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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.

Wizard of Oz – Week 1

Wizard of Oz – 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 most definitely have a group of rock star, get it done parents out there. Everyone who sent in their bio on either Sunday or Monday – congrats! Because you all did such a good job, all bios that I received by end of day Monday, January 28 will receive an additional 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.

After a warm welcome, receipt of our rehearsals folders and oz-some stickers, and signing our contracts we began with our weekly meditation and theme for the week. I led this meditation around the topic of following your path (the yellow brick road) and having the confidence and trust in yourself (listen to your gut) to pursue your dreams and make decisions and choices that one can only make once they really trust themselves. Once we trust ourselves fully, can we truly begin living the life we imagine. Our meditation also provided a calming and grounding environment in which we were better able to take in all the information we were about to be told about our roles, character-development, and story line, in addition to preparing us for our read through, voice and music session with our music directors and dancing with our choreographers.

After mediation, every cast then went to their own working spaces where roles were revealed and each cast discussed the story of Wizard of Oz. As we dove deeper into the story, we discussed the importance of everyone working as an ensemble. We also discussed our Character Development Worksheet. The Character Development Worksheet is designed to get all of our actors’ backstories in the works! They will be sharing their “backstory” with their fellow cast members this Sunday. Both casts also saw fabulous costume sketches for the show and took measurements with our costume designer.

Emerald City Cast

After a few “getting to know you” ice breakers, emerald city cast revealed their roles and jumped into a read-through of the script. While top of mind, this cast dove into character-development and worked on their character’s backstory using the character development worksheet. What a cool process – ask your actor about their character! It was then a natural lead in to begin learning the Munchkin song! Way to go.

Ruby Slippers Cast

While sitting in a circle, a read-through transpired for Ruby Slippers cast. The group then divided into sections and they were off and learning. They worked on music for Munchkinland and the Jitterbug song, the Winkies got their groove on and began to learn choreography for a “STOMP” version of the Winkie March, while the principals worked on some character study. The Ruby Slippers cast was asked to complete their character development worksheets this week and be ready to share on Sunday!

Electronic Resource Library

Practice at home and use our ERL (Electronic Resource Library) with music and choreography learned from this week.

Please encourage your actors to listen to all the music on the CD or MP3s, the downloads specifically from the ERL above, read the script, and memorize lines. The more they absorb at home, the more productive our rehearsals can be.

Rehearsal – Sunday, February 3

  • Everyone should arrive promptly at 1:30 pm
  • Ruby Slippers cast will meet in the Senior Assembly
  • Emerald City cast will meet in Zale Auditorium
  • Pick-up will be at 5:30 pm in the lobby
  • Please remind our performers to bring their scripts, folder, character development sheet (completely filled out), pencil, and a highlighter
  • 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 10 is when we will be taking head-shots for both casts. Please make sure your actor is camera-ready!
  • Wednesday, February 13 actor bios are due. I will send reminders, but at the end of day February 13 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 13 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.

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!

Tickets Are Now on Sale

Buy early and save. I look forward to seeing you work your magic on social media. All families will receive one complimentary ticket per actor. Purchased tickets will be waiting for you at Will Call on the day of the performance.

Click here to buy your tickets!

The Count Down for Summer Camp 2019 has Begun

Registration for camp is now open to ALL. Remember our performing arts camps have limited space. We want to see you this summer so please register today to save your spot!

And…I want to close by saying thank you! We appreciate you being a part of our JPAS family. I left our meeting on Sunday feeling energized to raise our bar even further. Have a oz-mazing week.

Shine Bright,

alise sig