Musical Theater Program

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Fall 2024 Season of Musical Theater

We launched our musical theater program in the Spring of 2023 with Finding Nemo Jr. followed by Beauty and the Beast Jr. in the Fall of 2023 and Seussical Jr. in the Spring of 2024. As the Fall 2024 season for our musical theater program approaches, we are thrilled to introduce you to our new directors and production team! We will be working hard this season to provide students with a plethora of hands-on learning opportunities to become multi-threaded artists by giving them exposure to all aspects of musical theater production:

  • Technical theater (set design, costume design, prop design, lighting, and sound)
  • Acting
  • Singing
  • Dancing
  • Marketing / Sales
  • Fundraising

Fall 2024: The Lion King Jr.

We had previously announced that we would be producing Annie Jr. for our Fall 2024 Season show, but our new team has decided on a new choice for their first show as a team. We will be producing The Lion King Jr. for our Fall 2024 Season.

Complimentary Musical Theater Classes

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.

Technical Theater Class

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 from 5:00pm-7:30pm for only $70/month (regular price fee). Learn more.

Musical Theater Dance Class

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.

Family Members Are Pillars

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. 

Fall 2024 Show Announcement

Meet the Directors & Production Team

Gisele Gathings

Theater Director

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 Puello

Music Director

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 Hungerford

Assistant Director

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 Peters

Choreographer

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 Today

Step 1: Sign Up for Auditions

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.

Audition Sign Up

Step 2: Complete Your Registration

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.

Register

Step 3: Secure Your Spot

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.

Musical Theater Program FAQs

  • Tues, Aug 13, 5:00pm-8:00pm – Free Audition Prep and Meet the Directors Class
  • Sat, Aug 17, 10:00am-3:00pm – Auditions
  • Sat, Aug 17, 4:00pm – Callbacks (if necessary)
  • Tues, Aug 20 – First Rehearsal – 5:00pm-8:00pm
  • Tues, Aug 20 - Mandatory Parent/Guardian Meeting –  7:30pm-8:00pm
  • Tues, Aug 20 - Tues, Oct 29 - 5:00pm-8:00pm - Weekly Rehearsals 
  • Mon, Nov 4 - Thurs, Nov 7 - 5:00pm-8:00pm - Tech Week at The Younts Center
  • Fri/Sat, Nov 8-9 and Fri/Sat, Nov 15-16 – Shows at The Younts Center

Access our Musical Theater Program Calendar (Android)

Access our Musical Theater Program Calendar (iPhone)

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.

  • Maximizing rehearsal time: Most of our rehearsals will consist of tight rotations where students will be simultaneously trained in music, acting, and choreography and will rotate rooms as needed so that they are actively participating during the entirety of the rehearsal. We want to minimize downtime and maximize training.
  • Emphasizing technical theater: We want to include technical theater as a part of our training program so that students can work with adult volunteers and teaching artists to create the set, props, and costumes from the beginning of the season. Training in technical theater will be a part of the rehearsal rotation.
  • Guest teaching artists: We want to give our students exposure to local artists who excel in their craft and also to leaders who provide good role models for our students, so we will be inviting guest teaching artists to come and share their stories during our rehearsals. Parents will be invited to these sessions.
  • Character development: We want to help our students lay a strong foundation for identity as they discover their purpose in life. We want to intentionally address questions our students may have:
    • “Who am I?”
    • “Does my life matter?”
    • “Am I accepted?”
    • “Am I loved?”
    • “Am I significant?”
  • Parent Advisory Committee: If you are a parent who cares deeply about our program and wants to make a positive difference and contribution, we invite you to join our volunteer parent advisory committee. You can anticipate monthly virtual meetings, but we will make more concrete decisions based on interest. Contact Joanna Puello at info@worldupsidedown.org to sign up!

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 participation 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.

Support Our Musical Theater Program

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!

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