This is program dependent! Our older programs spend a large portion of their time working on complicated harmonies, learning choreography, and doing in depth character studies. Our younger programs (especially Fireflies!) do warmups, play theatre games, sing songs, learn blocking and choreography, and learn about theatre through a variety of activities. We try to keeps things interesting and different each week and each rehearsal seems to fly by because of it!

Absolutely! For our youngest program, Fireflies, we have a large number of mentors from our older programs to help guide new students through the show process. We choose shows that are age appropriate and written for young students so the material is easy and accessible. Students often gain confidence in their reading abilities when they are listening to a song, singing the lyrics, and following along in their script. Student mentors will help your child find the page and follow along if needed, but reading is not a large portion of our rehearsals.

Yes!!! We developed this program with the mission of creating accessible arts education opportunities for children in our community. We understand that performing can be scary but also exciting and fun! We make sure that all auditions are prefaced with an audition workshop that teaches the skills necessary to audition for a show. These skills are transferable to real experiences for your child later in life. We never cut children from the show, if they audition then they are in. This low-pressure and nurturing atmosphere is the foundation of our program as an educational arts experience, an experience meant for all!

Yes! Our program is where long-term friendships across schools and towns develop. Many of our students in the Senior Company have known each other since their early days in our younger programs and have developed deep bonds with one another, but we are always growing with new students joining us from several different towns. We have a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and exclusion and our directors are trained to spot students who may need some help connecting with their peers. We can confidently say that we have never had a child exit our program without at least one new friend.

No. If you are on the fence about signing up, we recommend signing up for an audition slot and having your child come to our workshop. They will get a taste for what the program looks like and you can decide if they want to audition after that experience. It is even ok if you decide after casting that we are not the program for your family. We do not require tuition payment until the first rehearsal and we can give refunds in the first 2 weeks if there are extenuating circumstances. We developed this program as both a family tradition to do year after year and also a wading pool where children can dip their toes in the water to discover if theatre is an interest of theirs.

We plan to rehearse this summer at Spencer Loomis Elementary School in Lake Zurich, with performances held at the Lake Zurich Performing Arts Center. Be sure to check each show for audition locations and times.

In summer, we only have 8 short weeks to put together a full-length musical production, so although we recognize that it can be a busy time we have some limits. If you will be missing more than 2 weeks of rehearsals, we recommend that you find a different program that works better for your schedule. Please be forthright with your conflicts on your audition packet so we aren’t blindsided by anything.

As much as we’d love to have no limits on the number of performers, running a no-cut program means that we do need to place limits on the number of participants for each show to ensure that every student gets their moment to shine on stage. We typically run each show with a maximum of 65 students, but this may be increased depending on number of directors, show choice, and other factors.

We wait list students who try to sign up after we reach our cap and they will receive an audition slot if another student drops theirs. They can also be added to the ensemble after casting if anyone does not accept their role. We’ll be sure to contact you if there are any new updates, so please be diligent about checking your emails and let us know if have any questions