“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was…”
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Dear Friends and Family,
“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was,” I answered “It’s October 3rd” – 10 points if you know which character said this!
I wish answers to all questions were as simple as a Mean Girls quote, but they aren’t. I wish we all agreed on the answers, but we don’t. If we did, would we all be happy, or would life be boring? Would we even know if we were happy if that’s what we were always feeling? I mean, “if life were only moments, then you’d never know you had one.” 10 more points if you can name the character who said that and another 10 if you know the musical.
Life as an Executive and Artistic Director is made up of a lot of questions – those that I ask myself and those that are asked to (or of) me. There are questions about the immediate moment, as well as the future. There are not many questions that I can answer on my own at TADA! (well…I have a hard time in life as well – even deciding what I want to eat can be a challenging question for me). I need the help of the Board, the staff, the RYET members and their families, the Education students and their families, the school administrators – all of our audiences.
What are some of the pressing questions at TADA! you ask? I’ll tell you…
- Do we stay or do we go? Our lease is up at the end of August 2025.
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego – ooops, sorry I mean Craig Watson? He played little Martin Luther King, Jr. in the first production of The History Mystery. And all the rest of the Alum – we want to see you at the theater!!!
- Celebration. Good Times. How do we celebrate TADA!’s 40th Anniversary? Many different ways, starting with our new logo below!
- How does a non-profit theater in NYC survive without having big stars in their shows? TADA! doesn’t have that. What we do have are soon-to-be stars. Actors that got their starts at TADA! Include Jordan Peele, Kerry Washington and …add 10 points for every other name you get!
- How do we increase our income to keep up with the rising expenses?
- What shows do we do?
That last question was answered with The History Mystery and Game Changers, two musicals from our repertoire also celebrating anniversaries – 30 years and 5 years respectively. The History Mystery opens in two and a half weeks, so we’re currently in rehearsals. It’s a large cast of 32 with 55 costume changes and 8 set changes (Hey, another 10 points – actually, this is hard, so make it 30 – if you can name ALL the various places, dates and historical characters we visit). This is one of our most political pieces for young audiences. Who in 1994 told stories of internment camps, suffragettes, and racism among 8 year olds in a live stage musical for family audiences? This was way before Snuffs and Allegiance were on Broadway!
We chose to do The History Mystery again at this time of year because of the Presidential elections. We will have a voting booth in the lobby and our audience members will get to cast their votes on things that are important to them such as: Cats or Dogs, Beyonce or Taylor Swift, Apple Juice or Orange Juice. Each show we will announce the winner and each weekend we will draw a winner from all the ballots and they will win tickets to Game Changers. And, the performances after November 5th will have some rewrites!!!
Oh, and L’shana Tova (Happy New Year). That’s what day it is today.
Best,
Janine Nina Trevens
Executive & Producing Artistic Director
