Junior Competition Team (Grades 5th - 8th)
Rehearse and perform a full production of Elf JR the Musical and then compete with a competition cut of Elf JR the Musical. All students in this program are required to attend and compete in 3 competitions. One large 3 day 3 night festival in Southern California and two small local competitions (less than 2 hours away). Every student will also develop an individual piece (vocal solo or duet, dance solo, monologue, makeup design, costume design or set design) to compete.
Sundays and Wednesdays 4-6PM
Director: Jaimee Semsky
Vocal Director: Jaimee Semsky
Musical Director: Kevin Weinert
Choreographer: Ashlee Johnson
Requires an audition in the fall for acceptance
ORIENTATION
Sat August 24th from 12-2PM * Mandatory attendance for performer and at least one parent
REHEARSALS AT STARLIGHT*
SUNDAYS 4-6PM 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6. 10/13. 10/20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 11/24, 12/1, (no class 12/8 because you are performing in the Holiday Cabaret) (Holiday break 12/22, 12/29, 1/5) 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, (no class 2/2 and 2/9 because you are at Competitions)
WEDNESDAYS 4-6PM 9/4, 9/11, 9/18. 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, (no class 11/27 Thanksgiving) 12/4, (no class 12/18, 12/25, 1/1 Holiday break), 1/8, 1/15, 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 3/12, 3/19
TECH/DRESS REHEARSALS AT THE CALIFORNIA THEATRE IN PITTSBURG (Attendance is mandatory)
Tues 12/10 4:00 - 9:00 (Pack a Peanut - Free Meal)
Weds 12/11 4:00 - 9:00 (Pack a Peanut - Free Meal)
Thurs 12/12 4:00 - 9:00 (Pack a Peanut - Free Meal)
PERFORMANCES / COMPETITIONS (Attendance is mandatory)
Solo Show day: Sat Jan 18th, Time TBD block off the whole day
Holiday Cabaret Performance Sun Dec 8th at 2:00 and 5:00
Full ELF Performance: Fri Dec 13th at 7:00, Sat Dec 14th at 2:00 and 7:00 and Sunday Dec 15th at 2:00pm at California Theatre in Pittsburg *All performers and 1 parent required to help with strike, do not make plans immediately following closing show
Local Competition #1 Jan 31st - Feb 2nd (Time TBD block off the whole weekend)
Musical Theatre Competitions of America in Southern California Feb 6th - 9th * This is a multi day overnight trip and we will need a lot of chaperones!
Showcase Performance: Sunday February 23rd at 2:00 pm
Local Competition #2 March 21st - 23rd in Dublin (Time TBD block off the whole weekend)
Required: Black jazz shoes, team jacket
Tuition: $985
NEW THIS YEAR: Tuition includes a photo/video package of your show!
Comp Fees: Approx $2400
A NOTE TO PARENTS
PLEASE UNDERSTAND, WHILE WE DO TAKE PARENT CHAPERONES TO MTCA, SPACES ARE LIMITED NOT ALL PARENTS WHO WANT TO CHAPERONE WILL BE CHOSEN. PARENTS WHO ARE NOT CHOSEN TO CHAPERONE ARE NOT INVITED TO JOIN US ON THE TRIP EVEN IF YOU WANT TO BOOK YOUR OWN TRIP SEPARATELY.
HERE IS AN OPEN LETTER DETAILING WHY
IF YOU DO NOT THINK YOUR CHILD HAS THE EMOTIONAL MATURITY TO HANDLE A TRIP LIKE THIS WITHOUT YOU THEN PLEASE RETHINK IF THEY ARE EMOTIONALLY MATURE ENOUGH TO BE IN THIS LEVEL OF PROGRAM. WE HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER WONDERFUL OPTIONS THAT DO NOT INCLUDE A TRIP
What to wear to rehearsals: Black jazz shoes and comfortable clothes they can move in (no jeans). Hair pulled up out of face. Please pack a water bottle. (Jazz shoes can be purchased through us on site, or through any dance wear store or on Amazon)
What to wear to performances: We will provide the majority of your costumes. Students costumes will vary but performers will be required to wear black jazz shoes and full stage makeup and hair tbd. Dependent upon the costume student will probably be asked to wear their own black pants or leggings or tights.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Theatre is the ultimate team activity. It is so important that everyone is at all their rehearsals. It is impossible to adequately rehearse a scene or teach choreography when some of the cast is missing. Please list ALL of absences/conflicts on the conflict sheet. All conflicts must be turned in BY orientation to be considered excused. No new conflicts will be accepted. Please take the time to check all schedules sports, school conflicts, family activities, etc. when listing your conflicts.
HOW TO REPORT AN ABSENCE
ALL absences, whether excused or not, must be reported in the conflict sheet through our website EVEN IF you told the teacher in person. If it is not reported on the sheet BEFORE the class starts you absolutely will be removed from the material addressed in class at that time.
EXCUSED ABSENCES
Anything (up to 3) that is turned in on the conflict sheet by Orientation
Medical Emergency or severe illness reported at least an hour before class starts (must have a doctor’s note)
Family Emergency reported at least an hour before class starts (Requires a phone call from parent to teacher and detailed information)
Unavoidable School Conflict that will impact your grade (requires a letter from the teacher on school letterhead that details the time and day of the conflict, the fact that missing it will hurt the student’s grade and the date the student was informed of this conflict. Note that the date must show that student alerted Starlight teacher of the conflict as soon as possible. (We simply do not believe that you found out two days before your Chirstmas concert that you had a Christmas concert and the teacher won’t let you miss it.)
UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
Everything in excess of 3 excused absences
Non-emergency Doctors/Dentists/Orthodontist appointments (please schedule them on a different day)
Spontaneous family vacations or dinners (please schedule them in advance)
Any student with more than 3 Late/Unexcused absences may be benched from performances or competitions and understudies assigned to your role.
NOT ACCEPTED
Any absence in the 7 days before a competition or performance (this are mandatory, no exceptions)
Any absence during a competition or performance
REPERCUSSIONS
After 1 unexcused absence, your child may be removed from the scene and/or song that was rehearsed on that date and or their role in that song reduced, lines in that scene redistributed or their placement moved to the back.
After 2 unexcused absences, your child will be removed from scene and/or song that was rehearsed on that date AND they are required to write an essay, topic given by Director.
After 3 unexcused absences, your child will be removed from the show/program.
WE ARE NOT MONSTERS
We are imperfect, and we understand that you are too. We will work with you and we do not punish or hold to strict rules for fun. Respect our time, communicate early and often and we will do our best to help and understand. We understand that unavoidable things will come up and we will try to make them work when you come to us early. But please, treat us with respect and treat the program like the serious, pre-professional program that it is. Do not wait until the last minute to communicate a conflict you have known about for ages, do not lie about conflicts or schedule other events or trips during our rehearsals. They are precious to us.
MAKING UP FOR MISSED MATERIAL
Regardless of excused or not, if you miss a rehearsal it is your responsibility to reach out to your peers and learn the missed material BEFORE the next rehearsal if you want the teacher to consider keeping you in the numbers or scenes that were rehearsed in your absence. If you know in advance that you will be out of town, reach out to a peer and make sure they record the material for you.
MEDICAL AND/OR MENTAL HEALTH POLICY
If a medical, emotional or psychological emergency of any kind occurs in the 90 minutes before a performance is scheduled to start (meaning if at any point, however briefly, during said 90 minutes, that performer is incapacitated or would have been incapable of executing their role onstage) then the following will occur.
Regardless of whether the performer deems themselves ready by the time the show is scheduled to start, the performer WILL NOT be allowed to perform in that performance.
The performer may rejoin the cast for (if some remain) any remaining performances in the run of the show if they are in good health.
For all performances, there will be one staff member designated to be the “Emergency Lead” during any such an event. That Emergency Lead shall have the ONLY and FINAL say over a performer’s eligibility to perform and cannot be overruled by staff, performers or parents.
The Emergency lead may choose to make a reasonable exception to the rule ONLY if the student is absolutely 100% fully recovered and a medical or mental health professional unrelated to the performer has assessed the performer and given approval.
If an understudy is available or accommodations can be made to allow the performance to continue without the performer then all best attempts will be made to do so, but in the event that the performer is irreplaceable, it is Starlight’s firm policy that the health and safety of our performers is more important than any performance and we will cancel a performance if necessary.
If a student/performer has a known condition that may interfere with their ability to perform, Starlight invites them to develop a plan in collaboration with staff in advance of any performance or event and that any accommodations or plans negotiated in advance and approved by the studio owner will be shared with staff and the emergency lead and may supersede this policy.
BEHAVIOR/SAFETY/BULLYING POLICY
Starlight is, above all, a SAFE PLACE and we take any violations of that safety very seriously. We do not tolerate bullying, violence, cruelty or slander of our students, staff, community or studio.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS
Physical violence or agression - pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc.
Verbal abuse - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, threats, teasing, belittling.
Emotional abuse- isolating others, tormenting, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion, homophobic comments
Sexual abuse- unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, exposure to inappropriate content
Online /cyber bullying - posting cruel things on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages
Vandalism/Theft/Intentionally damaging property
Slander - sharing information whether online, text, social media or in person that is intentionally cruel or damaging to others or the studio.
REPERCUSSIONS
First offense:
Student is spoken to by teacher and asked to sit out.
Parent is informed, a formal note is sent home and must be returned, signed by student and a parent before participating again. Note includes clear explanation of what happened and requires student to write out their version and exactly what they promise to do moving forward
Second offense
Student is spoken to by teacher and asked to sit out.
Parent is informed, a formal note is sent home and must be returned, signed by student and a parent before participating again. Note includes clear explanation of what happened and requires student to write out their version and exactly what they promise to do moving forward
Student must write an essay about what Starlight community means to that student, why their behavior is a violation to everyone in the community and how it impacts the others in their. community. Essay may be required to be read in front of the class
Parent is called to come in to speak to the teacher and studio owner to discuss the behavior in person.
Third offense:
Student is benched from performing at next event (but still required to attend, in uniform)
Fourth offense:
Student is dismissed from company and ineligible to return
***At Teachers/Dance Director’s/Studio Owner’s discretion depending on the severity of the offense, several of these steps may be skipped. NOTE: ANY behavior involving weapons, serious bodily harm or sexually exploitative behavior/touching will result in immediate expulsion.
Check out our dropbox link for access to all music, detailed schedules and more
