For the past year and a half Morgan Fannon (OVATIONS Managing Director) and I have spent our time celebrating finding our home and producing nearly two dozen shows post COVID! We have also been thinking about how to best serve both our existing student body and the new community our beloved theatre The Harriet (named after my personal hero; the world-shaking abolitionist Harriet Tubman) has brought us. Since opening the Harriet we’ve been committed to creating a space that encourages collaboration and group effort. We seek to feature, both on and off-stage, a diverse and vibrant community of artists, cast members and patrons. We strive for professional quality while creating an environment that allows for our mission; to engage, inspire and empower.
2022/2023 Accomplishments:
• Our Teaching Artists and production members were 90% woman
• Produced 8 Mainstage Productions featuring over 160 students
• Produced an After-School programs featuring over 50 MCPS students
• Provided over 27k in tuition scholarships for needing families
• Brought on Alumni students for several projects and provided paid opportunities
• Started a new Intern Program for students interested in learning and gaining more experience on the technical side of theatre
• STANDING_O produced two shows as well as a two trips to NYC to see the Broadway productions of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS & & JULIET
• Updated the Harriet with new raised seating as well as updating our front light to LED fixtures
With that said, we knew there area areas we had for growth and where we could expand/adjust our existing programing! I am proud to announce the formation of Upstage; our TUITION FREE/ALL AGES program blending local adult talent alongside our amazing students.
The Harriet is a place we want to open up to artists of all ages. As we have done for the past nine years, we welcome a season jam packed with stories and characters that speak to our community but also presents us with exciting challenges. It is our intention to produce the following season. Please note that all shows are pending final rights.
ENGAGE.
Our Junior Company will produce The Little Mermaid in January 2024, The Spongebob Musical: Youth Edition in April 2024 and Legally Blonde Jr in August 2024. STANDING_O will produce Matilda in October 2023 and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in June 2024.
INSPIRE.
Our Senior Company will produce Sondheim’s masterpiece Into The Woods in December 2023 and Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in May 2024.
EMPOWER.
Our tuition free/all ages program, Upstage, will produce our annual holiday musical A Christmas Carol in December 2023, the Iconic and daring classic Gypsy in March 2024, Sweeney Todd in July 2024 and the smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! in August 2024.
IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
OVATIONS has provided and offers enriching theatrical experiences for MCPS schools for the past 4 school years. Over a span of 3 months students create a fully staged production with set, props and costumes. At the beginning of the process students choose either a performance or crew track and spend the production process working in their choses area of focus. Know a local school needing an after-school drama program? Let us know!
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
We are thrilled to announce our apprentice program for students in grades 7 through college. Work along with professionals in our studio/black box theatre creating, designing and putting all technical aspects together with real life application. We accept 6 students a semester and provide SSL hours for all high school participants and a small stipend for all college students.
THE CONSERVATORY
This fall we will begin offering classes through our conservatory. These group classes are geared for students of all backgrounds. Our elementary program provides a creative atmosphere for students of all skill sets with our upper program allowing students who want a more indepth intro to acting and plays.
A 5,6,7,8 (Ages 5-9)
September through December
Tuesdays 4:30-5:30
In this class students will learn a song and scene for a hit Broadway musical. Students will work on identifying emotions, objectives and working in a group. This class is focused on the basics and foundations of musical theatre. Students will also begin learning musical theory and theatre terminology, navigating sheet music, and more.
BROADWAY BABIES (GRADES 1-3)
September through December
Tuesdays 5:30-6:30
In this class students will learn a song medley and scenes for a hit Broadway musical. Students will work on identifying emotions, objectives and working in a group. This class continues to expand on the basics and foundations of musical theatre adding work in solo expression. Students will also continue learning musical theory and theatre terminology, how to analyze and score scripts and music, and more.
Curtain Call (GRADES 4-6)
September through December
Tuesdays 6:30-7:30
In this class students will focus on creating a 30 minute original cabaret for immediate families consisting of group and solo works. Students will continue learning musical theory and theatre terminology, how to analyze and score scripts and music, and more.
The Acting Studio (Grades 7-12)
Semester 1 September through December
Semester 2 February through May
Tuesdays 7:30-9:00
The class is for students looking to learn more in depth knowledge about acting and to work on a straight-play. The first semester will be spent on technique and ensemble acting that will culminate in a winter showcase of monologue and group scene work. Our second semester will be spent working through a play chosen by the class culminating in a group performance. Shows being considered are Peter and the Star Catcher, The Crucible, Our Town, The Laramie Project and A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
-Darnell Patrick Morris, Artistic Director
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
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM OUR SENIOR PROGRAM
After Completing Our SENIOR COMPANY Students Are Able To:
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