Summer Courses

Dear Parents

Our show on Saturday 17 March & Sunday 18 March 2012 at The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks will be called ‘Once Upon a Time Warp’.

All pupils of our Academy, including Pre-school children & Adult Tap classes, are invited to participate. Rehearsals will run during your child’s normal class times & additionally there will be intense rehearsals as detailed below to put the show together. It is necessary to run two separate shows with two different casts of children on each of the dates.

On Saturday 17 March ‘Once Upon a Time Warp’ will feature our ‘Enchantment Cast’ of our Orpington pupils, all our senior pupils, all Elite teams including Junior and Adult Tap ladies.

On Sunday 18 March ‘Once Upon a Time Warp’ will feature our ‘Imagination Cast’ of our Green St Green & Chislehurst pupils, all our senior pupils, all Elite teams including Junior and Adult Tap ladies.

(This means that all senior pupils and all Elite teams including Junior, will perform in both performances over the show weekend & will be needed for all rehearsals).

‘Seniors’ are specified as any pupil of Grade 4 ballet and above, Grade 5 Tap or Modern and above, Theatre Performance Co 3 or Street Dance 3 and above, Senior Advanced Singing and Drama.

Extra Rehearsals to put the show together will be as follows:

IMAGINATION CAST – GREEN STREET GREEN & CHISLEHURST PUPILS, ALL SENIOR PUPILS & ALL ELITE TEAMS INCLUDING JUNIOR

at St Mary’s Church Centre, Worlds End Lane, Green Street Green, Orpington, BR6 6AG.

Saturday 3 March Act 1 9.30 – 11.30am

Act 2 11.30 – 1.30pm

Saturday 10 March Act 1 & Act 2 Full Run through 9.30 – 1.15pm

Please note there will be no Saturday classes at Farringtons on these two dates as rehearsals will replace classes.

ENCHANTMENT CAST – ORPINGTON PUPILS, ALL SENIOR PUPILS & ALL ELITE TEAMS INCLUDING JUNIOR

at St Nicholas Church Hall, Leamington Avenue, Orpington, BR6 9QB.

Monday 12 March Act 1 4.00 – 7.00pm

Adult Classes will run as normal

Tuesday 13 March Act 2 4.00 – 7.00pm

Intermediate and Adult Ballet classes will run as normal

Wednesday 14 March All Senior pupils rehearsal only 6.00 – 8.00pm

Please note there will be no classes for Theatre Performance and Street Dance 1&2 or Advanced Junior Singing and Drama on this day.

Junior Elite Team will not be needed for this rehearsal.

Thursday 15 March Act 1 & Act 2 Full Run through 4.00 – 7.00pm

There will be no extra costs for these rehearsals.

There will be no Sunday rehearsals but I do ask that parents make a special effort to take their children to the above rehearsals to ensure the smooth running of the show.

Parents of Pre-school children are asked to stay with their children at rehearsals, we will do our very best to run the pre-school pieces near the beginning of the rehearsals & then the pre-school children may leave. Obviously packed food & plenty of bottled water and something quiet for your child to occupy them will need to be provided by parents for all rehearsals.

I am presently writing the show & will then join all the Dance/Theatre class pieces together into the story line, so it is impossible to tell at this stage when your child’s piece/s will be performed in the show. A full show running order will be available for parents with next term’s invoice giving details of which Act your child will be performing in. Pre-school children will be placed near the beginning of the show.

Your child will perform a Dance or Theatre piece for each class he/she attends, children belonging to the Melody Bear Ballet, Tip Tap Toe and Pre-school movers will be performing a Ballet dance only. All main drama & singing parts will be auditioned for from the older Theatre Performance Company, Advanced Singing & Advanced Drama classes & you will hear in due course which children have been awarded the main parts. All other pupils from the Theatre Performance Company classes, that are not given a main part, will still perform in the big musical theatre & singing pieces.

IMPORTANT NOTE.

Each time we perform a show I always have comments from a few parents that some pupils seem to be in more pieces than others, this is purely because these pupils attend more classes. If your child would like to start an additional class & be in more show numbers, please telephone me urgently to arrange this. There are currently spaces in all Theatre Performance and Street Dance classes. We offer a free trial if your child would like to try a class before you commit to it.

Help at the Show and Rehearsals.

As always I would be very grateful for any help from parents, grandparents & carers supervising the children during rehearsals & shows. Many of our Parent Panel, Teachers & other parents hold a chaperone licence and we are in need of at least twenty new licensed chaperones. Any parent who would be willing to obtain a chaperone license, please contact me as soon as possible. If you are able to offer help with supervising children during rehearsals & performances, you must hold a Chaperone licence to enter backstage at the theatre. The health and safety of your children is always the most important thought in our shows & displays.

There will be times where your child will need to be signed in & out etc, please bear with us at these times as we can not stress enough how important your child’s safety is with us.

Help with Costume Making, Props, etc.

As always any help making costumes, props, etc. is invaluable. This keeps costs down & our show would not be able to run without our volunteer help. If you can sew (even sewing on sequins is a big help) please fill the form in if you can help. I am very grateful to every person who can help in any way.

Dates and Times of Performances at The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks.

Times of performances are as follows. I am sure you will appreciate that all children will have set places & where appropriate partners for pieces & children must be able to perform in the rehearsals & performance & in the case of senior pupils both performances.

Obviously packed food & plenty of bottled water and something quiet to occupy your child will need to be provided by parents for both days. All children will be given rest breaks during performance days. Colouring materials, pencils etc. will be provided for younger children & all children will have access to a television & video/DVD player to entertain them when needed.

Saturday 17 March 2012

ENCHANTMENT CAST – ORP, all Senior pupils, all Elite teams incl. Junior & Adult Tap ladies

10.00am Arrive at Theatre - ORP, all Senior pupils, all Elite teams incl. Junior & Adult Tap ladies, (NOT Pre-school pupils)

10.45am Dress Rehearsal

All pupils to stay for Saturday performance.

3.00pm Pre-school pupils arrive (Orpington)

3.30pm Performance of ‘Once Upon a Time Warp’

4.45pm (approx) Pre-school pupils leave during interval

6.00pm End of Performance

Sunday 18 March 2012

IMAGINATION CAST– GSG, FARR, all Senior pupils, all Elite teams incl. Junior & Adult Tap ladies

10.00am Arrive at Theatre – GSG, FARR, all Senior pupils, all Elite teams incl. Junior & Adult Tap ladies, (NOT Pre-school pupils)

10.45am Dress Rehearsal

All pupils to stay for Sunday performance.

3.00pm Pre-school pupils arrive (GSG & FARR)

3.30pm Performance of ‘Once Upon a Time Warp’

4.45pm (approx) Pre-school pupils leave during interval

6.00pm (approx) End of Performance

Pre-school children are to be collected from the Stage Door at the show interval so they will not be needed for the final Curtain Call. They may sit on your lap or you can purchase a ticket if you would like them to occupy a seat for the second half of the show.

If you have any queries or worries, please do not hesitate to ring me. Please be assured that through our experience, your children’s needs will be catered for & if you have a query we have already found a solution.

Production & Costume Costs:

Pre-school Children in one performance only. £15.00 + VAT towards costs

One show piece. £20.00 + VAT towards costs

Two show pieces. £25.00 + VAT towards costs

Three show pieces. £30.00 + VAT towards costs

Four or more show pieces. £35.00 + VAT towards costs

Adult Tap Ladies £5.00 + VAT show fee + pay for & keep own costumes

Please note children selected for main parts will be asked to pay an extra cost toward their special costumes, this will be advised separately.

Please do not enclose any money with your returned consent form. The show cost listed will be added to your Spring term invoice and these will be prepared in the next two weeks. If you do not reply you will not receive your invoice for the show. Parents of children who’ve participated in past Academy shows will note that the cost per pupil has remained the same but unfortunately will now be subject to VAT.

Please ensure that you reply to this letter within 14 days of receiving it at the latest. Please be aware that the time leading up to a show is very busy & if we do not have to send reminders out to parents to reply to this letter it will allow us to use the time more productively.

Thank you for your support.

Best Wishes

Lucy Griffiths

CONSENT FORM & OFFERS OF HELP ONCE UPON A TIME WARP SHOW MARCH 2012

PLEASE RETURN FORM WITHIN 14 DAYS OF RECEIVING THIS LETTER.

Name of pupil ______________________________________________________________________

Please sign the appropriate part of the form.

Pre-school children: ENCHANTMENT CAST – ORP

My child will be performing in the dress rehearsal and the performance of Once Upon a Time Warp on Saturday 17 March 2012. My child will also attend rehearsals on Monday 12, & Thursday 15 March at St Nicholas Church Hall