Theater | PlayCV

PlayCV Productions presents,

in partnership with Castro Valley Schools and Plethos Productions,...

Show Synopses:

Seussical Kids is a 30-minute musical version featuring classic Dr. Seuss characters. Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat and all of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters spring to life onstage in Seussical KIDS, a fantastical musical extravaganza from Tony-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Once on This Island, Ragtime).

Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat, our narrator, tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child, who gets in trouble for thinking too many "thinks." Horton's challenge is twofold — not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must also guard an abandoned egg that's been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!

Seussical KIDS is great fun for the whole family. Young performers will be excited to portray the characters from the popular Dr. Seuss books. This musical provides wonderful creative opportunities in terms of set design, lighting and costuming and can easily accommodate a large cast.

Seussical Kids will be performed by Castro Valley Elementary School students in 3rd Grade through 5th Grade.

Annie Jr. is 60-minute musical based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, with a beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, Annie JR. features everyone’s favorite little redhead in her very first adventure.

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations, finding a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

With plenty of parts to go around, including featured roles as well as ensemble parts for orphans, servants and tourists, Annie JR. is ideal for productions involving different grade levels.

Annie Jr. will be performed by Castro Valley Middle School students in 6th Grade through 8th Grade.

Auditions:

We will be casting 35 roles, and all students are welcome to audition. Prior experience is not needed, and we will send you everything needed to show us how they can shine on stage! Auditions will take place after school in the MPR/Cafeteria the week of January 30. Can't make it to auditions in person? We will also send information on how to send in a video of your students audition. All submissions must be received by Friday, February 3rd.

How to sign up your student for an audition:

For Castro Valley families only (Student must be enrolled at School that they are auditioning for), the Audition sign up form is available in ParentSquare (click here), your schools communication tool. If you have never logged directly into ParentSquare before, it uses the same login credentials as the Aeries portal. Click here to register for your account. Once logged in, from the website, look under "Forms / Permissions" on the right hand panel for "Auditions Sign Up form...". Or, use one of the appropriate school site links below.

If your student is enrolled in The Full P.L.A.Y. and is signed up for an audition, PlayCV will escort them to and from their audition time.

If your student is NOT ENROLLED in The Full P.L.A.Y., a parent or guardian must accompany each student to their audition time. Parents and guardians will be asked to wait outside the audition space until their student's audition has completed. If you are unable to accompany, or make arrangements for another adult guardian to accompany, your student, please reach out to us PRIOR to your audition day.

What to prepare:

Before the audition, we encourage students to practice learning 3 pieces: a dialogue to recite from memory, a short song to sing, and a short dance to perform. We will send you the materials once you have signed up for an audition. The cast list will be sent via email by the end of the day Sunday, February 5 to all students who audition for the show.

Making the Cast:

The cast list will be sent via email by the end of the day Sunday, February 5 to all students who audition for the show. If your student makes the cast, you will need to enroll them into the PlayCV Productions class and complete the appropriate waivers and acknowledgements. There will be a class fee of $250 due at that time. Scholarships are available, please reach out to us at info@playcv.org for more information.

If you have received a waiver code from the Castro Valley Unified School District, you can use that same code at the time of enrollment.

If your student is already enrolled in The Full P.L.A.Y., this can count as one of the two included Enrichment Classes for Session 3.

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals will take place immediately after school for 2 hours, twice per week beginning the week of February 6.

Performances:

Each cast will participate in 2 performances to be held at the Castro Valley Center for Performing Arts, during the weekends of

April 14-15 & 21-23. Tickets will be available at $10/each.

F.A.Q.

Will all kids interested get to participate?

Unfortunately, we only have slots for 35 students at each school. We anticipate more students than that will be interested, so auditions will determine who gets to participate and in which roles.

Will kids have to audition alone?

During auditions, we will have all the kids together practice the song and dance a couple times. We will then divide them into groups and see them perform the dance in a small group. Afterward, each student will sing their song as a solo in front of only the Directors and the other kids in their small group. They will also perform their line reading/recitation individually in front of the directors and small group.

What parts are available?
Take a peek at the MTI show page (Seussical Kids or Annie Jr.) for a complete list of characters. All roles are available. There will be some roles that are larger than others. All will require singing, dancing and acting. Some will require solos, but there are smaller parts that will only require group singing and dancing and minimal lines. Students will be able to indicate their preference between a large or small role if they would like.

What if my child doesn't want the role they're given?
Auditions will help us find the best fit for each role. We will also do our best to honor the kids indications if they prefer a leading or supporting role. That being said, we know many students will all want the same part which is not possible for everyone. So we're hoping this will be a lesson in being a team player, supporting friends and participating in whatever role is given. Any student who is unwilling to play a particular role should let us know immediately after casting and we'll sadly release them from the show and replace them.

Is there any way for kids to participate who do not want to sing/dance/act?
We have some ability to have kids participate as crew for the show. They may not be required at all rehearsals, but some crew roles are available for kids who would like to help make costumes, set pieces, props and/or help during the performances.

Audition Message:

We will review everything in person on both audition days so no stress, be sure and let your kids know they should come ready to have fun and no need to feel intimidated. We just want to see everyone do their best so we can assign roles that best fit each child.