Some more photos from dress rehearsal!

TonTon meets the wrath of the Beauxhommes' gatekeepers 

Super sopranos!

Ti Moune & Daniel 

Awesome altos!

You guys are so ready!

So psyched for our last rehearsal tomorrow. You all did a fantastic job tonight and should be so proud of all of your hard work!

A few notes (everyone must read these before tonight):


Notes from Ms. Neville
We Dance

• Ben, come see us for a note! We have to reposition you at one point because you're so tall!
• Matt, PROJECT! Your voice drops off at the end of your line... your tone gets so low for the "Mercedes" part and we can't hear it at all... it's such a great line!!
• Alex, you are so vibrant at the end. Keep it up!

One Small Girl

• Rayne & Ari, your battle for Christy & Ben's attention is so great! Keep up the great movement.
• Alli, Christy, Ben, your moment in the hut is SO ADORABLE I CAN'T EVEN TAKE IT.
• Storytellers, make sure your clump SR is tighter at the end of this song. Your clump during Waiting for Life is perfect, but some of you were too far center during One Small Girl.

Waiting for Life

• My eyes went right to Caroline Badyna, Eliza Elliott, Maddy Brown, Ryan DeStefano, Iain Johnston -- you guys are doing a great job acting here! 

And the Gods Heard Her Prayer/Rain

• Gods: awesome, awesome, awesome! This is a song where all four of you shine! You work so well together.
• Dyson & Noah: act a little bit more when you're coming up the steps. Feel the rain storm beginning!
• Carly Martinez, Divya Jain, Cassie Graff: you were ROCKIN' it during Rain!

Pray

• EVERYONE: Make sure you are frozen when the lights come up on Alex. If you are in the wrong position, don't worry about it, just get there when you unfreeze. YOU MUST BE FROZEN IN THE BEGINNING! If half of you freeze and the other half don't, it looks kinda goofy!
• Melissa and Robyn: thank you for always being in character and so energetic onstage!
• Jordan: I always forget to tell you how much I love your line - "if it hadn't been for Julian's daughter" - it's so clear, and you sound great!
• Ciara and Matt S.: during the blackout after Rain, hop up onstage (right above where you are on the risers); after you say your lines, come back down to the risers -- we want to make sure you are lit during your lines so the audience knows where the voices are coming from!

Forever Yours

• Rayne, your movement here is fantastic. You really give the illusion that you are working some powerful sort of magic. Keep up the amazing work!
• Matt, the way you fell after Ari "dropped" you yesterday was PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT! You pulled your body up perfectly and then sort of crumpled to the side, facing the audience... LOVE IT!
• Andrew, thank you for taking initiative when your cast mates were not ready for their cue. When in doubt, DO IT.

* Everyone: a note on missing cues *

If any of your cast mates ever miss a cue, the music doesn't come on, someone's mic is out, whatever (so many things can potentially happen during a show), all you have to do is STAY IN CHARACTER and no one will notice. If you enter with a handful of others and no one is ready, ENTER ANYWAY. If someone drops a line, do not whisper it under your breath to them, try to think what your character would say and say it in a way that might jog your cast mate's memory. This can be tricky, but it CAN be done! 

Ti Moune

• Alex, great job slowing down the dialogue right before you sing, "What I am..." 
• Ben, Christy, and Alex: all 3 of you did an amazing job acting in this song. I noticed some pauses in the dialogue/singing just because I know the music so well, but your acting was flawless and made the whole scene feel so heartfelt. Keep thinking about what your characters are thinking in that moment, and this could very well be one of most emotional numbers in the show. I had chills!

Mama Will Provide

• EVERYONE: Remind me to talk to you about hats!
• Everyone on stage: when the playoff begins, keep rockin' out onstage. Stay in character and dance back so the curtain can close but DO NOT EXIT THE STAGE UNTIL THE CURTAIN HAS CLOSED COMPLETELY. Ally will call out to Alex, "Now go and find him, Ti Moune" and she will reply "Thank you, thank you!" so make sure you are not making noise over them.

Some Say

• Nick: come see me & Ms. Sunnergren!
• Boys: practice your harmonies for this at home. Your harmony needs to be cleaner!

Pray Reprise

• Alex & Matt C.: PROJECT YOUR VOICES! We couldn't hear you when you were on the back platform during the bit with the necklace. You cannot rely on your microphones!

The Ball

• Mary Wenner: so graceful and cheery! You are a joy to watch in this number!
• Carly Martinez: you are always acting, always "on!" Great job!

Forever Yours Reprise:

• Ari: love how you start out low and then jump up the octave for "you keep!" Threaten her with those words. Let the "you keep!" pull you deeper into the darkness of your character... you're about to give her the ultimate test! This is what Papa Ge has been waiting for! Also, when you raise the knife on "your life is forever mine," make sure you are right up in Alex's face... you're too far away!

Notes from Ms. Sunnergren

WE DANCE:

• Everyone! I NEED the “V” at the end of “alive.” It sounds like you’re all singing “a lie.” My, how important consonants are! Please fix this!

ATTENTION SOPRANO ENSEMBLE: I’m not hearing enough soprano 2 harmony. First sopranos, I divided you in half for a reason. You know which part you should be singing.  I’ve instructed section leader, Hannah Atlas to remind those of you who should be singing soprano 2... if you’re not sure what the part is (I hope this is not the case!) please see me… OR you may ask Hannah, as she is a section leader and doing a fantastic job!

ONE SMALL GIRL:

• Ensemble: Half of you missed your cue before “On this is island of two different worlds.”  Your heads MUST be up and your eyes must be on me when you hear Rayne say “strength of love.”  

WAITING FOR LIFE:

• ATTENTION Alto girls and some boys: After Alex sings “Catcing a glimpse of a stranger in white racing BY” you MATCH HER PITCH on your “OOOh la” ‘s.  DO NOT sing an octave lower with the few boys who are. The only people who should be singing an octave lower are Andrew, Chip and Iain.  

RAIN:

• Ensemble: Sing “THE Rain” at the end, not just “Rain.” Some of you forgot.  
• Tommy, center your microphone at the top of your cape, please.  Every time you turned your head we lost your voice. “Let there be a girl” – see me. 

PRAY:

• Ben, “I will find where he comes from”- see me. 

MAMA WILL PROVIDE:

• Ensemble: Do not sing mama’s line “and whatever you need mama will” before the little percussion interlude at the end of the piece.  You only sing “PROVIDE” at the end.  

PRAY REPRISE:

• Featured Villagers: Keep the dialogue rolling during that beginning segment. MELISSA, be prepared to sing over someone else’s dialogue in case it’s not spoken in time.  YOU DID this in rehearsal -- WAY TO BE ON THE BALL! 
• Robyn, thank you for jumping in at 3 minutes notice. Great job!
• Aaron, you’ve got the entrance down! Make sure to look up at me for your cue.  

WE TELL THE STORY: 

I had tears of joy in my eyes after the glissando! WOW what a sound!  The sound just comes flooding out when you don’t breathe there … it’s incredible. KEEP DOING THAT! Music has brought me to tears a handful of times in my entire life…. And I can name each one of those times. You just added one to the list. Thank you for making such beautiful music. I am so proud to be conducting you all. 

See you from 6PM-9PM at GWES tonight!

Get excited!

 We dance!

 Sleepy girls.

Loving what we're seeing!

"One Small Girl"

 Little Ti Moune in the tree.

 Awesome alto peasants!

"Mama Will Provide"

 Storyteller birdies!

Villagers Emma & Dyson

 Storytellers - a vision in white!

Beautiful Andrea

A big thank you to Mrs. Lori Brophy for these great photos!

Monday & Tuesday rehearsals; call times for performances

Monday night is going to be a dress rehearsal, but we will not be doing make-up. Please do your hair. As soon as you come to GWES, change into your costume. Once you are in costume, come sit in the auditorium to warm up. We need to start running the show at 6:45.

Tuesday's rehearsal will not be a dress rehearsal. We will keep you posted on other details.

Though we have not timed the show yet, we anticipate it will be between an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half (including the 20 minute intermission).

Thursday & Friday
Cast call: 6:00PM
Gods: please come at 5:30 to get started on make-up, report to auditorium
Show time: 7:30PM
Pick-up: between 9PM-9:30

Saturday matinee
Cast call: 12:00PM
Show time: 2:00PM
Pick up: 3:30-4PM

* All cast and crew MUST be picked up after the Saturday matinee. NO ONE is to remain in the building in between the shows.

Saturday night
Cast call: 6:00PM
Show time: 7:30PM
Cast party: starts after the show is over and costumes are returned (more to come on that later!), runs until 11:00PM-ish (stay tuned for confirmation on this).

Quick announcement... notes to come soon!

When I made the announcement at the end of rehearsal yesterday, I made a mistake with the time!

Rehearsal begins at 6:30. We are going to be starting running the show at 6:45.

You MUST be in costume and ready to go at 6:45.

If this means you need to come early, please do so.

Stay tuned for notes from yesterday's rehearsal. I will post them later tonight.

Get some rest!

Some vocal notes from Ms. Sunnergren

Now that we're running the show, we have started taking notes about little things that need to be tweaked. Below are Ms. Sunnergren's notes from yesterday's rehearsal. Everyone must read these before tomorrow, so spread the word and start thinking about these things now so we get it nice and sharp tomorrow!

ENSEMBLE:

“Waiting for Life”

Remember the form.  A - Dip - A - Slide. A lot of you forgot the dip! Please go over your music and remind yourselves!

“Forever Yours”  vs. “Forever Yours Reprise”

Remember the “oooh”s are longer in the first “Forever Yours.” The reprise has the short cut-off (Papa Ge sings “forEVER”-- you cut off on the “-ever")

“PRAY”

WOW- you are going to blow the audience away!  Ensemble, you ROCKED it. It is SO exciting to watch and your acting/singing is fantastic.

 Two notes:

1. “The only thing that will save the boys life is to send him back to his world”While you are doing a GREAT job acting here, you must be looking for your cue. A lot of you missed it. This means, be looking up as mama is speaking “And if he lives oh how angry the gods will be.”
2. The first ending is “And a girl who placed herself in their way” The second ending is “And the girl will have the Gods to repay”  I’m still hearing a lot of mumbling here.  This should have been memorized weeks ago. MEMORIZE IT.

“We Tell the Story”

This is wonderful!  Two notes:

1. Those last “we tell the story”s .... DO NOT SLOW DOWN until the very last one where you squat down while raising your hands (the one you sing a cappella).
2. About that very last move, a large number of you forgot to squat! WOOPS.  I know you’ll fix it :)

GENERAL ENSEMBLE NOTE: As a whole, please be careful of your singing voices.  It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement and I hear some belting voices bordering on yelling which I haven’t heard before.  Please don’t get too carried away in the heat of the moment and forget all about your beautiful choral sound!!!! This means BE LISTENING to those around you as you are singing and blend together!  The audience should not hear one voice above the others.  Specifically, I hear this during “Pray” and the beginning of “We Dance.” 

CHARACTER/ SONG NOTES:

“Ti Moune” (The song)

• Christy, thank you for taking such good direction and fixing the beginning melody right on the spot...it’s the same melody the second time. You got it girl! :) Sounds beautiful.
• Alex, “what I am you made me” ... look to the audience during this whole segment, we want to hear your words and see your beautiful face the whole time so we can sympathize with Ti Moune.  It’s such a powerful moment!  Turn to them after “but if i look back, i’ll never go."  Alex, also slow down your dialogue a little in the interludes. 

“Mama Will Provide”

• Ally, wow. I get chills every time you sing this...especially the “whoa whoa whoa” part. ...(you know what I mean!).  It’s fantastic.  
• Ensemble: you bring down the house here!!! What a great closer to the first act! 
• Nick: Great job listening for that cue. We will make sure to wait for the applause to die down a bit before the music is started, but keep up the good listening!

“SOME SAY”

• Graham, Matt, Dena, Jen, Ciara, and Nick - every one of guys are so great in this! Your solos/duets...so well done! I am so proud of you- I hope you are too! 
• Nick, don’t forget your spoken line! 
• Alli Brophy - beautiful.  You are so entertaining to watch and listen to! Remember the note I gave you before on “was her love too strong” and “story and our song”.  :) 

Alex Keane - your singing is beautiful and your acting is so mature.  It’s so exciting to watch you.  :)

EVERYONE - WHAT TALENT GVMS HAS! 

It is so fun and rewarding to work with you all!  KEEP IT UP! 

IMPORTANT SATURDAY UPDATE

The plan for tomorrow:

• All cast members should arrive with hair and makeup ready (directions can be found here).
• As soon as you arrive, go to the make-up room to have your make-up approved and/or touched up.
• Once you are approved, come sit in the auditorium.
• Featured villagers need to be approved FIRST, as we need to work on the Wedding Sequence with you while the rest of the cast is getting their make-up approved.
• DO NOT GET INTO COSTUME RIGHT AWAY.

Once everyone's make-up is approved, we will clean up and run Act II to make sure we iron out transitions and feel comfortable with the most recent staging.

You will not be getting into costumes until after lunch. This is also when you will start getting souvenir photos taken. We will address this tomorrow.

Get some rest tonight! Snuggle up with some tea and a good movie and VOCAL REST VOCAL REST VOCAL REST! Please take care of yourselves!!

We need everyone to contribute!

CALLING ALL CAST AND CREW MEMBERS' FAMILIES:

 

The annual bake/refreshment sale will be held during each of the performances of  Once on this Island. This event is an enormous fundraiser for the musical!  We will be selling desserts, bottled water, and soft pretzels.  All of the money raised goes directly into the musical funds to cover expenses and to help in future years.

 

We need EACH cast and crew member to provide ONE treat to be sold at the sale.  In order to provide fresh items for each show day/night, we are asking you to follow the schedule below. Please note that things should be packaged individually; for example, if you are baking brownies, please cut them and place one or two in a sealed baggie so that things are sized for one person to purchase them. Store-bought items and individually wrapped candy that is sized/packaged for one person to buy are also welcome.

 

If your LAST name begins with A-H, please bring your treat when you report on THURSDAY, March 1 for the show.

 

If your LAST name begins with I-O, please bring your treat when you report on FRIDAY, March 2 for the show.

 

If your LAST name begins with P-Z, please bring your treat when you report on SATURDAY afternoon, March 3 for the show.

 

There will be long tables set up just inside the main doors of GWES outside the cafeteria, you can just place your items there.

 

Any questions, please contact Rhonda Schuck at rhondaschuck @ juno.com.

 

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Saturday!

Souvenir photos will be taken on Saturday morning. 

Each year, we let our cast members get photos with their friends and cast mates while they are in full costume & make-up, so that everyone has a photo memory of the production.

Be prepared to be pulled by our photographer, Mrs. Lane, to take a few quick group snaps. These photos should be finished within the first two hours of rehearsal.

Although these aren't souvenir photos, this is a taste of what a final production looks like. Remember this, 8th graders? :)

Stay healthy, please! And some important notes...

Please take care of yourselves! Make sure you're getting enough protein (the basis of your immune system) and eating your fruits & veggies for all those yummy vitamins and minerals that will keep you healthy and happy!

Unless you are sick, there are NO excused absences from now until closing night. We need everyone at rehearsals so we can work our best as a team! 

Storytellers & Little Ti Moune: if you can arrive 10 minutes early to rehearsal tonight, please do. Ms. Neville wants to run through "Some Say" before we start our full cast rehearsal.


IMPORTANT -- Friday night's rehearsal: Friday night is our sound check with our sound system gurus. We will only need the following cast members to attend:

• Ti Moune
• Mama
• TonTon
• Little Ti Moune
• Storytellers
• Asaka
• Agwe
• Erzulie
• Papa Ge
• Daniel
• Andrea
• Daniel's father

Everyone else, PLEASE take Friday night off (including understudies and swings!). Rest your voices, and load up on your Vitamins C and E!

Saturday is EXTREMELY important. We will be running the show and completing a FULL dress rehearsal. Everyone must be IN THE BUILDING PROMPTLY at 9:00AM, and follow the instructions mentioned below regarding getting into costumes, hair, and make-up.

EVERYONE MUST READ 

THIS POST ABOUT COSTUMES, HAIR, AND MAKE-UP

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, 

PLEASE BRING THEM TO REHEARSAL TONIGHT

Stay healthy! See you tonight! 

CAST MEMBERS: Important make-up information!

“ONCE ON THIS ISLAND” MAKE UP & HAIR INFORMATION

BEFORE ARRIVAL:

1. Eat, shower, dry your hair, and apply deodorant (please!)
2. All performers: Apply foundation one shade darker than your own skin color to face, neck and ears.  If you have a low neckline on your costume, don’t forget your chest.  The foundation make up should be applied so as to look natural.    
3. If your skin is sensitive, consider putting on a primer lotion to protect your skin before you apply foundation. This can be found at a drug store, cosmetic counter, or Ulta.  
4. IN A PLASTIC BAG WITH YOUR NAME, please bring your own personal:

• Comb and/or brush
• Mascara & eyeliner
• Natural lipstick – NO FIRE ENGINE RED OR BRIGHT PINK LIPS!

Bring Baggie to  Dress Rehearsal on Saturday, 25 February 2012.  

This will stay in your Costume Bin.   

HAIR:  

Peasant women – Braids or cornrows (More island natural look)

Peasant men – Natural/messy/wind-tossled 

Grands hommes women - Buns or half buns (More sophisticated look)

Grands hommes men – Slicked down (we have gel in Make Up Room)

If you or someone at home like to braid hair, please do your hair at home.  Bring hair accessories for your hair style.  The peasants who transform into GH need to bring hair items to use at intermission.  We will also put more make up on you at that time to give you that sophisticated look.

UPON ARRIVAL:

1. Go directly to changing area and retrieve your bin.  Find your costume.
2. Change into your costume taking care to not get foundation make up on your costume, return hanger to the rack.  Place your street clothes in the bin.  Leave nothing on the floor.
3. Bring your Make Up Baggie to the Make Up Room.
4. There will be stations for:
1. Peasants
2. Grands Hommes
3. Storytellers
4. Gods
5. “Older Islanders”
6. Featured Dancers  

AT THE END OF THE SHOW:

1. All costumes go back on their hangers on the correct rack.
2. Make sure everything is there BEFORE you leave.
3. Bins are to be replaced after each show with your Make Up Baggies inside.
4. Let’s all work together to clean up and account for all costumes and make up!

WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!

To download a Word .doc of these instructions to print out, 

click here.

Parents: good with make-up?

Dear Parents of "Once On This Island" cast,

We are thrilled to have the following volunteers on the Hair & Make-up Committee and look forward to working with you:

-  Julia Tseng - Co Chair

-  Wendy Leland - Co Chair

-  Nicole Sakowitz - Designer

-  Kim Stillwell 

-  Dee Pancoast

-  Sunita Baghele

-  Caroline Ellis

-  Suzanna Morgenweck

-  Sharon Ford

As you may know, most of the time spent on this committee is during the dress rehearsal (Saturday, 25 Feb) and right before performance time (1, 2, 3 March). 

But we will have one short meeting at 6:30 on Wednesday, 22 February at GWES in the Make Up room.   

Please let us know your availability for the dress rehearsal and the shows at that time.

We have almost 100 actors to be made up within one hour prior to the show. 

No one will have to work every show, but we are in need of more volunteers. 

This is one of the great positions where you get to be with the excited kids right before performing and join in their energy!  

This year's production does not require elaborate hair or make-up. Everyone is qualified!  

For those of you volunteering, please let us know if you prefer to work with hair or make-up. We will be doing some various braids on the peasant women and more sophisticated styles on the townswomen. 

Call/email Wendy/Julia if you have any questions or concerns.  Wendy: 610.983.9032 (home) or 610.952.1973 (cell); Julia: 610.608.8967

Thanks again for volunteering!

Julia Tseng & Wendy Leland

Help for the cast party needed!

CAST PARTY CANDY NEEDED  and CAST PARTY CHAPERONE, SET-UP AND CLEAN UP HELP NEEDED

The cast party is looking for candy donations that will be used in the souvenir mug the kids will receive as a cast party favor.  Each child will receive a "Once on This Island" mug filled with candy and a photo with an island themed photo holder.    

Please make sure that all donated candy consists of small, wrapped pieces, and that they contain no nuts.  Hershey kisses and hard candy are great.  If you can help, please have your child bring a bag of candy by drop off on 2/25. 

If you would like to volunteer helping the cast party crew assemble the mugs on 2/25 in the morning at GWES, that would be very much appreciated.  Please contact Rita Stern at 484.678.4535 or rita @ mrs-stern.com.  It is a great time to buy after Valentine Day's candy.  The kids really look forward to the Cast Party. 

Also, any parents wanting to help chaperone, set-up or clean-up after the cast party please contact Rita as well. Thanks again for your support.

Parent volunteers needed for performances!

The "Front of the House" team has responsibility for ushering and selling flowers, show momentos, and good luck grams. The usher team is primarily comprised of students but we do need at least one adult per show to oversee the student ushers. For both ushering and selling we ask that you be at the performance 30-45  minutes prior to the show. Sales volunteers will sell prior to the performance as well as during intermission. We have the need for additional help at the following performances:

Thursday, March 1st - 1 volunteer to help with sales

Friday, March 2nd - 1 volunteer to help with sales

Saturday, March 3rd @ 2:00 PM - 1 volunteer to head the ushers and 4 volunteers to sell

Saturday, March 3rd @ 7:00 PM - 1 volunteer with sales

Please contact Debi Lynch at lynchkg2 @ comcast.net or 484.320.8299 or Sharon Mills Zalis at shzalis @ aol.com or 610.420.1381 if you can help.

Thank you!

Rehearsals at GWES

Hello everyone! Hope you're ready for tech week next week, and then it's show time!

All of our rehearsals from here on out are over at

General Wayne Elementary School.

Please remember that rehearsal on Saturday starts PROMPTLY at 9:00, so you must be in the auditorium, ready to go at 9am. Plan accordingly to be there at least 5-10 minutes before 9am.

Thanks, and see you tomorrow!

Preferred parking spots available!

PULL RIGHT IN TO A PREMIER SPOT 

WHEN YOU COME TO THE GVMS PRODUCTION OF

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

7:30 PM March 1, 2, and 3         2:00PM Matinee March 3

General Wayne Elementary School, Malvern, PA

HELP SUPPORT THE PLAY FOR 

ALL OF OUR “FUTURE STARS” AT GVMS!!

Reserve in Advance!

• Only 15 spots available per performance.
• $10.00 fee per spot per performance
• Spots will be on the Devon Rd. side of General Wayne Elementary School.
• To reserve, email Sharon Mills Zalis at shzalis@aol.com by 5PM on February 28^th.
• Send payment to Sharon at 14 Remington Lane, Malvern, PA  19355
• Checks should be payable to Great Valley Musical Club.
• Payment in advance is greatly appreciated!

Arrive and Enjoy!

• Spots will be blocked with orange cones for each performance.
• When you arrive, two student volunteer “parking attendants” will be directing you to your spot.
• If you have NOT paid in advance, CASH only will be accepted by our parking attendants!

THIS IS A FUNDRAISER FOR THE FUTURE OF THE GVMS MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS!  THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!  

YOU WILL BE ESPECIALLY GLAD YOU HAVE A SPOT IF IT IS RAINING!

Questions? Email shzalis@aol.com

We need props!

A note from our props mistress, Mrs. Linda Day Sheaffer:

Our props team cannot come up with these so we are deferring to the cast at large:

-large wooden bowls (2 or 3 needed)
-white sheet set
-solid deep purple pillow case
-wooden tray

Please do not provide anything of value or sentiment. We try very hard to take care of things, but we cannot guarantee loss or breakage.

Thanks!!

Shoes!

We have had several questions about shoes over the past few days... to answer your questions:

A clarification about moving day

This Friday, we will not need help physically moving things to GWES, but we will need help setting up once all of our set, costumes, and props get to General Wayne.

Also, cast and crew members received tickets on Saturday. Please make sure that your tickets are for the correct days and let our ticket chairs, Kim Tarnoff or Bonnie O'Hara, know if you have any questions.

Kicking it into gear!

Hi cast, crew, and parents! What a great rehearsal on Saturday! We still have a lot to do, so get ready to work hard this week.

To prepare for the next few weeks, 

please stay healthy and on top of your school work!

Monday night: small group/leads rehearsal - we will need the storytellers, Little Ti Moune, Mama, TonTon, Ti Moune, and understudies/swings are welcome to come. As always, bring homework.

Remember: we have full cast rehearsals Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school!

Friday is moving day. Parents/volunteers, please check your email if you are helping us move our sets and costumes to General Wayne on Friday. Saturday's rehearsal will be at General Wayne Elementary School!

Costumes are due Tuesday! Everyone looks so great! Please finish bringing in your costume pieces.

See you soon!!

Lots of snow on the ground, but the roads are clear from what we've seen!

See you soon, and be careful!

Need ballet shoes?

The dance store, "Definitely Dance" in Exton (in the Kohl's/Acme shopping center, rt. 30/rt. 100), has graciously offered GVMS students a discount on ballet slippers!

"260/365 Ballet slippers" by Clare Griffiths courtesy of flickr's creative commons

Just let them know you are (or have) a student at GVMS who is a part of the musical production of "Once on this Island" and they will give you a 15% discount, making the slippers $17. They are open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm. Their number is 610 . 524 . 1891.

Keep on truckin'!

Good work today, everyone. We cleaned up a lot of our dance numbers and are ready to tighten up the first half of the show on Saturday. Be prepared to really work "Mama Will Provide" and to run through everything else we've done so far.

COSTUMES ARE DUE SATURDAY.
This is so we can make sure we have everything cleared for Tuesday, February 14th. Any costume questions should be directed to Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Carbonar, or Mrs. Colahan.

THE PIZZA PARTY IS SATURDAY!
Check this post for what you need to bring. Everyone is asked to bring something to contribute to this fun lunch!

ATTENTION ALL ALTOS:
You are doing an awesome job in vocal rehearsals. Keep it up! Keep practicing your harmonies at home, listen to the music and sing along, and practice your dance moves with your vocals. Keep up the confidence! You may be slightly outnumbered by sopranos, but you have the spunk and vocal power to keep up with them!! Practice, practice, practice!!

SATURDAY IS THE LAST CALL FOR T-SHIRT ORDER FORMS.


And a special note from some GVMS Musical Theater alumna...

Thanks so much for your support.

... and last but CERTAINLY not least: STAY HEALTHY!! Everyone seems to be getting sick. Please, please, please keep yourselves hydrated, warm, and away from contagious people!! We can't afford to lose any of you during rehearsals... only three more weeks to go!!

Update from today

Great job today! 

For tomorrow night's rehearsal, we will need: the storytellers, Ti Moune, Mama, TonTon, Asaka, Agwe, Erzulie, Papa Ge, Andrea, Daniel, Daniel's father, and the featured villagers. Understudies are welcome to come. For all those attending: be sure to bring homework!

Storytellers: the wedding sequence is now available at the ge.tt download page. Familiarize yourselves with this for tomorrow!

Reminders: 

• Costumes need to be coming in. They are to be submitted Thursday or Saturday so we can pre-approve them and make any necessary changes before the deadline, February 14th.
• Ticket sales are open to the public tomorrow, February 8th. Be sure you've ordered your tickets!
• T-shirt order forms and permission slips are past due. Make sure you have them in.
• As the new marking period begins, make sure you are still staying on top of your grades! 
• Keep practicing vocals and dance moves! It's all coming together very quickly :)

Program cover art!

Attention all artists!! 

Art needed for...

Program ad space

Last week, we posted an application for those interested in placing ads or good luck messages in the program this year. Ad sales are a huge part of our fundraising this year, and it would be greatly appreciated if everyone tried to chip in and/or spread the word to friends and family about utilizing the pages of our program!

• Click here to find the program ad space application
• Click here to download the ad sizes

As always, thanks for your support!!

This week

Tuesday: 

• Please start bringing your costumes in this week. We must have them all collected within the next week! If you have any questions, our costume coordinators will be more than happy to answer them.
• Be ready for our after school rehearsal Tuesday. We will be doing sectional vocal rehearsals and moving on with some blocking/staging.

Wednesday:

• We will need Ti Moune, Mama, TonTon, Asaka, Agwe, Erzulie, Papa Ge, storytellers, featured villagers, Andrea, Daniel, Daniel's father
• As always, bring homework or take the time to practice lines/vocals on your own as Ms. Sunnergren and Mrs. Taylor work individually with others.

Thursday:

• Vocals and dancing! Be ready with your dancing shoes!

Saturday: 

• PLEASE HAVE YOUR COSTUMES IN! That way, if we need to make any changes, you can have them re-submitted by the deadline February 14th.
• Pizza party! Check the entry below for what you need to bring to rehearsal that day.

Information about the pizza party next week

GVMS Musical Cast and Crew Pizza Party

The pizza party lunch for the cast and crew will be held during the Saturday, February 11^th rehearsal.  Pizza will be provided, and we would like to ask each student to please bring in something to share.  

"Chalet Pizza Cheese Pizza" by Aaron Landry courtesy of flickr's creative commons

1st letter of last name // item to share:

• A-D // snacks (chips/pretzels, etc.)
• E-I // healthy snack (suggestions – grapes, clementines, little apples, carrots, veggie tray, cheese, etc.)
• J-N // individual bottles of water (about 10-12 bottles)
• O-Z // dessert

PLEASE – NO PEANUTS/PEANUT BUTTER!

If you don’t like/want pizza, please feel free to bring your own lunch along.

Thanks very much for your support of the pizza party!

Download a .PDF of these instructions here or here.

Please be prompt!

"The Passage of Time" by ToniVC at flickr's creative commons

A reminder that Saturday rehearsals begin promptly at 9:00. 

As soon as you get to the school, you are to leave your things 

in the hallway and come directly to the choral room.


Reminder: t-shirt order forms are due this Saturday!
Head shots are also this Saturday!

Movin' right along!

Great job today, guys! 

Ensemble, thank you for rising to the challenge of completing FOUR SONGS in ONE REHEARSAL! You guys sound so great!

Rehearsal on Saturday is from 9-3PM. Be prepared to work SMART! Bring lunch, water, sneakers, your scripts, and a pencil.

REMEMBER: HEAD SHOTS ARE ON SATURDAY!

Mrs. Lane will be taking everyone's picture for the bulletin boards.

Please wear a dark-colored shirt.

Photo by Xaverian Hawks at flickr's creative commons

Please start bringing your costume pieces in. 

Remember that all costumes MUST be in 

NO LATER than Tuesday, February 14th.

Featured villagers, Lily, Aaron: regarding costume stuff we talked about after rehearsal today... please bring in anything you already have at home so we can find extra pieces for you in the basement to embellish your existing costume. If you don't have anything already, don't worry about it, we will find something for you. Thanks for being flexible!

Storytellers & Little Ti Moune: the Some Say karaoke track is now available on the ge.tt downloads page! Have fun learning the song :)

DVD order forms are now available!

Check out the ge.tt downloads page for the DVD order form.

Also check out the ge.tt downloads page for the rest of the rehearsal tracks from the Once on this Island, Jr. CD, including:

• The Human Heart
• Promises/Forever Yours (Reprise)
• Wedding Sequence
• A Part of Us/Why We Tell the Story

Can you believe it? We've almost learned all of the music! Good work, guys :)