The call is out for Paris High students who would like to join the cast of Disney’s High School Musical. Auditions will be held Monday, Aug. 31, and Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater.
Rehearsals begin Sept. 10 and will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays with some Saturday and Sunday afternoon practices (to be arranged). Not all cast members will be required to be at every rehearsal. However, rehearsals in November will require that all cast members be in attendance.
The musical, the first to be attempted by the PHS Theater Department since the 2003 production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, is scheduled to open Friday, Dec. 3, and run through Sunday, Dec. 5, at the Weger Auditorium on the Paris Junior High campus with performances the following week for elementary and middle school audiences.
The PHS theater teachers are Amy Burrows and Jayna Shull. Although production of a musical requires singing and dancing, the sponsors emphasized that potential cast members will not be required to sing or move by themselves. They also encourage more boys to audition for parts.
Shull, who directed the 2003 performance of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, foresees the revival of musical theater as a boon to participation in PHS drama productions.
“For years, many students have asked that we bring Disney’s High School Musical to the PHS stage,” Shull said.
Students should see Burrows in the Black Box Theater or Shull in room 1511 to sign up for auditions. They may select either date (Aug. 31 or Sept. 1) to audition and will receive an audition packet for additional information. Burrows also suggested that students can locate many of the songs from the musical on YouTube.
High School Musical was released in 2006 by the Disney Channel as a made-for-TV musical film. It was followed by a TV sequel High School Musical 2 in 2007 and a feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008.
The Disney Channel, in a promotional description of the original High School Musical on its website, states: “In this contemporary musical comedy, a popular high school basketball star and a shy, academically gifted newcomer discover they share a secret passion for singing. When they sign up together to audition for the lead roles in the school musical, it threatens East High’s rigid social order and sends their peers into an uproar.”
The production of High School Musical is the first of three planned PHS theater performances for 2015-16. In addition to the annual UIL One Act Play, the PHS Theater Department will conclude the year with a student-directed play.
“We’re appreciative of the PISD Board of Trustees’ commitment to investing in the fine arts,” Burrows said. “We hope to return that trust by producing some great shows that the whole community will enjoy.”
Since the PHS Theater Department has not produced a musical in 12 years, this year’s theater schedule is particularly challenging. “We need to improve our resources,” Burrows said, specifically citing the need to acquire wireless theater headset microphones as an example.
“Weger Auditorium is a wonderful facility,” she said, “but most of our students are not capable of projecting their voices to be heard in a large venue like that.”
Burrows also said that costume design, stage construction, and prop procurement can be troublesome areas that often require community support. She said that all fans of the theater arts are welcome to become involved by lending their time, expertise, and/or donations.
For more information, email Burrows (amy.burrows@parisisd.net) or Shull (jayna.shull@parisisd.net) or call the high school at 903.737.7400.