After six months of anticipation, the curtain has fallen on The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. William Barfee has taken home the top prize as well as a friend that he will cherish forever. All of the spellers have learned valuable lessons that have resided with them throughout adulthood. As a company we have all grown in this process and value our successes and failures that will only make us stronger.

Recently I received my final report card and was horrified at what I saw. The first grade on it was a big, fat, B and it was just staring me right in the face (I know what you're thinking, "A B! That's a good grade! Why would you be upset over that?"), but that "B" was because I participated in theatre. Sure, I still passed and my GPA didn't drop that much, but what about in more extreme cases, where should the line be drawn? Is it okay for a student to receive a D and still get to be the lead in the next school show? Should they even get to be in the next show? They still passed. What about an F? Should students be rewarded for their achievements in theatre if they aren't meeting the standard marks to graduate? As performers and technicians we need to be responsible for our grades and commitments to theatre.

Once you have put your show together and you are ready to perform it in front of an audience, there is only one thing left to do: sell tickets. Now we all know the basics of selling tickets. You make pretty fliers to put up, you invite all of your friends to come, you make sure that all of your family will be attending. That's the easy part, you know that all of your fellow theatre nerds will be there, and that common show go-ers, friends, and family will mostly likely attend as well. But, how do you sell tickets to the people who aren't usually seen within a couple hundred feet of the auditorium? This is more difficult. Non theatre people will usually not stop to look at a flier and be interested to go to a show. To get people like this to go you have to do a little more convincing.

This past week, I took a visit to New York City. While I was there, I was able to partake in many activities, all centered around the arts. Here is what I did during a part of my week in the Big Apple!

This is a craft of coexistent community and individuality, which conglomerates all previously-existent tints, genres, and attitudes into a tellable community of players. At any moment--subject to shifts and additions to the catalogue. These expansions may prove to be time-eaters or talent-greeters; projects can unveil one's purpose or frighten them into submission and subsequent retreating from the arts.

My freshman year of high school was the first time I heard about my school's theatre department. I thought it sounded like the coolest thing ever, and I really wanted to get involved.The only problem was, I'd never done anything theatre related before, so I was afraid I wouldn't be good enough just to join the club. So instead of joining, I signed up for my school's intro to drama class and hoped that I would get in. The whole year passed by, and nothing. Skip forward to next year: my sophomore year. Again, as I looked on my schedule for the year, I noticed that I had not gotten into the intro to drama class. At this point, I was accepting that i wasn't going to be involved in the theatre department, and I was okay with that. Mainly because even though I wanted to be involved, acting terrified me. For some reason, imagining myself on stage acting was something that I dreamed of doing, even though it also frightened me at the same time.

I am Casey McGuire and I go to Molalla High school. I can't wait to give updates on what my troop is doing and write about my experiences with theatre! I am not a professional; the only qualifications I have is participating in shows and my love for theatre!

I've lived in Orlando my entire life, and have always felt incredibly lucky because of it. I get to go to Disney and Universal pretty often. The theme parks are the reason I have a roof over my head and food to eat-my dad works full time at Universal. I am also lucky to be part of Orlando's incredible theatre community. I've been performing at various theatres around town since I was little. The people of the theatre community are my friends and family. 

My first trip to New York was in January, and dare I say it, I fell in love. I fell in love with the New York lifestyle, with the city that is alive, with the New Yorkers and the Tourists, with Broadway. I had the pleasure of seeing 4 Broadway shows and an Opera at the Met in the 5 days that I was there (including travel days).  I got to tour the New Amsterdam Theater  (aka the theater that shows Disney Musicals) and try on some of the costumes, which was such an insane and incredible experience: check that off my bucket list.

Choosing the right audition piece is the most important moment of any actor's life. If you choose the wrong one you run the risk of doing poorly and not giving your brand the right face. This means that the director will not only not cast you in his or her show, but will also get bored halfway through your audition. Actors feed off of energy and a dead audience is the quickest way to kill the performance. One thing to always remember is that you are representing a brand: you. If you want to be cast and cast often then you have to look your best, act your best, and sell the brand that the director is looking for.

Sorry for the late update but things are in full swing here at the barn. I am finishing up the first week of rehearsals for Peace Love and Cupcakes! The main stage show Smoke on the Mountain opened this week! (It's fantastic) The first show downstairs began rehearsals and it already sounds amazing! Everything is in full swing and the barn is busy once again.

Growing up two hours from Disney World, I was heavily influenced by the Disney Parks and movies. I longed to be a Disney Princess: I wanted to take up my father's place in the army, get woken up with a kiss from my true love, rescue my father from the palace of a beast, or turn into a human and try to win the love of a prince.  The magic of Disney can be seen in every kid's eyes when they watch a movie, or visit a park, or even see a show. I still know all of the songs from every single movie by heart. My first ever musical was The Lion King, and I will never forget the magic and awe I experienced. One could say that it was Disney who brought me into the arts. 

?WARNING: I am assuming that if you are reading this blog, you have watched the 70th Tony Awards this past Sunday. If you have not, are you even a theatre kid?

With school ending and spring theatre productions just coming to an end, probably not the first thing on anybody's mind is starting up another 3 month schedule of rehearsals. When you see that audition on Facebook for a summer production, why not go for it? Odds are that you will have a much better summer than you would have had being a couch potato. I know this experience first hand, as 2 summers ago, I joined a local cast of 42nd Street. As much as I love tap dancing and theatre I still wasn't sure if I wanted to devote most of my summer to them. Being a 15 year old in a cast of almost entirely actors that were over 18 was slightly intimidating, actually it was very intimidating. The first rehearsal I walked in with my mother (who was in charge of props for the show) and everybody was so welcoming. From that moment on I knew this was going to be a great experience. As the rehearsals went on, and we were learning dances, songs, and blocking, I felt like everybody was coming together as a cast. After we had finished opening night, I wanted to do the show again and again, and it seemed like our 6 performances flew by in a blink of an eye. I found myself missing laughing backstage, wearing HIGH HEEL tap shoes ( not really a big deal, but it was my first time wearing them), and also just being on stage. Even though I knew that coming September I would be back on the stage, I still missed it a lot. If it means trading in a beach day for a block and tech day, than it's worth it. If the summertime musical scene isn't your thing, then theres many other options for you. Take an acting class, work on your voice with a vocal instructor, take a dance intensive, pick your monologue for the coming year, see that show everybody is talking about on Broadway (and if it's Hamilton, good luck), support your local theatre companies by attending one of their shows, or even just get some tips from online on how to improve your stage skills. So, the next time you see an opportunity to try out for a summer show, just do it! I promise that you will have a great time as well as make some great friends along the way, I know I did.

"Look around, look around how lucky we are to be alive right now" said Jeffrey Seller (producer of Hamilton: An American Musical) after the announcement of his show winning best musical at the 2016 Tony Awards.

I am a writer. Yet words can hardly explain the rush of emotions I felt this past weekend. I speak plainly because there is no way to convey the immense gratification of being treated as a professional playwright at the age of 16.

After months of preparation and devoted class time, the cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is equipped for opening. This is the time for us to not only celebrate our achievement, but inspire the 350 spectators we are set to entertain this weekend. This project has instilled in us the power of teamwork and the capability of a group of high school performers. All of our previous training has prepared us to take on our production roles and to communicate the journey of our characters. Every child in this show is a stereotypical representation of students you could find sitting in your elementary school class. 

Being new to the theater world isn't easy, I haven't been in theater for long, and this is my first blog post for Broadway World (Yay!). There are so many different rules to learn, so many different traditions and practices. I only started singing in 9th grade, and nearly 2 years later I joined the Thespian society at my high school. I was thrown from a world of sports into a world of acting and singing, and I couldn't have made a better decision for myself. 

Over the summer is a great time to visit local theatres and watch some enjoyable musicals and plays. However, this summer there are also many opportunities to participate in fun filled, summer theatre camps. Listed below are some of the theatres that I have performed and/or attended camp and the shows that they are performing over the summer, along with some possible theatre camps.

There was a sense of finality (and sawdust) in the air when the whole theatre department cleaned up our scene shop last week. Everyone was ready for our year to end. We had done our shows, and the props being put away were doing nothing except sitting there collecting dust. Sweeping the floor, organizing tools, and unscrewing wooden boards, it was strange walking through and dismembering things we had worked with for so long. No scene was left untouched from our final strike of the year, from our Yellow Brick Road from our rendition of Wizard of Oz, to the barnacles that appeared in The Little Mermaid.

There's nothing quite more heart-warming than seeing little kids being introduced to theatre. From the giant crowd of kids dancing on the plaza while Barry DeBois of the Once national tour leads them in singing 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' as a pre-show activity, to the children chattering excitedly in the rows directly in front of and behind me as the show was about to begin, I was reminded of the giddiness and pure joy I felt going to see theatre as a child. And as I watched the incredible child actors, teenagers, and professional adult performers that comprised the cast of Mayo Performing Arts Center's production of Mary Poppins, I was reminded of the passion that I still have for it today. 

Everybody has their 'thing' in high school. Maybe you were the star of the football team, or you dedicated your time to the robotics team. Maybe you were on the school newspaper staff or you attended all the science fairs. For a lot of kids, they throw themselves into the abyss of theatre.

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms." … We are all growing. Everyday and every moment we experience is, in essence, an added petal to who we are. We blossom in hopes of being the best we could be, and beside us are others who we can't help but compare ourselves with.

Italian Run

My interest in the theatre had started at a very young age. The place where I finally pursued the theatre was at Parkway Middle School of the Arts. It feels like I had walked in here just a few days ago, but the fact that we're leaving in a few days is still surprising to me. I have noticed that a lot of us had started off as mere amateurs. We just decided to try something that seemed fun! But over the years, we've got to see each other grow and improve in so many aspects… And it's fascinating how far everyone has come.