"HATS!" Is Off To A Good Start!

UNCLE SAM IS WHO I AM

The first after school practices for our whole school musical "HATS!" were held Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Both casts are off to a good start!  There are 32 speaking parts for each night, meaning 64 students total!  Many students came to the practice already knowing their lines.  The goals for this first practice are:  1) meet the other cast members; 2) discover when the speaking parts occur in the script; 3) learn which microphone to go to, and in what order to stand; and 4) speak "two-fingers away" from the microphone -- can we hear you?  Other goals are to sing the songs, although most of that work happens during music class.  This is the time to work out the speaking parts. 

Students are invited to come into the music room any day from now until the performances during lunch recess and just say their lines into the microphones and then leave.  I do not want them to miss recess!!  But the more comfortable they are with saying their lines the better.  Students need to memorize their lines and learn to project their voices so they may be heard.  I love this part of the process!!  

After-School Rehearsals start Wednesday and Thursday

On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, there will be an after-school rehearsal from 2:45 - 4:00 pm for the Wednesday, April 9 Cast of our musical "HATS!"  In order for these 32 students to stay after school, Ms. Mutz must receive a permission slip from their parents.

On Thursday, March 27, 2014, there will be another after-school rehearsal from 2:45-4:00 pm, and this time it is for the Thursday, April 10 Cast of our musical "HATS!"  Again, in order for these 32 students to stay after school, Ms. Mutz must receive a permission slip from their parents.

In several cases, students already attend the A.C.E. after school program.  Ms. Mutz contacted the A.C.E. counselors and they are aware of both of these rehearsals.  Once our rehearsals are over, Ms. Mutz will send those students back to the A.C.E. program.  

CORRECTION!! REVISED-ParentNotice#2

Friday I sent home a GREEN note (with five hats at the top) to everyone.  Then just today I realized that I listed two classes as performing on incorrect nights.  Yikes!!  I have notified Mrs. Plunkett and Ms. Silverberg and asked that they contact their students' families and give them the corrected note.  You can check out this note here:

REVISED-ParentNotice#2 

In a nutshell, this is the corrected information...

April 9, 2014, 6:30 pm Performing Classes:  Allbee, Donnelly, Trombley, Shepherd, Silverberg, Bissonnette, Hooper

April 10, 2014, 6:30 pm Performing Classes:  Belaski, Randall, Plunkett, Terrien, LaRose, Warren

I was able to keep with my plan to hand out speaking parts for the casts of "HATS!" last Wednesday, March 19.  If there are students who return their unwanted parts, I will reassign those parts to students who expressed interest but were not originally given a part.

Speaking Parts Process

Speaking parts in a musical help to tell a story.  Really, we could just sing the songs and be done!  But turning this into a story gives opportunities for students to explore the world of performance.  In addition to the learning the music, students learn a speaking part, practice it while speaking into a microphone, and then gain the confidence to perform it in front of an audience on a stage.  Some students are quite content with singing in the Stage Chorus and not taking on a speaking part -- this is perfectly okay!  For those students ready for a speaking part, they need to practice their lines and set them to memory.  They need to practice saying the lines out loud, soft, fast, slow, high-pitched voice, low-pitched voice, singing the lines, whispering the lines, and, of course, saying the lines in front of others.

Last Friday, March 14, I scrambled to make up for lost time during our surprise snow days.  I asked teachers if I could double up classes so that I could meet students who missed class Wednesday and Thursday.  Everyone was really understanding and flexible, so I was able to meet with all First Grade and Second Grade students.  This was important so I could have students let me know what speaking parts, if any, they were interested in doing for our musical, "HATS!"

I then take those lists and spend hours trying to make sense of all the choices.  I put together all the names of students who are interested in particular parts, and then names get pulled (as in, "from a hat"). If students showed interest in more than one part, then they had more of a chance to end up with a part. But if they only showed interest in one or two parts, those parts may not have been available.  I do wish there were parts for everyone who showed interest, but that is just not possible in this particular show.

At this writing, part selections are still in the draft phase, but I will try to hand out parts to students on Wednesday, March 19.  If your child is given a part and is happy about it, great!!!  But if they are not, PLEASE have them return the part to me as soon as possible so I can reassign it.  There are many students who expressed interest and will not end up with a part, so if something becomes available, it is important to give as much time to the alternate students as possible.

"HATS!" Has Now Been Introduced To All

As of 2:30 pm today, all Porters Point students have been introduced to the entire story of "HATS!" by John Jacobson and John Higgins.  We are fortunate to have a performing space to use, Colchester High School:

I refer to this drawing all the time so students realize what we are talking about when I say we are performing on a stage.  There is no stage at Porters Point School!  I wish there was!!  I also want students to know that there are two performance nights and they are only performing one of the two nights.  So these pictures show which classes are performing on what night.

I know there are families that have more than one child at our school.  If both children are scheduled to perform the same night, great!  If they are not and this poses a difficulty for you, please contact me and we can work something out so both children perform on the same night.  Please let me know as soon as possible!

The next step begins next week in Music class.  All students will start to learn the songs and movements.  First and Second Grade students will be asked what speaking parts, if any, they would be interested and willing to do.  Then I go through a random process -- literally like names pulled from a hat -- to select students for parts. There are 33 speaking parts, so not every student will have a speaking part.  But keep in mind with two nights of performances, that actually means there will be 66 students who will have the parts!  This process takes me a long time, but I will let students know as soon as parts have been selected.  A note will go home to parents announcing the parts.  Those students will need to attend two after-school practices so we can work out the parts, know when to speak and where to stand.  There will be a permission slip attached to these parts which will have to be signed and returned in order for students to be able to stay after school.  Students will benefit greatly from these practices as they will meet the other students with speaking parts.

Count Basie Orchestra

Last Wednesday night, Colchester High School was a-hoppin' with the Count Basie Orchestra! The Colchester High School Jazz Band also had the opportunity to work with a few of the Orchestra members for an after-school workshop. During the concert, the High School students played one song with those same members! What a great opportunity! I remember when these High School students were 5-8 years old here at Porters Point School and Union Memorial School. What could be better than seeing former students continuing to enjoy music AND explore their own music capabilities?! I am very proud of my former students, indeed!  And what a great concert with the Count Basie Orchestra!!

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