Annie Junior, day 7

I'll be honest. There are days I dread going to work. So far I have not dreaded ANY of the days I go to "play" with your actors. It has been exciting, new, fresh, eye-opening, funny, and thrilling to see the growth and potential of these young people. I think they will blow you away with their production of Annie Junior.

With that said, there were some bumps in the road today. Mostly due to lack of focus and simply having some "brain farts" and forgetting stuff we blocked or some of the dance moves. There does seem to be an overall lack of (believe it or not) SINGING!!! I can't reinforce enough to your kids that they need to sing out! There were times today where there were supposed to be 20 people singing, and it sounded like only 2. This is a musical, folks!!!

With that aside, we did manage to finish all the blocking, work on some of the musical numbers, take a break, and then start a run-through form the top of the show. We didn't get to finish, but we did bite off a major chunk of the show, ending with Scene 7, where Annie is on the radio. We will pick up here tomorrow where we left off, and then start another run shortly thereafter.

I may have mentioned it before, but when the kids are ON, they are ON! It is so exciting! But when they are off... well, not so much. I've tried to make this an ensemble experience, and I think you will be pleased with the amount of stage time your actors have. It is truly an ensemble piece.

Please remind the kids that since they are onstage the whole time, there is always someone watching them. They should try to focus on the scene going on onstage, not on their texting or on their neighbor's fingernail polish.

I hope everyone got the last email about costumes, and finding a plain white t-shirt and jeans is not too difficult. Please let me know if you are having difficulty so I can start to put a contingency plan in place.

OH!!! Today was their day to be off book! They did FANTASTIC!!! They stayed in character during the run and called for their lines like any pro in the business. Man, they learn quick! There were hardly any missed lines, by the way. Again a first in my book.

Props are coming along, and there are just a few more that I forgot today but will hopefully remember to put in my car tomorrow morning. Thanks to you parents who brought in costume pieces. Some will work, other might not, but we are working to make this as good a show as we can, and so far, I am really pleased, obviously form these gushing emails.

Attached is another picture or two from rehearsal today, and NOT cover art from the world's worst musical flop in history. Enjoy!

Thanks,

J. Michael Beech