Pins and Puppies: a MoonLight Jr. FUN raiser for Theatre Education

Bowling for Theatre Education and 101 Dalmatians!

Bowl-A-Thon

Come support MoonSchool at our super FUN raiser!

Bring your friends and family to SouthShore Lanes in beautiful Alameda for our 2nd annual Bowl-A-Thon.

It promises to be a great afternoon of enjoyment.
There's no catch. 20 dollars per bowler gets you 2 hours of bowling (shoes included) and you will even get a tax write-off!

However, you could win TWO subscriptions for our 20th Anniversary Season!
1) Bowl a perfect game, receive one entry to win.
2) Ask friends and family to sponsor you. Remember the good old days when you received pledges like 25¢ per pin? For each $100 in pledges/sponsorship you will receive one entry to win the subscriptions

Email Education Director Dyan McBride at dmcbride@42ndstmoon.org to rsvp OR just show up! Ask for Dyan at the front desk and they will page her.

Here's the details.
When: Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 3:30pm-5:30pm
Where: SouthShore Lanes. 300 Park Street, Alameda, Ca 94502
Why: To benefit MoonSchool.
What: It is $20 per person. Funds go directly to MoonSchool!
Cash and checks accepted. Please make out checks to 42nd Street Moon.
Who: ANYONE can come bowl! Bring your friends, family and neighbors!

We hope to see you there!


101 Dalmatians
MoonLight jr. returns for its second summer session with Disney's 101 Dalmatians!

What could be cuter that 25 kids dressed as Dalmatians, a couple of bumbling henchmen and the world's greatest villain?

Online registration is now available!

This fun summer program has everything! We rehearse in the morning, take an awesome lunch at a playground and build sets, costumes and props all afternoon.

Kids will learn to sing, dance, act, do basic sewing by hand and machine, stagecraft, painting and much more!




Here's the details:
Who: Kids from ages 8-18
What: MoonLight jr. presents '"101 Dalmatians." Full Day camp is $700, Half Day is $350. Some scholarships are available. Camp is capped at 30 students.
When: July 16th-28th. 9am-4pm Monday-Friday. 2 performances on Saturday the 28th.
Where: MoonSchool. 246 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco Ca, 94102
Why: Because theatre is your life.

Email Education Director Dyan McBride at dmcbride@42ndstmoon.org with any questions!

Klea Blackhurst : Secrets of Successful Singing Revealed! A review of MoonSchool’s first Master Class.

Klea Blackhurst (right) with
U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner

On February 5th, New York’s powerhouse singer, Klea Blackhurst, swooped into MoonSchool and taught an amazing Master Class in singing and song interpretation.  Ms. Blackhurst was the perfect choice to launch the Master Class series at 42nd Street Moon.  Klea is an experienced performer of both theatre and cabaret.  Her singing style is athletic, confident, forceful, grounded and joyous [see video below!].  Throughout the three-hour session, Klea let her skills shine without ever eclipsing the performers or forgetting that she was, indeed, there to teach.  The class was accompanied by Mr. Barry Lloyd, an accomplished musician and performer.  Klea and Barry blended beautifully as teachers and mentors.

from top left clockwise: Eliza Leoni, Julia Baron, Klea Blackhurst
Chelsea Nenni, Barry Lloyd, Jonathan Shue, Buzz Halsing,
Moon Education Director Dyan McBride, and Chloe Condon

The format was fairly simple.  Seven Bay Area performers and MoonSchool students-Seth Michael Anderson, Julia Baron, Chloe Condon, Buzz Halsing, Eliza Leoni, Chelsea Nenni and Jonathan Shue were asked to prepare a musical theatre song.  After singing, they would work with Klea on whatever she deemed important.  The audience was made up of friends, singers, teachers and those interested in learning about the process of singing.

Barry fixing rhythms and arrangements!

Each singer had approximately 15 to 20 minutes with Klea and Barry.  The technique that seemed to get the most play during the class was exploring a physicality in singing that had force and confidence.  If a singer thought they were singing with full emotion or breath, Klea helped them see that there was much more power within themselves.   Singers learned that breath is not just a casual act.  It IS singing. In Klea’s words, “Breath is the umbrella and everything else is underneath.”  Barry fixed rhythms and discussed better/different arrangements or markings in the music.

Chelsea and Klea connecting!

Other techniques that were explored were “ping” singing (forward sound), articulation of consonants for energy, using one’s gestures to help sing with confidence and Klea’s theory of mind, body and spirit as the core of singing.  Her basic philosophy being any “problem” which occurs in singing is a result of an issue in either the mind (artistry, thought, objectives/tactics, lyrics), the body (physicalization, acoustics, what you can and can’t accomplish when singing a certain song) and spirit (performance magic, being in “the zone”).  

Chelea Before working with Klea and during!

Each singer had moments of brilliance.  They were all open and playful.  Klea and Barry both remarked that they were grateful to have singers who were willing to try anything they were given.  All singers were prepared, off-book and knew what they wanted to work on.  Some wanted to connect with their body, while others wanted to re-charge a piece they’d sung for a long time.  Whatever the need, Klea and Barry worked on it and then some.  How wonderful it was to have singers and teachers that reveled in the beauty and fun of music.  Our first Master Class was a success all the way around!

Klea with Buzz

MoonSchool’s next Master Class features the return of Darren Criss. The handsome and talented star of Fox TV's hit show, Glee began his career with 42nd Street Moon!

Stay tuned for all the exciting details!

The Telephone Hour: Raising Money for MoonSchool

Wow, what a night!

This is the third night of our 2nd Annual Phone-a-thon.  Over the past three nights, cast members from all five shows, volunteers, Board Members, and staff have been calling our patrons to drum up support for MoonSchool, our new education program.

So far things are going pretty well, we've raised about $5,000 but we still have $10,000 to go.  If you'd like to make a donation to MoonSchool, click here or give us a call at (415) 255 - 8207.

Here's a little video message from Dyan McBride, our new Education Director.

Want to know a bit more about MoonSchool?  Here's the Mission Statement:

42nd Street Moon has a 17 year history of exclusively producing musical theatre for the entertainment of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and preserving the distinctive American art form that has long added to the richness of our culture. 42nd Street Moon’s position is that training for musical theatre must be taught in an integrated way, with an emphasis on combining three disparate practices: acting, singing, and dance. This three-prong technique is highly specialized and unlike any other training program one might receive at other San Francisco institutions. MoonSchool will provide this high-level, professional musical theatre training for a diverse student body of all ages and levels in a safe and trusting environment. It will be taught by leading experts and educators in the field. MoonSchool will combine a curriculum of contemporary musical theatre, as well as classical musical theatre from early to mid-20th Century Broadway (a hallmark of 42nd Street Moon’s identity.)

Keep on eye on the Blog for more info about MoonSchool!