The Halifax Drama Club presents a yearly musical during the month of April.  Tryouts for the musical are held during the month of November or December and practices start in late December.

The Drama Club was formed in 1960 with only high school students performing in the musicals but has in the past few years included students in grades Pre-K through 12.

 Tryout Process:

After the musical is announced, tryouts music is selected by the Director and Music Director.  This is a song from the show and students are given copies of the music determined on which character they would like to try out for.

On tryout night (usually 2 nights), when students arrived, they are given a form to complete for tryout information and will ask to wait for their tryout number to be called.   Students are called in, one at a time, to do their vocal tryout with the director and the music director.  Music must be memorized.  After the student completes their vocal tryout, they will be asked to leave the auditorium, but to wait until the next portion of the tryout process.  After all private vocal tryouts are complete, the group of students will be called in to learn a small dance tryout which they will do in groups.   After this is complete, there will be a reading tryout for students that the director/music director feel they need to hear read lines.

After these items are complete, the students are thanked for their participation in the tryout process and explained when the cast will be posted (this is done the day after the 2nd tryout and posted in building offices at 10am).

 Pre-Practice:

After the cast is posted, students will be asked to stop in the office to pick up a script/music for practice.

At the first practice, students will be given information packets, so of which will have to be returned.  Schedules for practices will be given to students and will also be emailed to the students/parents the day of rehearsal.  Rehearsal times are kept accurate so that your child will not have to be at the early practices all evening.

 Practices:

Practices will begin the end of December with a read/sing through and music rehearsals will start the beginning of January (usually 1-2 days a week).

Starting in February, there will be dance rehearsals 1 or 2 days a week and 1 day of music rehearsal.

In the month on March, blocking (movement on the stage) will be done as well as dance and music rehearsal.

The week of the show is “Tech Week”.  During this week, attendance is mandatory and is when everything is put together with the technical part of the show (lighting and sound).

 Additional Help:

Not everyone wants to be on the stage which makes a musical a great opportunity to learn something new.   There are students needed for the stage crew (moving sets, props, moving backdrops, etc….), stage managing (a traffic controller backstage), costumes, make-up, set construction and painting, plus many more “behind the scenes” things.

 If you think this is for you, plan to tryout for our next show or if you want to be backstage, let us know that after tryouts.