Welcome to the 8th Grade Talent and Variety Show As 8th graders, you have a unique opportunity to come together as a group and display your talents to your peers, your parents, and the community. This is usually a fun event, and it’s one of the main events that brings together the 8th grade class, so we hope all of you will participate. Ideas for Participation in the Show Ideas for those of you who want to perform Ideas for those of you who do not want to perform Singing - Alone or with a group Dancing - Alone or with a group Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, etc. Musical Instruments - Alone or with a group Magic Act Comedy Act - Stand Up or Group Scene from a play, movie or TV show Spoof of a play, movie, TV show or commercial Gymnastics Sport Skit Stage crew Sound and lighting crew Writers Ticket takers Ushers Costumes/Make-up Set design Advertising (Posters, BTV announcements, etc) Master of Ceremonies Even though the talent show is your show, it is still a school function and needs to be appropriate both for school and for all of the students who attend the school. To help you plan, here are some areas to avoid in your writing… Some General Themes to Avoid Suicide, Drugs Drinking Sex - Suggestive dance motions may have to be toned down. What the dance teacher allows at a recital may not work for a talent show. Ethnic Slurs - Accents, Negative stereotypes Gay Bashing Toilet Functions School Bashing - Negative statements or depictions about any person in the school, including students, teachers, administrators, and staff. Profanity of Any Kind - or slang terms. Religious slurs, negative stereotypes Fire Liquids - Do not propose acts that require water, whipped cream, shaving cream and other slushy foods. Historically, these have not been successful, and they make the stage slippery for acts that follow. Specific Dates You Need To Know Script, song and act proposals: Monday, March 17 Final script and song lyrics: Monday, March 24 Individual act rehearsals: Week of March 31 (each act assigned 2 stage days) Full show rehearsals: Monday, April 7 (first act) Tuesday, April 8 (second act) Wednesday, April 9 (both acts) The Talent Show is Thursday, April 10, 7:00 pm (be in the cafeteria at 6:15). Other Important Notes: 1. We encourage everyone to participate, but that doesn’t mean you have to perform. Stage crew, advertising, ticket sales, and being an usher are all ways to help. 2. We’ll help kids find an act if you don’t have one. Groups in need of ideas should contact Mr. Winkelstein, Mrs. Moran, or Mrs. Maimone. 3. Remember your audience. Parents, grandparents, and younger brothers and sisters do not want to see or hear anything off color. Keep it clean and fun. 4. Changes. Mr. Winkelstein or the parent in charge will let you know if changes need to be made to the act/song. This will be done no later than Friday, March 21. Usually, this includes some requirements and some suggestions, so you will still have input. All final changes must be submitted to Mr. Winkelstein for approval. 5. Any distasteful “surprise” inserted into your act the night of performance will result in your exclusion from graduation activities such as the trip and the dance. 6. All scripts and lyrics must be typed out exactly as they will be performed and submitted by March 24. This will be done through SignUp Genius. Details will be given at the meeting. 7. Anyone wishing to audition for the part of master of ceremonies must do so using the form attached. 8. No food is allowed on the stage or in the auditorium. 9. Students should plan on utilizing their own music equipment except for the piano. 10. Students must be in school on April 10 to participate in the show. Also, all participants are expected to be in school on time the next morning. 11. Homework will be assigned the week of the show (but not the night of the show). Students will have time to work on homework during the rehearsals, but should not plan on that being enough time to finish it. 12. Questions can be e-mailed to the directors Mrs. Moran: [email protected] Mrs. Maimone: [email protected]