A Light in the Library

The cast has chosen the production for season six. The Homescool Players will peform, "A Light in the Libary" by Kevin Stone. The production is slated for Saturday, May 12th at 2pm at the Akron-Summit County Library Main Branch Theater.

Both the cast and Director are extremely excited to be able to use the stage at the library to produce their play, set in a library! The theater holds 425 people. Admission will be free to the public and the Akron library is planning to advertise the production in their Spring newsletter. Season six promises to host the largest audience in the history of the theater group.

Be sure and mark your calendars now for another amazing youth theater production of the Homescool Players!

Get ready for Season Six!

Season six of the Homescool Players begins this Friday, September 23rd. We will meet once again at the American Legion Hall, Wadsworth for rehearsals.

Don't miss out on all the fun!

See you there---

Regenia (aka Mrs. Spoerndle)

"Guess What I Did Last Summer"--It's time for auditions!

I know what the Homescool Players will be doing this summer......Just in case you haven't heard our production this year is the musical, "Guess What I Did Last Summer". I think it will be wonderfully timed as our production is scheduled for July. (No...I haven't secured a definite location/date yet, sorry).

We began reading through the script last Friday at rehearsal, listening to the songs on CD when they came up in the script. I think the production will be adorable and perfect for our group this year. Most of the songs are group numbers with a few minor solos. Some of the characters I can already see coming to life on the stage as we read through the script. The kids have picked another fantastic production!

Everyone is curious about "auditions". I am too. :-) Actually, the only reason I hold auditions is to keep everyone accountable in their commitment level and to provide opportunity for the cast to identify what part they want. 

I am anticipating we will finish reading through the script this Friday. If we manage that I would like to have "auditions" the following Friday, March 4th. I know some people are planning trips in March and I am trying to make sure I find a time when everyone can come. Please let me know this Friday if the next Friday will not work for your family so we can change the audition date, but get it on the calendar.

For the audition each future cast member should:

1) Share a one-two minute memorized piece of literature/script, etc. This could be a poem, Bible verse, portion of script, original text, etc. Short and snappy is the key here. I just want to see whether they can interpret something they have read and if they understand the concepts of performance (eg. stage presence, enunciation, pronunciation, articulation, voice/ pitch variety, eye contact, body movement, etc.)

2) Be able to read a portion of the part they are interested in from the script. 

3) Be able to answer some questions in typical interview style. I will be asking them.

That's it! Since we have 23 children auditioning (potentially) I won't be able to spend much time with each cast member if we want to get done in the alloted 2 hour time frame. I will bring a sign-up sheet on Friday with audition slot times.

Would any of the Drama Mamas like to volunteer to help with the auditions? It is just helpful to have someone bounce ideas off of when making decisions. Plus two heads are always better than one.

And finally...... if your child is reluctant to memorize, read aloud, audition, then I will just assign them a small part. They do not have to audition. Of if they decide they would simply like to be a part of the back-stage crew that is okay too. 

Let me know if you have any further questions.

See you all on Friday.....

And the winner is.....

Friday we held our first rehearsal at the Wadsworth American Legion hall. If you see a member of the American Legion, please thank them profusely for allowing us to meet there. I think it will be a nice place for us to work on our production over the coming months.

I am currently seeking the ultimate performance location. This next week I will check with the main branch of the Akron Library to see if we could use their (very nice) theater. Jen Gorman knows that the library offers the theater space to the community free of charge as long as no library programs are scheduled for that day. Also...Valley View Chapel is willing to allow us to use their space too, but our current production date is a problem for them. They have multiple weddings taking place in July which could be problematic. I am also planning on asking Northside if they could house us, but am waiting until next month due to the same scheduling concerns. I know Northside also likes to keep the sanctuary free for potential wedding needs, but I am assuming by March any summer weddings would have been booked and will be on their calendar. I am confident we will find a suitable place to hold our production complete with air conditioning! That is amazing!


And finally........the kids voted this past Friday regarding their choice of musical. There was much debate and discussion and a winner was selected. However, after much consideration and pondering, I realized that not EVERYONE got to voice their opinion. (We had 8 absences this past week). Therefore, we will have a re-vote this next Friday. If you cannot attend drama rehearsal, please email or phone me your vote. I am planning to read all the scripts in their entirety this next week so I can have a better idea of the "funny factor", casting issues, etc.   







Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Spoerndle (aka Regenia )

We have a plan!

This past Friday, the Homescool Players voted to continue as one large group. Fantastic! What that means for all of us is a change of plans for this season. We will say "Goodbye" to William Shakespeare for now and "Hello" to.......???? To be determined. The group is deciding which musical they want to perform, so yes, we will be singing and dancing our way through winter.

For those of you who haven't heard yet we also have a new rehearsal location. We will be meeting at the American Legion Hall in downtown Wadsworth from now on. Unfortunately, my living room was beyond maximum capacity as our little drama club has blossomed to 26 participants plus Drama Mamas. This is a record for our group. Amazing, wonderful and BUSY! :-)

If anyone needs directions to the American Legion Hall just use MapQuest or Google Maps. It is located on High Street, Wadsworth and is very near Central Middle School and Dominoes pizza. If you wish to stay in downtown Wadsworth while the kids rehearse I have it on good authority that the Wadsworth Library and Whole Day Cafe are awesome retreats.

As always...any questions or concerns please call or email. I gave each of the kids both of my phone numbers last Friday, so you should be well equipped with contact information.

See you Friday!

Mrs. Spoerndle (aka Regenia)

Hello again!

We keep growing and growing and growing! It's great to have so many talented kids to work with this year. I'm happy you are all a part of the Homescool Players 2011 season. I will do my best to make it a memorable season for all. Today, we had 25 members for our group.

Because our little group of 13 has grown exponentially, we are making some adjustments. I asked the kids to consider the following over this next week:

1) Split into two smaller groups and perform two different Shakespeare plays. Each group would meet every other week until school is over for me, early May. At that point we would pick an alternative evening for one of the groups to meet, so everyone could meet weekly. When performance time came we would hold a "Shakespeare Festival" with both performances performed the same evening.

2) Scrap the Shakespeare idea for another year and choose a musical production. We would continue to meet weekly (all together) and be

in need of a location to perform. I am currently checking into options for alternative rehearsal locations as well if we stay as a single group. My living room is large, but......we are currently out growing that. :-)

I am willing to do whatever the majority desires. If we cannot find alternative rehearsal space it might be a problem to stay as one large group with one large production. Although....with a musical you can easily design rehearsals to work on individual components for a short time pulling everyone together at the end.

This may all seem like a problem when you read it, but trust me I am not stressed at all.

Directing the Homescool Players has been an incredible experience for me of things happening that I never dreamed possible. In my perspective, this is divine intervention; testimony of how much God loves His children. I know it isn't because I'm so smart. LOL To see this group grow to this level is testimony that we are all doing something right. I am anxious to see how this year's experience transforms us once again.

See you all on Friday at 4pm!

Regenia (aka Mrs. Spoerndle )

Welcome to Season 5

Hello Homescool Players and Families!

Tomorrow is the first day of Season 5 of the Homescool Players. I decided to start this blog to chronicle our journey this year. If you ever miss a meeting or can't remember what exactly I said to bring to practice you can find a detailed account right here on this blog. Pretty cool, huh?

And, for those of you who like your privacy, rest assured this blog is only accessible to those I invite which in this case are the current members of the Homescool Players. If you would like to have a grandparent or alternative email address approved, let me know. I will send them an invitation.

We will meet tomorrow at 4pm at Chez Spoerndle :-) Plan that we will spend most of our time getting organized, getting to know each other and learning what Shakespeare is all about.

Looking forward to another great season of DRAMA!!