The Aftermath of Oceanside

So did we meet our fundraising goal? Not quite, but we were close. The goal may have been a little too high, considering that we had to increase the price of the tickets this year from $6 to $10 and probably sold fewer tickets than last year. However, I'm proud of the students' efforts in trying to sell ten tickets each. Some even sold more than ten! In addition, we are still waiting on a few more checks to come in so our total profit should increase. The money will definitely be put to work in paying our production team and covering costs of batteries, equipment, and other miscellaneous items we need for the show. I am taking a break for the year, (the kids definitely deserve one, too!), and will be back in 2014 to dive into putting the program together, selling ads and tickets, marketing, and overseeing tech week, which is coming up in about a month. Very exciting! For now, here is a copy of the mini program I created for the breakfast - a sneak peek into what's to come in February!

 

Who’s Who

in the cast and crew of…

 

Shrek Cast List

Shrek… Brett Doubrava

Fiona… Emma Shaw

Donkey… Jack Ruscetta

Lord Farquaad… Josh Hanby

Fairy God Mother/Queen Lillian/Dragon… Olivia Humulock

Pinocchio… Ilaria D’Andrea

Gingy… Siena Stephenson

Sugar Plum Fairy… Sidney Pimental

Dance Captain… Morgan D’Ambra

The White Rabbit… “Casey”

Peter Pan… Nick Archambeault

Tinkerbell… Gabby Adamo

The Ugly Duckling… Natalie Landy

Three Little Pigs… Anna Lubic, Meg Reddington, Riley Mitchell

The Wicket Witch… Tessa Keenan

Papa Bear… Aiden Saulnier

Mamma Bear… Hanna St. Jean

Baby Bear… Bella Conley

The Mad Hatter… Madi Combs

Big Bad Wolf… Erin McCaffrey

Humpty Dumpty… Grace St. Jean

Elf… Jamie Hultquist

Frog Prince… Sean Potter

Young Fiona/Jimminy Cricket… Madi Coli

Teen Fiona… Lauren Aldrich

Duloc’s Greeter/ Performer… Izzy Chamberlain

Thellonius… Kelsey Urbach                                                                          

Puss In Boots… Gigi Parenteau

Pied Piper… Morgan D’Ambra

Three Blind Mice… Eve Machon, Paige DeSantis, Jessica Bragg

Tweetle Dee… Leah Hart

Tweetle Dum… Danielle Hart

Garden Gnome… Sydney Phillips

Little Red… Michaeleen V.

Bishop… Alex Provost

Blue Bird… Anna Hurwitz

Hansel… Aivan Durfee

Gretel… Nicole Dougherty

Blue Fairy… Brooke Minty

The Dragonettes… Ella Mushen, Amelie Mushen, Anna Hurwitz, Izzy Abilheira, Morgan D’Ambra, Paige Desantis

The Dulocians… Kendall Gilbert, Madi Coli, Ella Mushen, Eve Machon, Brook Minty, Charlotte D’Ambra, Nico Goldstein, Katie St. Laurent, Ali Shaw, Amelie Mushen, Victoria Gauvin, Gigi Parenteau, Rebekah Marabian, Celia Durkin, Trinity Reitzell, Katia Konopleko, Elisha Cardin, Izzy Abilheira,           Lily Gartner

Captain of the Guard… Page Martone

Lead Knights … Alex Provost, Emily Goucher, Madison Reitzell

Guards/Knights/Choir… Brook Minty, Alex Gould, Arianna Pierce, Gianna Baxter, Maya Carberry, Eliyonna Mitchell, Caroline O’Neil, Hanna Rotonda, Kallie Urbach, Morgan Richmond, Julia Santilli, Elizabeth Orabona, Lauren Aldrich, Anna Hurwitz

Happy People…Maya Carberry, Izzy Abilheira,

Emma Landy

    The Production Team

Vanessa Miller - Associate Producer    Vanessa holds an MA in Gifted Education and Talent Development. This is Vanessa’s fifth musical at the Narragansett Pier School. She has worked in Providence for a theatre-education non-profit for 4 years previous to Narragansett, and produced two plays at the Sage School in Foxboro, MA previous to that.  Vanessa also sang competitively in High School and Undergraduate College.

Leah Benz - Associate Producer       Leah is a senior at Narragansett High School and a life-long performer. She has assistant-directed for the Pier School’s past four productions but desired to enhance her theatrical expertise and became Shrek’s associate producer for her senior project!

Jimmy Calitri – Director            Jimmy holds an A.D. in Studio Art and Design, a B.A. in Theater Performance, a B.A. in Art History and Design, and an M.F.A. in Performance in Society from Rhode Island College. He is an adjunct faculty member and director in the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College Theatre Departments.

Chelsea Cook – Choreographer         Chelsea is thrilled to be choreographing at the Narragansett Pier School again. She has been involved in the theater arts since she was a child. She has been acting, singing, and dancing on stage as well as stage managing, directing, and choreographing. Recently, Chelsea has performed as Miss Hannigan in Annie; Holly in The Wedding Singer, and Louise in Gypsie.

 Lila Kane – Musical Director        Lila works as a freelance accompanist, musical director, and piano teacher and also works for University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. She holds a BA in Music from the City University of New York-Brooklyn College. Lila’s last musical in the Narragansett School System was Into the Woods in 2011. She is a highly coveted musical master and an invaluable member of the Shrek family!

Assistant Directors: Rachel Sylvia, Rachel Benz, Makayla Corrigan, Christina Adamo, Shannon Saulnier, Sydney Saulnier, Amanda Carberry

Rachel S. is a senior at NHS and was most recently seen as Alice in You Can’t Take it With You at NHS, directed by Jimmy Calitri.

Rachel B. is a sophomore at NHS and appeared as Teen Fiona in Rhode Island Youth Theater’s summer 2013 production of Shrek!

Makayla is a freshman at NHS and was most recently seen as Dorothy in The Wiz at NPS.

Christina is a sophomore at NHS and her most recent credit was The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina in NHS’s 2013 production of You Can’t Take it With You.

Shannon is a freshman at Prout and a life-long theatre lover, actress, and singer. She was featured as a crow in last year’s production of The Wiz.

Sydney is Shannon’s twin sister and also a freshman at Prout. In The Wiz, she sang her way to stardom as a crow along with Shannon.

Amanda is a freshman at NHS and appeared last year as the Soldier’s Messenger in The Wiz.

 

 

 

 

TODAY ONLY!

After your breakfast, head over to

Infusion RI for 25% off EVERYTHING!

Just mention that you were here and receive this special discount on all men’s and women’s fragrance spritzers, Swarovsky crystal jewelry, hair products, baby clothes, and many more great items! (located in the Pier across from Dunkin’ Donuts)

A Bountiful Breakfast!

The breakfast at Oceanside was a success! Ms. Miller, my mom, and I ran the ticket table at the front of the restaurant. I was in charge of taking money from people buying tickets and Ms. Miller handled prepaid tickets. My mom collected tickets as customers arrived so we could count how many people actually attended and figure out how much we owed the restaurant. It was a great turnout - lots of people ended up paying at the door so we got more customers than I expected! The kitchen struggled a little to keep up with the demand for food because the cooks could only restock the buffet so quickly with only one griddle. However, I think everybody left the event satisfied and the cooks really picked up the pace by the end. The parent volunteers were a huge help, as well. I explained to them how the kids should collect dirty dishes, silverware, and glasses and bring them into the kitchen to be cleaned. The system got the students involved and also made sure that they did not linger in the kitchen or get in the cooks' way. I saw lots of familiar faces, such as teachers, coaches, parents, and even the superintendent, as well as some new friends and distant family members of the cast who kindly made the trip down to Gansett for the event. It was a great opportunity to bring the community together to support Narragansett theater. The new store in the Pier that we were promoting also received some extra business from customers who checked it out after they ate. It was a day full of food, family, and warm feelings!

Meetings, Tickets, and Envelopes

After school, I met with the manager of Oceanside Restaurant to discuss the fundraiser! We decided that having two buffets, one in the front of the restaurant and one in the back, would keep the lines from getting backed up and help move things along when we get rushes of customers. I also discussed with her the seating arrangements for the breakfast, how the drink station will work (having a self-serve juice/coffee station separate from the food will keep things more organized), and how tickets will be collected and new tickets sold to last-minute guests at the door. I informed Ms. Miller of what we discussed and she agreed! Then, we revised the instruction sheet explaining the fundraiser that I wrote to the parents and printed out enough copies for all the students. I also printed 100 sheets of tickets (Ms. Miller had already created the template), cut them, bundled them into stacks of ten, and stuffed them into envelopes with the name of each family labeled on it. In order to reach our fundraising goal, each student should aim to sell ten tickets. I just sent an e-mail to the parent list-serve filling them in. The envelopes will be distributed to the students on Wednesday, and all money/unsold tickets will be due Thursday the 12th! So far so good!

Here is the info sheet I e-mailed to all the parents:

Annual Theatre Breakfast Fundraiser for

Shrek: The Musical

Hello Shrek family!

On Saturday, December 14^th from 9 a.m. to noon we will be holding a breakfast fundraiser event at Oceanside at the Pier (the restaurant next to The Village Inn). The restaurant will provide a full breakfast buffet including eggs, bacon, home fries, French toast, juice, and coffee.

We are asking that each family aim to sell at least 10 tickets to the fundraiser to help us meet our fundraising goal for the year. Proceeds benefit costume rental, lighting needs, live musicians for the show, and general operating costs.

Each ticket costs $10 and we are also running our yearly contest…

The family that sells the most tickets to the breakfast will receive 4 complimentary tickets to Shrek: The Musical!

You may pick up additional tickets at any time from Ms. Miller at NPS.

Cash or checks will be accepted. Checks must be payable to NPS with “Shrek” written in the memo. Please place all money and any unsold tickets back into your designated envelope and return to Leah or Ms. Miller by Thursday, December 12^th. (Tickets will also be sold at the door for those last-minute family and friends. Their “credit” will be attached to the student they mention at the door).

Thank you in advance and good luck!

Vanessa Miller & Leah Benz

Associate Producers

...And the ticket template:

Oceanside It Is!

It's official! The Shrek fundraiser is going to be held at Oceanside at the Pier on Saturday, December 14th! Ms. Miller's good friend works there and she was able to set up a full breakfast buffet for us on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon! I just created the instruction sheet for the parents and the reminder that each student needs to sell ten tickets to the show at $10 each in order to meet our fundraising goal. It's less than two weeks away and we have a lot to do between now and then, including creating a template for the tickets and printing them, putting the instruction sheet into envelopes for the kids, and e-mailing to the list serve at all three Narragansett schools about the fundraiser so as many people know about it as possible! Tomorrow afternoon I am meeting with the manager at Oceanside to discuss the details of the fundraiser. Finally it is under way!

Fundraising and Release Forms

Today's agenda was two-fold: continue the search for a restaurant to host our fundraiser and spread the word that I need Electronic Recording Release and Liability Waivers from all the parents. The students consented to being recorded when they filled out NPS waivers at the beginning of the school year, but NHS requested that I also obtain Senior Project-specific waivers as an extra precaution. I did not waste any time obtaining consent (because photographing/video taping the kids will play an integral role in my final presentation) and sent out an e-mail to all the parents with the attached waiver. After that was done, I proceeded to contact a parent who has a connection with another local restaurant to see if it would be in our best interests to hold the fundraiser there instead of at our "Plan A" spot. December is quickly approaching; we need to set a date, price, and location of the breakfast ASAP. Hopefully, this waiting game will be over soon!

Beginning Breakfast Fundraiser Planning

Wow, what a month it's been! We have been experiencing a bit of a lull in the production process, as rehearsals are just now starting to kick into gear (we were waiting for fall sports to end so that more kids could attend) and the contracts for the director, choreographer, and musical director have been signed and returned. Over the past few weeks, I have been at rehearsal with the kids, rehearsing "What's Up Duloc," going over lines with Farquaad and Gingy, running warm-up exercises, or serving snacks to the hungry actors. Today, I slipped back into my producing shoes by working with Ms. Miller to begin planning the breakfast fundraiser! Last year, the breakfast was held at Rhody Joe's and was a superb success, so we are hoping that they will agree to host the event again. We examined the spreadsheet with our expenses, profits, and total balance from last year's production of The Wiz and compared it to our current balance. We figured out what we would need to charge for tickets to the fundraiser depending on what the restaurant might charge for the food, and started to discuss a price that would maximize our profits. In order to pay the stipends of the musical director and choreographer, as well as purchase paint, makeup, costumes, batteries, and other miscellaneous necessities, we need to reach a certain goal with ticket sales for the breakfast. I assumed that profits from performance ticket sales would cover these expenses, but I was proven wrong! Crunching the numbers showed me how important fundraising is for this show, because there are so many more expenses than I realized! I also looked at the list of parent volunteers and e-mailed those that might be interested in helping us find a venue for the fundraiser. More info on the breakfast to come!

Discussing our profit goals for the breakfast fundraiser

Crunching balance and budget numbers

My first production meeting as Associate Producer went swimmingly. It was all about making cuts to the script, because if we left it as is, the show would be over two and a half hours long...and nobody really wants to sit through something that long, no matter how spectacular it is. We went through the script and decided what lines we could afford to cut. At the same time, we identified some group numbers that could be split up into solos in order to give more kids the chance to stand out on stage. Ms. Miller showed me how to deposit a check to the front office, so now I'll be able to do that on my own as the students' checks for materials/snack expenses keep coming in! On the agenda for now is to start putting the playbill together, wait for the musical director and choreographer to sign their contracts so that we can pay them their first stipend, and keep collecting the kids' forms and money! 

It's official!!!
I'm proud to introduce the cast of Shrek the Musical:

Shrek Cast List

Shrek… Brett Doubrava

Fiona… Emma Shaw

Donkey… Jack Ruscetta

Lord Farquaad… Josh Hanby

Dragon… Taylor Chofay

Pinocchio… Illaria D’Andrea

Gingy… Sienna Stephenson

Fairy God Mother/Queen Lillian… Olivia Humulock

Sugar Plum Fairy… Sidney Pimental

Dance Captain… Morgan D’Ambra

And in Order of Appearance…

The White Rabbit… “Casey”

Peter Pan… Nick Archambeault

The Ugly Duckling… Natalie Landy

Three Little Pigs… Anna Lubic, Meg Reddington, Riley Mitchell

The Wicket Witch… Tessa Keenan

Papa Bear… Aiden Saulnier

Mamma Bear… Hanna St. Jean

Baby Bear… Bella Conely

The Mad Hatter… Madi Combs

Big Bad Wolf… Erin McCaffrey

Humpty Dumpty… Grace St. Jean

Elf… Jamie Hultquist

Thellonius… Kelsey Urbach

Duloc’s Greeter/ Performer… Izzy Chamberlain

Frog Prince… Sean Potter

Young Fiona/Jimminy Cricket… Madi Coli

Teen Fiona… Lauren Aldrich

Puss In Boots… Gigi Parenteau

Pied Piper… Morgan D’Ambra

Three Blind Mice… Eve Machon, Paige DeSantis, Jessica Bragg

Tweetle Dee… Leah Hart

Tweetle Dum… Danielle Hart

Garden Gnome… Sydney Phillips

Tinkerbell… Gabby Adamo

Little Red… Michaeleen V.

Bishop… Alex Provost

Blue Bird… Anna Hurwitz

Hansel… Aivan Durfee

Gretel… Nicole Dougherty

Blue Fairy… Brooke Minty

The Dragonettes… Ella Mushen, Amelie Mushen, Anna Hurwitz, Izzy Abilheira, Morgan D’Ambra, Paige Desantis

The Dulocians… Kendall Gilbert, Taylor Chofay, Madi Coli, Ella Mushen, Eve Machon, Brook Minty, Charlotte D’Ambra, Nico Goldstein, Katie St. Laurent, Ali Shaw, Ella Mushen, Amelie Mushen, Victoria Gauvin, Gigi Parenteau, Rebekah Marabian, Celia Durkin, Trinity Reitzell, Katia K., Elisha Cardin, Izzy Abilheira, Lily Gartner

Captain of the Guard… Page Martone

Knights 1, 2, 3, 4… Alex Provost, Emily Goucher, Caroline Connole-Sutherland, Madison Reitzell

Guards/Knights/Choir… Lily Moskwa, Brook Minty, Alex Gould, Arianna Pierce, Gianna Baxter, Maya Carberry, Eliyonna Mitchell, Caroline O’Neil, Hanna Rotonda, Kallie Urbach, Morgan Richmond, Julia Santilli, Elizabeth Orabona, Lauren Aldrich, Anna Hurwitz

Last Thursday I made a spreadsheet of all the parent volunteers who said that they could help us out with keeping kids quiet and focused during rehearsals, selling tickets, running the concessions at shows, etc. Then on Friday I met with Ms. Miller at the Pier School and we ran through the rehearsal schedule for October, figuring out how many kids were called each day and how many parent volunteers were needed to handle it. We counted the total number of cast members (78!) and also sent an email to all the parents regarding their volunteer assignments for the month of October. I'm looking forward to my first production meeting tomorrow!

Auditions - Day 2!

Today was the singing round of auditions! There were so many kids that not all were able to sing their individual solos, and instead learned songs from the show like "Freak Flag" and "What's Up Duloc?" and sang in small groups. First, I took attendance. I continued to track the influx of audition forms and $30 checks, and handed out new audition forms to students who had just
decided to audition that day. I also sat in on the last few groups that auditioned, including the possible Shreks, Farquaads, and Fionas, and took notes on who stood out! The Pier School has some amazing singers, that's for sure!

It's going to be really difficult to cast the show. Friday is the last round of auditions - dancing! Unfortunately, i won't be able to attend, but i'm sure that Ms. Miller will update me afterward!

Auditions - Day 1!

The first round of auditions was today! About 80 students auditioned for the roles of Fiona, Shrek, Gingy, Lord Farquaad, Donkey, Pinocchio, and more! I arrived at the Pier School at 2:10 and immediately jumped into writing name tags for each child that had signed up to audition. When the bell rang and the students began to gather in the cafeteria, I collected their permission forms, behavioral agreement statements, and $30 entrance fees (to help cover the cost of snacks provided at each rehearsal). I created a spread sheet with every student's name and three columns labeled "permission slip," "behavioral agreement," and "$30" so I could keep track of who handed me what forms. Once I had all the money organized into an envelope and identified which students still needed to complete parts of their audition packet, I organized the audition forms by grade (5-8) and then by alphabetical order to make it easier to pull out a student's form if I should so need. Around 5:15, I shifted my focus to the music room in which the kids were auditioning and performing their scenes (or "sides") for the director, choreographer, head producer, and assistant directors. As I watched each duo of students perform their scene (either Shrek/Fiona, Gingy/Farquaad, or Shrek/Donkey), I made notes next to each name on the list about which role might suit him or her. The "reading" round of auditions finally ended at 6:15, but tomorrow the real test begins - singing auditions!