Matilda IS BACK!
It’s hard to believe that it has been almost two years since that pesky little pandemic caused us to press pause on our production. It’s been a challenging time for many, and I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we have missed the joy of creating live theatre.
I’m writing to you today with exciting news. Acadia Community Theatre will move forward with bringing Matilda to the stage this coming April, and we are hoping that you still wish to be a part of it.
In unfortunate news, the production team has changed a bit. Isabel is working diligently to pursue her master's in Nebraska and is unable to continue as Musical Director. Dani, while wishing to continue, unfortunately, is no longer able to take on the role amid a very busy schedule. As such, I will be stepping into the Director’s shoes for this rehearsal process. Kate Young will continue as Stage Manager/Asst. Director, Matt Hochman will continue as Technical Director, and Doug VanGorder will continue to be our Producer. We’re excited to get back on the stage!
While many theatre companies (professional, community, and educational) have begun to rehearse and perform safely as the pandemic wears on, beginning a rehearsal process during it does mean we will need to be focused and aware as we get re-started. The pandemic has impacted this production, no doubt, and that impact will play out in ways we haven’t seen yet. However, ACT and I are confident in our ability to rehearse safely and mount this production in a way that will be meaningful to everyone, both onstage, backstage, and in the audience.
What are the things you need to know right now?
Vaccination: We want to put this one right up front so that everyone understands the expectation. To keep our rehearsal and performance environment as safe as possible, ACT is requiring that all cast and crew members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This goes for anyone who will be at rehearsals regularly as well (parents, guardians, anyone who would frequently find themselves sitting in the rehearsal space). We hope this does not discourage anyone from participating, but we feel it is our obligation as an organization to ensure the safety and well-being of those who volunteer to work with us.
Masks: While it is our hope that our performances will be undertaken mask-free, we will be spending most, if not all, of our rehearsal time wearing masks. This will apply to auditions too.
Returning to a role: You all had put a great amount of effort and work into your roles before the pandemic vacation, as such
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we want to offer any adults who had been in the original cast the option of resuming your role. Please respond to this email ASAP to let us know if you would like to continue in your role.
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Kids – It is very hard to tell now that two years have passed, who will still be age/height appropriate. As such we would like to see all our classroom and younger cast again at auditions to see if it’s possible to continue in the roles that folks had been cast in or if we need to rearrange some things. If you do hope to continue in the role you were in, please let us know still by responding to this email.
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Re-Casting – Once we know who is planning to return in their roles, we will let people know if there are roles that we will need to re-cast. Anyone who was in the company before who would like to re-audition with an eye towards a different part is welcome to do so. We will ensure that before auditions we put out an announcement of roles that are currently filled, and therefore unable to be auditioned for.
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Who Needs to be at auditions? If you are simply returning to rehearse for the role you had, then it is unnecessary for you to be at auditions this time around.
Auditions: Auditions will be held this coming weekend: Friday, December 17th from 6pm -8pm, and Saturday, December 18th from 1-3. Auditions will be held at the High school. If you come for an audition on Friday night, you may be asked to return to read again on Saturday if any sort of call-backs is needed. We will let you know.
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Please prepare a song – no more than one minute in total. We will also provide audition sides for roles available if you are interested in auditioning.
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Come masked and prepared to show proof of vaccination. You will not be able to stay if you do not present said vaccination information.
Rehearsals/Performance dates: We do not have a set rehearsal schedule in place yet. We are working on where we will have access to at what times. For now, you can anticipate a rehearsal schedule of 3 nights a week. We hope to have specifics by auditions. This goes for performance dates as well: we are targeting the first two weekends in April.
This is a great deal of information, I know, and we are super excited to share it with you so that we can get working on bringing this to life!
We look forward to hearing from all of you as soon as possible so we can get the audition notice up and out in the community.
Thanks so much,
Matt Cornish
ACT is proud to announce the winners of our 2020 sholarships, Click here for more info.
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