 'Drama Nerds' But do the students who have been exposed to theater and other forms of the arts actually hold an advantage over students that don't?
The past month was a jam-packed rush of rehearsals, Thespian competition, and performance after performance. Thus, I apologize for not writing. My lack of blogs is partially because of my schedule and partially because I needed new material to write about. I didn't realize that my jam-packed schedule could be the source for my new material.
"Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City..." Lori's alarm clock blared as she groggily went to hit the snooze button. She knew she could not let that button be hit one more time, it was her opening night on Broadway. Everyday was the same for her. Get up, go to school, go to rehearsal, get some sort of fast food, go home, do homework, and finally go to sleep. It was an endless cycle that probably is not very healthy. Anybody would think that having an opening night on Broadway would be fun and exciting, but for Lori, there was so many things going on in her head. Lori was an average teenager, stressing over grades, popularity, and boys. That was until she heard on the radio that Hamilton, the smash hit musical that had been breaking ticket number records since it opened, was having an open casting audition in New York City for the new Elizabeth Schuyler. Lori had been acting her entire life in community theatres and schools and such. Her dream was to eventually make it to Broadway but she never thought that this opportunity would come so early in life. She sat up in bed and looked at her watch.
Merry December, Drama Kids! This is the month in which we replace our mugs of throat coat with mugs of hot chocolate and sit in Holiday Cabaret techs for hours. Our celebrations are particularly shiny this time of year-so here comes a Songs That Sum Up With Lots of Tinsel.
The award - winning Union High School Performing Arts Company has been tirelessly working on our Winter Production of Footloose. Based off the classic 1984 film, the story follows Ren McCormack, an upbeat Chicago teen who moves to the small town of Bomont. He meets some friends along the way that would soon change his life in a way he never thought possible.
This November 24th I celebrate one year since first hearing something from Hamilton. It's not a coincidence that this day also is when 2016's Thanksgiving falls.
The life of a young Broadway performer isn't easy-these kids are practically living double lives, going from a busy, exhausting school day to casually performing in a Broadway show eight times a week. #nbd But despite their jam-packed schedules, these talented t(w)eens still make time to do good in the world with KIDS SERVE, a program of BROADWAY SERVES dedicated to providing Great White Way youngsters with the chance to give back.
Around the holidays, one always tends to gravitate towards family. They often eat large dinners, shop lavishly, and do other holiday oriented activities together. They might even see a holiday production at their local theater. But little do they know, while they are enjoying the show with their family, they are actually watching one on stage.
This week, I got the chance to sit down with Michael Sakir (Conductor), Vincent Connor (Stage Director), and Dennis Jesse (Dr. Malatesta) from Opera Orlando's production of DON PASQUALE.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: I don't listen to modern music. Because I'm a nerd, I like to listen to classical music, show tunes, and movie scores. So I was extremely excited to see West Orange High School's production of Amadeus.
This past Saturday, I was in a show written by my theatre teacher, Virginia Byrne, called "THE WOMEN OF WORCESTER". It celebrated women who were born in or made a difference in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Creating a world where orphan boys can be heros, girls can be leaders, and nothing is impossible, the cast of Episcopal Academy's Peter and the Starcatcher highlighted the true meaning of friendship and home in a beautifully refreshing way.
This week, I got the chance to sit down with the cast of Rock the Presidents to talk about small casts, presidential knowledge, and advice for aspiring actors.
We would like to invite you, family and friends to our fall musical production of 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' at Fort Hayes High School. It's a fantastic show that even involves some audience participation!
All the kids are saying it these days...and I join with them in the name of theatre. GCIT's Senior Drama Class Production of Don Taylor's translation of Sophocles's Antigone has got me shook.
I attend public school every day and go from rehearsal to rehearsal after school. I am lucky to have these opportunities to perform and work with others in my theatre department. These opportunities often times lead me to being home later than expected. I sometimes go to three rehearsals after school and get home at 9:30.
In my short absence from BroadwayWorld, I spent my time interacting with my community, meeting new people and having new conversations. These conversations focused on local and school theater. From parents to teenagers to elementary students, I met people who expressed their excitement about South Florida's rich theater community, but also their worry about the uncertainty of that rich theater community. Every year a budget cut occurs, the arts are the first item on the chopping block. While South Florida is a strong theater hub, many communities across the nation aren't as certain. These communities exist in a state of chance, which is an awful environment for developing arts education and promoting creativity for all ages. Thus, I present a well-thought plan that you, YES YOU, can use to bring theater to your community and keep it there.
In Netcong, New Jersey, the Growing Stage Theater is known for producing high quality productions such as Peter and The Starcatcher and A Christmas Carol. One of the more unique aspects of the Growing Stage though is an annual New Play Reading Festival. Each year, the theater selects four unpublished plays from authors all around the globe. These plays are read in front of a live audience, and are recorded to see how the audience reacts to their piece. The authors then have an interim period of editing before the second round of readings, which happen in the spring. The winning piece of the festival gets the most rewarding prize imaginable, as their piece becomes a full, main stage production at The Growing Stage the following season.
Which brings us to today's edition of High School Drama, introducing you to one of the show's leading men: Jonathan Hankins. Here's your opportunity to get to know more about the talented HFA senior prior to opening night (You've made your reservations, right? Curtain's at 7 p.m. Don't be late!)…
Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut is searching for high school playwrights to follow in the steps of Edward Albee, Neil Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Beth Henley, Lin-Manuel Miranda or Sarah Ruhl, among others.
