#StudioSaturday with Ms. “Cici” Allen
Today is the start of our Saturday Early Fall classes! To celebrate, we’re kicking off a new blog series focusing on our fabulous Education department. Welcome to the first installment of #StudioSaturday! Every few weeks, we’ll feature one of our talented teaching artists to get their thoughts on theatre education and give you the chance to get to know them better. This week, we’re kicking it off with an Encore favorite, Ms. Christina “Cici” Allen.
Encore: How long have you been teaching for Encore? In which capacities?
Cici: I have been teaching for Encore Stage and Studio for nine years. I have taught Saturday classes, after-school classes, and summer camps, such as It’s Elementary. I have worked the most with preschool and elementary school ages.
Encore: What’s the most valuable skill that theatre has taught you?
Cici: Theater has taught me many valuable skills, so it is difficult to choose just one. However, I would say one of the most valuable skills it has taught me is how to adapt to any challenge and situation that I encounter with an open mind and fresh ideas. Theater teaches improvisation and how to think of new ideas in the moment. I think that this inspires innovation within our students that can help them in all sorts of pursuits. I often come up with out-of-the-box ideas and I think I owe a lot of that skill to my theatrical training and teachers.
Encore: Why is arts education important for young people?
Cici: Arts education is so critical for young people’s development. In addition to helping students develop their cultural awareness, confidence, and social-emotional development, it also helps support their overall intelligence. Students make meaningful connections with their classmates and learn to collaborate; these are important life-skills that can help them in any aspect of life. Students also get substantial linguistic development through reading literature and being exposed to new vocabulary. Also, many students will find an interest that is enjoyable that they can continue for their entire lifetimes either as spectators or performers.
Encore: Complete this sentence: “I’m most looking forward to teaching _____ because _____.”
Cici: I’m most looking forward to teaching Saturday theater classes because I love to watch the kids make meaningful connections in class, experiment with new skills, and perform a final showcase in front of their parents. Their faces show how proud of themselves they are once the performance is shared!
Don’t miss your chance to work with Ms. Cici and our other amazing teaching artists! Register for Late Fall classes today to ensure your spot in your preferred class. Check out our Class page for more information on our course offerings, then register online or by calling us at (703) 548-1154. Have a great semester, Early Fall classes; we’ll be back soon with another installment of #StudioSaturday!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Connie Polnow. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
And the Season Reveal Contest Winner is…
Happy #TechTuesday, Encore fans!
With Ghostchasers in rehearsal and the second night of Jingle ARRGH the Way auditions this evening, Encore’s 2018/19 season is already well underway!
Leading up to our Season Reveal/Hamiltunes party in June, we hosted a scavenger hunt on the Front Row blog and Encore’s Instagram that offered up riddles as clues to the upcoming season’s roster of shows. We had a great time reading through your musings and guesses in the comments!
One of you, however, came closer to guessing the season than all the rest. When it came to submitting the ballot for show suspicions, this Encore fan correctly listed Ghostchasers, Robin Hood, and Disney’s Newsies. For this valiant effort, this super sleuth will receive a free season subscription for the 2018/19 season! Congratulations to…Xander Tilock!
Worried you’ve missed out on the fun? Have no fear (unless it’s of a pesky ghost) – Season Subscriptions are available now! To secure your best seats for every show this season, sign up before October 14th. Not sure what your schedule has in store? A 3-show subscription is also available and subscribers are able to change performance dates at any time (in this case, we will get you as close to your original seats as possible). If you’re ready to laugh, cheer, sing, and spook with “Theatre by kids, for kids,” a season subscription is a fantastic way to kick off the school year, celebrate a birthday, or bring family and friends together.
To purchase, visit Encore online or call our Box Office at (703) 548-1154. We can’t wait to tickle your funny bones at Ghostchasers, opening October 5th!
Photos by Larry McClemons and Aileen Pangan. Graphic by Aileen Pangan. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
Have a Happy Labor Day! | Encore’s Office Closed Sept. 3-7, 2018
We’ve had such a great summer!
Encore’s offices will be closed September 3rd – 7th, in honor of Labor Day and to give our hardworking staff a break after a busy summer of thrilling productions, awesome students, and whirlwind camps.
But fear not, dear Encore friends – we’ll be back with more behind-the-scenes interviews, audition tips, and highlights from Early Fall classes before you know it!
Have a great Labor day weekend, from your Encore family!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Larry McClemons. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
Climb Aboard and Join the Crew!
Ahoy, #TechTuesday mateys! In two short weeks, Captain Kristen Jepperson will be recruiting brave souls to sail on the SS Jingle Crew and, oh buoy, we can’t wait. Why should you leave your landlubbing ways behind and interview to join the crew? Keep yer eyes here and there may be tech treasure to be found!
Still feeling un-shore? Check out the antics of our jolly Crewtons on Instagram and read some of their “swell” responses below:
- Building stuff!
- Getting to see what’s going on behind the scenes.
- Opening night! (It’s even better with M&Ms!)
- Working with awesome teachers like Kristen and Rebecca!
- Seeing the finished product. It is so cool to know that I helped build that [set] and now it’s on stage.
If you’re ready to climb on board, come out to auditions for Jingle ARRGH the Way, September 10th and 11th at Encore’s Main Campus. You’ll have the chance to meet with Captain Kristen and interview for a chance to serve on her crew. Don’t worry – we won’t let anyone walk the plank…unless it’s to the moving truck!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Larry McClemons. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
4 Fabulous Fall Faves at Encore
According to Pumpkin Spice lovers out there, autumn kicks off just next week. We can’t wait for all of the goodness of fall – the crunch of leaves, new school supplies, hilarious costumes! Here are four spooks and goofs that we’re excited for at Encore.
1. Early Fall classes kick off September 15th! With offerings aimed toward students 6 months through 12th grade, this sweet 4-week session will satisfy any craving. For more information and to register today, click here.
2. Music, Family, Fun! Come visit your Encore family at our booth during Clarendon Day on September 22nd. With an entire street festival to explore, there’s lots to discover, from delicious food to adorable arts and crafts. Come spread the word about the joy of Encore with your family and friends!
3. Don’t be a lazy bones! The third annual Costume Caper 5K and Fun Run in on Saturday, October 27th, so mark your calendars. Early Bird registration ends October 5th.
4. It’s beginning to look a lot like… For those of us who are ready for a whole other holiday season, you’re in luck! Auditions for Jingle ARRGH the Way are coming up on September 10th and 11th. Check out our Auditions page for tips and information about our pre-audition workshop.
All this festive fall fun has us going batty and we can’t wait to share it with all of you! What’s your favorite thing about the autumn season? Whether it’s spooky or sweet, we can’t wait to hear about it – join us over on Instagram to celebrate the season!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Larry McClemons. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
Arts Management Intern Connie Polnow Signing Off
Hello everyone! Today is the last day of my Arts Management Internship here at Encore. It’s been an amazing summer and I want to share some of the highlights and tell you all about what life as an intern has been like.
I was put to work right away for our 50th Anniversary Celebration and our big season reveal back in June (for those of you who were there, I made the season reveal book!) and I’ve been hard at work ever since. I helped with our website update, particularly the Opportunities, 2018/2019 Season, Staff, and Past Seasons pages, school outreach, taking photos of our camps and Seussical, and many design projects you’ll see later in the season! I also helped out at camps by greeting at Stage Door and Scenes for Tweens and creating all the programs for the camp shows.
One of my favorite projects that I got to work on was designing posters for some of our upcoming events. You’ve already seen the Costume Caper 5K poster at Seussical, but be on the lookout for our Early Childhood Classes and Disney’s Newsies posters in the coming months! I love design and I really enjoyed the opportunity to create these posters as well as some website pages, social media graphics, and the shirts for the upcoming Improv-A-Thon and Summer Nights Live camps.
But, by far, my favorite experience of the summer was being Front of House Manager for Seussical. While I’m a huge theatre fan, I’ve never been a part of a show before and I had no idea what to expect. I had so much fun running around and making sure everything went smoothly. This experience showed me what a great community Encore and theatre are and I was really sad when it was all over I have to give a big thank you to my wonderful Front of House Crew for making working Seussical so much fun and so fulfilling!
I learned a lot this summer about theatre. As I said, I came in with no theatre experience, so I had no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Well let me tell you, there’s A LOT, and I don’t just mean backstage! So much preparation goes into setting up, advertising, creating the Playbill, social media, building the website so that people can actually buy tickets, answering patron questions, and so much more! It was awesome to learn about this largely unseen part of theatre.
As a marketing major, I’m very interested in learning about how theatres like Encore promote their shows and classes. Aileen (Encore’s Marketing Director and my supervisor) taught me about all the marketing avenues Encore uses to do so. She really broadened my understanding of how far the term marketing reaches and how a nonprofit like Encore manages its resources.
This means that I learned a lot about the inner workings of nonprofits too. Being a nonprofit comes with it’s own challenges and opportunities and it was fascinating to learn about and see how Encore takes charge of them.
I think being a non-profit is what makes the Encore culture so awesome. Everyone loves coming in to work and is always ready to share their passion. I’ve felt welcome here since day one and I’ve never learned names so quickly. This summer has been hectic for everyone but no one let it affect the positive atmosphere of the office. I too enjoyed coming in to the office every morning, coffee in hand, ready to take on the day.
I’m going to leave you all with some of the photos I took these past 8 weeks and a final thank you to Aileen and the Encore team for making this summer so memorable! To anyone considering this internship in the future, definitely apply! If you love theatre, this is a great opportunityand I’m very glad I got to have this experience.
Looking Back on #EncoreSummer 2018 and Moving Ahead!
Happy August, Encore fans! We can hardly believe that the new month is upon us and while we lament the approach of summer’s end, we are beyond excited for the treasure trove of fun that awaits us this fall. Join us as we look back at some highlights from our #EncoreSummer so far, as well as looking forward to what’s next!
The cast and crew of Seussical treated audiences to a spectacle of song, humor, and rhyme as they officially brought the 2017-18 season to an end. With faces new and old in the cast, fun was had by all as we celebrated the charm and quirk of Dr. Seuss’s classic tales.
If the summer show got you fired up and pumped to take in another show, fear not! Encore presents its first 2018/19 season production, Ghostchasers, beginning October 5th. Ready to take the stage yourself? Mark your calendars for Jingle ARRGH the Way auditions on September 10th and 11th (with an optional pre-audition workshop on September 8).
Encore students were hard at work for all of July across Encore’s various camps. From hilarious and joyful talent shows at It’s Elementary to productions of Shrek Jr., Peter Pan Jr., The Importance of Being Earnest, and Pygmalion with Stage Door and One Act Wonders, it’s certainly been a busy summer. Don’t miss Stagedoor’s final production: Bye Bye Birdie Jr. (Thursday, August 9 at 7:30 pm and Friday, August 10 at 2 pm in the Black Box Theatre at Kenmore Middle School).
We’ve been soaking up the summer sun and enjoying vacation ourselves, but we’re raring to get back in the classroom with our wonderful Encore students. With classes for those as young as 6 months and as grown as those entering 12th grade, our teaching artists can’t wait to meet you! Whether you’re looking for college preparation, more experience before this season’s auditions, or simply to have fun, we’ve got you covered. Registration for Early Fall classes will be coming soon, so stay tuned!
You may have noticed the Encore homepage rocking a sleek new look over the last few weeks. We’re thrilled to share this new design with you and can’t wait to improve upon our visitors’ experiences even further as the upgrade continues. Do you have an Encore testimonial you’d like to share? Email it to info@encorestage.org and your story just might be featured on the site!
The 2018 Costume Caper runs back onto our calendar on Saturday, October 27th, so start thinking about your costume now! For a full array of upcoming Encore events, check out our Events page for details on the Broadway Bus Trip, Costume Caper, and more.
Before the cool weather begins, we still have spaces left in our summer:
August 6 – August 17, 2018: Shakespeare Clowns & Comedies
Tackle Shakespeare’s famous comedies in this two-week camp. Bolster your understanding of the Bard’s language and performance techniques as you embody his famous clowns, enact hilarious misunderstandings, and attempt to decipher twins in disguise!
Camp Director: Seth Rosenke
August 6 – 17, 2018: Kings, Queens, and Courtly Figures
Live like a king or queen! Break magic spells as we relive classic stories near and far!
August 20 – August 31, 2018: Fantastic Voyage
Set sail with Encore on your greatest journey yet! Make your way through the seven seas, soar over the moon or discover new heights in our fantastic voyage–the imagination’s the limit!
Until then, we can’t wait to see you this fall, in the classroom, audition room, and the audience!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Larry McClemons. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
5 Reasons You’ll Love Seussical
Today is the day, Encore fans! Seussical opens TONIGHT at the Kenmore Middle School Theatre! If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, here are five reasons to inspire you to join us on this Seussian adventure.
1) Beloved characters! From the planet of Who to the Jungle of Nool, many of your childhood favorites will grace the stage in song and dance. Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, Yertle the Turtle, the list goes on and on!
2) Clever and joyful choreography! Kelsey Meiklejohn has choreographed many Encore shows in the past, including The Music Man and Mary Poppins, and she certainly does not disappoint with her work on Seussical. Monkeys, Bird Girls, Whos, and more all have a distinct style of movement that enriches the world of Seuss exponentially. You won’t want to miss these awesome dance numbers!
3) The incredible set! Technical Director and Set Designer Kristen Jepperson has let her imagination run wild on our set. With brilliant splashes of color and layer upon layer of dynamic levels, this set turns the stage into a visual delight.
4) The snazzy costumes! Debra Leonard had her work cut out for her, with birds, monkeys, and more, but she has created a beautiful cast of creatures for your eyes to feast upon. From the sporty Wickersham brothers to creepy Hunches and flirty Bird Girls, these outfits are certainly wild!
5) The catchy tunes! With clever lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a variety of musical stylings by composer Stephen Flaherty, these songs will follow you home from the theater. From Latin rhythms and ragtime underscoring to moments of gospel choir riffing and heartfelt ballads, there is certainly something for everyone!
Our cast and crew have been hard at work this week, perfecting this fabulous production for all of you. We can’t wait to share the huge heart of this story with our Encore family, so be sure to get your tickets today! Tickets can be purchased online or by calling Encore’s Box Office at (703) 548-1154. See you at the theater!
Photos by Aileen Pangan. Graphic design by Aileen Pangan. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.
Bus to Broadway with Encore!
While summer has many wonderful things yet to offer us – Seussical, camps, Clarendon Day, and more! – we’re also looking ahead to the fall. Join Encore for a trip to Broadway on Saturday, September 15th! Why should you come? We’re so glad you asked…
1) Take in the sights! New York is a feast for the senses. During the free time that is allotted, choose your own adventure and visit some of the famous spots around Time Square – be sure to tag us in your awesome photos!
2) Food, glorious food. Cheesecake, bagels, and corner delis, oh my! NYC has just about every type of cuisine at your fingertips. Looking for entertainment with your lunch? Join Encore staff for an optional lunch at the famous Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where the waitstaff perform musical theatre classics while they serve you.
3) Encore friends! Bond with your past castmates outside rehearsal as you explore the city together, creating memories that will last a lifetime.
4) “Journey to the past” with Anastasia! The highlight of the day is a seat to see Anastasia on Broadway. With brand new songs, as well as your childhood favorites from the movie, you’ll definitely remember this “Once Upon a December.”
To reserve your spot, please email this form to Rosemarie O’Connor, Development Associate, at rosemarie.oconnor@encorestage.org.
Photos by Aileen Pangan. Blog contribution by: Shannon McCarthy.
Encore’s Favorite Seuss Stories
Happy #FrontRowFriday, Encore fans. With tech week for Seussical beginning on Sunday, we wanted to give you a preview of some wacky characters you can expect to see – and learn a bit more about our awesome staff in the process!
Director of Marketing, Aileen Pangan: “My favorite story is How the Grinch Stole Christmas because I love the holiday spirit and I have many fun memories reading the book by my family’s Christmas tree.”
How lucky you are, Aileen (and Arts Management intern Connie too)! The Grinch makes a few holiday cameos in our production, so keep your eyes peeled.
Executive Director, Sara Strehle Duke: “I have always loved The Sneetches. It’s a silly satire about all the ways we try to be superior to others – the story reminds us that we are all fundamentally equal whether we have stars on our bellies or not.”
Seussical choreographer, Kelsey Meiklejohn: “I was all about The Sneetches because I loved stars and when I was younger, I thought my own belly button lines made a star! I also thought it was fun to be able to get a star and then remove it like with rubber stamps on your hand and then washing them off!”
If you also share a love for these star-bellied friends, you’ll have to listen carefully. While they don’t step onstage in our show, they do get a shoutout in one of the big group numbers.
Artistic Director, Susan Keady: My favorite is One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. It is one of the best read aloud stories for children and it is rich material for developing endless lesson plans in multiple early learning material. Every page piques my instructor imagination to use as examples for the traditional educational early childhood curriculum.
Red fish? Blue fish? Swim on over to McGelligot’s Pool, Susan, because “It’s Possible” you may see a few in our show!
Production Manager, Rebecca Pfeil: I remember loving Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! as a kid for all the amusing alliteration and the delightful drawings. “BIG A, little a, what begins with A…”
With one energetic number after another, there is plenty to see, from A to Z!
Marketing Associate, Shannon McCarthy: “For me, it’s a tie! I always loved the antics of The Cat in the Hat, but I loved looking for all of the quirks and tricks in Wacky Wednesday.
A fan of the Cat? Well, buckle in, because the Cat in the Hat is your tour guide throughout the show. I wonder what antics will ensue…
For lighting designer Gary Hauptman, it’s s tie between Horton Hears a Who and The Cat in the Hat. With the Cat at the helm and trusty Horton leading the way, he’ll surely have a blast at this show.
Development Associate, Rosemarie O’Connor: “My favorite Dr. Seuss book is Green Eggs and Ham! I love the fun rhymes and remember learning to read by building each rhyme on top of the last. (My actual favorite is Go, Dog, Go, but it’s not actually by Dr. Seuss. It’s by P.D. Eastman.)”
Have we got a closing number for you!
Want to see how?
Stick around to see the cast bow!
Curious to know if your favorite characters have made it onstage in our show? Buy your tickets today to find out! Your best seats are waiting for you online or by calling Encore’s Box Office at (703) 548-1154. We can’t wait to share this adventure with you!
Photos by Aileen Pangan and Shannon McCarthy. Graphic design by Aileen Pangan. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.