Welcome to the Manhattan cast of Newsies!!!!
MUSIC ACCESS:
The music is now available for you to listen to at home! It is important that you listen from a laptop or desktop computer! To listen to the music, follow this link https://player.mtishows.com, click on Rehearsal Track Access, go to where it says STREAMING ACCESS and enter the rehearsal code: NEW1536454. This should give you access to the music.
Charles’ Website
Shay and Charles would love for you to view their website! On the website, you can get all of the information you need for class. Charles has uploaded a score, all of the tracks, and a bunch of research on the time period. They will also be adding choreography videos soon , so keep checking the site!
Visit www.Charlesswancreative.com (copy and paste into a new page as the link is not working), click on the Newsies tab (in the menu), and enter the password: Spark.
UPDATES:
May 8th:
Saturday, May 9TH
•Record Carryin’ the Banner, Seize the Day, and ALL scenes (including re-recording those we recorded last week)
Saturday, May 16TH
•All solos due
•Record anything remaining (Bowery Beauties, Bottom Line, etc.)
Saturday, May 23rd
•Rerecord anything that needs to be redone from the previous weeks.
PLEASE COME TO remaining REHEARSALS READY TO RECORD:
“Set your Stage” everyone should have a plain white background. Please hang a sheet or be in front of a blank white wall. (instructions on how to do this is posted above on the link that say “how to record”.
Costumes, Hair, and Makeup: We are asking each cast member to wear a costume from home. Do your best to look the part. Wear your Newsies caps if you have them. Katherine and Medda please wear basic stage makeup and do your hair. Girls that are Newsies need to pull their hair back and hide it as best they can.
May 2nd:
Hey Newsies,
Today we are going to plow forward and attempt to knock out a few different things.
We’ll all meet at 3 and talk through what we are doing but then Shay will work with everyone on the opening of Carrying the Banner and I’ll start recording scenes in the breakout rooms. Everyone is invited to be in the opening number regardless of original casting assignment.
I’m hoping to get these scenes recorded today:
3:00pm
Pages 2 - 4
Crutchie / Jack
3:20pm
Pages 11 - 12
Oscar, Morris, Race, Crutchie, Finch, Albert
3:40pm
Pages 15 - 17
Les, Crutchie, Jack, Davey
4:00pm
Pages 18 - 20
Pulitzer, Seitz, Bunsen, Hannah, Nunzio
4:20pm
Davey, Les, Jack, Woman, Synder
4:40pm
Pages 25 - 27
Jack, Davey, Medda, Stage Manager, Les
So please be thinking about a great place to record (clean background, lighting, camera positioning, etc.) and what your ‘costume’ will be.
Most of all don’t stress. This plan may totally not work! But let’s all stay flexible and have fun today. Let’s see what we can create!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9532892925?pwd=OElhaHVqL2loWU41TWRHRXgrWFlNQT09
Meeting ID: 953 289 2925
Password: Spark
April 11th:
Recurring Zoom Meeting Information:
Every Saturday at 3pm
Charles Swan's Zoom Meeting - Newsies
Time: This is a recurring meeting: 3pm on Saturdays
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9532892925?pwd=OElhaHVqL2loWU41TWRHRXgrWFlNQT09
Meeting ID: 953 289 2925
Password: Spark
April 3rd:
Mark your calendars! Set a reminder on your phone!!
You wont want to miss this!
Charles Swan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Charles Swan's Zoom Meeting - NEWSIES
Time: Apr 4, 2020 03:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9532892925?pwd=OElhaHVqL2loWU41TWRHRXgrWFlNQT09
Meeting ID: 953 289 2925
Password: Spark
April 2nd:
Hi there Newsies crew!!
Shay and Charles would love for you to view their website! On the website, you can get all of the information you need for class. Charles has uploaded a score, all of the tracks, and a bunch of research on the time period. They will also be adding choreography videos soon , so keep checking the site!
Visit www.Charlesswancreative.com (copy and paste into a new page), click on the Newsies tab (in the menu), and enter the password: Spark.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Hope you all are doign well!!
March 23rd:
Good afternoon to our dear Spark students and their families. We are already starting to miss ya'll so much! This is such a strange time in our history. We are all dealing with so many unknowns and I'm sure you all have questions. We have been watching developments on Covid-19 as they unfold. It is unbelievable to see the far reaching effects of this crisis. Our goal is to provide a little reassurance and some normalcy and consistency to our community.
Good news from Spark:
First, a little bit of good news. WE FINALLY GOT A REAL SIGN! This has been a long time coming and we can't wait for you to see it. We also got BRAND NEW TRUSS and LIGHTS!! These were installed over spring break just in time for us to shut down. (haha) Spark has made a lot of progress this semester and we are not going down without a fight. The community that built Spark is strong and we know we can weather this storm together.
Hugs to our students who have had shows cancelled:
We have mourned with our students as we have watched show after show get cancelled for other theatres. We know how hard you have worked and are saddened to see Miller and TUTS along with several other theatres cancel all their shows. We fully support their decision to be cautious and to protect our city from this illness.
Plans for Spark Rehearsals and Shows:
Spark is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. We have made plans based on several different scenarios to reschedule our shows. The best case scenario would be to re-open on April 13th as our school districts are planning. We will send out an updated rehearsal and show schedule next week to be posted to each show page. Each cast will be expected to learn materials posted online and attend virtual rehearsals.
For those of you that are concerned that April 13th is too soon, you are not alone. We can all pray for the best case scenario but be prepared for the worst. We have planned alternate schedules based on different dates. We have even planned to go to a summer camp format if need be.
Payments:
So what about payments? As you all learned from our parent meetings, the fees for our shows are always the same regardless of the amount of time it takes to put them on. We have already paid for all of our rights, most of our costumes, set, and props. Many theatres charge the full fee for a show upfront. Spark allows payment plans for the vast majority of our students. We understand that with so many unknowns, it is very difficult to know what to expect for when our live rehearsals will resume or our shows will go on. We also know that many of you are being faced with uncertainty in your own personal lives and finances. For all of these reasons, we have decided to allow families to postpone the April 5th payment until May 5th. We are essentially pausing your payment plans for one month. Rest assured, we will be making up missed rehearsals in our new schedule and will be providing students with ongoing support and materials to learn at home over the next few weeks. If you need to postpone your payment plan, please fill out THIS FORM. If you are able to make your payment on April 5th as scheduled, it will help Spark tremendously. We are doing everything we can to stay in operation.
Communication:
We are taking this day-by-day. Updates are being made all the time and we may need to re-asses as new information is made available. Please be patient as we put together material to be sent out online and schedule virtual rehearsals. We will send a Remind when the show pages are updated.
We appreciate your support at this time. Hold your families close and please be safe!
Love, Spark
February 3rd:
Call times for February 8th rehearsal.
ALL NEWSIES DANCERS: Call time is 2pm.
The rest of the cast, your call time is 3pm.
January 27th:
Newsie Dancers in “Carrying the Banner”, your dance call time is 2pm on February 1st.
All other cast, please arrive at your 3pm call time. PLease bring script, pencil, and water to each rehearsal!
T-shirt Information:
GET YOUR NEWSIES SHIRTS HERE!! Get ‘em while they’re hot!!
Grab a shirt for you, a friend, family member and neighbor! Tell everyone about Newsies and SPARK!
Place your order by February 28th to get the best deal in town!
Important Information:
Parent Meeting: We will be having a mandatory parent meeting Saturday, January 25 at 3:00 p.m. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns. 281-516-8382
What to Bring:
Please eat something before you come to rehearsal.
You may bring snacks (we may or may not take a snack break but will let students go to the lobby to eat a snack if they are low on energy).
Each student will need a water bottle labeled with their name. There are no drinking fountains at the studio.
Please wear modest clothing that is comfortable to dance in. No booty shorts or spaghetti strap tank tops. We comply with the Tomball ISD dress code.
We recommend that the kids wear black jazz shoes. They will wear these for the performance and throughout the rehearsal process. You can purchase jazz shoes at Fancy Dancer or Academy.
Drop Off Instructions:
Newsies is a drop off class. While we would love to be able to accommodate parents and family members in our lobby, Spark is very busy on Saturdays with dance classes as well as our theatre productions. Students will need to be signed in and out of class at the front desk. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to getting to know you weekly at check in and check out:).
Finally! The cast lists are up! We are so proud of all of our students who auditioned. We were so impressed with the effort, heart, and talent that was displayed at callbacks that we have decided to have two full casts of Newsies. We feel that this gives all of our students ample opportunities to grow and to be featured. We will be running the show for two weeks. The Manhattan cast will perform the week of April 27th- May 2nd, and the Brooklyn cast will perform the week of May 4th-9th. Our first rehearsal will be this Saturday the 18th from 3:00-5:30 p.m. (We will be ending 30 min. early this week only)
Newsies “Manhattan Cast” List
Directed by Charles Swan, Shay Rodgers
JACK KELLY
Jonah Mendoza
Understudy: Estus Stephens
CRUTCHIE
Jared Roundy
DAVEY
Jackson Cook
LES
Aidan Warren
RACE
Josh Godfrey
Understudy: JD Bowen
SPOT CONLON
Kaleb Cockrell
KATHERINE PLUMBER
Abbigale Scott
Understudy: Paige McMichael
WIESEL
Jacob Ethington
OSCAR & MORRIS DELANCEY
Joshua Ethington
Matthew Ethington
JOSEPH PULITZER
Estus Stephens
HANNAH
Reagan Miller
SNYDER
Corbin McClellan
MEDDA LARKIN
Maya Credeur
Understudy: Lacey McCray
NEWSIES / ENSEMBLE (there are 30 more named featured roles that we will assign as we begin blocking including the singing newsies and Pulitzers cast and the showgirls.)
Maya Credeur
Gracyn Baxter
Rachel Carter
Emma Helms
Amelia Widener
Michael Rosenlund
David Bowen
Bess Gibbons
Audrey Carter
Lacey McCray
Kenzie Braithwaite
Nikki Wheeler
Stephen Eckermann
Bryson Brown
Russell Oakley
Angel Cervantes
Karla Chapa
Braylee Bowen
Mackenzie Vogel
Daniel Whaley
Matt Tincopa
Maddy Snideman
Paige McMichael
Macennah Crawford
Addy Campbell
Mary Frances Hughes
Mina Kardani
Madilyn Joy Oakley
Paige McMichael
Ashlyn Colwell
Reese Fast
Hannah Hale
*Note about casting: As we have been sending out cast lists this semester for our shows, we have received feedback from a few students that are unhappy to be in the ensemble. Please understand that the ensemble cast is very important in this show (as in every show). Many of the most skilled dancers - though they could have played a "lead character," were reserved to be in the ensemble cast because we need their dance ability and skill in the ensemble. A good theater education will have students gain experience in every aspect of a show. We expect cast members to support each other and cheer each other on in their respective roles. Keep in mind that there are a lot of factors involved in casting a show. Things like vocal range, experience, age, height, ability, as well as compatibility with the person that is playing other roles in the cast all come into play. We always have the best interest of each student in mind. Please trust that each student is valued and will be utilized and pushed to reach their potential.
