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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
General Membership Meetings
Ready to get involved with the Theatre Guild? Most months we will have a general membership meeting in the Black Box immediately following the PTSA meeting in the Commons and we encourage you to join both. BUT, we will NOT be having a general meeting after the PTSA meeting Tuesday, August 29. Instead, our first general meeting is our Back to School Dinner on September 12.
We are so excited to have Lower My Texas Property Taxes, LLC as an underwriter for our Back to School Dinner. Buy your tickets today to help us with our planning! (details below) Reach out to me if you need assistance.
2023-24 Theatre Faculty as pictured from left to right: Renee Jones, Max Overton, Lisa Cotie, Charlton B. Gavitt, Conservatory Director Guinea Bennett Price, Phil Vilar, Jeffrey Miller and Tonya Holloway
Upcoming Guild Events
Join us for the Theatre Guild's Annual Back To School Dinner Meeting and Social. Mix with parents from every grade level and find out how to get involved this year as a volunteer and/or financially. You will hear from Guinea Bennett-Price, Conservatory Director, on the latest theatre news and from Tonya Perkins about the Advisory board grants and scholarships. This event also serves as the Guild's September General Meeting.
The Theatre Guild will be participating in the Communities Foundation of Texas's North Texas Giving Day on September 21, 2023. Donations made during the event may be subject to special matching gifts and prizes that benefit participants including the Theatre Guild. If you are considering making a monetary donation, your gift may go even farther on North Texas Giving Day. Rhonda Thompson can answer your NTX Giving Day Questions? email sponsorship@btwtheatreguild.com
Join the Theatre Guild for 2023-24
Have you joined/renewed your Theatre Guild Membership?
It is easy to click this link and complete the 2023-24 Theatre Guild Membership Form. It's simple to complete online and if you are already reading the eNews, you probably know how important the Guild is to supporting the Theatre Conservatory. New this year IF you join the Theater Guild AND the PTSA between April 22 and September 4, 2023 you will be entered in a PTSA drawing for a Pegasus family four-pack prize. (See details in the PTSA section of this eNews)
Cast Lists for Main Stage Shows
Big Love
Written by Charles Mee Director Guinea Bennett Price Stage Manager Sofia Reyes
Performances October 10, 11 & 17-20
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Written by William Shakespeare Director Lisa Cotie Stage Manager Ellie Coffee
Performances January 24-26
School Lockers & Student Parking Passes
If your student wants a locker ($15) or parking pass ($50) you can use this link to pay online. Students should see Mr McGee in the book room for lockers and Ms Luna in room 116C for parking tags. These are available for pick up ONLY during lunch break.
October 18th PSAT at Booker T.
All current Booker T. sophomores automatically sit for the PSAT (or preliminary SAT) free of charge on October 18, 2023. The PSAT is typically described as a practice test for the SAT. You can learn more about the PSAT here. If taken during junior year, the PSAT can serve as a National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test potentially qualifying high scoring students for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Booker T has had theatre students recognized as National Merit Scholarship Finalists in the past including Preston Rossi (BTW 2023) and Maya Reddy (BTW 2022). If you want to learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program you can click here.Only scores from the PSAT taken during junior year will be used to determine whether a student qualifies for NMS recognition. Any freshman or juniors who would like to sit for the PSAT need to complete a form for Booker T. and will need to pay a testing fee. You can click this link to the Booker T form for juniors and freshman taking the PSAT
If you have any questions about the PSAT, reach out to Student Success Coordinator Ben Doan-Stevens bdoanstevens@dallasisd.org
Pegasus in the Wild
We don't want to miss an appearance or accomplishment! We rely on our guild members to let us know where to spot a Pegasus in the wild. If your child is in a non-Booker T production, please let us know. Our talented kids are so busy we need your eyes and ears to make sure we get the word out. Please include viewing dates, ticket links and any other details that will help us spot a Pegasus in the Wild. Alumni are Pegasi as well so keep those tips coming in too!!!
Abby Miller (2025) pictured will be on stage as Cady Herron with Zoe McDonald (2027) as Karen in NTPA Plano’s Mean Girls Jr. Performances will be held at The Courtyard Theater in downtown Plano. Address: The Courtyard Theater1509 H Ave Plano, TX 75074 The show is double cast, so if you are looking for these Pegasi, you'll want to tickets to the shows on:
Saturday August 26th 2:15 Sunday August 27th 2:15 Friday September 1st 7:15 Saturday September 2nd 7:15
If you are the parent or guardian of a Theatre Conservatory student you are invited to join the individual class Facebook group for additional information & updates about everything that is going on at Booker T.
All Facebook groups are private and you will need to provide your BTW student's name and answer the questions in order for your request to join to be approved.
Yearly Online Volunteer Training
The Theatre Guild assists the Theatre Conservatory Faculty throughout the year volunteering at events and helping Feed the Kids before many tech rehearsals & performances. In order to volunteer, DISD requires each person complete (or renew) their online Voly training. It is a straightforward process and the Theatre Guild needs you to take this step BEFORE you volunteer.
This year Cindi Wakefield is the Theatre Guild's Showcase Chair who will be overseeing the emailed invitations that are sent to hundred of representatives at colleges and conservatories across the country. For those that don't know her, Cindi's daughter Gracie graduated in 2023 so she has lots of recent experience as the parent of an auditioning senior. If your senior has made contact with a specific person at a college that they would like to receive an invitation, they need to provide the following contact information:
1) College representative's first and last name 2) College name (not abbreviated) 3) Email address 4) Job title (for example Fine Arts Department Chair or Associate Professor) 5) Area of study (for example acting, film or stage management) 6) Phone number (if available)
Please look at the list of the colleges that attended in the past to see if schools that you are interested in have participated. The volunteers helping with Showcase are not able to add anyone to the mailing list without this type of specific information. Once you have the rep's contact info you can email it to Cindi at showcase@btwtheatreguild.com
Info for Theatre Seniors and their Parents
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August 28th Showcase Workshop #2 during FLEX (NEW time)
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August 29th YoungArts Workshop #3 w/Dana Garnet during FLEX (NEW time)
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September 30th 10-4 pm Prescreen/Young Arts Filming
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October 13th YoungArts Submissions Due
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November 1st
FINAL DAY to JURY|PHOTOGRAPH|UPLOAD ALL SHOWCASE MATERIALS to WIX PAGE (if applicable)
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November 3rd
CUE DAY ACTING|MUSICAL THEATRE|TECH PREVIEW
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November 16th-18th SENIOR SHOWCASE WEEK 2023
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November 16th
Final Dress Rehearsal Black Box Theatre 9am-4pm Senior Parents Invited to watch (there will be filming for 11/21 Vimeo Upload)
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November 17th
8:30-10am Breakfast Meet & Greet (seniors only) 9:30am-1:00pm Workshops|Masterclasses 12:45-1:15 Lunch 1:30-3:30pm Playwrighting/Physical Theatre Showcase 3:30-6:00pm College Fair in Commons 7-9pm Film Showcase in MAT Evening (tbd) Tech Theatre Set Up in Commons
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November 18th 8-11am Acting Showcase (Spoken/Musical) in Black Box 11am-1pm Tech Theatre in Commons 1-5pm Callbacks
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November 20th Cyber Monday Showcase VIMEO uploads go-live for Virtual College Reps Seniors will schedule callbacks directly with school reps when contacted.
Connect Join the PTSA's Class of 2024 Facebook parent group and/or volunteer on the PTSA's Senior committee! Parents and Students are needed to join the PTSA's Class of 2024 committee.
Senior Sponsors Would you like to sponsor a unique activity for seniors? Make your donation today!
Contact the PTSA's Class of 2024 Committee Chair, Rachel Winton, for more information on these events and opportunities.
The PTSA produces the All School Musical and we are sharing their information here. Tickets for Hairspray, are now on sale. PTSA members get $5 off their tickets using a promo code. Log in to your PTSA account to access it BEFORE purchasing your tickets. The promo code does not apply to the student preview days. PTSA members can use this link for the members only discount code.Join the PTSA to get a discount on your Hairspray tickets as well as their newsletter.
