New to the Play?
Here’s some basic info to get you started:
Applications (both an online portion and a paper portion written by students) are due Wed. Oct. 16th for this year's Play.
We encourage all students to take the opportunity to join this team, creating a show to entertain family, friends and the Los Gatos school community…this year will be especially exciting with all 4 Los Gatos elementary schools participating together in the Play!
We do all we can to accommodate other activities during the Play production period. Those of us who have experienced past Plays with our kids, managing multiple other activities at the same time, know it can be done, and that it is a rewarding experience! Please read below for further info on how we make it work...
1) In recent years we've had enough students sign up for the play that we've had three entire casts, each performing 1 Preview Night for school staff and 3 weekend shows for family and friends. Your child will likely have two 'doubles' learning the exact same things to perform as them, which is helpful when your student has to miss rehearsal due to a conflict (see below) or illness.
2) Rehearsals start the Monday after the cast list is announced and go thru late January. They run most every day, Monday - Saturday, but no student will be scheduled for every rehearsal.
- Weekday rehearsals are usually from 3pm-7pm (We would have them in 2 hour increments; and Wednesdays could start as early as 12:45pm).
- Saturday rehearsals usually occur between the hours of 10am-2pm, with students typically called for a block of a few hours.
Beginning in mid-January, there will most likely be some Sunday rehearsals
Shows will start late January and finish by the second weekend of February at Blossom Hill.
Rehearsals will be at Daves Avenue, Van Meter and Blossom Hill on a rotating schedule thru December. Starting January, all rehearsals will be at Blossom Hill in preparation for the performance.
3) Most students will be scheduled for 2-3 rehearsals per week; lead roles may be scheduled up to 4-5 times a week as we get close to show time.
4) Rehearsal schedules change weekly, so your student will not always have rehearsal the same days of the week. Things usually shift as different characters are needed to rehearse different scenes. Please note that this shifting schedule allows your child to have other activities going on along with the Play (i.e. your child won’t always have rehearsal on Mondays, so if your child has, say, a sports practice every Monday, it won’t always conflict!)
5) The director will publish approximately two weeks' worth of rehearsal schedules at a time. We'll try to get the next schedule published on the play website a week in advance. Rehearsal scheduling depends on several factors: how well the kids are learning the scenes and songs/dances, the availability of the artistic staff (vocal director, choreographers), and the 130+ conflict calendars. As you can imagine, scheduling rehearsals to respect the time of all involved is a tricky business! We appreciate your patience and flexibility.
6) Please include all conflicts on the Conflicts Calendar in your online application. Each scene and song will be covered at rehearsal more than once, so if your child has to miss a rehearsal or part of a rehearsal due to a conflict, they will get a chance to catch up at a future rehearsal... they can also ask the other kids playing their role (their 'doubles') to tell them what they missed.
7) In the first few months, you will manage your student's rehearsal schedule each week based on what other conflicts they have and on how your child feels they are doing in learning their part.
8) What about homework? This is a great opportunity for your kids to work on their time management skills. There might be some down time for them during rehearsals. We encourage them to bring a book to read and some homework. They might have some time to read their book or work on homework.
9) Once we get back from Winter Break on Jan. 6th, we ask that the Play take top priority over other activities because at that point there will only remain:
2 weeks of rehearsal + 1 week of dress rehearsals and then the kids take the stage before live audiences—Preview Nights for school district staff, then 2 performance weekends for family and friends!
10) Each family is asked to contribute a minimum of 22 volunteer hours—20 hours on a committee and 2 hours during Strike. Play production requires a lot of different skills and talents at various times. If you can’t help during the day, many of the jobs can be done on weekends and in evenings:
You may buy out of your volunteer time for $350 (in addition to your child’s $195 participation fee). See the Online Application to indicate your buyout option. We truly respect that some families need to buyout of the volunteer commitment. But we need to know now, at the start, how many buyouts there are, so we know how many folks we have left to assign to committees.
We welcome your further questions: ThePlayLG@gmail.com.
Applications (both an online portion and a paper portion written by students) are due Wed. Oct. 16th for this year's Play.
We encourage all students to take the opportunity to join this team, creating a show to entertain family, friends and the Los Gatos school community…this year will be especially exciting with all 4 Los Gatos elementary schools participating together in the Play!
We do all we can to accommodate other activities during the Play production period. Those of us who have experienced past Plays with our kids, managing multiple other activities at the same time, know it can be done, and that it is a rewarding experience! Please read below for further info on how we make it work...
1) In recent years we've had enough students sign up for the play that we've had three entire casts, each performing 1 Preview Night for school staff and 3 weekend shows for family and friends. Your child will likely have two 'doubles' learning the exact same things to perform as them, which is helpful when your student has to miss rehearsal due to a conflict (see below) or illness.
2) Rehearsals start the Monday after the cast list is announced and go thru late January. They run most every day, Monday - Saturday, but no student will be scheduled for every rehearsal.
- Weekday rehearsals are usually from 3pm-7pm (We would have them in 2 hour increments; and Wednesdays could start as early as 12:45pm).
- Saturday rehearsals usually occur between the hours of 10am-2pm, with students typically called for a block of a few hours.
Beginning in mid-January, there will most likely be some Sunday rehearsals
Shows will start late January and finish by the second weekend of February at Blossom Hill.
Rehearsals will be at Daves Avenue, Van Meter and Blossom Hill on a rotating schedule thru December. Starting January, all rehearsals will be at Blossom Hill in preparation for the performance.
3) Most students will be scheduled for 2-3 rehearsals per week; lead roles may be scheduled up to 4-5 times a week as we get close to show time.
4) Rehearsal schedules change weekly, so your student will not always have rehearsal the same days of the week. Things usually shift as different characters are needed to rehearse different scenes. Please note that this shifting schedule allows your child to have other activities going on along with the Play (i.e. your child won’t always have rehearsal on Mondays, so if your child has, say, a sports practice every Monday, it won’t always conflict!)
5) The director will publish approximately two weeks' worth of rehearsal schedules at a time. We'll try to get the next schedule published on the play website a week in advance. Rehearsal scheduling depends on several factors: how well the kids are learning the scenes and songs/dances, the availability of the artistic staff (vocal director, choreographers), and the 130+ conflict calendars. As you can imagine, scheduling rehearsals to respect the time of all involved is a tricky business! We appreciate your patience and flexibility.
6) Please include all conflicts on the Conflicts Calendar in your online application. Each scene and song will be covered at rehearsal more than once, so if your child has to miss a rehearsal or part of a rehearsal due to a conflict, they will get a chance to catch up at a future rehearsal... they can also ask the other kids playing their role (their 'doubles') to tell them what they missed.
7) In the first few months, you will manage your student's rehearsal schedule each week based on what other conflicts they have and on how your child feels they are doing in learning their part.
8) What about homework? This is a great opportunity for your kids to work on their time management skills. There might be some down time for them during rehearsals. We encourage them to bring a book to read and some homework. They might have some time to read their book or work on homework.
9) Once we get back from Winter Break on Jan. 6th, we ask that the Play take top priority over other activities because at that point there will only remain:
2 weeks of rehearsal + 1 week of dress rehearsals and then the kids take the stage before live audiences—Preview Nights for school district staff, then 2 performance weekends for family and friends!
10) Each family is asked to contribute a minimum of 22 volunteer hours—20 hours on a committee and 2 hours during Strike. Play production requires a lot of different skills and talents at various times. If you can’t help during the day, many of the jobs can be done on weekends and in evenings:
- Procure/sell concessions items
- Sew/procure costumes
- Supervise in the dressing rooms or green room during dress rehearsals and performances.
- Help with publicity.
- Help assemble and paint stage and sets on weekends.
You may buy out of your volunteer time for $350 (in addition to your child’s $195 participation fee). See the Online Application to indicate your buyout option. We truly respect that some families need to buyout of the volunteer commitment. But we need to know now, at the start, how many buyouts there are, so we know how many folks we have left to assign to committees.
We welcome your further questions: ThePlayLG@gmail.com.