Dear Avalon Family,
Welcome back! We've had some an incredible year and I am so glad to welcome you to this show!
In 2020, we attempted to stage our first Musical Theatre class production of Ghost. Unfortunately, only a few weeks into this production, Covid shut down all our plans and placed us in a stophold for four years. I am so excited to finally bring our first ever Musical Theatre show to stage this year and more than excited that it is Six: Teen Edition! We had been playing around with a few show choices for our mostly female class and trying to land on the perfect show and joking about how we wished they would open Six: Teen Edition because it was more than perfect. Then, on our lunch break day 1 back on campus this school year, the license opened and we immediately applied! It was meant to be!
As always, there is an army of people to thank for helping get this production where it is now. Thank you to my amazing Assistant Director/Artistic Director/Choreography/Pixie Dust, Sarah Anderson who the kids affectionally call "Bad Cop" for her ability to give notes and help block, character work and in general "pixie dust" this beautiful show, organized spirit buddies and in general, helped keep us sane. Thank you to our Technical Director, Molly Harper, who I am more than blessed to have in my life. You make actual magic! Thank you to Steve Carroll, who helps keep the rest of us grounded. We're so glad you decided to come back to us even after the rollarcoaster of graduating your twins. I am glad to have your hairbrained schemes rattling through this place once again. Your evil laugh in thee wings does haunt my nightmares. Thank you to the many theatre teachers and programs who advocated for many years to have funding for Theatre staff and the School Board for choosing to make it a reality. For most of my years at Champe, it was me, doing the jobs of 12 people and managing sometimes over 100 kids. Having a staff this year has changed my life and the lives of my kids in ways too numerous to count. Thank you to my Theatre Boosters for helping to revitalize this program and make it even better. Thank you to our Fine Arts Team and all their work helping make realities happen for kids in our programs. Thank you to our admin team for allowing us to do theatre and put up with all our weird requests. Thank you to my bookkeeper (for putting all those orders in). Thank you to our fine arts admin for continuing to push forward despite amazing obstacles. Thank you to my amazing family, especially my husband. I can't believe you decided to be the official Theatre "Dad" even when they attack you anytime you set foot on campus. Thank you to our patrons for their financial support and finally, thank you to you. Without an audience, there is no show. Thanks for coming back and filling seats.
Sincerely,
Nicki Shepherd, Lead Director
