Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Jungle Talent


Sights and Sounds of TADW:  The Jungle Talent
And this is just a few of 'em!
It's day four at TADW (Teenage Drama Workshop) and the classes kicked it into high gear today. The creative juices started flowing and kids were stretched both mentally in their acting classes and physically in their dance classes. In all this stretching and growing the students are starting to discover talents they never knew they had, and the faculty and staff are noticing as well.   
Ronnie Sperling and Corky Dominguez, the directors of The Jungle Book, both agree that this summer brought us yet another crop of remarkable kids.  


Ronnie, who also teaches the improv class, informed me today over lunch that the students are really getting into it, and was blown away by some of the things they were doing in class. Corky - in-between preparing for rehearsals - told me that he is just so excited about, “the cast and all of its great potential. We've still got a lot of work to do we are just barely scratching the surface.”  But even so the talent flowing off these kids is incredible!
The directors are not just excited about their students but also the amazing set and props and costumes they have to work with.  

They only gave me a few tidbits about what the audience can expect, but for the most part they are keeping pretty tight lipped. 


However,  Corky said, "I will tell you this the costumes are just unique, and so different than what you would expect in a 'kids' performance." And Ronnie chimed the *Remo drums are a great addition.

 
*REMO Drums has made a dramatic selection of drums available to us for our performances.  We will tell you more about REMO later, but for this post, suffice it to say, Remo cares about kids, the arts, and giving us a driving rhythm for an amazing show!


Another blog entry by Hailey Graves, student intern for TADW. She starts her sophomore year at CSUN this fall. She is also a TADW alum.

The Sights and Sounds of TADW...

...It's the Magic that Permeates the Walls

by Hailey Graves

We are three days into the 2011 Teenage Drama Workshop (TADW) and that wonderful hum is already rumbling through the building. I’m not simply being metaphorical here; there is a literal humming. It’s not just the singing that comes from the two musicals we are doing this year (although I must say both already sound phenomenal) every single room has its own unique magical sound track, and there is only a handful of us who are lucky enough to get hear all of it!

Beth Lasky, managing director of TADW, pointed it out today at a meeting, “Someone needs to get a camera because there are so many wonderful things happening, just listen.” Being without a camera, I decided to put pencil to paper instead.

On entering Nordhoff Hall, the first room you hit is the costume shop. It is organized in a beautiful chaos of floral patterns, jungle masks, elephant trunks, delicate flowing dresses and manly waistcoats and trousers circa early 1900’s - all of which are being made to the beat of the sewing machines and laughs. Directly across the hall (where The Jungle Book is being rehearsed), a mysterious drumming noise comes from behind the doors, along with the hiss of a snake, and the shrieking laughs of monkeys.

A little further down the hall lies the scene shop. The smell of fresh cut wood, glue, and new paint perfume the air. There is also a harmonious buzz of drills, saws, hammers, whistles, and jokes, as these talented people slowly start to bring imaginary worlds to life. To the left and one door down in the green room we find Chris, our acting teacher working with the young Devon who will play Baloo in Jungle Book. Both are laughing and saying nonsense sentences, as they work on perfecting their deep baritone papa bear voices.

Up the stairs and straight ahead, the rhythmic thumps of dancing feet float from the dance room, along with the voice of dance instructor Candy calling out, "and one and two and three" and so on. Outside the room is Ray, director of Music Man. He skillfully and gently critiques and perfects a scene with his talented young actors.

Tomorrow I’ll remember my camera.

Hailey Graves is a student intern for TADW. She starts her sophomore year at CSUN this fall. She is also a TADW alum.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Parent/Guardian Committee Meeting Friday 7/1

Parents, Guardians: We look forward to seeing you at the premiere TADW Parent/Guardian Committee Meeting this Friday, July 1, 2011 from 2:30-4:00pm  in the Theater Conference Room 104.

Each summer this committee helps organize several aspects of TADW from events to ushering and concessions. The weekly Friday meetings are a great opportunity to meet other families and share questions and concerns. All parents and guardians are welcome - and encouraged to attend - we need you!

Also at the meeting, we'll have a sign-up sheet for ushers.  All ushers get to see the show for free (if there is room in the theater).


Headshots will be taken of all TADW students in the coming weeks. These will go on display in the cases outside the theatres. We'll shoot pics after the 11 am Saturday performances of Jungle Book on July 23, and Music Man on July 30. This means students will need to remain at TADW after the performance.


The Money Side:

Ticket Selling - There are still plenty of tickets for weeknight and weekend performances. We need everyone’s help to fill up the theatre. Spread the word: Tickets can be ordered online by going to the TADW website, by calling the TICKET OFFICE (818) 677-2488, or at the Associated Students Ticket Office (in Plaza del Sol in the USU) on campus.

Sponsor A TADWanian!  We are looking for individuals, families, and businesses who would like to make a tax-deductible contribution and sponsor under-privileged youth organizations by buying tickets for them to see our shows. Please contact Doug Kaback to make a donation or to sponsor a group of your choice.

Concessions Stand - We will be collecting your contributions to the TADW concessions stand beginning Tuesday, July 5 – canned sodas/bottled water/juice boxes (or other re-sellable drinks) and/or candy bars/cookies/chips/etc. All items should be pre-packaged. If families would prefer to make a cash donation for the purchase of snacks or drinks, that’s fine, too. All proceeds from the concessions stand go to the TADW scholarship fund.

Remember: NO CLASSES OR REHEARSALS - Monday, July 4, 2011.

Have a fun and safe holiday!  See you on the 5th!

Monday, June 27, 2011

KIIS FM Talks with TADW

TADW talks with Boy Toy Jesse at KIIS FM  Click play and slide to 14:14 to hear the interview with Doug Kaback, interns Janine Der Bogosian, Leore Hayon and Hailey Graves (TADW alum).

It's all about how TADW feeds creativity, from actors, singers, dancers to techs.  Whether you plan to stay in the theatre arts for life or just want to learn more about making life fun and productive - at the same time - a summer (or several) in TADW is a great thing.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Cast Lists are HERE!







Below are the cast lists for The Jungle Book and Music Man. Congratulations to everyone!

Jungle Book Cast List

Baloo / Devon Yaffe
Mowgli / Joshua Thomas
Bagheera / Kaitlyn Rickaby
King Louie / Annie Resnik
Shere Khan / Kyle Yeh
Kaa / Savannah Ludwig
Colonel Hathi / Michael Dager
Winifred / Charlotte Andersen
Hathi Jr. / Maya Efrat
Shanti / Kaitlyn Katalbas
Buzz, Flaps, Izzy, Dizzy / Ariana George, Milli Miereanu, Sydney Reyes, Kate Westrum
(not necessarily in that order)

Ensemble:
Corey Adams
Wylie Anderson
Joseph Andrade
Maggie Bendersky
Mara Eisner
Emilie Gengl
Abhijnya Gouder
Alexa James-Cardenas
Jayda Lammy
Kyla Lockette
Sarah MacLennan
Amulya Madhav
Paulina Mirabella
Arthur Parian
Haley Perkins
Chandler Pratt
Leaf Rickard
Morgan Skeries
Ashley Stanford-Jackson
Caitlin Vasquez

End of Jungle Book Cast List 

Music Man Cast List
Harold Hill / Aaron Jacob
Marion  / Natalie Hightower
Mrs. Paroo / Kathy Steele
Winthrop / Colin Mika
Tommy/Salesman / Daniel Bellusci
Marcellus / Josh Knoller
Mayor Shinn / August Robinson
Eulalie /  Elizabeth Lloyd
Amaryllis  / Julia Lester
Zaneeta / Yael Karoly
Charlie  /  Luke Dorsey
Gracie / Chloe Kerwin
Constable / Jeremy Popowitz
Pick-a-Little Ladies /Lily Lester, Maya Escobar, Jessica Garcia, Genevieve Collins
Barbershop Quartet /Evan Sanford, Zach Birch, Kasey Klar, Chris Gates
Additional Salesmen  / To be Determined

Ensemble:
Camden Garcia
Allison Norton
Theo Robinson
Analisa Venolia
Grace Papish
Grace Jacobsen
Jeff Wright
Karli Klar
Nikita Michayluk                                    
Nicholas Hsia
Abigail Franks
Alex Lucas
Lily Schwartz
Laura McDermott
Sarah Lasky
Paige Jensen
Camille Roberts
Isabel Wynne
Angelica Mejia
Ashley Taylor
Brianna Bongiorno
Sara Renner
Talya Nathanson
Emily Bernstein
Sarah Carpenter
Shannon Carpenter
Alyssa Spratt
Sarah Tyler

End of Music Man cast list.