We will be producing The Lion King Jr. for our Fall 2024 Season.
Our students’ parents and family members are crucial to the success of our program. We look to you to provide support and direction for everything we do!
Parents who have the time and interest can earn sweat equity and can provide their services in exchange for free tuition for their student/s.
One of our big goals for the fall is to strengthen the technical production aspect of our program. Students in our musical theater program will be getting a lot of training on set design, costume design, makeup, and more; but we are offering a stand-alone class for students who do not want to perform in the show.
We will also be offering a technical theater class as a stand-alone class for students who want to assist in the production but do not want to perform in the show. The class will run weekly on Tuesday nights for only $70/month (regular price fee). Learn more.
We’re also offering a musical theater dance class offered by our show choreographer, Emma Peters. It will be a 45-minute learning session right before rehearsal on Tuesdays to save you a trip on another day. Students will take a brief break before starting rehearsal at 5:00pm. Learn more.
Gisele Gathings has performed as an actress, model, writer, composer, vocalist (Gisele TYF), talk show host, news anchor, voiceover artist, and media personality on television, radio, and film as well as the stage. Gisele’s featured vocal performances include: Kylie Odetta, SpeakEasy Jazz, Lakia Club Italy, Razz Ma Jazz Band, and Grady Hodges Group. She has performed in all of the major theaters in the upstate and is currently touring with Christian Creative Media’s production Viable. Her music project, The Journey Gisele TYF is available on all digital platforms.
Jairo was born in the Dominican Republic and started his musical career in Puerto Rico where he graduated from seminary. He later returned to his country to be the national director of Awana Clubs International in the D.R. Of his seven music albums, these are the most popular: You are Exalted, I’ll Stay With You, Attached to You (nominated to the Cassandra Awards 2008), and On the Rock. He currently works as a State Farm insurance agent for Mahler Nunez serves on the worship team at NewSpring Church (Greenville campus), and is the music director for the musical theater program at the studio.
Taylor is a mother, wife, songwriter, and seasoned musician with a background in vocal music education from Valdosta State University School of the Arts. She draws from her years of experience both as a worship leader and as an early childhood nanny to mentor young artists and performers. Her passion is to empower the next generation to discover their voices while truly feeling seen and valued as they step out to boldly use their gifts—many for the first time ever.
Emma is a teacher, student, and artist dedicated to sharing her love of movement with the world. As a teacher, she strives to make each of her students feel seen, no matter their level of expertise. She is currently pursuing a BS in Business and Accounting with a minor in Dance at Anderson University, so that she can work in the arts as a business professional. She has taught musical theater, jazz/tap, hip hop, and creative movement at World Upside Down Arts Studio and looks forward to choreographing our Fall 2024 show.
Sign up for the free meet the teachers/audition prep class on Tuesday, August 13 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm, and for auditions on Saturday, August 17. Prepare an audition monologue and song (30 seconds to 1 minute each). Students can choose any song but must choose a monologue from this document for their audition: click here to download and print.
As of August 15th, we only have the 2:00pm-3:00pm audition time open on Saturday. Callbacks are at 4:00pm. Contact Taylor Hungerford to sign up for an audition slot on Saturday: taylor@worldupsidedown.org
Make a final decision about joining our Fall 2024 program and complete your registration through our Procare app. This will include signing waivers, acknowledging reading the handbook, downloading the Procare app, and more. Returning families do not need to fill out the Procare registration form again. Parents can send us a message through Procare confirming that their student/s will be participating in the program.
Our customer service specialist will send you an invoice for registration and tuition fees and will set up your payment plan. Once you make your first payment, you can secure your spot. When you set up your payment method, Procare will default to autopay. You can change this at any time.
Weekly rehearsals are held at World Upside Down Arts Studio on Tuesdays from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. Tech rehearsals are held at the performance venue the week before the show. Rehearsals are mandatory for participation in our musical theater program.
Every student in our program participates in the show. We train students for auditions and then hold auditions to determine cast roles: a principal role or an ensemble role. We invite all students (experienced or novice) to attend our free audition prep training class so that they can get to know the directors, meet peer actors, and feel most confident about the auditions. In this free class, students will receive instruction that will prepare them for their monologue and their song. They will also learn a dance routine with the choreographer which will help guide casting decisions. Students should wear comfortable clothes. Dance will not be a part of the Saturday auditions.
As we prepare for our fourth season of musical theater, we want to continue to improve our program and offer more value to our students and their families. Here are some changes we are focusing on for the Fall 2024 season.
Elementary, Middle, and High School students are invited to participate in our musical theater program.
We will just have one cast but will have understudy positions for all of the principal roles. Depending on how they develop during the season, understudies may perform in the second weekend of shows.
The shows will be performed at the Younts Center for Performing Arts in Fountain Inn, SC, on November 8-9 and November 15-16. There will be tech rehearsals at the Younts Center for Performing Arts in Fountain Inn every night the week before the first show.
The tuition fee for the musical theater program is $120/month per student.
Fall Season – August – November (four months of $120/month)
Spring Season – January – May (five months of $120/month)
The first payment is due August 18 – We are allowing a delayed payment for August so that parents can make final commitments after final audition decisions have been made.
September – November – Monthly payments are due before the 1st of each month to avoid a late fee.
Additional Costs: Parents are responsible for the costs of their child/ren’s costumes. We will try to keep these costs to a minimum. If your family is going through financial hardship, we can help you raise funds to cover the costume costs.
We offer 5% discounts for siblings, veterans, and full-semester payments.
We can also provide discounts to parents who invest in our program with sweat equity (helping us obtain sponsorships, conduct fundraising events, grant writing, set design and construction, prop and costume creation, sound engineering and lighting, event hosting, etc.).
See the Policies & Pricing page for details on payment dates, pricing, discounts, and scholarship applications.
World Upside Down Arts Studio is proud to offer a robust and growing theater program. We are currently funded with tuition payments and generous donations. You can support our theater program by volunteering, sponsoring a show, and/or giving a 501(c)(3) charitable contribution to cover production costs for set design, costumes, props, and more!
© 2024 World Upside Down Arts Studio.
