Stagedoor Manor to Kick Off 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

A group of 140 Stagedoor Manor students from all over the world will sing and dance the opening number for this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®. The number - an all-new original song written specifically for the event - will be a special celebration of the famed Parade's landmark 85th Anniversary. Following the opening, the students will then make their way to the top of the Parade route and march the entire length of the Parade, eventually escorting Santa Claus into Herald Square for the NBC national telecast's finale. This year's appearance will mark Stagedoor Manor's third consecutive Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance.

Perhaps the most iconic annual event in the history of broadcasting, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationally on NBC-TV to an estimated 50 million viewers and is widely considered to be the "official start of the Holiday Season." It will air from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, November 24, 2011.

More than four-hundred Stagedoor Manor students apply for the opportunity to participate in the Parade. This year's participants represent 27 states, as well as Canada, Jamaica, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. Participants will come together for the first time in New York City just three days before the Parade, and will learn the entire routine in a quick twenty-four hour rehearsal period.

The full list of participating students features AJ Achinger (Lakeland, FL), Alex Adams (St. Charles, IL), Allison Altschiller (Pelham Manor, NY), Alexis Anastos (Hingham, MA), Emily Anderson (Mill Valley, CA), Heather Baisley (Pine Bush, NY), Shannon Behrens (Jacksonville, FL), Jade Bender (Calabasas, CA), Katie Berger (Weston, CT), Brianna Borghi (Dover, MA), Taylor Brody (Cherry Hill, NJ), Jack Brosnan (Valley Cottage, NY), Molly Brown (Cedar Rapids, IW), Alexandra Burke (Darien, CT), Alex Bush (St. Louis, MO), Katherine Bush (St. Louis, MO), Jake Butirich (Biloxi, MS), Hannah Caldwell (Darien, CT), Annie Caltrider (West Chesterfield, NH), Brett Castro (Solon, OH), Emilio Cerci (Max)(Easton, MA), Katarina Churich (Burlingame, CA), Jaclyn Chylinski (Grosse Pt Woods, MI), Virginia Coffield (Alexandria, VA), Chas Conacher (Ross, CA), Rachel Covey (New York, NY ), Preston Cox (Gulfport, MS), Olivia Daniels (Toronto, Ontario), Sara Davis (Toronto, Ontario), Alexa DeAngelis, (Saint James, NY), Grace Dieb (Dallas, TX), Abigail Doctor (Portland, OR), Katherine Doherty (Dover, MA), Missy Drier (Glen Ridge, NJ), Sandy Durst (Syosset, NY), Zoe Durst (Long Valley, NJ), Brett Eiffes (Moorestown, NJ), Casey Esbin (New City, NY), Maddie Fabricant (West Allenhurst, NJ), Corey Farrell (Brandon, FL), Kazz Felix-Hawver (Kensington, MD), Madison Fiedler (Biltmore Lake, NC), Ryan Fleer (East Brunswick, NJ), Erin Foltz (Newark, DE), Sara Frost (New York, NY), Hope Funke (Greenwood, SC), Alexander Galletto (Kimberton, PA), Lina Gamerman (Reisterstown, MD), Emma Gannon-Salomon (Cheshire, CT), Rachel Gans (Chappaqua, NY), Weston Ganz (East Brunswick, NJ), Chris Garber (Hillsborough, CA), Elisa Garber (Hillsborough, CA), Julie Garber (Hillsborough, CA), Justin Glass (Ormond Beach, FL), Jared Goldsmith (Livingston, NJ), Olivia Grant (Adams, NY), Gabriella Green (East Brunswick, NJ), Emily Harris (Riverside, CT), Emma Hearn (Gwynedd Valley, PA), Jessica Hoffman (Hidden Hills, CA), Daniel Hoy (South Russell, OH), Casey Hunter (Bedford, NY), Brielle Internoscia (Belle Mead, NJ), Aurielle Kaminski (Riverdale, NY), Lily Kamp (New York, NY), Daniel Klingenstein (New Canaan, CT), Robert Kopf (New York, NY), Emily Kramm (Old Lyme, CT), Kathryn Kunkle (Potomac, MD), Ashley LaLonde (New York, NY), Anna Lasbury (Carmel, IN), Jamie Lepper (Hewlett, NY), Hannah Levine (New York, NY), Alex Lichtenstein (McLean, VA), Brielle Lipstein (New City, NY), Stephen Lobman (Laurel Hollow, NY), Ashlynn Majewski (Newport, RI), Aubrianna Majewski (Newport, RI), Caroline Maloney (Lincoln, MA), Carolyn Maltz (New York, NY), Jennifer March (Beverly Hills, CA), Darian Marchetto (New City, NY), Zuri Marley (Kingston, Jamaica), Quinn Marshall (Marietta, GA), Sarah Mason (Summit, NJ), Louisa Mauze (St. Louis, MO), Kelsey McCabe (Rockville Centre, NY), Kendall McCarthy (Cary, NC), Kyle Meisner (Gettysburg, PA), JoJo Minasi (Rockville Centre, NY), Matthew Mitchell (Charlotte, NC), Devyn Mufson (Weston, CT), Aaron Myers (Sevierville, TN), BJ Myers (Peachtree City, GA), Ian Nelson (Winston-Salem, NC), Abbey Ogden (Montclair, NJ), Ian Palmer (New York, NY), Celia Palermo (Oxnard, CA), Emily Paley (Newton, MA), Garison Partusch (San Angelo, TX), Jessica Patricoski (Wheaton, IL), Christopher Paul (McLean, VA), Ali Pease (Maplewood, NJ), Nina Poenisch (San Antonio, TX), Evan Pouch (Hingham, MA), Mason Quilty (New Hope, PA), Rachel Redleaf (Scottsdale, AZ), Haley Reicher (Piedmont, CA), Francesca Reznik (Ocean, NJ), Anna Robbins (Little Rock, AR), Kate Rushton (Gulfport, MS), Jonah Sandy (Edina, MN), Lukas Sarnow (Palo Alto, CA), Amelia Scaramucci (Manhasset, NY), Cole Scherer (Jacksonville, FL), Sanibel Schneider (Short Hills, NJ), ChiChi Schneider (Short Hills, NJ), Hannah Schwalberg (New City, NY), Sara Sherman (Scarsdale, NY), Jordan Silver (Davidsonville, MD), Noah Silverman (Armonk, NY), Riley Smith (Germantown, TN), Zach Smith (Saudi Arabia), Madeline Snow (Chappaqua, Y), Hannah Sobieski (Dublin, OH), Christy Soeder (Cary, NC), Maddie Sokolove (Santa Barbara, CA), Derek Speedy (Chester, NJ), David Stedge (Suffern, NY), Carson Stewart (Darien, CT), Andrea Torre (Beverly Hills, CA), Paige Trevisani (Ridgefield, CT), Josh Tucker (Charlottesville, VA), Meghan Turner (New York, NY), Ben Walker (Wilmington, DE), Wyatt Wells (Beverly Farms, MA), Mac Wescott (Lake Forest, IL), Richard Westfahl (Stamford, CT), Richard Wiesenthal (New York, NY), Hannah Wilkinson (Conyers, GA), Hannah Williams (Lenoir City, TN), and ELena Wilson (Winter Park, FL).

About Stagedoor Manor: For nearly forty years, children and teens (ages 10-18) from all over the world have been traveling to Stagedoor Manor to perfect their skills in acting, singing, and dance. Boasting many famous alumni, Stagedoor Manor is widely recognized as the country's premiere training ground for young performers. As a result of its reputation, agents and casting directors seeking the next generation of talent make regular visits each year. Stagedoor frequently partners with prominent entertainment companies, such as Disney and Music Theatre International, to create new properties. Stagedoor workshops were responsible for the creation of School Editions of Rent, Sweeney Todd, Aida, Miss Saigon, and Avenue Q. The original stage production of High School Musical was created at Stagedoor in 2007. There is no audition required to attend Stagedoor Manor; the program is committed to all levels of talent and experience. The campus has 8 theaters and produces 40 full-scale shows each season. Stagedoor Manor is owned and produced by the Samuelson/Samen family.

About the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: With more than 50 million viewers across the country and more than 3.5 million spectators that line up along the streets of New York City each year, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. For more than 80 years, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. Growing in size and scale over the years, the Parade proudly marches down a more than 2-mile route in New York City with over 8,000 participants in tow including Macy's employees, their families, celebrities, athletes, clowns and dance groups spreading holiday cheer. The Parade also features America's best marching bands, fabulous floats and Macy's signature giant helium character balloons. For more information on the Macy's Parade please visit www.macys.com/parade or call the Parade hotline at (212) 494-4495.