Winter Festival 2025

The Young Company Winter Festival is a 10-week long program where students rehearse and perform a fully produced musical! Our shows include Alice in Wonderland Jr (Overture and Act 1, grades 1-6), Disney’s Descendants the Musical (Act 2, grades 7-9), and a SURPRISE teen edition of a current Broadway hit based on Greek mythology (Act 3, grades 10-12).

Following auditions in November, this program runs December 2, 2024 – February 9, 2025. Each show will rehearse three days a week for the first 8 weeks. During the final two weeks of the program, shows will begin tech rehearsal, where students begin rehearsals on the stage to add lights, costumes, props, and sound to the production. The schedule for tech rehearsal is different that the rehearsal schedule. The final weekend of the program ends in three public performances of each title for family and friends to attend! Please use the calendar button at the top of this page for show-specific scheduling.

Auditions and callbacks are a chance for the production team to see what each student can bring to the show, as well as a chance for students to get a feel for what the rehearsal process may be like.

Auditions and callbacks for our Act 1 and 2 students will take place on November 2^nd and 3^rd, 2024. Auditions and callbacks for Act 3 students will take place on November 17^th and 18^th, 2024. Each show’s audition process is different, but generally, each student will be asked to sing a portion of a song, present a monologue or perform a scene with another actor, and learn a short dance combination. 

If your student is asked to attend callbacks, they can expect to sing short selections from the musical, read some dialogue from the show, participate in more movement/dancing, and play some theatre games. More information on what to prepare for auditions will be sent to registered families closer to auditions.

Once auditions and callbacks are done, the production team will cast the show! In keeping with our mission, our teaching artists and the Education Department put a lot of thought into casting, putting students in roles that will help them grow as an artist. Students will be emailed with their casting the week following auditions, where they will either accept or decline the role. Please note that our Winter Festival program does not offer guaranteed casting, and some students may not be offered a role in a show.

This program does not offer guaranteed casting, but don’t let that deter you!  Students of all different experience and skill levels participate each year.  Because each show has a max number of students who can participate, an audition deposit of $100 is due to register. If your student is cast and choses to forgo continuing with the production for any reason, your audition deposit is non-refundable. If your student is not cast, your audition deposit will be refunded.

During rehearsals, students will learn the music, choreography, and dialogue of the show, with skills-based theatre games sprinkled in. To best utilize rehearsal time, students may not be required at every rehearsal; a schedule will be sent out weekly, outlining which students are needed at rehearsal for that week.

Yes! We believe all students should have access to the arts, which is why we have never turned a student away from our programming for financial reasons. Any family can apply for financial aid through our Fund-A-Need program. Financial aid applications for Winter Festival 2025 are due by the date of audition. From there we will review applications and inform families of their financial aid award. 

Additionally, we offer payment plans to families who would like to make multiple payments towards their student’s tuition. Please contact us for more information on either of these options!

Each Winter Fest title will consist of a main team of four teaching artists: a director, choreographer, music director, and stage manager. This team will be present at every rehearsal. Closer to tech rehearsals, your student will meet other artists working on Winter Festival, including a costume designer, lighting designer, props designer, scenic designer, and production manager. To ensure we are keeping with our Young Company mission of developing the next generation of artists through pre-professional training, all our teaching artists are working professionals in the field.

Yes! We welcome students off all different experience and skill levels to participate in our programming! This program does not offer guaranteed casting, but don’t let that deter you! If your student is not cast, your audition deposit will be refunded.