Tuesday, September 5 – 4:00 – 4:30 – Cell Block Tango – on stage with Whitney

4:30-6:00 – Music – Everyone – Review Ensemble plus Me and My Baby, and My Own Best Friend

Wednesday, September 6 – 4:00-4:30 – Cell Block Tango and All That Jazz with Whitney

4:30 – 6:00 – Music – (All women) All I Care About is Love, My Own Best Friend, Cell Block Tango

Thursday, September 7 – 4:00 – 4:30 – Cell Block Tango and All That Jazz with Whitney

4:30 – 6:00 – Music – (All men plus any females that are supposed to be in this choreography) Roxie, When Velma Takes the Stand

Best,PMc

Hey guys it’s Gwyn!

Mr.McCray and I have noticed that, recently, our lunch rehearsals are lacking the availability and structure they require to be useful to us as a cast. Mostly because they were planned on days when only a handful of us were able to go get the help we needed, which I didn’t feel like was fair to the lunch lab kids who missed out on having extra time to polish up their part in a number, or to the no-lab students who showed up only to be turned away.

This is the solution Mr.McCray and I came up with: starting next week, Wednesdays will be designated for running songs with Miss Jean and Miss Johnson in the chorus room, and Fridays are going to be spent in the Bishop Center practicing new choreography with Whitney. We will meet during 2nd AP for both days.

Attending these rehearsals is strongly recommended. These meetings are here to help the cast, as a whole, grow stronger and more confident in the musical numbers. I’m probably not the only one wishing I had a little more time to practice that one number before we moved on to the next part, so that’s exactly what lunch rehearsals are for. Not to mention, tech week always arrives sooner than expected. If we each attend at least one of these AP rehearsals a week, the longterm payoff will be huge.

This cast is an incredible group full of hardworking, talented, and dedicated students. I know for a fact that with all our efforts combined, and this little bit of extra time we’ll put into each week, Chicago will be that much better.

I love you guys!

-Gwyn.

> TUESDAY THE 29th
> Kim — 4-630 with lead dancers, Roxy, Velma, Fred, add Jake, Sebastian, Damon and Peyton. Whitney >
> WEDNESDAY THE 30th
> Kim — 4-6 murdreress’, whitney – cell block need 6 chairs

THURSDAY THE 31st
Review all of the blocked scenes the director has done.

Labor Day holiday is off. Certain future elements are TBA, however…. >
> September 9. 10-12
> If you are available, please let Kim know.
>
> Sunday, September 10 1-4
> All that jazz — full cast for staging
>
> REVISED CAST.
Chicago th Musical Final Cast-3.docx

Hello! Coming up…

AUGUST

22
block pp 27-29, 33-34, 52-53

23
“All that Jazz” staging

24
4-4:15 review “All that Jazz”
4:15-6 music (all)

25
soloists TBD

27
“All that Jazz” 1-4

28
62-63, 69-71, 86-88

It’s around now that we get questions from those who are new to us about scheduling. If you’re familiar with many non-musical plays without fight choreography, you might have been lucky to audition with a full and detailed schedule in front of you. They’re great. Straight plays have few moving parts… actors, a single director, and a single necessary skill (usually): acting. Musicals are very elaborate clocks by comparison. Three (or more) necessary skills. At least three or four directors or assisting adults. Guest artists with shifting schedules based on numerous demands. Orchestras with unpredictable commitments.

The skills required can also be somewhat unpredictable to instill. Some dance numbers may take twice as long as we guesstimate. Compared to this, a show that only requires (from a nuts and bolts perspective) learning spoken lines and memorizing blocking is extremely straightforward and predictable.

We are happy to communicate as much as possible and to publish what we can as far in advance as we’re able. If you have any questions as we go along, please ask.

Between now and then, the safest tactic is to approach the unscheduled week as if you very likely might be called Sun 1-4 and M-Th 4-6 . And if you have time off within that where you are not called on certain days, enjoy it!

Velma Kelly – Madeleine Wolfenbarger

Roxie Hart – Casey Majors

Billy Flynn – Benjamin “Papa” Hatmaker

Matron “Mama” Morton – Lillian Schweitzer

Mary Sunshine – Elizabeth Hethmon

Amos Hart – Jake “The Yount” Yount

Mona – Lauren Dryzer

Kitty – Gwyneth Doppelt

Annie – Lily Grace Thome

June – Madeline Pappano

Hunyak – Hannah Duncan

Liz – Tatum Mullins

Judge – Peyton Austin

Court Clerk – Damon Rodefer

Fred Casely – John Nadrous

Seargent Fogarty – Johnny Wilkes

Aaron – Cisco Soto

Martin Harrison – Sebastian Soto

Harry (Juror) – Britt Lamson

1st Reporter – Whitney Flautt – Dance Captain

2nd Reporter – Maggie Comer

3rd Reporter – Divya Venkatesh

Lead Dancers: (Reached for the Gun and Me and My Baby)

Jade Anderson

Maggie Comer

Hannah Duncan

Whitney Flautt – Dance Captain

Caroline Powell

Jamie Sharp

Lily Grace Thome

Divya Venkatesh

Ensemble/Jurors:

Holly Batey

Veronica Cain

Sean Conley

Kyra Green

Chelsea Henderson

Bekka Range

Maggie Tipton

Roxy song: Peyton, Damon, John, Johnny, Cisco, Sebastian, Britt, Sean (8)

plus female: Tatum, Bekka, Chelsea, Lauren, Maddie P, Veronica, Holly, Maggie T (8)

Velma Kelly – Madeleine Wolfenbarger

Roxie Hart – Casey Majors

Billy Flynn – Benjamin “Papa” Hatmaker

Matron “Mama” Morton – Lillian Schweitzer

Mary Sunshine – Elizabeth Hethmon

Amos Hart – Jake “The Yount” Yount

Mona – Lauren Dryzer

Kitty – Gwyneth Doppelt

Annie – Lily Grace Thome

June – Madeline Pappano

Hunyak – Hannah Duncan

Liz – Tatum Mullins

Judge – Peyton Austin

Court Clerk – Damon Rodefer

Fred Casely – John Nadrous

Seargent Fogarty – Johnny Wilkes

Aaron – Cisco Soto

Martin Harrison – Sebastian Soto

Harry (Juror) – Britt Lamson

1st Reporter – Whitney Flautt – Dance Captain

2nd Reporter – Maggie Comer

3rd Reporter – Divya Venkatesh

Lead Dancers: (Reached for the Gun and Me and My Baby)

Jade Anderson

Maggie Comer

Hannah Duncan

Whitney Flautt – Dance Captain

Caroline Powell

Jamie Sharp

Lily Grace Thome

Divya Venkatesh

Ensemble/Jurors:

Holly Batey

Veronica Cain

Sean Conley

Kyra Green

Chelsea Henderson

Bekka Range

Maggie Tipton

Roxy song: Peyton, Damon, John, Johnny, Cisco, Sebastian, Britt, Sean (8)

plus female: Tatum, Bekka, Chelsea, Lauren, Maddie P, Veronica, Holly, Maggie T (8)

Sunday – Velma and Roxie only!
Monday – 2:30-4:30 – Full cast script read through – Bishop Center
Tuesday – 4:00-6:00 – Velma, Roxie, Fred, Amos, Fogerty, Matron (Mama) – Bishop Center
Wednesday – 4:00-6:00 – Velma, Roxie, Billy, Tango girls (6 murderesses) – Bishop Center
Thursday – 4:00- 4:45 – Choreography review (without Kim) – Bishop Center
4:45-6:00 – Full cast – Music – choir room

Hello,

Three things….

1. Scripts are available in the bookstore. Please pick one up after casting is finalized.

2. Please come to rehearsal tomorrow unless you are out of town.

3. Sometimes, you forget to clearly express things that time has led you to take for granted. One of those things has to do with conflicts. I am writing to clarify what’s needed to be successful in a show. You may know it or it may be new to you. Putting a show together is a privilege. To earn that privilege, it requires a trade, and that trade is 90% made up of time. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of conflicts that we were given when we asked. I trust that no one is being selfish or is trying to harm the show, so I take responsibility for now ensuring that communication is as clear as possible. I think what we got was the result of a lack of clear instruction. Before we get deeper into the show and before the semester officially begins, you need greater clarity from me.

Here’s the philosophy. When you try out for a show, you make yourself available for rehearsal. Our rehearsals are pretty much Monday-Thursday from 4-6:30 (at the latest) and Sundays 1-4. With Fridays and Saturdays and days you’re not called, do what will. We’ll take a few all-school days off, as well as fall break. But to earn that and the good show we want to deliver, we have to put a lot of personal stuff aside for a few months. I understand college visits and religious obligations. Beyond those, we really need the cast to reexamine their other activities. What can be postponed? What can be rescheduled? More than you may imagine. These are not easy conversations, but they are mature ones.

In an outside show, you might be limited to one or two excused absences. In this case, I’d like to try to limit it to five. And that still is a *lot*. In general, schedules will go out a week or two in advance, so you’ll have some time to see when you might be free.

Five doesn’t mean you should take five if you don’t need them!

This is a very demanding show. The level of dance and the precision of the required performances cannot be pulled off with as many absences as many are planning on.

It is a wonderful and tempting thing to try to be well-liked by telling people they can have it all. It would also be irresponsible of me in this case. To make the show as good as possible, to leave time for your studies, and to create the needed room for health and family, it can be important to make choices. Tough. But important.

This may not be the time to take on the responsibility of a show for you. You may look at your obligations and decide that one of them — or the collection of them — has greater value to you right now. Let us know that. There will always be more shows in your life. In terms of future casting, I actually admire someone who chooses wisely, even if that may not be the show I’m directing.

Please look at your conflicts, think about your schedule and the rest of the show, and let’s see if we can make the healthiest choices possible.

Sincerely,
Patrick McCray

IMPORTANT!

We cannot go forward with casting until we get all conflicts. Please send them to charltonx. In the subject line, please put your name and “Chicago conflicts.”

Email that even if you have no conflicts.

We need these in by Tuesday the 8th, 7:00pm. Thanks!

Tuesday, August 8 – 10:00-12:30pm – “Mama” and “Class” – Mama and Velma

Wednesday, August 9 – 3:00-5:00pm – “Mister Cellophane” – Amos

Thursday, August 10 – 10:00-12:00noon – “My Own Best Friend”,”I Know A Girl” and “Me and My Baby” – Velma and Roxie – 10:45 – add all male chorus (all men in the show) and all women

Friday, August 11 – 9:00-11:00am –“Nowadays” – Roxie and Velma

Sunday, August 13 – 2:00-4:00pm – TBA

Best,PMc

We are rehearsing this week! The times vary, and we’ll use the chorus room as a home base before deciding to stay there or move on.

These are the times this week….

Monday Aug. 7 4-630 dance checks, ensemble casting
Tuesday Aug. 8 10 am – 12:30 TBA
Wednesday, Aug 9 3-5 pm TBA
Thursday, Aug 10 10 am-12 TBA
Friday, Aug 11 10-12:30 TBA

More news to come!