Drama Club Information Sheet - 1999

Louis Armstrong Middle School

Theatre Dept. 2016-2017

INFORMATION PACKET

PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY

Lyrics and Music by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Book by Heather Hatch

Performance Date:

Tuesday March 7, 2017

6:30 PM

***Please read through this information prior to your audition.***

***If you have any questions, please ask! ***

AUDITION DATES AND INFORMATION

- Auditions:

7/8th GRADE - Wednesday, October 5 2:45-4:45

5/6th GRADE - Thursday, October 6 from 2:45-4:45 in the auditorium

- Callbacks will take place on October 13

- The cast list will be posted before school on October 14.

- Everyone in the show will receive a complete script.

- You will need your SIGNED CONTRACT when you audition. (Last page of packet)…If you do not have this….you will not audition!

AUDITION PROCESS

Everyone will complete a vocal audition. You will have to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Only those who receive a call back will have an acting audition and possibly a dance audition. If you do not audition, you will not be cast in the show.

ACTING

During the call back you will be asked to read various parts from the attached scenes.

o Hints: Be LOUD and CLEAR when reading. Don’t rush!

o Lines DO NOT have to be memorized.

o Come prepared!

o Familiarize yourself with the characters before reading them (see attached character description list).

o Put your whole heart into every character, whether they say 80 lines or 2!

o Make eye contact with the people with whom you are reading.

o Try to be as natural as possible

o Don’t be afraid to do your best.

o If you have your heart set on a part, we have to SEE it in your audition!!

o Make us BELIEVE!!!!

***Everyone auditioning will be required to sing

o Hints: RELAX! We know you can do it! Keep going!

o Come prepared!

DANCING

Possibly, you will dance a simple little choreographed move. We will teach this to you – no need to learn anything on your own.

CASTING – Please read carefully

- If you are not cast in the show, or, if you are not cast in the part you wanted, please do not take this personally. We cast people according to how they fit the particular character. This means that the parts will go to those who we can see best in a character, regardless of previous experience or grade level.

- You may not be selected for the part you want; we may see you playing another character – take this as a compliment!

- There will be NO double casting. If an emergency situation arises, we will deal with it when it surfaces (or before).

- If you are cast and you begin to struggle academically, we may have to replace your part due to the academic eligibility policy of the school.

- Finally, please keep a positive attitude if you were cast or not. It is simply not possible to assign everyone a lead part. Please understand, that no part, no matter how small, is unimportant! Someone in the audience is always watching you on stage.

- Furthermore, YOU were selected because we want YOU in the production!

REHEARSAL/REHEARSAL ETIQUETTE

- Rehearsals for the show will be on Wednesday and Thursday from 2:45 –4:45 PM in the auditorium.

- Do not make plans for these hours. Everyone is expected to be at every rehearsal.

- The ONLY excuses for missing a rehearsal for which you were called are:

o If you were absent from school that day or you went home sick.

o If there is some major family emergency.

o Other extraneous circumstances which you have communicated with the directors.

o By auditioning for this show you have shown you are ready to make a commitment until the date of the performance (3/7/17)

- Please do not audition if you are not willing to make this a priority.

- For example, if you know that you have an after school activity every Wednesday, that will be a real problem. Everyone depends on everyone else in theatre –it is the same as being on a sports team!!!!

- Rehearsals will begin exactly at the time scheduled. Rehearsals will end at the time scheduled. Until we get closer to the date of the performance and children take time to change out of their costumes.

- You must have reliable transportation to and from rehearsals each night. “I didn’t have a ride” is not an acceptable excuse. Find a friend in the cast to bring you home.

- There may be a phone tree set up to let you know if we had to cancel rehearsal due to the weather.

*Please remember that being in the Drama production is a

HUGE commitment and a lot of hard work.

It is also a lot of fun and an unforgettable experience.

Please make sure you have considered this BEFORE

you audition and that you have the time in your

schedule to make it a priority for 6 months.

Calendar:

Auditions: 7th/8th Grade – October 5

5th/6th Grade – October 6

Callbacks October 13 (by invitation only)

Rehearsals: Oct 19, 20, 26, 27

Nov 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 30

Dec 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22

Jan 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26

Feb 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16

March 1, 2, 3 (during the school day), 5 (9am-noon)

PERFORMANCE: March 7 6:30 PM

Synopsis of “Legally Blonde”

The overjoyed girls of UCLA's sorority Delta Nu, led by Margot, Serena, and Pilar, celebrate the engagement of Warner Huntington III to their perky, sweet, and strikingly blonde sorority president, Elle Woods, who is fussing over finding the perfect dress for the occasion. Once she buys her dream dress, Elle goes to dinner with Warner, where he tells her that he needs someone more serious and breaks up with her. Elle is devastated and sulks for days but decides to chase Warner to Harvard Law School to show him that she can be serious. With help from Delta Nu sister Kate, Elle studies for the LSAT. Instead of writing a personal essay, Elle bursts into the Harvard admission offices backed by a squad of cheerleaders. She is accepted after revealing she is motivated by love.

Elle's snobby classmates disapprove of her attire, and the only person who is willing to help her is law teaching assistant, Emmett Forrest. However, he can't protect her in class from the bloodthirsty Professor Callahan. Callahan kicks the under-prepared Elle out of class at the suggestion of her classmate Vivienne Kensington, who happens to be Warner's new girlfriend. Elle, deciding that being blonde is the problem, decides to become a brunette. She heads to the Hair Affair salon where she meets the spunky beautician Paulette, who tells Elle that when she is down, she puts on her favorite CD, and dreams of Ireland. At the salon, Vivienne gives Elle an unexpected invitation to a costume party. Paulette sends Elle off with a costume for the party, her positivism and blonde hair still intact.

Walking into the party as a bunny, Elle soon realizes that she was tricked by Vivienne but courageously seeks Warner in an effort to win him back, leaving him unimpressed. Elle runs from the party, only to meet Emmett, who struggles to understand Elle's love problems. He has Elle assess her priorities until she realizes it is her obsession with Warner that keeps her from earning his respect. Freed from her need to please Warner, she defeats him in a classroom debate. Elle then helps Paulette in a way that proves she is beginning to understand law. Warner and Vivienne win two of Callahan's coveted internship positions. Below the names of Vivienne, Warner is the name Elle Woods, at which she is ecstatic.

Brooke Wyndham, and her fitness team's workout video, is being viewed by the law students. Callahan tells the legal team that Brooke is accused of murdering her billionaire husband. The "video" then turns into a scene from the jail, where Brooke leads the inmates into a fitness frenzy. Brooke then privately tells Elle her alibi, that she was getting liposuction, but makes Elle a promise not to tell anyone. Because of Elle's loyalty to her client and refusal to state the alibi, Elle and Emmett are shunned by the group.

Back at the Hair Affair, Elle is getting a manicure when Kyle, UPS guy, walks into the salon to deliver a package to Paulette. Paulette is in complete awe. When he leaves, Kiki and other beauticians are summoned by Paulette's amazing "Bend and Snap" when picking up the UPS package. The girls tell Paulette to use the "Bend and Snap" on Kyle, but when she does, she accidentally breaks his nose.

Later that night in Callahan's office, the interns celebrate Elle's skill. Callahan dismisses Emmett and the other interns but requests Elle to remain for a few moments. Callahan tries to kiss Elle, who pushes him away. In turn, Callahan fires her. Vivienne witnesses this without being seen. After Callahan leaves, a defeated Elle prepares to go home, even though Emmett asks her to stay, finally realizing that he is in love with her.

Elle heads to the Hair Affair to say goodbye to Paulette, but before she can leave, Vivienne and Enid convince Elle otherwise. Elle discards her lawyerly navy suits, dons a pink dress and leads a parade back to the courtroom. They meet Kyle on the way, who takes a liking to Paulette. Back at the trial, Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle. Brooke's stepdaughter Chutney goes to the witness stand stating after she got out of the shower she saw Brooke covered in her father's blood. After Chutney states she received a perm the day of the murder, Elle realizes a flaw in Chutney's alibi and suggests that the entire court should be moved to the scene of the crime - the bathroom where the murder took place. As a demonstration, Elle asks Enid, who recently got a perm, and asks Enid to step into the shower upon entering the crime scene. Relying on her knowledge of hair maintenance, Elle's demonstration is successful as Enid walks out of the shower with completely flattened hair—revealing that Chutney could not have possibly showered immediately after getting a perm because her perm was still intact. Under Elle's intense questioning, Chutney accidentally confesses that she killed her father, thinking that it was Brooke. Chutney is arrested and Brooke is set free. Warner proposes to Elle, having been dumped by Vivienne. Elle gently refuses, claiming to have been changed by the experience.

Three years later, Elle ends up as the valedictorian of her class. At the end of the graduation, Elle proposes to Emmett, and Emmett accepts.

Character List:

Elle Woods - Elle Woods may appear like a typical blonde California sorority girl, but don't count her out. She is hardworking, optimistic and tenacious.

Emmett Forest - Emmet Forrest has had to work hard his entire life to get into Harvard Law School, and nothing is going to come between him and becoming a partner in Callahan's law firm, except maybe his surprising love for Elle.

Warner Huntington III - Elle's ex-boyfriend and caught between his former life with Elle and his newfound serious East Coast life with Vivienne.

Paulette Belafonté - Paulette is a hairstylist who is down on her luck. While she is a bold character, her self-esteem needs a little boost now and then.

Professor Callahan - Professor Callahan is the most-feared professor at Harvard Law School. He is the “villain” of the story.

Brooke Wyndham - Brooke Wyndham is a famous fitness video guru on trial for killing her husband.

Vivienne Kensington - Vivienne Kensington is the very opposite of Elle, if judging only by demeanor. She comes from a very conservative East Coast background and is everything that Warner needs to make a serious move to become a lawyer.

Chad - One of the fraternity brothers at UCLA.

Dewey - Paulette's brash ex-husband who lives in a trailer and holds her dog captive.

Kyle - Kyle is the UPS deliveryman who Paulette has her eyes on each time his job brings him to the salon.

Serena/Margot/Pilar/Gaelen/Kate - Elle's best friends and Delta Nu sisters. These ladies have lots of energy!

Kiki/Cashier/Stylist – One of Paulette’s co-workers.

Enid/Aaron/Sundeep/Whitney - Featured law students with academic credits that would intimidate anyone.

Chutney - Chutney Wyndham has a really bad perm and an even worse attitude. She is Brooke's unhappy stepdaughter who is actually guilty for killing her father and framing Brooke.

Winthrop/Lowell/Pforzheimer - Admissions officers of Harvard Law School who eventually admit Elle into the program after some critical evaluation.

Many roles such as UCLA students, mall salespeople, Harvard Law students, fitness video actors, salon workers/customers, courtroom spectators

PLEASE BRING THIS CONTRACT WITH YOU TO AUDITIONS

LAMS Theatre AUDITIONS 2016-2017

“Legally Blonde”

NAME________________________________________GRADE_____

HOME PHONE_________________

CELL PHONE _________________

Are you aware of and do you understand the time commitment required to be in this production and are you willing to make it? ____________

Do you have RELIABLE transportation to and from all rehearsals? Rehearsals end at 4:45 ______________ (yes or no)

We have read all of the information in this packet and we agree, if cast, to abide by its terms.

__________________________ ___________________________
(Student Signature) (Parent Signature)

________**PARENTS – I would be willing to assist with costumes, props, hair/make-up, concessions, ticket sales etc. (PLEASE PLACE A CHECK ON THE LINE)

Calendar: ALL DATES ARE 2:45-4:45* unless otherwise noted