‘International Top Ten’ need $33,000 miracle by Friday
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It is 5:25 p.m. on Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Lemon Bay High School Theatre students are already exhausted, dripping in sweat and anxious to perform.
In a mere five hours the 48-foot semi truck has been unloaded, every inch of scenery on the 35' x 40' stage has been reconstructed, props have been organized, 500 costume pieces have been steamed, ironed and organized, over 100 wigs rest on their heads in dressing rooms, and the Thespians stretch and vocally warm up with their hair done in wig curls, their make up half complete.
Outside of Ferguson Hall, over a thousand teenage thespians from around the state of Florida chant and sing, eagerly awaiting the house to open. At 6 p.m. the curtain drops, pre-show music plays in the dimly lit house, and the students race to their seats. The house is full within three minutes.
It was evident the seasoned Englewood thespians had their audience in the palm of their hands as soon as the curtain rose and the audience was greeted by over 25 cast members in full 1980s garb and big outlandish hair doing the running man. The screaming almost overpowered the vocals of lead singer, senior Dylan Proffitt, as he sang the opening licks to "It's Your Wedding Day!" The moment was surreal.
The Lemon Bay High School Theatre students performed their production of "The Wedding Singer" in November 2008 for a panel of state judges, and were selected in early January as one of the "Top Eight" to Mainstage at the State Festival. This is their fourth third time winning this honor.
The day of reckoning finally arrived this past Saturday, and Lemon Bay performed two back-to-back performances of "The Wedding Singer" to roaring crowds.
Amidst the teenage fans were three International judges secretly watching the 6 p.m. performance, clipboards in hand.
The cast and crew went on to finish the 6 p.m. show with a standing ovation, took a 20-minute break between shows while another thousand eager Florida thespians raced to prime seats, the stage manager called, "Places," and they did it all over again no surprise receiving another standing ovation.
The International judges, on the other hand, headed home, blown away, and sent their critiques to headquarters.
It was unanimous. Lemon Bay High School Theatre was selected as one of the "Top Ten" high school theatre programs in the world and invited to perform at the International Thespian Festival in late June at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
News of the invitation was received midday Tuesday, April 28. The deadline to attend the festival -- May 1.
The joy of receiving the coveted invitation quickly faded to hopeless as the students investigated the costs. Each student is responsible for coming up with $599 a person to cover their registration, room and board just to attend the festival. A virtually impossible feat. There are 53 kids in the cast and crew making a registration bill of $33,000 due by Friday to cover the students and two chaperones. That doesn't cover air fare or production costs to bring the semi truck full of scenery, technicians, professionals, or musicians to perform. The estimated total cost needed to be raised by mid June would be $75,000.
This sum of money is not realistic for a small town to support, and the reality that it may be impossible for them to attend is a very real possibility without a miracle.
The cast and crew of "The Wedding Singer" is praying, begging and asking for that miracle to happen. The kids are still in a state of shock and honored to have been asked. They will hold in their hearts forever the amazing truth that they performed above and beyond the rest of the world. They will know their hard work, sacrifices and lofty goals paid off. They will cleave to the memory of how to achieve greatness because as Robert Collier said, "Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out."
Lemon Bay High School theatre is under the artistic direction of Jennifer Kelly (Grease, Cats, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Swing!), choreographer Sarah Baer (And 5,6,7, 8 Dance Studio), Assistant Producer Sherie Ragan (former LBHS Director from 1980-1997), Music Director Jaclyn Cushman, and vocal coach Sharon Ponte.
To help the Lemon Bay High School Thespians get to Internationals, donations can be sent to: LBHS Theatre Wedding Singer International Fund, 2201 Placida Road, Englewood, FL 34224.
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