Putting together our 7th season we found ourselves looking for shows that not only pushed our young artists to new heights, but also that would start our first season in our home space on an artistic and mindful journey.
We’ve put together what we think is a very thrilling and ambitious season, that not only embodies our mission to ENGAGE, INSPIRE and EMPOWER but showcase the talents of our students and pushes each performer to the next level.
Under the leadership of some of the area’s hottest local musical theatre talent, OVATIONS’ upcoming season will push the envelope artistically and challenge our students and audiences, to delve into thought-provoking theatre. We hope you will join us this coming season, one we believe the DMV area will remember for quite some time!
-Darnell Patrick Morris, Artistic Director
Morgan Fannon, Managing Director
RENT: SCHOOL EDITION
SENIOR COMPANY
Auditions September 2021 | Performances December 2021
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
This is theatre at its best – exuberant, passionate and joyous.
SHREK JR
JUNIOR COMPANY
Auditions September 2021 | Performances January 2022
Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure, featuring all new songs from Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change) and a sidesplitting book by David Lindsay-Abaire. Shrek brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and proves there’s more to the story than meets the ears.
“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek….” And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there’s one on hand… and his name is Shrek.
URINETOWN
SENIOR COMPANY
Auditions December 2021 | Performances March 2022
In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!
Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Urinetown is an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny. Praised for reinvigorating the very notion of what a musical could be, Urinetowncatapults the “comedic romp” into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.
SEUSSICAL JR
JUNIOR COMPANY
Auditions February 2022 | Performances April 2022
“Oh, the thinks you can think” when Dr. Seuss’ best-loved characters collide and cavort in an unforgettable musical caper!
Now one of the most beloved shows in the musical theatre canon, Seussical is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza! Tony winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Anastasia, Once on This Island)have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, lazy Mayzie and a little boy with a big imagination – Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos.
PIPPIN
STANDING_O
Auditions January, 2022 | Performances May 2022
There’s magic to do when a prince learns the true meaning of glory, love and war in Stephen Schwartz’s iconic and unforgettable musical masterpiece.
Heir to the Frankish throne, the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh and the intrigues of political power (after disposing of his father, King Charlemagne the Great). In the end, though, Pippin finds that happiness lies not in extraordinary endeavors, but rather in the unextraordinary moments that happen every day.
LES MISERABLES: SCHOOL EDITION
SENIOR COMPANY
Auditions March 2021 | Performances June 2021
Les Misérables is the world’s longest running musical — a true modern classic based on Victor Hugo’s novel and featuring one of the most memorable scores of all time. With countless awards to its name, Les Misérables is as groundbreaking today as it was when it first premiered in London in 1985.
In nineteenth century France, Jean Valjean is released from 19 years of unjust imprisonment, but finds nothing in store for him but mistrust and mistreatment. He breaks his parole in hopes of starting a new life, initiating a lifelong struggle for redemption as he is relentlessly pursued by police inspector Javert, who refuses to believe that Valjean can change his ways. Finally, during the Paris student uprising of 1832, Javert must confront his ideals after Valjean spares his life and saves that of the student revolutionary who has captured the heart of Valjean’s adopted daughter. His world view shattered, Javert commits suicide, and Valjean finally attains the peace that he has sought for so long.
INTRODUCING OVATIONS JUNIOR & SENIOR COMPANIES
In putting together our 2017-2018 season, we reflected on our program and what would move us to the next level. We are thrilled to share with you our two new groups: OVATIONS SENIOR COMPANY (Grades 8-12) & OVATIONS JUNIOR COMPANY (Grades 3-9).
In creating these companies, we wanted to provide a clear overview of what we expect from our students and what our community can expect from OVATIONS programming. We believe these two programs embody our core objectives: ENGAGE, INSPIRE and EMPOWER.
At OVATIONS we always strive to create a professional yet enriching and supportive atmosphere. Our production teams are composed of DC and NYC professional theatre artists dedicated to bringing the next generation of artist to the next level. Through mentoring, exploration and encouraging self-discipline, we confidently feel that we prepare our students for performing and for life. To quote Mama Rose, “You’ll be swell, you’ll be great, gonna have the whole world on a plate..”
-Darnell Patrick Morris
Producing Artistic Director
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM OUR JUNIOR COMPANY
Before Moving Onto Our SENIOR COMPANY Students Are Able To:
- Create fully realized characters with the ability to answer such questions as: Who Am I? Where Am I Coming From? What do I want?
- Understanding character objectives and able to label whether in spoken dialogue or sung lyrics
- Act and emote songs
- Make songs and musical moments an extension of dialogue and scene
- Understand the basic process of script analysis
- Comfortable with the process of “marking up your script”
- Understands the principals of between the actually written text vs sub-text
- Comfortably acts using various and sometimes multiple emotions as characters dictate
What We Expect From Our Students:
- Students are expected to come to rehearsals familiar with scenes or musical numbers and are expected to be off book for the particular scene or number once they are staged
- Students come prepared to rehearsals with character descriptions
- To understand their character(s) objectives
- Students are expected to work outside of rehearsals on their staging, dialogue, and music whether on their own or with their voice and acting teachers
- Students come with a willingness to step outside their comfort zone
After Completing Our SENIOR COMPANY Students Are Able To:
- Create three-dimensional characters
- Understanding character objectives
- Act and emote songs: ability to “live in the moment” vs “showing the moment”
- Make songs and musical moments an extension of dialogue and scene
- Confident in the process of script analysis and able to “mark up their script” clearly labeling beats, objective, subtext
- Clearly understands the difference between text and sub-text
- Understands how to create and share complex emotions, objectives, and situations with their audiences
What We Expect From Our Students:
- Students are expected to be off book for every rehearsal
- Students come prepared to rehearsals with full character descriptions and clear understanding of their characters objectives
- Students are expected to work outside of rehearsals on their staging, dialogue, and music whether on their own or with their voice and acting teachers
- Students come with a willingness to step outside their comfort zone
PRESS FROM OUR PAST SEASON SHOWS