Academy Spotlight

Taken from the alt newsletter, "CURTAIN CALL"
August 2010

Back to school already? Summer did fly by and what a great camp season the Academy had. We wrapped up camps with a power house "gLee" inspired 8th-12th grade Camp Broadway show and a week's worth of Dance Camp! A big thank you to Ms. Lugene Cole for organizing the Dance Camp and again to all my amazing directors and counselors who helped to make these summer camps and classes such a success! Could not have done it without you guys!

I also want to thank our departing Seniors who graduated from our Academy this year. They provided much time and talent for not only the Academy, but for ALT in general. We are very proud and I know I am excited to see what different "stages" of life they perform on. We hope they "break a leg" in all they do! As our semester begins, I am very excited to welcome some new instructors to our Academy teaching staff. On our Theatre side we have Kayla Jenkins Gregg and Brandon Bellar, Kayla just graduated from WTAMU and will be taking over Rebecca Smithee's classes. Rebecca got a great job here in town and wasn't able to teach for ALT, but she will still be a big part of the Academy helping with classes and shows this season. Brandon has been our Academy's Music Director and is now teaching two classes of vocal performance. Both Kayla and Brandon have some great ideas for their classes and I know the students are going to have a blast with them. In the Dance Studios, we welcome back Megan Medling who was a new Dance Academy instructor last semester and Sandra Sweat. Both have extensive backgrounds in dance and are very passionate about teaching! A perfect combination! Be sure to check out these instructors as well as all the other great teachers and classes we offer!

Fall time means audition time for the Academy and we begin with Tom Sawyer. This Mark Twain classic tells the coming of age story of the community's most mischievous boy. Tom fights a bully, gets his friends to help him whitewash a fence, falls in love with Becky Thatcher, puts together a pirate gang with Huck Finn and the other town boys, runs away from home, comes back to witness his own funeral, wins a Bible scripture contest, and witnesses a murder! The play is about learning to be a "stand-up" person even in the face of tremendous danger and I am very excited to jump into the world of these delightful classic American characters.

Roles are available for enrolled Academy students ages 5 and up. The show consists of 43 named roles with a possibility of a small ensemble. Auditions will be Sunday, September 19th at 2:30pm and Monday September 20th at 7:00pm in the ALT Classroom and will consist of cold readings form the script. Auditions are open to ANY ALT theatre, dance or voice Academy students. The show will run November 5th-7th with rehearsals beginning on September 27th. Look for more audition information the first 2 weeks of classes. Feel free to call 352-0731 or click here to email me with any questions.

I am about to begin my 5th year on the ALT staff and 4th as Academy Director and it amazes me how fast it has gone by. This truly is one of the best jobs to have and I can't wait to see what great memories we make with new shows, new classes, new teachers, and new students joining the Academy family!

Jason Crespin
Academy Director