Author: Marilyn Mullan

We will start Zoom meetings on May 8th
I hope to give people an update tomorrow. Blessings, Marilyn

Question: Will HST’s let students perform if sick?
*NO.* While it’s true that HST normally has a “the show most go on” policy – these are not normal circumstances.
We are probably going to ask parents to take students temperature before coming to the theater. If anyone has a temperature they will be asked to stay home.
The luxury of filming is that we could have someone fill in for a character with a tight shot that allows the fill-in to be reading a poster with lines. All dances could be adjusted if needed.

Do people not in scenes leave grounds completely?
Yes – we are still working on the filming schedule but once we have dismissed students we need parents to take them home. We realize this may mean several trips back and forth for parents but parents normally travel between 8 and 10 times between theater & their homes during a show week.
If transporting various students at various times is a hardship, we may arrange for the House Manager to transport students to my home where an adult volunteer would supervise students who would socially distance on my deck until their sibling is done at theater and parent can then pick up both at same time. With permission – students could also walk to my house from the theater (distance is a little less than a mile).

Question: How many people in theater?
– People will be scheduled to be at the theater only for scenes they are in. Since we can film shows out-of-sequence, we will group together scenes as prudently as possible to minimize the number of people in the theater at any one time. When not working on stage – students will wait in the house – sitting in assigned seats that will be more than 6 feet apart. – Support people in the theater will be kept to minimum (probably 10 people) since there are no fast changes. 2 Costume backstage, 2 Theater staff in booth, Director in house, Assistant to Director in light booth, 2 camera operators, myself and a House Manager. – Specialty make-up team will be done outside(under cover on patio). Tech students will set up props outside and be used to shift sets between scenes – but actors will be waiting in house (sitting socially distanced) when that happens. – There are some scenes that have everyone in the troupe but all of our troupes are well under the 50 person limit that I am trusting will be in place by June 1. – GB – 19 students – JR – 20 students – SH – 22 students – SR – 30 students (only a couple scenes/dances have everyone) – Theatricals – 19 students – Acting – largest scene group is 10 students. – Dance: one group will be on stage being filmed. The second group will either be in the social hall (if available) or outside on parking lot rehearsing. When stage group is changed and has exited, next group will be brought in to costume. There will be dance instructor and Honor Society students supervising rehearsals. – Jazz 1A – 11 students – Jazz 1B – 8 students – Jazz 2 – 9 students – Tap 1A – 9 students – Tap 1B – 8 students – Tap 2 – 11 students – BW Boys Jazz – 11 students – BW Jazz 1 – 12 students – BW Jazz 2 – 19 students – BW Tap 1 – 11 students – BW Tap 2 – 18 students – Jazz 3 – 14 students – Jazz 4 – 6 students – Tap 3 – 9 students – Tap 4 – 10 students – Irish Hardshoe – 4 students – Irish Softshoe – 9 students – FINALE – each dance class will film their bow & finale choreography after they film their dance. These segments will be edited together to create the finale. – Choir: Choirs are made up of vocal sections. As much as possible, we will separate by 6 feet the choir sections during rehearsals. We may also choose to hold theater rehearsals outside on the patio. When filming – students will be spaced as a normal choir. Stage will have industrial fans circulating air right before/after a song is filmed. – BW Choir – 20 students – A Cappella choir – 28 students
Blessings, Marilyn

Dear 25th Year HST Families,
Another great question:
*What are HST’s safety procedures?*
– Everyone will wear masks/gloves except for when a scene or dance is actually being filmed. – After filming, performiers will use hand sanitizer or wash hands before putting gloves back on. – We will use social distancing whenever possible. – We are working on making face shields for make-up team (make-up team participation is optional – students who were assigned to help may decline).
Blessings, Marilyn

Dear 25th Year Families,
We will continue to pass along to you our answers to the questions we are getting.
*What if we are still in shelter in place?*
This is the only circumstance that would make HST cancel it’s 25th show season.
I have prayed hard and do not believe this will be the case in 4 more weeks. The economy is struggling and people need to work. I believe there will be an easing of restrictions – with 50 people gatherings being the first likely increment. We can film each of these productions by scheduling groups of less than 50 people at a time. If there is a 2nd group meeting concurrently to rehearse they will be in a separate location or outside.
Blessings, Marilyn

Dear 25th Year Parents,
We have another great question: *Will families be allowed to buy a copy of the videos?*
*Answer:*
– All shows (except *West Side Story*) will be available for families (not public) to purchase a DVD copy of the video we will put together. (Cost will be $12/copy) – All families will sign a waiver stating that they will not post any part of the videos online or transfer it to family/friends electronically. Families are welcome to show the videos in their own home, or mail a DVD copy to out-of-town relatives. – *West Side Story* does not offer video rights at any price. However, we believe 30 second segments are allowed to be filmed for PR purposes. If confirmed, we will put together a PR video that has 30 second segments of each scene and dance. We would not sell this but would give one copy to each family in the show as a PR memento. If we are allowed to do this, it would not be ready to distribute until later in the summer.
Follow up question: Can we use our ticket money to purchase a DVD?
– No. Filming will bring an entire new set of expenses to HST’s budget. Puchasing the videos will help cover those costs.
We will put together a new Show Item form that families can use to order DVD’s. Blessings, Marilyn

Some families did not receive this email, so I am resending to all. I’ve also made two corrections (in purple). Please help us out by checking with friends to make sure they got this. Blessings, Marilyn Dear 25th Year HST Families,
It has been a long season of waiting, praying, adjusting, waiting, praying, adjusting…..but we have gotten to a conclusion:
*HST is going to finish it’s 25th Year Shows! * *Mini-Movie Viewings*: *June 27th – June 30th* (See attached viewing schedule for specifric dates/times)
*I feel 100% confident that God is going to allow us to accomplish this*. What is not clear, is which one of the 2 paths we’ll take to reach this goal. So, we are making thorough plans for both possibilites so we will be ready to go when the time comes.
What do we need from you to accomplish this goal? *Please read the time commitments that will be required* and *reply to let us know if your student(s) will participate by 9am Thursday, APRIL** 30th.* Of course we’d love to have every talented student participate but we fully respect each family needs to do what is best for them.
*SHOWCASE -* Filmed week of June 8th (See Attached Schedule)
– DANCE theater time commitment will be 1.5 for level 1 & 2 dances, 2 hours for levels 3 & 4 dances. (Most will have all hours on same date: 6/2, 6/3 or 6/4). – Teacher may assign video homework to be posted to google drive and reviewed with student during mutually agreed on Zoom time. . – ACTING theater time commitment will be 1.5 hours on *Monday, June 8* – Two to four Zoom sessions (on Friday mornings) during May. – CHOIRS: Broadway & A Cappella theater time commitment will be 6 hours. Two rehearsal classes (June 1 & 8) and then a 2 hour session (6/12) for filming. – Zoom sessions on Friday mornings (between 9am and Noon) May 8th – May 29th. Session times for choir groupings sent out each week. – Safety Percautions: HST will film one song/dance/scene to keep number of students in building to minimum. Masks & gloves will be worn until we actually film. Immediately after filming everyone will wash hands/use hand sanitizer and put masks/gloves back on.
*TROUPES* – Filmed week of June 1st (Possible recording time for songs during week of May 24th. Will be arranged with vocalists.)
– All troupes will have two to four Zoom sessions (on Friday afternoons) during May. – Directors may assign video homework to be posted to google drive – JR & GB Troupes: Total theater time commitment will be between 10 and 15 hours (actors will only be called in if they will be in the scenes being filmed) – JR slots: Mon., June 1 (rehearsal) 11am to 4pm ALL , (Tues. & Wed.) June 2,3 (filming) between 11am and 4pm as scheduled – GB slots: Wed., June 3 (rehearsal) 11am to 4pm ALL, (Thurs. & Fri.) June 4,5 (filming) between 11am and 4pm as scheduled – SR & SH Troupes: Total theater time commitment will be 10 to 20 hours (actors will only be called in if they will be in the scenes being filmed) – SH: Sun., May 31 (rehearsal) 6pm to 10pm ALL, (Mon. & Tues.) June 1 & 2 (filming) between 6pm and 11pm as scheduled, Leads: (6/12) 6pm-? if needed – SR: Mon. & Tues. 6/1 & 2: 6 to 11pm ALL (rehearsals ), (Wed. & Thurs.) June 3 & 4 (filming) between 6 and 11pm as scheduled, Leads: (6/12) 6-? if needed
*THEATRICALS*
– Rehearsal: Fri. June 19th 1pm to 4pm – PLAN A – Perform with audience – Total theater time commitment will be 11 hours: Fri. June 26th – 6pm to 10pm (rehearsal), Sat. June 27th – Noon, 2pm, 4pm Performances – PLAN B – Film – Total theater time commitment will be 8 hours: Fri. June 26th – 6pm to 10pm (rehearsal), Sat. June 27th – Noon to 4pm (film)
Now – if all this wasn’t exciting enough….look for another email with info about next year’s dance classes and our Zoom assessments!!
I am SUPER grateful to God that things are finally coming together. PLEASE join me in prayer to first THANK GOD for the opportunity to complete our 25th year, and then continue to ask for His merciful guidance and provision as we all learn how to make movies!!
Oh, one more thing. I’ve been asked about whether or not these will end up being quality productions up to HST’s standard. My answer: *they will be up to God’s quality standards!! * *This will be a once-in-a-lifetime HST experience where we make mini-movies. * These will *not* be video recordings of live productions. They will be filmed and edited to be as much like a movie as possible. We’ll be using a green screen for filming and dropping in backgrounds. We will have professional cameramen and editors. There will be cut-away shots and close-ups and establishment shots. If we film outside the theater – we’ll pre-record the singing so that we have good sound quality for songs. Combine all that with the wonderful costumes, make-up, wigs, props, and sets that our parents, tech and make-up teams always put together…..and I feel confident that anyone who comes to a viewing will get their money’s worth. Of course, if people want a refund – we will give them one, but I’ll send more about that later. For now….we just need to focus on finishing our 25th Season!!
Blessings, Marilyn

HST-25th-Show-Season.docx

Dear 25th Year Acting Families,
My apologies. I should have someone edit my emails!
Acting scene filming will happen on Monday June 8th. Blessings, Marilyn

Dear 25th Year HST Families,
We got a great question: *What about volunteer hours?*
*HST will just give grace this year for anyone who was not able to complete their hours.*
We WILL be making some new Sign-Up Genius’s for work sessions to complete sets and to get the last of the costume sewing done as well as ALL the steaming/ironing. There will also be some volunteer jobs needed during filming and during viewings.
*We hope everyone will check to see if they can help in some small way because many hands make light work.* Of course if nothing jives with your family’s needs – we understand. There will not be any bills sent out for incomplete volunteer hours.
Blessings, Marilyn