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Aaron Family Jewish Community Center of Dallas - The Dallas JCC empowers people to pursue wellness of mind, body and spirit with rich programming, fitness facilities and an accredited preschool.

Matilda – Week 1

a note from alise

Dear Parents,

It was great seeing everyone on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who attended the parent meeting. Your positive energy was received and greatly appreciated.

This year we definitely have a group of rockstar, get-it-done parents out there. Everyone who sent in their bio either by EOD on Tuesday, January 24 will receive a complimentary ticket! It will be waiting for you at Will Call on the day of the performance. Your effort is noted and greatly appreciated.

First Rehearsal

The energy was high and the excitement in the air from our actors was fantastic. The first rehearsal is always centered around “breaking the ice” with our fellow actors and staff members and diving into our theater process.

We started off the day with a meditation centering around one of our JPAS show tag lines, “Be heard, Be Here, Be You”. There is an underlying theme in that statement – confidence. We discussed how confidence is a learned skill.  Confidence is the willingness to try and take action.  And, with each new thing you try, with each attempt, you gain more competence in yourself, leading to confidence.  So, we encouraged our actors to try three new things this week!

We then watched a SURPRISE, amazing video, tailor-made just for our JPAS actors from Ryan McCartan! Ryan played the recurring role of Diggie Smalls on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie and his Broadway credits include Fiyero in Wicked and Hans in Frozen. He shared his excitement, tips, and words of wisdom for our actors. Wow, were they exhilarated and engaged.

We then played a super fun theater bingo game that got everyone out of their seats, making friends, asking questions, and doing all sorts of fun improv. We then spent time cultivating the culture and environment in which our creative journey will flourish. This included the vision for the show, program, and expectations such as:

  • Always be kind to yourself and to one another.
  • Never be afraid to ask for help.
  • Practice your lines, music, blocking, and choreography at home.
  • Try to be your own problem solver.
  • Bring your script, a pencil, and a highlighter to every rehearsal.
  • Come to rehearsal prepared, alert, curious, and ready to work.
  • When we know better, we do better: Transition time = quiet time.

We then broke out into our two casts, A Little Bit Naughty and When I Grow Up. Finding out your role in a show is always full of emotions. Today, the actors were encouraged to understand that the production team hand-picked each actor to be a special puzzle piece in this production. An actor’s quantity of lines does not equal stage time, and it certainly does not equal the level of importance. Don’t count your lines, make your lines count!  Then we did a full read-through of our script. A read-through is when every member of a cast gets together and reads through the entire script from start to finish. This allows us to see the big picture and to hear each different voice bring each different character to life. It also allows us to recognize where in the story each song lives, and there are lots of them!  We ended with our appreciation circle. Oh, what a busy, fun, and exciting day we had!

Electronic Resource Library

Practice at home and use our ERL (Electronic Resource Library) with music and choreography that we will learn each week. The ERL link has all the sing-a-long and performance tracks as well. Please encourage your actors to listen to the music and read through their scripts. The more they absorb at home, the more productive our rehearsals can be.

Rehearsal – Sunday, January 29th

  • Everyone should arrive promptly for drop off at 1:30 pm
  • When I Grow Up Cast will meet in the Zale
  • Little Bit Naughty cast will meet upstairs in the Mankoff room.
  • Pick-up will be at 5:30 pm in front of the building. Please park and meet your actor by the front doors of the JCC.
  • Please remind our performers to bring their scripts, rehearsal folder, pencil, and a highlighter to every rehearsal
  • Please pack a healthy snack and a water bottle
  • Wear clothes you can easily move in with sneakers or bring your jazz/dance shoes

Important Dates & Reminders

  • Sunday, February 5 is when we will be taking headshots for both casts. Please make sure your actor is camera-ready!
  • Wednesday, February 9 – actor bios are due. I will send reminders, but at the end-of-day February 9, if we have not received your actor’s bio, they will not be included in the playbill. Click here to look at a sample format/instructions on how to send in your actor’s bio.
  • Wednesday, February 9 – actor Playbill Ad/Messages are due. Think of our playbill as our annual fundraiser. Your actor will get a memory of a lifetime and the proceeds from all playbill ads help fund our amazing performing arts program. The playbill is a great way for a relative who is unable to attend to send a note of support or utilize this opportunity if you own a small business. Placing an ad in our playbill is a strategic way to reach the community. Click here to purchase your playbill ad and learn more.
  • I encourage you to please take care of both the bio and playbill ad now. Knock it off your to-do list and feel like a rock star.
  • Again, Congrats to everyone who took our bio challenge! You did such a great job!

Healthy Snacks

Please do your best to provide healthy snacks, low in sugar. Healthy, low-sugar snacks help to keep our performers engaged, focused, and on task. We will not be using the vending machines. Again, please pack a water bottle too!

Follow us on Social Media

Stay up to date on the latest and greatest! Make sure to check out the JPASs Backstage experience, here is a sneak peek!

Instagram
Facebook

Tickets Go on Sale on February 1st

I look forward to seeing you work your magic on social media. Our parent digital marketing kits, as mentioned in our meeting, will be sent out in a few weeks. Friendly reminder: purchased tickets will be waiting for you at Will Call on the day of the performance. If you are interested in a yard sign or a marketing flyer to hang up at School, coffee shop, etc… please let me know.

The Count Down for Summer Camp 2023 has Begun

  • Registration opened Monday, January 23 for members.
  • Registration opens Monday, January 30 for non-members/camp friends
  • Early Registration pricing ends on March 1

Remember our performing arts camps are amazing and have limited space. We want to see you this summer, so please register today to save your spot! StarQuest is more than halfway full, and StarPower is well on its way!

This Is How We Do It At JPAS

I want to close by saying thank you! We appreciate you being a part of our JPAS family. I left our meeting on Sunday and rehearsals feeling energized and excited about our shared JPAS experience this season.

Shine Bright,

alise sig