Friday, May 31, 2013

TADW Staff and Crew Prep for Summer

It's been a steadily accelerating train since last winter, but this week marks the return of TADW staff and crew to working full-swing at the Teenage Drama Workshop!


Work on this summer's Teenage Drama Workshop really began picking up pace in April with our annual Meet & Greet, where new and returning TADW families and students gathered to say hello to one another and to the TADW faculty and staff.
Program Director Doug Kaback addresses the crowd at
TADW's Meet & Greet

Directors and designers for both shows were able to give attendees some insight into their vision for this summer's productions. Now that our set construction is under way, those visions are becoming a reality! We've been hard at work preparing for the upcoming auditions on Saturday, June 8th and Sunday, June 9th. We've also started construction on sets for our two productions, Ronnie Sperling and Chris Halsted's Jack and the Beanstalk, and Disney's Aladdin.

As our future TADW students are finising up the school year, we've been busy tracing...

TADW staff member Courtney

and painting...


Tina
and sawing...

Glen
and welding...

Matt
and sawing again...

Zach
and sometimes hiding...

Owen

all while generally having an awesome time.

Hala and Matt

We hope you're all as excited as we are about this coming summer. As you can see, the set build has been coming along quite nicely. We've also got some new and fantastic things planned for this summer (to be revealed later). 

Stay tuned for coverage of the 2013 Teenage Drama Workshop auditions!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

TADW Students Take the Stage at the Jerry Herman Awards

We at the Teenage Drama Workshop are so proud of our current and former students who graced the stage at the Pantages Theatre on Sunday, May 19th for the Jerry Herman Awards. This regional awards ceremony, which is open to all schools in the greater Los Angeles area, is designed to recognize achievements in high school musical theatre.

TADW alum Aaron Daniel Jacob, of Chaminade College Preparatory, was a runner-up for best actor, and Katherine Steele of Agoura High School was runner-up for best actress. Aaron and Katherine were last seen at TADW starring in our 2011 production of The Music Man.

Aaron and Katherine in TADW's 2011 production of The Music Man
Furthermore, Hollywood High School's production of In The Heights, featuring TADW's Devon Yaffe, won the award for Best Musical. Devon's most recent role at TADW was an electrifying turn as Conrad Birdie in last year's Bye Bye Birdie.

Devon in TADW's 2012 production of Bye Bye Birdie


Several TADW students attended the awards ceremony in support of their friends, demonstrating the kind of bond that our students generate during this program. We could not be more proud of our students, and we send our sincere congratulations to Aaron, Katherine, and Devon on your accomplishments!

Check out video of Aaron's performance at the Jerry Herman Awards here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unH5_n19u3g
Watch Katherine perform at the awards ceremony here:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFKsFxV121g