2011-2012 Murray Musical

Willy Wonka Jr.

A musical based on Roald Dahl's

'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

Click here for Registration Materials

The Theater Arts Committee is pleased to announce that this year's Murray Musical will be Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Jr. KJK Productions, led by Kevin J. Kearins, Producer and Artistic Director, along with his staff, will be casting and directing the musical. All students, grades 2-5, are welcome to participate. Space is limited to 160 children; there will be two casts, each cast capped at 80 students. Rehearsals will take place daily during the weeks of January 9^th - 13^th and January 16^th - 20^th, 2012 (including MLK, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16th). Performances will take place Saturday, January 21^st, and Sunday, January 22^nd, 2012.

Registration Begins Wednesday, September 28^th

Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, but no registration materials will be accepted prior to September 28^th, 2011. To be considered complete, each registration must:

(1) be mailed and postmarked on or after September 28^th; no hand delivered forms will be accepted and any registration forms postmarked before September 28^th will be returned to you unopened.

(2) include a $125 check made out to Murray Avenue PTA.

(3) include a Code of Conduct signed by parent and student.

Your registration will be returned to you if any of these items are missing or if it has been postmarked prior to September 28th. Please complete a separate form for each child. PLEASE REGISTER EARLY (but not before September 28^th) - Historically we have filled all spots quickly! We try, to the extent possible, to form casts distributed equally between grades 2-5, i.e. about 20 students per grade per cast, and to honor your cast preference.  But this is not always possible, so please be flexible.

Please note that full refunds will be given only up to the casting date. If you apply to Principal Monaco for a scholarship, you must still register by mail. Mail registration materials to:

Sheelagh Thomson

30 Emerson Road

Larchmont, NY 10538

Communication

You will be notified by November 4^th via email if your child is registered, and into which cast your child or children have been placed. Any child placed on a wait list will receive priority placement next year (provided that this year's application is postmarked on or before October 26^th, 2011), provided that registration is made in a timely manner the following year (i.e. within the first two weeks of registration). Fifth grade registrants who apply late should not expect to be placed on a cast just because they are in their last year at Murray. Please be sure to provide your email address on the registration form! Communication will be via email; if you don't have email, please check the PTA bulletin board and PTA website during the school year and note that on your registration form.

Casting Day - December 12^th - is Mandatory for Grades 3-5

Casting will be held on Monday, December 12^th (snow date is Wednesday, December 14^th) in the auditorium. Cast A will meet 3:15-5:30pm; Cast B 5:45-7:45pm. Grade 2 students do not attend Casting Day.

Before casting, registered students will receive a music CD and lyric sheet that they can use to prepare for casting day. KJK will provide piano accompaniment on casting day. All registered actors (grades 3-5) are guaranteed roles but will be evaluated on their willingness to participate, ability to follow directions, and on their singing, dancing and acting abilities. There are many great parts for both genders but children must be willing to spend the time to learn their assigned parts. Multiple students will share the major roles allowing every child to be a star!

During casting, the production company will split the children up into 3 groups, each group having a mixture of ages.  The groups will rotate through singing, choreography and acting assessments.  This is typically fun for the kids and not stressful.  They learn the songs, lines and movements in groups, and then are asked to either do things in smaller groups or individually.  They are never forced to do anything they do not want to do.  But their willingness to perform and abilities are taken into consideration when the production company chooses their role.  If your child wants to be part of the musical, but does not desire a speaking part, please let us know in advance of the casting date.  While the Theater Arts Committee has nothing to do with choosing roles for the children, they will give this information to the production company.  Within two weeks of casting, your child will receive a script and label which has his or her role(s) listed.  Often, children will have more than one role, and girls may be cast in "boy parts" if necessary.  Children should start reviewing the script and memorizing their lines/lyrics right away.

Daily Rehearsals Begin January 9^th, 2012

Daily rehearsals will take place from Monday, January 9^th to Friday, January 13^th, and Monday, January 16^th to Friday, January 20^th, 2012. Rehearsal times are as follows: Cast A: 3:15-5:30pm (approximate); Cast B: 5:45-7:45pm (approximate). Grade 2 chorus members will have shorter rehearsal times the first 7 days of rehearsal. There will be rehearsal on Monday, January 16^th, 2012, MLK, Jr. Day, even though there is no school on that day.

Attendance at each rehearsal is mandatory.  We can not stress this enough. Please clear your child's calendar ahead of time.  Coaches, religion school teachers and others are understanding; explain the musical commitment to them in advance. The Murray Avenue PTA signs a contract with the production company which outlines its attendance requirements, and we will enforce it without exception: each child is allowed one absence due to illness.  After that, s/he may be asked to leave the production or his or her role may be changed.  If your child attends school, they should attend rehearsal. While the absence of one individual may not affect the production, when exceptions are made for many children, it is extremely disruptive.  The rule is a result of the production company's years of experience. This is a team effort with numerous group numbers during which dialogue, choreography and singing depend on cues from one another. We need all children present whenever possible for the limited 10 days of rehearsals.  If you know that you will have commitments that you cannot miss (including those on MLK Jr. Day), please do not sign up for the musical and put us in the position of asking your child to leave the production.  It is the absolute last thing that we want to do!

Your child should come to rehearsal each day with his or her script and a pencil.  Cast A children will go directly from school to the cafeteria for rehearsals (second grade teachers will receive a list of involved students) and should also have an extra peanut-free snack for after school.  

Performances

The performances will run approximately 1 hour with no intermission. Performers arrive 45 minutes before the show.

Cast A: Saturday, January 21^st at 2:30pm

Sunday, January 22^nd at 11:30am

Cast B: Saturday, January 21^st at 11:30am

Sunday, January 22^nd at 2:30pm

Costumes

Costumes are generally provided by the production company, but you will be expected to provide some additional items for your child. There may be a nominal charge for certain costume items (i.e., wigs).

Safety

Your child's safety is our first concern. You will receive a code of conduct that you and your child will be asked to sign and include with the registration form. In addition, please discuss the following rules with your child:

1. Children must stay in the areas designated for rehearsal. If they need to go to the bathroom, they must be accompanied or excused by a parent volunteer. Any child found roaming the halls unattended might be dismissed from the production, without refund.

2. Any child who hits or threatens another child, or is generally disruptive or disrespectful to the staff and parental volunteers, will also be dismissed, without refund.

Cost and Scholarships

The cost to participate is $125.00. Please attach a check (made out to Murray Avenue PTA) to your registration form. Scholarships are available. Please contact Principal Monaco for more details. All scholarships will include four tickets to a show.

Tickets and DVD Sales

Information on ticket sales and DVDs will be in Tiger Talk and on this webpage closer to the performance dates.

Volunteer Positions

We need a huge amount of parent support to make this musical a success.  We ask that you try to volunteer in some capacity since we need over 70 parent volunteers per cast to make this production happen. It is a great opportunity to see your children and their classmates in action! Information regarding volunteer opportunities will be available on this page shortly.

Have questions? Want to Volunteer?

Contact Sheelagh Thomson, at sheelaghthomson@msn.com.