1 OKTC STAGE DOOR NEWSLETTER June 2015 Editor: Kerry Hishon kerry@oktc.ca JUNE IS BUSTIN OUT ALL OVER! The lyrics from Carousel are perfect for describing all the fun that s coming up in the month of June. After the excitement of May (The Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr., Born to Fly, and Freckleface Strawberry), we re heating up the Spriet with all sorts of new adventures! It truly never stops at Original Kids, and we ve got lots of excitement coming up read on for all the latest! First up the last bit of May! JANE EYRE: THE MUSICAL OPENS TODAY! OKTC is pleased to present JANE EYRE: THE MUSICAL, opening today at the Spriet Family Theatre! This beloved tale of unimaginable hope and unspoken passion reminds us what it is to fall deeply, truly and completely in love.
From her tortured orphan childhood, to her six miserable years in a girl s school, and finally to her governess position at gloomy Thornfield Hall, we follow our heroine, Jane. Here she meets Mr. Edward Rochester, thus beginning her passionate new journey, one of love, loss and the struggles to resist evil. This musical will be one to treasure -- you won't want to miss it! You have 7 chances to see this amazing show! Wednesday May 27, 7PM Thursday May 28, 7PM Friday May 29, 7PM Saturday May 30, 2PM & 7PM Sunday May 31, 2PM & 7PM 2 OKTC GRAD GALA & SEASON CELEBRATION You are cordially invited to Original Kids Theatre Company s annual Graduation Gala and Season Celebration! The annual OKTC Grad Gala and Season Celebration is truly a highlight of the Original Kids experience. The Main Cast Company reunites for an evening of celebration, performance, reflection, and looking towards the future. Grad Gala always promises to be a night to remember. It is a wonderful event for all company members to attend, giving everyone, from our first-year actors and families to our long-standing veterans, a real taste of OKTC spirit. There are so many reasons to attend: Grade 12 Graduates share memories of their years in the company, and Grade 8 Graduates get to celebrate moving into high school and into the Senior Company (the future of OKTC!) Great performances from our musicals of the 2014-2015 year Fantastic video memories of the annual OKTC NYC trip and OKTC Playfest Previews of our Alumni show, American Idiot, and our two summer productions, Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Musical and The Big Bad Musical A sneak peak of shows we re considering for our 25 th anniversary season A chance to reunite with your friends and fellow cast-mates And who knows some surprises might be in store! We can t give EVERYTHING away, can we?
3 Here are the important details! What: OKTC s 2015 Grad Gala and Season Celebration Who: OKTC Main Cast Company members, Alumni, Staff and families are welcome! Date: Monday June 1, 2015 Time: 4:45 pm arrival for Senior Musical cast members to rehearse on stage (Shout, Kiss Me Kate, Once on this Island, Born to Fly, Jane Eyre) 5:45 pm arrival for Junior Musical cast members to rehearse on stage (Charlotte s Web, Flat Stanley, Freckleface Strawberry, Rapunzel, The Big Bad Musical) 6:30 pm Event starts! Where: Althouse Faculty of Education Auditorium (Western Road south of Sarnia road) Wear: An OKTC season shirt (the 2014-2015 shirts are the blue and gray baseball shirts and the black shirt with yellow/white/turquoise writing). Grade 12 Grads may dress up for the occasion. Cost: Free Admission! Free Parking! We can t wait to see you all there! Bring tissues! OKTC S SIXTH ALUMNI SHOW: AMERICAN IDIOT OKTC Alumni will revisit the culturally tumultuous George W. Bush era in June through a production of Green Day s American Idiot, the popular musical based on the punk rock band s 2004 concept album of the same name.
4 From Andrew Tribe: It s a really interesting piece It s the post 9/11-era, pre (President Barack) Obama, in the United States and we re looking at what I call the marginalized voices; these are the people on the fringe of life and we see how large-scale decisions of a country rebuilding itself affect these people. The show is focused on three dejected American youth who decide to escape from small town suburbia and try their luck in the big city, eventually discovering further obstacles of love, drugs and war. The show received three Tony nominations from its Broadway production, including for Best Musical, and won two Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. This is the sixth Alumni show that OKTC has produced (last year s production of Pasek & Paul s Edges was very well received by audiences), which brings together graduates from the OKTC Main Cast program to perform a show that is edgier than the shows the Main Cast would normally produce. The show runs June 18-27; tickets are on sale now at the OKTC box office! SUMMER IS HEATING UP AT THE SPRIET! And there s more! You won t want to miss our Once Upon a Summer Series, playing July 24-August 2! This summer, the Spriet Family Theatre will be transformed into the world of fairy tales as we present two fantastic musicals to tickle your funny bone Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Musical and The Big Bad Musical in repertory! Bring the whole family to come chill out in the air conditioned comfort of the Spriet and prepare to be entertained! Tickets on sale now!
5 GOT MEMORIES? It is the experiences and memories that have been created over 25 years that has made Original Kids the organization it is today! As we prepare for our 25th Anniversary, we want to hear your memories - perhaps a camp moment that helped push you outside your comfort zone, a moment in a play you saw that made you laugh or cry, a special or disastrous moment that happened behind the scenes! There are pages and pages of memories in Original Kids' past 25 years and we want to hear yours! Some of these memories and stories may even be included in our 25th Anniversary magazine - "The Revue II"! E-mail your memory to memories@originalkids.ca today! DON T FORGET! Space is still available for OKTC s trip to the Stratford Festival to see our own Alexis Gordon, in the leading role of Julie Jordan in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel! As part of our 25th Anniversary season, this special event on Saturday, October 3, is open to current and former members of Original Kids, as well as their family members. To register for this special evening (tickets are limited!) and for more information, visit http://originalkids.ca/stratford-trip.html. Great shows are still available to register for at CAMP OK! You could perform in amazing shows including A Tribute to Seussical, Guardians of the Galaxy, or A Tribute to Mary Poppins! Visit www.campok.ca for more information and to register! Summer Kamp Kidlets is completely sold out! The London Fringe Festival runs June 2-13, and once again our own Spriet Family Theatre is one of the venues for this exciting event. Theatre artists from around the world will be bringing their performances to London you never know what will be presented each time! Check out www.londonfringe.ca for show information and performance dates, and take a chance you might just find a brand-new show to fall in love with! QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? CONTACT US! OKTC Office originalkids@oktc.ca // 519-679-0598 (Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4:30 pm) OKTC Box Office tickets@oktc.ca // 519-679-8989 Summer Camp Questions summercamp@oktc.ca // 519-679-8989