Honk, Jr.
June 15 - 17, 2007
The Award-Winning Barn Players Community Theatre presents "The Barn Junior Series," a collection of production opportunities for budding young performers and technicians, allowing kids ages 10 to 17 to work with experienced theatre professionals to put together performances of material geared toward a younger age range. The material used in our Barn Junior Series is derived from hit Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, all story elements intact but retooled for the vocal ranges and performing capabilities of adolescent actors, singers and dancers. These productions provide an excellent opportunity for young performers to shine and to receive valuable experience in a non-academic setting, working through the rehearsal process in much the same way as community and professional theatres work around the country.
Our Next Production:
Book and Lyrics by Anthony Drewe, Music by George Stiles
Performances on Friday, June 15, at 7:30pm,
Saturday, June 16, at 2:00pm and 7:30pm,
and Sunday, June 17, at 2:00pm.
Winner of the 2000 Olivier award (the British version of the Tony Awards) for Best New Musical, HONK is a modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, "The Ugly Duckling." The story explores the themes of tolerance, prejudice and sibling rivalry as we follow Ugly, a "duckling" who announces his hatching with a loud honk, rather than the quacking of his recently-born nest-mates. Born much larger than the others, unable to quack like the others, Ugly's life is one of difficulty as he tries to blend in with his "family" and the other animals in the barnyard. Avoiding the hungry and dangerous Cat and the taunts of the other animals, Ugly runs away on an harrowing adventure to find others of his own kind. Ugly meets Penny, a beautiful swan, and rescues her from a tangled fishing line. Penny invites Ugly to join her flock and fly south, but Ugly decides to search for his family. Through a blizzard and an encounter with a farmer who thinks Ugly would look delicious on his dinner table, Ugly escapes, to be soon found by his worried mother and friends, buried in a snow drift. As Penny returns, Ugly emerges from the snow and ice, finally realizing he's not a duck--he's a swan, like Penny. Filled with a new confidence, Ugly returns home to the barnyard and takes his place as the prettiest bird on the lake.
"Honk, Jr." is a show filled with many roles for interested students: the cast is over two dozen characters, so there are plenty of spaces for those interested in learning the ins and outs of theatre and working on a fun, challenging script and musical score. Opportunities also exist for students with technical aptitude to assist behind the scenes with lighting, sound, set construction, properties and costuming.
Rehearsals will begin around May 16, and will take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the evening initially, with times adjusted as the performance date approaches. For more specifics on the schedule, drop us an email, and we'll be glad to answer any questions.
The Barn Junior Series is sponsored by a grant from:
