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| Q | If my child is 10 or 11 years old which class should we put our child in? | | A | If your child has experience with being on the stage, performing a lot, and has been in many dance classes it is possible that the Saturday class might be right for your child. But the Saturday afternoon class is by interview and audition only. If your child is just starting out and is doing some shows for the first time then the Sunday Musical theater class is the class for you. |
| Q | If my child is 13 or 14 which class do I put my child into, the Saturday afternoon class or the Saturday morning class? | | A | The Saturday morning class is truly an advanced class with kids who are almost ready to take the next step professionally. We run this class with tremendous discipline and it is really for the child who is older and has performed in many shows, takes the theater very seriously and wants to "go for it". 13 is really too young for the class and although we occasionally do have some 14 year olds in the class , they usually have a lot of experience and want it badly. This only way to be in this class is by audition and interview. The Saturday class is advanced as well, but has a variety of ages and moves a tiny bit slower since the dance , and harmonies are a little toned down. |
| Q | If my child is just a singer, or just an actor, or just a dancer is the musical theater class right for my child? | | A | If your child specializes in one particular area then we will make sure that this is an area where your child gets to show off his or her talent. We certainly want every child to shine in the area the he/she is best. If your child is a great singer then they might get a lot of solo work and if he/she is a great actor or actress then he/she will be in scenes and skits and monologues. However, every child will be in the opening , middle, and closing number so they will get a chance to sing and dance. We want every child to have an opportunity to try all three mediums within the class and improve in the things they are not best at. |
| Q | Does your program offer scholarships? | | A | Each semester Applause is able to offer 1 or 2 scholarships. We are not funded to do this, but because we feel strongly about giving children an opportunity to be on stage we try to give as many as possible. We mostly give scholarships to kids who would not be able to afford a program like this otherwise. We do require an interview an audition, and a willingness to work hard in order to receive the scholarship. |
| Q | Is there a payment plan? | | A | Our classes vary in price and generally we do not have a payment plan. The class should be paid in full by the time of the first class. We understand that certain families have special circumstances, and we do occasionally work out a payment plan based on the family's individual situation. |
| Q | Can we audit a class? | | A | You may audit a class if you are not planning on joining that particular semester. We welcome people to watch our classes. You really don't even have to schedule an appointment. But we do not let kids take one class and then drop out if they do not think it is right for them. We encourage people who are considering taking our class to come the semester before you are planning to begin and watch as long as you like. We also highly recommend coming to the shows, for this is really the goal that each child works to achieve all semester, and this gives people a real flavor for the program! |
| Q | Are there refunds? | | A | No. We allow people to come and watch the class. We invite them to our homes to look at videos, a scrapbook, and even talk to people in the program. But once you have enrolled we do not give a refund since we take people on a first come first serve basis and we turn many children away each semester because of the class being full. We also hire our staff based on the numbers in each class and we depend on those numbers to stay the same. |
| Q | Will Applause be able to help my child get an agent or manager? | | A | Because Applause has a good reputation and we have many contacts in the business, many agents, mangers, and casting directors attend our shows looking for new talent. We give children the opportunity to be seen in our shows by some of the top people in the industry. We also often get calls to recommend different children for auditions when they come up, and we do select children from our program. |
| Q | Do I have to audition for the class? | | A | You only have to audition for the class if you are interested in taking the Saturday classes. You do not have to audition for the Sunday class or the dance classes. In the audition you only have to sing a brief song without music so that we get a sense of your voice. We don't care so much about the audition as we care about the attitude of the child. We want each kid to feel passionate about theater and being on the stage. They must be willing to work hard and be committed to being part of a team each week for four hours. |
| Q | What kind of shows do you put on? | | A | We do not put on "book" shows like Annie, Oklahoma, and Cabaret. We feel there is too much talent in our classes to limit a lead to only 3 or 4 kids with the rest being chorus. Our shows consist of great Broadway numbers that revolve around a theme, and then scenes and monologues and skits are put into to form a story line. We also put a great emphasis on the dancing and add dance numbers to our shows so that our dancers really get seen as well. This really gives each child their time to shine on stage. We make sure each child has the opportunity to get noticed! |
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