PRODUCTION POLICIES
Listed below are production policies that were signed on the audition form.
PRODUCTION FEES: After students have been offered official invitations into the company, students are expected to pay their production fees before September 1st. Invoices will be sent home by March 15th. The fee is evidence of accepting a role in the production. If a student does not pay the production fee, we will assume they have dropped participation and will therefore not be officially invited to be a part of the company.
SUMMER INTENSIVE REHEARSALS: The entire company will be expected to attend all rehearsals. Not attending a rehearsal may result in dismissal from the all-state production:
SUMMER INTENSIVE: June 17th - June 21st from 9am - 6pm at Rock Ridge High School. Upon request, students will be giving a Host Family if they are driving more than 45 minutes to and from rehearsal.
REHEARSAL CLOTHES POLICY:
Performers: Must only wear their Thespian Spirit Wear or Virginia All State production gear to all rehearsals. They must be in appropriate movement clothes. Movement clothes include sweats, jogging pants, shorts, yoga pants, t-shirts, and tank tops. Students not in appropriate gear will be asked to leave rehearsal with an unexcused absence.
Tech Crew: Students are required to wear pants, paint clothes, and closed toe shoes for all tech crew rehearsals.
WEEKEND REHEARSALS: ALL Students are expected to attend both weekend rehearsals:
Saturday, September 7th - 9am - 9pm
Sunday, September 8th - 9am - 4pm
Saturday, January 11th - 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday, January 12th - 9:00am - 6:00pm
Should a student miss any portion of a weekend or holiday build/tech day that was not listed on the audition form conflict page, the student will lose performances.
TECHNICAL REHEARSALS: ALL students are required to be at ALL TECH REHEARSALS for the full time. We kindly ask that you negotiate the absences from school with your principal and your teachers. Technical Rehearsals will be the Thursday and Friday all day, and the weekend before the Performances. Should a student miss any technical rehearsal, they will be immediately removed from the company for safety reasons.
PICK UP REHEARSALS: In the event we are selected for the International Thespian Festival we will have Pick Up Rehearsals in May and June of 2020.
PERFORMANCES: All students must be at all performances January 17th - 18th. Any student who misses a performance will not be allowed to audition for future All-State productions, and will be removed from the production.
PRODUCTION FEE: Failure to fulfill the financial obligation outlined in the signed contract may result in the student being removed from the production before the June Intensive rehearsal.
PARENT AGREEMENT: Participants’ parents are asked to avoid restricting their child’s involvement from the production as a form of punishment once their child has been selected. The play is contingent on all participants. If there are problems that could bar a participant from continuing in the show, please contact the show Director as soon as possible to arrange a replacement.
TROUPE DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITY: Participants’ Troupe Directors are asked not to punish or penalize participants in the All-State Show by scheduling mandatory performances or rehearsals at your school during the Performances or rehearsals of the All-State Show. All rehearsal dates for the All-State production can be found here on the Virginia Thespian Website.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY: At no time should a participant bring drugs or alcohol to any VA Thespians event. Should we discover that this has occurred, you will be immediately dismissed from the company without a refund. Any violation of Festival rules/safety will automatically be grounds for dismissal from the company. Your parent(s) will be responsible for the cost to send you home. All participants are required to follow this policy regardless of their age.
VIRGINIA FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE: Participants will be expected to attend the 2019 Virginia Thespian Conference in order to participate in callbacks and the 2020 Virginia Thespian Conference to perform in the show. All registration and hotel expenses for the conference are the responsibility of the participants and should be handled through their respective troupe. Students may not participate in the show if they are not a registered attendee of the 2020 Virginia Conference. Conference dates will be announced prior to Call-Backs.
TRANSPORTATION: Participants must provide their own transportation to all host families for rehearsals. Once the participant is with their host family, the host family will provide transportation to rehearsals and other required events. Transportation to the International Thespian Festival will be the exception.
INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN FESTIVAL 2020: Should we be selected by the adjudication committee to attend the 2020 festival in Illinois, each student will be responsible for fundraising their own festival fees. Only 12 productions are chosen each year to attend, and this is a huge honor. We must have the original cast and production team available as part of our acceptance.
ADJUDICATIONS: This production is being adjudicated at the 2020 Virginia Thespian Festival located at Shenandoah Conservatory for the 2020 International Thespian Festival. Part of your production fee goes toward paying for adjudication.
LEAVING THE COMPANY: Students who drop out of the company will not be eligible for future all state productions. Therefore, should you be selected; you agree to be a part of the process until we officially close the show. In the event of an emergency please speak to the directing team.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students may not miss any rehearsals. Missing a rehearsal may result in immediate dismissal from the company with no refund of production fees.
NOTES FROM DIRECTORS: Throughout this process, the students will receive both constructive criticism and positive notes from the directing team. Please remember these notes are not a reflection of how the directing team feels about your specific child, nor are they intended to “bully” your child, rather they are a tool to push them to the best of their abilities. There will be days that rehearsals are hard, and students will need to come home to express their frustrations and exhaustions. As parents, we ask that you help us and teach perseverance and positive professionalism both onstage and off. Should you have any concerns about the rehearsal process or notes, please contact the directing team to set up a parent conference. Your child will not be penalized for requesting a parent conference.
SICK NOTES: When a child is sick, please take your child to the doctor. When an athlete receives an injury, you take them to the doctor so they may heal quickly and play again. Actors’ tools are their mind and body including: voice, throat, nasal cavities, chest, and diaphragm. Any illness will result in the participant’s inability to be successful onstage and off. Therefore it is critical that students who need attention from the doctor receive that attention as soon as possible.
FAVORITISM AND PRECASTING POLICY: Under no circumstances does the Virginia Thespians, nor the host school play favorites or pre-cast any productions. It is the philosophy of Virginia Thespians that every child, whether they are new to the program or a seasoned veteran, has a place in the theatre program. Students are cast or placed based on their audition/ interview and ability to work well with others. Casting and Technical decisions are not determined by what a student has done for Virginia Thespians, or the host school. However, behavior in previous productions may be considered. Casting and placement decisions are also not determined by what a student has done for any other arts education/community theatre organization in the past. Additionally, students are not cast based on what their parents/legal guardians do for the company. An audition/ interview is a clean slate for all students and we truly do our best to ensure that every child has a place in the All-State Production. This policy is strictly enforced. There will be a panel of auditors helping cast all productions as well as a detailed audition rubric that a student may ask to see at the end of the audition process through a consultation between teacher, parent, and student.
SUMMER INTENSIVE REHEARSALS: The entire company will be expected to attend all rehearsals. Not attending a rehearsal may result in dismissal from the all-state production:
SUMMER INTENSIVE: June 17th - June 21st from 9am - 6pm at Rock Ridge High School. Upon request, students will be giving a Host Family if they are driving more than 45 minutes to and from rehearsal.
REHEARSAL CLOTHES POLICY:
Performers: Must only wear their Thespian Spirit Wear or Virginia All State production gear to all rehearsals. They must be in appropriate movement clothes. Movement clothes include sweats, jogging pants, shorts, yoga pants, t-shirts, and tank tops. Students not in appropriate gear will be asked to leave rehearsal with an unexcused absence.
Tech Crew: Students are required to wear pants, paint clothes, and closed toe shoes for all tech crew rehearsals.
WEEKEND REHEARSALS: ALL Students are expected to attend both weekend rehearsals:
Saturday, September 7th - 9am - 9pm
Sunday, September 8th - 9am - 4pm
Saturday, January 11th - 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday, January 12th - 9:00am - 6:00pm
Should a student miss any portion of a weekend or holiday build/tech day that was not listed on the audition form conflict page, the student will lose performances.
TECHNICAL REHEARSALS: ALL students are required to be at ALL TECH REHEARSALS for the full time. We kindly ask that you negotiate the absences from school with your principal and your teachers. Technical Rehearsals will be the Thursday and Friday all day, and the weekend before the Performances. Should a student miss any technical rehearsal, they will be immediately removed from the company for safety reasons.
PICK UP REHEARSALS: In the event we are selected for the International Thespian Festival we will have Pick Up Rehearsals in May and June of 2020.
PERFORMANCES: All students must be at all performances January 17th - 18th. Any student who misses a performance will not be allowed to audition for future All-State productions, and will be removed from the production.
PRODUCTION FEE: Failure to fulfill the financial obligation outlined in the signed contract may result in the student being removed from the production before the June Intensive rehearsal.
- If you have friends or family who are interested in helping you with your financial obligation, ask them to send their contributions directly to your parent/guardian. Your parent/guardian will deposit/cash them, and then send one check or money order to Virginia Thespians.
- Ask your principal or school for support.
- Ask your troupe and troupe director for support.
- All payments must be sent by mail or paid online. No in-person payments will be accepted. You may not pay at rehearsal..
- Checks/Money Orders should be made payable to VIRGINIA THESPIANS and should have the student’s name in the memo. Make sure the person or school giving the money has their information on the top of the check or money order. (Address, name, and phone number). Remember only Checks from your parent/Guardian or School will be accepted.
- Only one payment may be accepted.
- There is a $50 fee for any returned checks.
PARENT AGREEMENT: Participants’ parents are asked to avoid restricting their child’s involvement from the production as a form of punishment once their child has been selected. The play is contingent on all participants. If there are problems that could bar a participant from continuing in the show, please contact the show Director as soon as possible to arrange a replacement.
TROUPE DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITY: Participants’ Troupe Directors are asked not to punish or penalize participants in the All-State Show by scheduling mandatory performances or rehearsals at your school during the Performances or rehearsals of the All-State Show. All rehearsal dates for the All-State production can be found here on the Virginia Thespian Website.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY: At no time should a participant bring drugs or alcohol to any VA Thespians event. Should we discover that this has occurred, you will be immediately dismissed from the company without a refund. Any violation of Festival rules/safety will automatically be grounds for dismissal from the company. Your parent(s) will be responsible for the cost to send you home. All participants are required to follow this policy regardless of their age.
VIRGINIA FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE: Participants will be expected to attend the 2019 Virginia Thespian Conference in order to participate in callbacks and the 2020 Virginia Thespian Conference to perform in the show. All registration and hotel expenses for the conference are the responsibility of the participants and should be handled through their respective troupe. Students may not participate in the show if they are not a registered attendee of the 2020 Virginia Conference. Conference dates will be announced prior to Call-Backs.
TRANSPORTATION: Participants must provide their own transportation to all host families for rehearsals. Once the participant is with their host family, the host family will provide transportation to rehearsals and other required events. Transportation to the International Thespian Festival will be the exception.
INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN FESTIVAL 2020: Should we be selected by the adjudication committee to attend the 2020 festival in Illinois, each student will be responsible for fundraising their own festival fees. Only 12 productions are chosen each year to attend, and this is a huge honor. We must have the original cast and production team available as part of our acceptance.
ADJUDICATIONS: This production is being adjudicated at the 2020 Virginia Thespian Festival located at Shenandoah Conservatory for the 2020 International Thespian Festival. Part of your production fee goes toward paying for adjudication.
LEAVING THE COMPANY: Students who drop out of the company will not be eligible for future all state productions. Therefore, should you be selected; you agree to be a part of the process until we officially close the show. In the event of an emergency please speak to the directing team.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students may not miss any rehearsals. Missing a rehearsal may result in immediate dismissal from the company with no refund of production fees.
NOTES FROM DIRECTORS: Throughout this process, the students will receive both constructive criticism and positive notes from the directing team. Please remember these notes are not a reflection of how the directing team feels about your specific child, nor are they intended to “bully” your child, rather they are a tool to push them to the best of their abilities. There will be days that rehearsals are hard, and students will need to come home to express their frustrations and exhaustions. As parents, we ask that you help us and teach perseverance and positive professionalism both onstage and off. Should you have any concerns about the rehearsal process or notes, please contact the directing team to set up a parent conference. Your child will not be penalized for requesting a parent conference.
SICK NOTES: When a child is sick, please take your child to the doctor. When an athlete receives an injury, you take them to the doctor so they may heal quickly and play again. Actors’ tools are their mind and body including: voice, throat, nasal cavities, chest, and diaphragm. Any illness will result in the participant’s inability to be successful onstage and off. Therefore it is critical that students who need attention from the doctor receive that attention as soon as possible.
FAVORITISM AND PRECASTING POLICY: Under no circumstances does the Virginia Thespians, nor the host school play favorites or pre-cast any productions. It is the philosophy of Virginia Thespians that every child, whether they are new to the program or a seasoned veteran, has a place in the theatre program. Students are cast or placed based on their audition/ interview and ability to work well with others. Casting and Technical decisions are not determined by what a student has done for Virginia Thespians, or the host school. However, behavior in previous productions may be considered. Casting and placement decisions are also not determined by what a student has done for any other arts education/community theatre organization in the past. Additionally, students are not cast based on what their parents/legal guardians do for the company. An audition/ interview is a clean slate for all students and we truly do our best to ensure that every child has a place in the All-State Production. This policy is strictly enforced. There will be a panel of auditors helping cast all productions as well as a detailed audition rubric that a student may ask to see at the end of the audition process through a consultation between teacher, parent, and student.