Audition & Show Information Packet
STHS Spring Musical
Show dates in the STHS Auditorium
Friday March 4th 7:00 pm
Saturday March 5th 7:00 pm
Sunday March 6th 2:30 pm
Friday March 11th 7:00 pm
Saturday March 12th 7:00 pm
Sunday March 13th 2:30 pm
WANTED:
ACTORS, SINGERS, DANCERS, and other PERFORMERS to become the electrifying cast of this year’s spring musical WEST SIDE STORY
Audition INFO & Requirements
***Audition sign ups begin after Wednesday October 21st.
Sign up sheet in Mr. Campbell Room #124 before or after school. OR you may email OR audition sign-ups may be conducted in person via Musical Club president Zoe Clark.
*** Saturday November 7th 9 am - 11 am STHS Auditorium. “ Teach the Dance” West Side Story is a very intensive dance show and the Director, Chris Krahulec & Choreographer Marianne Krahulec will be at the HS to Demo the dance call to anyone interested. The dance will also be videoed and available for review on our Facebook page.
*** Auditions:
General Audition Round 1 - Tuesday November 10th (6:00 pm-Dance Warm ups) 6:30-9:00 pm
General Audition Round 2-Wednesday November 11th (6:00 pm-Dance warm ups)6:30-9:00 pm
Callbacks - Thursday November 12th 7:30 - 9:00 pm
-Location: STHS Auditorium
-Audition requirements:
1. Students should fill out a Musical informational form with contact information, listing conflicts, and asking parental contact information.
2. Students should bring an acting headshot and performing arts resume, if they have one available.
3. Students should wear or bring clothes to the audition they can move or dance in comfortably. Dance shoes or sneakers are acceptable footwear. NO flip flops or sandals.
4. Students are asked to perform the pre-selected 16 measures from West Side Story. The Male/Female appropriate songs are attached.
REHEARSALS
Monday November 16th there will be a Mandatory Parents meeting for all members of the High School Cast; held in the HS cafeteria beginning at 7:30 pm
TENTATIVE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
Rehearsals will begin held Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday beginning November 17th and running through February 25th from 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm.
Saturday rehearsals will be held every Saturday from 9:00 - Noon beginning Saturday November 7th through Saturday December 19th.
Beginning Saturday January 9, 2016 the Saturday rehearsals will be 9:00 am - 2:00 pm through Saturday February 27, 2016.
This show leaves a lot of flexibility in building a rehearsal schedule with many small groups being able to rehearse separately. It is imperative that all conflicts be listed on the audition form so we can build the most efficient rehearsal schedule.
A more detailed schedule via French scenes will be completed soon after the cast list has been finalized.
SHOW DATES:
1. Opening Night, Friday March 4, 2016, 5:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 7:00 pm show
2. Second Show, Saturday March 5, 2016, 5:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 7:00 pm show
3. Third Show, Sunday March 6, 2016, 12:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 2:30 pm show
4. Fourth Show, Friday March 11, 2016, 5:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 7:00 pm show
5. Fifth Show, Saturday March 12, 2016, 5:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 7:00 pm show
6. Closing Performance, Sunday March 13, 2016, 12:00 pm call/arrival time for all cast and crew, 2:30 pm show, with strike afterward.
ALL CAST AND CREW MUST ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE IN STRIKE, which is usually completed by 7:00 pm
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Plot:
West Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, libretto/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins.
It is inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.
The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid-1950’s; an ethnic blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets, and best friend of the gang leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.
Musical Numbers
* Cool
* Maria
* Something’s Coming
* A Boy Like That
* Somewhere
* America
* I Feel Pretty
* Gee Officer Krupke
PRINCIPAL ROLES
JETS:
**Tony - Handsome, sandy-haired, older teenager, who has outgrown the Jets; tenor.
**Riff - Glowing, driving, intelligent, slightly wackier leader of the Jets; tenor.
Diesel: Lieutenant to Riff, big, slow steady; baritone.
Baby John: Youngest member of the Jets, awed at everything, even being a Jet; tries to act like a big man, but is vulnerable; baritone.
A-Rab: Small of stature, enjoys everything, takes nothing seriously, unaware, can be explosive; baritone.
Action: Most aggressive member of the Jets, a cat-like ball of fury; baritone.
Snowboy: Bespectacled, self-styled expert; baritone.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Jets may be cast; tenor and baritone.
Their Girls:
Anybody’s: Scrawny teen-aged girl, dressed to imitate the Jets, and wants desperately to be taken seriously by them.
Velma: Riff’s girlfriend, young, slithery, lost in the world of jive.
Graziella: Girlfriend of Diesel, impressed with herself.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Jet girls may be cast.
SHARKS:
**Bernardo: Handsome, proud fluid leader of the Sharks, with a sardonic chip on his shoulder; baritone.
**Chino: Shy, gentle, sweet-faced young boy, the intended husband of Maria; baritone.
Pepe: Lieutenant to Bernado, typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Indio, Luis, Juano, Toro: Typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Sharks may be cast; tenor and baritone.
Their Girls
**Maria: Lovely young and obedient immigrant Puerto Rican girl, excited and enthusiastic about her new life in America, but with stubborn inner strength that allows her to evolve into a strong woman; soprano.
**Anita: Older (20s) and wiser in the ways of the world, flashy, sharp-tongued, and with a knowing sexuality; alto/mezzo-soprano.
Consuelo: Tough, young Puerto Rican girl with bleach blond hair and lots of baubles; mezzo-soprano.
Rosalia: Young Puerto Rican girl, more demure, not too bright, mezzo-soprano.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Shark girls may be cast; mezzo-soprano.
THE ADULTS:
Doc: Middle-aged drug store owner, tired and worn out.
Lieutenant Schrank: Plainsclothes policeman used to being in charge, superficially pleasant to cover his venom, fear and bigotry.
Office Krupke: A not-too-bright street cop.
Glad Hand: Nerdy, overly cheerful and ill-equipped social director at the local gym dance.
** denotes principal role
---There are opportunities for a vocal soloist and for children’s chorus in the number “Somewhere”. These may be cast later in the rehearsal process.
Director’s Notes - Chris Krahulec
I am overjoyed at the opportunity to work with Susquehanna Township on this highly regarded Broadway piece. This musical, loosely drawn from one of Shakespeare’s most memorable plays, contains themes which still resonate with modern audiences. We will have to work together - staff, cast and crew - to bring this relevant work to life.
Fundraising & Marketing Duties
All cast members, when they accept their roles, also accept the commitment to help fundraise for this show.
In the past, students cast in the show have been asked to obtain at least $100 in program ad sales. We believe that doing this develops our performers as not just young actors, singers, and dancers, but also as young entrepreneurs who will need to learn as many business skills as possible if they want to one day pursue a career in the entertainment arts industry. Not all our talented cast will pursue that career path, of course, but we believe these business skills can be tremendously valuable for any career path a student might choose to pursue. We aim to help our young artists develop career preparation skills beyond the song and spotlight, and this marketing and fundraising goal helps accomplish numerous educational and financial goals for our students and our production.
Not everyone is a born salesperson, and many students have tried in the past to obtain the ad sales without quite reaching the $100 target. We plan to develop some alternative ways to assist in the fundraising effort this year so that we can diversify the business side of this educational experience and allow other opportunities for students to reach those goals. We want everyone to succeed, and this will enable us to differentiate the options and diversify the approaches a bit. The program ad push will remain our first priority, but the alternative fundraiser initiatives will be put into place in earnest after the ad deadline for the program passes.
Stage Crew Opportunities
Not everyone wants to be center stage, and many students find great joy in working behind the scenes on our musical productions. We’ll be looking for devoted Stage Crew members for this year’s show to help us build a production that looks and sounds truly astonishing and meets our standard of excellence.
We will need:
1. Assistant Light Board Operators & Electrics Crew to work with hired professionals; will need to be available for most lighting rehearsals, all tech rehearsals, and all shows;
2. Assistant Sound Board Operators & Sound/Microphone Crew to work with hired professionals; will need to be available for most sound rehearsals, all tech rehearsals, and all shows;
3. Technical Directors (need 1-2): these crew chiefs will be responsible for bringing the scenic design to life, building most of the set with supervision from the designer, director, stage manager, and other qualified staff; this is a job for someone who wants to have hands-on involvement with all aspects of the set and is willing to embrace focused dedication, leadership, and hard work;
4. Scenic Build Crew (need 5-15): will commit to 1-2 days per week of dedicated scenic build work with the technical directors, scenic designer, and other supervisory staff during the main thrust of the build season (January-mid February), must attend load in and strike;
5. Scenic Painting Crew (need 4-10): will commit to 1-2 days per week of dedicated scenic painting work with the technical directors, scenic designer, and other supervisory staff during the main thrust of the painting season (mid January-late February);
6. Production Team (need 2-4): will function as either rehearsal and show Assistant Stage Managers, Assistant Producers, or both; must be available for all rehearsals and some additional meetings with production staff; this is a job for someone who wants to have hands-on involvement with all aspects of the production and is willing to embrace focused dedication, leadership, and hard work;
7. Costume Crew (need 2-6): will assist Debbi in costume construction hours as available and assist with in-rehearsal costume needs (fittings and more) as available/needed; must attend tech rehearsals and shows;
There will be a meeting for any students interested in joining the Stage Crew on Monday December 7, 2015 @ 7:30 in the cafeteria or you may contact to express interest.
Hanna Musical Club Info
The Hanna Musical Club is our in-school club that exists to support the annual spring musical production. Additionally, it strives to provide year-round engagement opportunities for students interested in musical theatre through providing workshops and educational experiences in musical theatre and related arts. Each spring, the club produces a student-directed Spring Cabaret.
The Hanna Musical Club serves as the financial arm of our annual production, too, as the club advisors work with a team of student treasurers to manage every dollar spent on and every dollar earned from the production. It’s no small feat, and our students make us proud with their attention to this important task.
The club meets monthly to update students about matters pertaining to this year’s musical and any other club activities, workshops, or productions in the works. Additionally, the club meetings can and should be a place for members to spread the word about other productions they are involved in and upcoming concerts, recitals, shows, and more.
The officers of the Hanna Musical Club are available to listen and advocate for their fellow students, and their input is valued by our production team. Officers and advisors for the 2014-2015 school year:
President: Zoe Clark
Vice President: Liz Baliira
Secretary: Dominique Mora
Treasurers: Ari Pelna, Sydney Fowlkes, and Ari Dym
Co-Advisors: Robert Campbell and Stephanie Ungerer