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Participants in Just Off Broadway Music Theatre Camp auditioned for roles last night and the cast list has been announced! Performances will be 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Aug. 17, and 2 p.m. Aug. 18 at Memorial Auditorium and Convention Center, 503 N. Pine, Pittsburg, under the direction of Greg Shaw, with musical direction by Mary Jo Harper and choreography by McKenna Shaw. Tickets will be sold at the door and are $5 general admission. Proceeds benefit the PHS Theatre program! Break a leg, campers! #JOBLionKing 
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 Know a young thespian who would like the opportunity to grow in musical theatre and experience an immersive two-week experience this summer?
PHS Theatre Director Greg Shaw established Just Off Broadway Musical Theatre Camp for students going into sixth through 10th grades and it's been highly successful. Past productions have included "High School Musical Jr." (2015), "Legally Blonde Jr., The Musical" (2016), "All Shook Up Jr." (2017), and "Fame Jr." (2018). This year's production will be "Lion King Jr." The camp is operated in cooperation with Memorial Auditorium in downtown Pittsburg, where all camp rehearsals are held and the show is produced. Older students who have aged out volunteer as assistants and choreographers. Workshop dates: July 31-Aug. 2: Music, Movement, and Costumes will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Aug. 5-9: Rehearsal will be 5:30 to 9 p.m. Aug. 10: Rehearsal will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 11: Rehearsal will be 1 to 6 p.m. Aug. 12-16: Rehearsal will be 5:30 to 9 p.m. Aug. 17: Dress rehearsal will be 9 a.m. to noon Auditions for specific roles will occur on July 25 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Performance dates: Aug. 17: Show times will be 2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 18: Show time will be 2 p.m. Fee: $100 per child Class size is limited to 30 girls and 20 boys. Proceeds benefit the PHS Theatre Department’s 2019-20 season. Questions? Call Memorial Auditorium at 620-231-7827.  Ticket sales will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. for a fundraiser being staged Friday, May 24, by Pittsburg High School Theatre to close the gap on the remaining money needed for a trip to the International Thespian Festival.
Twelve students qualified at State to perform at the festival, which will be held in June, in Individual Events, One Act Play, and All-State Show categories. The fundraiser, called "Be Our Guest: A Disney Cabaret," will be staged at Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine, and will feature a dessert and coffee buffet and the award-winning students and some alumni performing songs from Disney musicals. Seating is limited to 150 guests. Doors will open and seating will begin on stage at 6:30, with the show starting at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased with cash or check only at the Memorial Auditorium box office during business hours. Tickets also may be purchased at the door the evening of the cabaret, based on availability. Details: www.pittsburghighschooltheatre.org PHS is honored to have earned nine Jester Awards for last fall's production of “Aida." Cast, crew, band, and directors received the awards and performed at the Jester Awards Ceremony in Wichita on May 5. In the past eight months, Jester judges were invited to review 115 performances from 38 Kansas schools; PHS’s “Aida” was among them. This was the fourth time in four years for PHS to earn Jester Award nominations, having also been nominated for Shrek and Band Geeks (2016), Seussical and Addams Family (2017), and the Little Mermaid (2018). This year's awards were: Outstanding Sound design: Elisabeth Brown Outstanding Scenic design: Chuck Boyles and Greg Shaw Outstanding Supporting actor: Gabe Anderson Outstanding Technical Achievement in Hair/Makeup: Hazel Harper Outstanding Production Number: The Gods Love Nubia Outstanding Orchestra Direction: Cooper Neil Outstanding Design Guest: Kyle Newby and Kole Perez Outstanding Leading Actress: McKenna Shaw Outstanding Overall Production: PHS  PHS Theatre has been nominated for 15 Jester Awards by Music Theater Wichita, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.
During the past eight months, MTWichita judges were invited to review 115 performances from 38 Kansas schools. “The abundant talent shown throughout Kansas once again proved to be inspirational and exciting,” said Angela Trotter of MTWichita. On May 5, PHS Theatre will be recognized at the 18th Annual Jester Awards Ceremony at the Century II in Wichita, and will perform excerpts from their Jester-nominated show, “Aida.” PHS nominations include: Overall Production - Aida Direction of Show - Greg Shaw Leading Actress - Addy Campbell (Amneris) Leading Actress - McKenna Shaw (Aida) Supporting Actor - Gabe Anderson (Mereb) Ensemble/Chorus - Aida Production Number - "The God's Love Nubia" (Aida) Orchestra Direction - Cooper Neil Vocal Direction - Susan Laushman Artistic Guest - Maggie and Mollie Stephens (Choreographer) Stage Crew - Aida Technical Achievement - Hazel Harper (Hair & Makeup) Scenic Design - Chuck Boyles & Greg Shaw (Aida) Sound Design - Elisabeth Brown (Aida) Design Guest - Kyle Newby & Kole Perez (Aida) New this year: each of the 20 leading actor and leading actress nominees will perform a brief solo from the show in which they appeared, which will be evaluated by a team of professional judges and who will then determine winners. The ten school productions which have been nominated as Outstanding Overall Production will also each perform an excerpt from their school production, with additional entertainment provided by The Trust Company of Kansas Music Theatre Wichita Teen Choir. Honorees in 24 categories will be announced during the ceremony, and several of the honorees will perform. Scholarship awards will be presented to three students, lead male and female honorees and a technical theatre recipient. Tickets to the ceremony are $10 each in advance (online only), or may be purchased the day of the show for $15 each. Director Greg Shaw will be announcing ticket information and transportation details soon for PHS. Past Jester nominations have been made for PHS productions of “Shrek,” “Seussical,” “Band Geeks,” “Addams Family,” and “Little Mermaid.” PHS Theatre takes on heavy topics with world premier of play; area schools welcome to attend4/9/2019
If you or someone you know is considering replacing a mattress in your home, now is the time. We invite you to attend the PHS Band/Theatre Mattress Fundraiser on Sunday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the PHS Gymnasium. Twenty-five styles of brand-name mattresses will be on display for you to try. All beds are made to order, have full factory warranties, are available in all sizes, and are priced below retail. In addition to beds, several styles of luxury pillows and even adjustable power bases will be on display! Delivery and financing are available. Do you work at Pittsburg State University, for Pittsburg Community Schools, or are you a veteran, military personnel, or first responder? You'll receive a 10 percent discount Want to see it in action? Check out this quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_pQ6O8aVus Don't need a mattress, but want to help students in the PHS Band and Theatre program? Save this photo to your phone and text it to your friends, family, and co-workers!   Due to circumstances beyond his control, Broadway performer Adam Pascal will be unable to come to Pittsburg on Friday. Plans were for him to conduct master classes with PHS Theatre students and cast members of the All-State Show “Bring It On,” and to perform in a public concert with students that night.
PHS Theatre and Memorial Auditorium, which were partnering to host the event, will ensure that each ticket-buyer receives a full refund as soon as possible. “We’re grateful for the support shown over the past several weeks by area businesses and individuals who wanted to help make this event possible,” said Director Greg Shaw. “It means a lot that so many people were on board with us. We’re of course sad that it’s not going to happen, but wish Adam all the best." Shaw said planning for this event had opened up doors for other opportunities for students to work with high-calibre performers, and that it was something PHS Theatre would pursue in the future.  OK so this is big. PHS Performing Arts students as well as theatre enthusiasts from throughout the region will have an incredible opportunity on Feb. 1: they’ll get to spend some time on stage with a Tony Award-winning Broadway performer and film star. Having learned about the recent successes of the PHS Theatre program, Adam Pascal’s agent contacted PHS Theatre Director Greg Shaw to inquire about conducting private and public master classes and performing in a concert with students. Pascal starred as Roger in the original Broadway production “Rent,” starred as Radames in the original Broadway version of Disney’s “Aida,” and portrayed Roger in “Rent,” the film, as well. He played the Emcee in the revival of “Cabaret,” and most recently played Most recently, he played William Shakespeare in the Tony Award-winning musical “Something Rotten.” He recently was chosen to step into the lead role of Edward Lewis in the Broadway show, “Pretty Woman.” Pascal will conduct a private master class with PHS students the morning of Feb. 1 at Memorial Auditorium and Convention Center in Pittsburg. Then, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., he’ll conduct a master class there with some of the state’s best theatre students from not just Pittsburg, but other schools, as well. Ticket holders for the evening’s “Student Showcase” concert at Memorial may observe the master class at no additional charge. The “Student Showcase” concert will feature solo numbers by Pascal as well as cabaret numbers by master class students and group numbers by the casts of “Aida” and the upcoming production of “Footloose.” The concert will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for balcony seating, $35 for reserved main floor and center balcony seating, and $100 for a VIP package, which includes seating in the first three rows in the center section of the main floor, a 30-minute meet-and-greet reception with Pascal prior to the show, and professional photos taken with Pascal available online for download. Nearly all of the VIP packages have sold. Group rates for reserved seating are available. The event is being co-hosted by Memorial Auditorium and by Friends of PHS Performing Arts. Proceeds will benefit the PHS Theatre program, which last weekend won a statewide competition and was chosen to perform at the International Thespian Festival in June. “For a performer of this notoriety and caliber to come to Pittsburg to work with students and perform for the public, especially at this price point, is an incredible opportunity,” said PHS Theatre Director Greg Shaw. “We’re anticipating people driving in from as far away as Kansas City and Wichita to attend.” This isn’t the first time his students have gotten to work with a Broadway star; in 2017, actress Janine Davita, who played the lead role in “Urinetown,” the musical, worked with the cast of PHS’s production of “Urinetown” as well as individual students in a master class. That show would go on to be chosen for State and for Nationals. Buy tickets at www.memorialauditorium.org, at the box office at 503 N. Pine, or by calling 620-231-7827.  Twelve Pittsburg High School Theatre students have qualified to perform at the national level after winning accolades at the state level in Wichita. For the first time, PHS competed in the One-Act Play category at the Kansas Thespian Festival, a state-wide event held in Wichita Jan. 3-5. The show, “Dog Sees God,” was directed by junior McKenna Shaw and acted by eight students: Julian Archuleta, Franchesca Brownhanney, Hannah Casper, Griffin Cooper, Aidan Harries, Jazmin Havens, Maddy Shawn, and Dominic Stefanoni. The play reimagines characters from the popular comic strip Peanuts as degenerate teens and covers issues like drug use, suicide, eating disorders, rebellion, and sexual identity, and packs an emotional punch. Their first-place win qualifies them to perform at the International Thespian Festival, held each June at the University of Lincoln-Nebraska. Additionally, sophomore Sarah Stebbins qualified to perform in the National Individual Event Showcase at the ITF by earning three “Superior” scores on her musical theatre vocal audition. And, three students — Gabe Anderson, Emma NooNoo, and McKenna Shaw — were part of the cast of the Kansas All-State Show, “Bring It On,” which was chosen to be performed at the ITF. Shaw was in the lead female role, while Anderson was in the ensemble and NooNoo served on the technical crew. PHS Theatre Director Greg Shaw was production manager for the show, and Jason Huffman, technical director at Memorial Auditorium who has been a frequent contributor to PHS shows, served as sound director. This is the second year in a row that PHS has qualified in Individual Events and a performance at the ITF; last year, “Urinetown,” the musical, earned the right to perform at the ITF after having been chosen as a main stage production at State. Fundraising efforts led by Friends of PHS Performing Arts raised money to send all 50 cast, crew, and band members to Lincoln to perform at the week-long festival, which attracts several thousand students from the 4,700 schools that have chapters of the International Thespian Society. Fundraising efforts will begin soon to send the 12 PHS students chosen for the honor this year. “It’s thrilling that our students will once again represent the very best work in high school theatre across the country,” said Greg Shaw. “In the one-act competition, for it to be our first time to enter and for us to have won with it being 100-percent student-driven is phenomenal. Having three of our students representing Pittsburg in the All-State Show, as part of nearly 50 students from 24 districts across the state, is something we can all be proud of, as is having a sophomore qualify in an I.E.” “This program is now consistently qualifying students at the state and national level, and we’re very excited about where our program is headed,” Shaw said. PHS also earned Gold Troupe recognition at the Kansas Thespian Festival, based on their body of work during the previous year and their community service, and Shaw was named Teacher of the Year for Region 4. |
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Pittsburg High School • Part of USD 250 Community Schools • Pittsburg, Kansas • 620-235-3200
Created for Pittsburg High School Theatre by Andra Stefanoni