Seuss

Contents

Foreword

History of the show

The Production Team Breakdown of

characters The Music of Seussical

the Musical

Artistic Vision Musical Direction

Vocal Direction

Dance Audition Process

Set Sound and Lighting Stage Management

Fundraising Plan

Press and Publicity

Appendices

Foreword

Thank you for taking the time to consider our pitch for CHMS 2016 Spring

production. We have decided to put forward the idea of Ahrens &

Flahertys Seussical. We are a team of twelve students from the university

covering a range of backgrounds regarding that of performance within

musical theatre and subject of study.

Seussical is a fun loving and light hearted musical containing catchy

musical numbers, a vibrant set and costumes, and characters that are

both comical and emotional. Its plot is based on a number of Dr. Seuss

books: Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Lorax,

Green Eggs and Ham, Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Horton Hatches

the Egg, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, McElligot's Pool, Hunches

in Bunches, If I Ran the Circus, The Butter Battle Book, Oh, the Thinks You

Can Think!, The Cat in the Hat, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Did I Ever

Tell You How Lucky You Are?, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, One Fish Two Fish

Red Fish Blue Fish. The vision of our team is to bring these books to life

using a wide range of devices that will bring out the shows many excellent

qualities.

Within our pitch, the financial practicalities, fundraising and marketing are

extremely important to the team and the success of the production. We

have a wonderful team who has planned in detail how this production will

work. The team has tried to plan for things to go wrong (as things so often

do in musicals) so that we can let any issues have as little impact on the

cast, teams and the production as a whole.

As a team, we are excited for this opportunity, and believe that this would

be a perfect way to showcase some of the amazing talent available to us

on campus, and through CHMS. We are eager to gain the experience that

creating this production would bring us.

Thank you again,

The Seussical Team

History of the show

Seussical is a musical written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and is based

on a number of Dr Seuss books. It opened on Broadway in November, 2000

after a year being shown in a Toronto workshop. The show on Broadway was

directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Kathleen Marshal. The original

Broadway cast included Kate Constantine (Cat in the Hat), Kevin Chamberlin

(Horton) and Anthony Blair Hall (Jojo). The run featured many celebrity Cat in

the Hat replacements, including Rosie ODonnell and Cathy Rigby.

The first US national tour of the show was in 2002 to 2003 and starred Cathy

Rigby. The second toured in 2003 to 2004. After lukewarm reviews of the

Broadway show, the script was re-written, and several songs were reworked or

taken out completely. This version of the show has found success in many

schools, community and regional drama societies. A 90-minute production of

Seussical was staged in July and August of 2007 with Shorey Walker playing The

Cat in the Hat. This production then toured until spring of 2014. The cast of this

final tour included Tommy McKiernan (The Cat in the Hat), Jeremiah Haley

(Horton the Elephant), April Lavelle (Gertrude McFuzz), Josh Boscarino (Jojo),

Ashley Stults (Mayzie La Bird), Charnette Batey (Sour Kangaroo/Young

Kangaroo), Raye Lederman (Bird Girl #1/Mrs. Mayor), Emma Wagner (Bird Girl

#2), Sammy Lopez (Wickersham #1/Mr. Mayor), Brody Karn (Wickersham #2),

Corey Loftus and Greg Laucella (replacement Wickershams).

In the UK, the show opened in the West end at the Arts Theatre in 2012 by Sell

a Door Theatre Company. Seussical also has a one-act version of the show

written by Jeff Church for the Theatre for Young America. This version reduces

the cast to only twelve actors, and focuses the main plot on Horton.

The musicals encouraging moral pointers about self-belief and good fellowship

are unimpeachable The New York Times

a combination of vulnerable but assured performances and simple but eye-

popping stagecraft adds up to a well-honed family show with a surprising

amount of soul Chicago Tribune

Flaherty & Ahrens are incapable of writing a bad musical theater song, and

Seussical is full of gems, from the infectious opener ("Oh, The Thinks You Can

Think!") to the finale. Theatre Mania

Production Team

Emma Allison Producer

Emma is a first year Music Student at York studying Piano

as her principal instrument. She also plays saxophone in a

number of bands. She has experience performing in the

bands of many musicals including Wizard of Oz and Songs

for a New World. After seeing her first musical (Joseph

and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) at a young age,

Emmas love of musicals never left her and she continues

to be fascinated by the music and production of such

shows. Emma has experience helping with the running of

choirs and is often found behind the scenes making sure

everyone is organised. This would be the first large scale

musical that Emma would be producing, and she is

extremely excited to have the opportunity to produce a

musical.

Athene Broad Production Manager

Athene is a first year music student, now a thoroughly

committed member of the department having changed

course from studying English to be more immersed in

her true passion, music. Athene really enjoys musical

theatre as is provides a great fusion of these two

interests, incorporating language and drama with music.

Athene is therefore very keen to make on the role of

production manager and feels that her diverse subject

background means that she has a lot to bring to the

role. Playing both the flute and cello, Athene has

significant experience performing in orchestras and pit

bands for musicals including Oliver, The Wizard of Oz,

Fiddler On The Roof, and in this years music department

production of The Threepenny Opera. Having very much

enjoyed these experiences, Athene is very excited to

turn her hand to the production side of creating a

musical.

Callam Neville Co-Director and Set Design

Callam studied Drama and Theatre Studies to A-level,

specialising in Brechtian Technique and Direction. He Co-

wrote/Directed the 2011 ArtsBox Award nominated play

Domino and has since directed several small scale productions

of plays such as Lysistrata and The Cauacasian Chalk Circle. He

most recently took on a role as Assistant Director/ Technical

Director in York Universitys production of The Threepenny

Opera.

Vicentre Magalhaes Co-Director and Repititeur

Vicente is a second-year music student. He Co-directed the two

productions of the student-written play, Down the Rabbit Hole,

alongside Joe Willis at the drama barn in York and Matthew's

Yard in Croydon. As a repetiteur he has accompanied many

rehearsals for different ensembles, from choirs to small

orchestras both in England and in Portugal.

Oliver Pickup Musical Director

Ollie is a second year jazz trombonist and composer whose

works infuse contemporary classical composition with elements

of jazz and improvisation. Ollie started playing trombone with

both the Lancashire Youth Brass Band and the Lancashire Youth

Jazz Orchestra, whilst at St Marys College, Blackburn where he

studied jazz and composition with Carl Raven (Apollo Saxophone

Quartet, House of Bedlam). As a performer, Ollie has played

lead trombone with various jazz groups including the Nostalgia

Swing Band, New Kings Big Band, the University of York Jazz

Orchestra, Dysfunktion and the Sam Johnson Big Band. He has

also played for many musical theatre productions including

Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, Hairspray

and Wicked. Ollie is also the Assistant Musical Director for the

2015 CHMS Summer Showcase and has conducted the East

Lancashire Concert Band as well as his own wind band as part of

the World War One Conference in March 2015. Ollie is the

current Musical Director and Trombonist for York based function

band Dysfunktion and brass quintet 5 Men 1 Tuba.

Olivia Moss Vocal Director & Costume

Olivia performs regularly as a classical, jazz and musical theatre

singer. Her most recent theatrical performance was in the

University of York Music Department's production of The

Threepenny Opera playing Polly. Olivia also enjoys performing

with Opera Society and has been a chorus member in Cendrillon

and taken part in showcases. Stage appearances prior to

university include Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

Eva Peron in Evita and one of the Bird Girls in Seussical, all for

local productions. Olivia trained for a year with the LIPA

weekend academy and in local amateur dramatic groups

previously. She has also undertaken extensive choral training,

for example with the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir, with

which she performed in several major works at the Liverpool

Philharmonic Hall and performed in the 2012 Olympic Closing

ceremony. Now in her second year studying music at the

University of York, Olivia is a keen member of University and

Chamber choirs and has this year taken over as a conductor for

Vanbrugh Voices. Along with Vanbrugh Voices, Olivia has

directed other musical groups through school, taught piano for

several years and has assisted in directing shows with younger

children. Olivia is excited to extend her directive experience in a

larger production, particularly with a show that she loves!

Chris Roberts Technical Director

Musicals have formed a large part of Chris life for a

number of years. He has performed and recorded as a

member of the Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra,

played for the Cardiff Youth Orchestra in Porgy and

Bess and Miss Saigon as well as directing sound for this

same orchestra. Chris has also produced many EPs,

singles and other works across genres, while one of his

original compositions, written, recorded and mastered

with band Dartmoor, received airtime on Nation radio

Hannah Takats Choreographer

Hannah is a first year music student from Hertfordshire

studying the flute as her principal instrument. She also

sings and plays piano and saxophone. She has played and

performed in various orchestras and concert bands at

home including performances at the Ritz in London and

at the location of Downton Abbey. She spent a year with

a musical theatre academy taking part in workshops with

West End professionals and this love of musical theatre is

still with her. She has danced since the age of 8, doing

most styles including ballet, tap, modern, contemporary

and street, performing three times a year in dance

shows, and played the lead role in Snow White in March

2014. Having spent the past few years choreographing

and teaching dance during her A Levels, she is excited to

be choreographing here in York.

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Eleanor Dunsdon Press and Publicity

she is no stranger to the role. Earlier this year, she was elected for

Press and Publicity officer for both the universitys Music Society

and Gilbert and Sullivan Society both of which she maintains an

active role with. At the start of this academic year, Eleanor was

appointed Press and Publicity assistant for the Music

Departments project The Threepenny Opera, in which she created

a website, Facebook and Twitter pages, filmed video diaries and

documented the productions rehearsal process through

photography. Further to this, Eleanor has experience in publicising

herself as a musician, utilizing all social media outlets and

designing and creating a website for herself.

Louise Barclay Johnson Finance

Louise is a first year music student who is not unfamiliar with helping

produce shows and musicals. Having worked in a secondary school

for a year as their Performing Arts Coordinator and helping to

finance and put on a full school production of Les Miserables and

several smaller drama productions, alongside a familiarity of

performing in shows at school such as Oh! What a Lovely War and

Little Shop of Horrors. With an A level in maths, a current position on

the committee of the Royal Schools of Church Music and previous

administrative and financial experiences in a cathedral office and a

charity working with numbers and being organised is not an

unfamiliar task.

Lizzie George Fundraising

Lizzie is a first year music student and a principal

flautist as well as a keen saxophonist. She has

experience performing in various bands both in York

and at home in Suffolk. She has a lot of fundraising

experience after raising over 15,000 on the school

charity team and fundraising for her gap year. She is

currently fundraising to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in

September. Although this would be the first musical

Lizzie would be involved in without being a member

of the band, she is incredibly excited for some

creative fundraising!

Character

Breakdown

Main Characters

The Cat in the Hat

Male

Narrator, Soloist, Baritone/Tenor

The essence of mischief, fun and imagination. The Cat

likes to cause trouble but always sets things right

after. The Cat is the host of the show and plays many

comic minor parts throughout the story and can

improvise with the audience (would require someone

who isnt scared to interact with the audience).

Horton the Elephant

Male

Lead role, Tenor/Baritone

Horton is an elephant and citizen of the

Jungle of Nool. He is imaginative and believes

in the worlds goodness and is gentle, big

hearted and appealing. He is responsible for

saving the planet Who and befriends JoJo by

doing so. Needs a strong singer/actor with

good comic timing.

Gertrude McFuzz

Female

Lead/support, Soprano, Whiney voice

Gertrude is a shy and self-conscious bird with a

one feather tail. She is in love with Horton and

does whatever she can to get his attention.

JoJo

Male (possibly played by female)

Lead role

JoJo is a Who and the child of the mayor and his

wife. He is a loner and awkward whos thinks get

him into trouble. In the end, his Thinks save the

planet.

Mayzie LaBird

Female

Lead/support, Alto belt with second soprano

range

Self-centred, selfish and vain bird who

manipulates anyone she can into doing what

she wants. Comic role!

Mr Mayor

Male

The Mayor of Whoville and

JoJos dad

The Sour Kangaroo

Female

Lead/support, Alto with gospel feel

Main antagonist and a citizen of the Jungle of

Nool. She has a lot of sass and attitude.

Supporting Characters

Mrs Mayor

Female

General Genghis Khan Schmitz

Male

Support, Tenor/Baritone

General in the army and crazy about war. Would

require somebody with a strong voice and confident

stage presence.

The Wickersham Brothers

Male x 3

Support, 2 tenors and 1 bass

3 monkeys that are childish in nature and like

to fool around. They are often found doing the

bidding of the Sour Kangaroo.

The Young Kangaroo

Female (same person as SK)

Support, will use hand puppet

The Bird Girls

Female x 5

Support, 1 soprano, 2 mezzo soprano and 2 alto

Help to tell the story and often appear with

Mayzie

The Grinch

Male

Support, Bass/Baritone

Yertle the Turtle

Male

Small role, preferably a

Bass for the low F but not

essential

Vlad Vladikoff

Male

Says one line, can also be a member of

the a chorus or a who

A reclusive vulture that is hired by the

Sour Kangaroo to steal Hortons clover.

The Hunters

Male

Thing 1 & Thing 2

Male or Female

Appear every time the cat is on-stage,

carry props, could be used to run around

the audience before the show starts

Non speaking roles apart from a few lines

in their own made up language

Ensemble Characters

The Whos

Tiny people from the planet of Who

Mixed chorus, can include various

support characters as doubles

Each family will be given its own colour

scheme

The Jungle Creatures

Inhabitants of the Jungle

of Nool

Mixed chorus

Hunches

Hunches that JoJo had thought,

ideas that have come to life

Mixed chorus

Circus Performers

Animals that are part of

the Circus McGurkus

Mixed chorus

The Music of Seussical the Musical

Act I

1. Overture Orchestra

2. Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! Company (except

The Grinch and Vlad Vladikoff)

3. Our Story Begins The Cat and JoJo

4. Horton Hears a Who! Bird Girls, Horton, Citizens

of the Jungle of Nool

5. Biggest Blame Fool Sour Kangaroo, Young

Kangaroo, Horton, Wickersham Brothers, Bird Girls,

Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie LaBird, Citizens of the

Jungle, JoJo and The Cat

6. Here on Who The Mayor, Mrs Mayor, The Grinch,

Whos, Schmitz and Horton

7. Its Possible (In McElligots Pool) JoJo, The Cat and

Fish

8. How to Raise a Child Schmitz, The Mayor, Mrs

Mayor, JoJo and Cadets

9. The Military Schmitz, The Mayor, Mrs Mayor, JoJo

and Cadets

10. Alone in the Universe Horton and JoJo

11. The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz

Gertrude

12. Amayzing Mayzie Mayzie, Gertrude and the Bird

Girls

13. Amazing Gertrude Gertrude and the Bird Girls

14. Monkey Around Wickersham Brothers and

Horton

15. Chasing the Whos Horton, Sour Kangaroo, Young

Kangaroo, Bird Girls, Wickersham Brothers, The Cat,

Vlad Vladikoff and Whos

16. How Lucky You Are The Cat and Whos

17. Notice Me, Horton Gertrude and Horton

18. How Lucky You Are (Reprise) Mayzie and Horton

19. Horton Sits on the Egg Full Company

Act II

1. Entracte Orchestra

2. Our Story Resumes The Cat, JoJo, Horton,

Gertrude, Schmitz, Bird Girls and Hunters

3. Egg, Nest, and Tree Sour Kangaroo, Bird Girls,

Wickersham Brothers, The Cat and Hunters

4. The Circus McGurkus The Cat, Horton and Circus

Animals

5. Mayzie in Palm Beach Mayzie, The Cat and Horton

6. Amazying Horton Mayzie and Horton

7. Alone in the Universe (Reprise) Horton

8. Solla Sollew Horton, The Mayor, Mrs Mayor, JoJo,

Circus McGurkus Animals and Performers

9. The Butter Battle JoJo, Schmitz and Cadets

10. Havin a Hunch The Cat, JoJo, Hunches and

Things

11. All for You Gertrude, Horton and Bird Girls

12. The People Verses Horton the Elephant All

principles except Mayzie and Schmitz, Wickershams,

Yertle, Bird Girls, Young Kangaroo

13. Finale/ Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! Full

Company

14. Green Eggs and Ham Full Company

Artistic Vision

Seussical has a very playful attitude and we want to highlight

those aspects as much as possible we want high audience

interaction so we aim to use the whole of central hall to its

fullest, with the stage used largely as a focal point for important

action rather than limiting the action there solely. We want to

try and transform as much of the space as possible through use

of props to make it an immersive experience for the audience.

We have a very diverse list of characters and we want to

highlight the diversity of our CHMS members through the casting

with a rich tapestry of background characters with singing roles

and a lot of ensemble work in play we really want to use CHMS

assets to their fullest. We aim to find everyone who auditions a

role in the ensemble.

We feel that with the backing of CHMS this show could be truly

spectacular and draw a wider, more family and child friendly

audience.

Audience Participation

We feel that Seussical offers a lot of chances to involve the

audience. One of the ways we plan to do this is at the start of

Act II when Horton is captured by the hunters. The Cat will be

stood either in the audience or directly in front of the stage

and will engage in a mock auction for Horton which will be

ended by the leader of Circus McGurkuss. Another plan is to

make use of the mischievous nature of Thing 1 and Thing 2

and a lot of this will be improvised and left up to whoever we

cast as the Things.

Musical Direction

The music for Seussical spans a wide range of genres including Rock n Roll,

Soul, Funk, Latin and some almost Disney-esque numbers. We feel that this

eclectic mix of genres will provide music that is entertaining for audiences of

all ages and backgrounds. The instrumentation for the show is a standard large

show band and is as follows:

Reed 1, Reed 2, Reed 3, Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Trombone, Guitar 1, Guitar 2,

Keys 1, Keys 2, Percussion, Drums, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass

We plan to begin our band rehearsals in Week 1 of Spring term with a 4 hour

rehearsal (with breaks) twice a week. This will allow us plenty of time to get to

grips with the music and be able to perform to a high standard during the

sitzprobe, dance runs and dress runs. As our MD is a music student, this gives

the band easy access to the purpose built rehearsal rooms in the music

department. During production week, we will aim for at least 2 standalone

rehearsals and then the various runs. We can also have sectionals as and when

needed with individual sections.

Our production team also has both a Musical Director and dedicated Vocal

Director. The VD will be engaging mainly with the cast at first in order to get

the singing and acting up to a professional standard. Once both the band and

cast know the material well enough, the MD and VD will work together to

bring everything together. The MD will be working with the band to start with

and working on areas such as dynamics, transitions and generally bringing the

music to life.

During the shows, we plan to have the band either directly in front of the stage

or below the audience (as was done for Witches of Eastwick and Princess Ida).

This will ensure that both the band and cast can see the Musical Director and

make interaction easy, and that the audience can see the band (they dont get

nearly enough notice!)

Vocal Direction

Vocal direction will start in the first week of rehearsals and continue

throughout. Chorus members will be needed for at least one rehearsal each

week, initially to learn notes/harmonies/characterization/etc and then to add

movement and direction. Ideally all chorus numbers will be learnt within the

first 2-3 weeks, with the Vocal Director. From then on the Vocal Director,

Director and Choreographer will co-ordinate rehearsals together to focus on the

staging of the pieces. Additional chorus rehearsals may be run with the Vocal

Director if needed, to iron out any particular issues for chorus members within

the music and for any alterations that come about from rehearsals with

choreography (the Vocal Director will make notes of issues through the

collaborative rehearsals and will organize extra rehearsals as they see fit).

The Vocal Director will also be coordinating the songs for the principal roles.

Although they will need to learn some of the works themselves, the Vocal

Director will help with initial understanding and reading of the music and then

will continue to help with direction and expression for the songs. Again with the

aim for most the material and ideas of expression for the principals to be

coordinated within the first 3 weeks of rehearsals, the Director and possibly the

Musical Director will then join rehearsals with the Vocal Director and principals

to add in any additions to staging and to gain an idea of the performers

interpretation, in order to co-ordinate with the orchestra.

After the first few weeks of direction in this way, the Vocal Director will then sit

in on most chorus and principal rehearsals in which the music is being practiced

further and will run extra rehearsals for whatever vocal support they judge is

needed. They will also be there at this point to make general notes for

improvement to support the rest of the team.

The Vocal Director and Musical Director will collaborate thoroughly on the joint

rehearsals between cast and orchestra, making notes for each other both

before and throughout the earlier rehearsals to ensure consistent

interpretation and to thus make the final rehearsals run smoothly. Within the

final collaborative rehearsals, the Vocal Director will be on hand, again to make

notes, and to help and support the cast as they learn to incorporate the

orchestra into their performance.

Choreography

Seussical presents many great opportunities for some exiting

choreography. After the auditions we plan to have 2 hours per

week of dance rehearsals and have all of the dances taught by

Christmas, leaving us with Spring term to iron out any mistakes

and have everyone up to standard for the big dance day later in

the year.

Our big dance numbers are going to be Oh, The Thinks You Can

Think, Biggest Blame Fool, Monkey Around and the exit

music Green Eggs and Ham. These are all up tempo and have

the potential the capture the audiences attention.

Auditions

We plan to start our auditions in Week 2 of Autumn term, in line with the arrival of new students

but avoiding the hassle of freshers week. The auditions will be split into 3 categories: Instrumental,

Vocal and Dance. We will aim to use Hendrix Hall for all of the auditions but we will also be

attempting to see if we will be allowed to use the music department seminar rooms for auditions.

Instrumental Auditions

The instrumental auditions will be held over several days during Week 2. Interested people can sign

up online for a day and time and will bring with them a prepared piece. If this piece is accompanied

then our repetiteur will be on hand to do this. After the audition piece, people will be given some

sight reading and asked about their availability on the show dates and it will be pointed out that the

show will have to take priority over any other extra-curricular activities. Once the instrumental

auditions have finished, successful auditions will be emailed the details of forthcoming rehearsals

and unsuccessful people will be sent an email with details of other ways to get involved with CHMS

both during the show and throughout the year. The musical director, one of the directors and

producer will be on the audition panel. The stage managers will be on the doors to take people to

the audition room and answer any questions that students (particularly new ones) may have. We

aim for each audition to last approximately 15 minutes and if we estimate getting 2 people

auditioning per part, that we will need around 5 hours in total (allowing for late arrivals etc.).

Vocal Auditions

Vocal auditions will be held in a similar fashion to the instrumental auditions in

terms of how people will sign up. After the performance of an audition piece

(which will either be a Capella, with a backing track or with piano backing), we will

give people a range test and a section of text from the show. The audition panel

will consist of the Vocal Director, Musical Director and one of the directors. Our

repetiteur will be on hand to accompany the auditions. As most of the characters

will need to dance at some point during the show, everybody will be required to

go to a dance audition. A breakdown of characters will be available outside of the

audition room and it will be made clear in our advertising that a copy of this

breakdown can be requested at any time from any member of the production

team.

Dance Auditions

The dance auditions will be taken in groups of 10-15 per session

and last for 45 minutes each. The audition will be part of one of

the dances for the show and will be taught and judged by the

choreographer. We will be filming the auditions for reference

during the casting process. Each session will take around 45

minutes. We plan to hold these auditions on Saturday and Sunday

of Week 2. This will hopefully mean that the auditions should not

clash with any lectures or seminars.

Set

Seussical requires the use of multiple scenes with quick transitions,

making large changes in backgrounds and props a problem. We

plan to work around this by using a two tier stage and interesting

lighting to make distinct changes in location known to the

audience. One of the features that we feel makes our show unique

will be including the whole of Central Hall in our set design plans.

We will be using the main Central Hall stage as the top stage and

the floor below as the lower stage. The actual construction of the

set will be done by sending out emails asking for volunteers to

assist with building whilst being supervised by members of the

production team who have significant DIY experience.

In order to make scene changes as effective as possible, we will be

using lighting colour schemes to indicate different locations e.g.

green lights with leaf shaped stencils for the jungle scenes, blue

lights with fish stencils for McElligot's pool. These will be used in

conjunction with relevant props as staging such as wacky trees and

plants that are idiomatic of Dr Seuss's style.

To compensate for rapid scene changes we are going to split

Central Hall into 3 main areas: Upper Stage, Lower Stage and

Audience.

Designing Seussical

As a musical set in a variety of places, both indoors and out, rural

and urban, we will need to make good use of lighting to capture

the essence of these places as vast and complicated scene changes

arent a possibility. For example, many scenes are set in the jungle

so in order to create the atmosphere needed, we will use a

mixture of green-tinted lights and gobos (stencils which we will

use to cast shadows of large jungle leaves) as well as some light

smoke which will help the colours stand out, but also adding to the

eeriness of the jungle.

Another significant moment in the musical is use of UV lights and

actors with white gloves to create the ghostly figures following JoJo

through the jungle.

On top of these we will need LED lights capable of swift colour

changes and two spotlights (most important to isolate Horton and

the Whos during scenes in which there is conversation between

the two.

All in all, we believe that Seussical gives an opportunity to put on a really great

show that will take the audience on an immersive journey with the characters

thanks to the effective differences between scenes made possible by a creative

lighting set-up.

Please note that these figures given in the expenditure section are estimates for

industry standard equipment. Should the university decide to renew its contract

with JSS then we will be using them for the production.

Fundraising Plan

Our fundraising ideas are an ongoing plan of action. We

have a number of events planned out in Appendix B,

but we will be constantly thinking of new ways to raise

money for the show.

Please see Appendix B for a list of our current

fundraising ideas,

Stage Management

It is important to have a solid backstage team in order

to ensure that the show runs smoothly; no backstage

team, no show! The backstage team will be directed by

our Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager and

will cover duties such as performing swift scene

changes, making sure everybody is where they need to

be and managing the distribution of props. The SM and

ASM will also be directing people to the auditions and

act as a point of contact if the cast have any problems.

After the initial auditions and rehearsals, it will be the

responsibility of the Stage Managers to find a reliable

and effective backstage team for production period.

Press and Publicity

Social media platforms:

- Facebook

Our primary publicity platform, where a page and event can be created to keep those following regularly updated. It is easy to update quickly and frequently, along with photos and videos to keep the public interested during the run-up to the show. Facebook is the most popular and frequently used online social network, making it imperative that we use it to its full capacity. Uniformity is highly important, therefore the logo and colour scheme used for the posters and flyers must also be used for all social media profile pictures and banners; looking organised and professional is crucial.

- Twitter

Like Facebook, the Twitter account can be used to upload photos and videos of rehearsals and preparation, as well as regularly update the public with our progress, and any fundraising events. To help gain further awareness and recognition, a hashtag for Seussical can be created and used in every tweet.

- Instagram

Although not quite as widely used for advertisement, Instagram is still a useful way to post the photos and videos that have been used on Facebook, Twitter and the website. Keeping this regularly updated will give an impression of an active and exciting production team and cast.

- Snapchat

Again, not typically used for advertisement, but still potentially a good way to gain interest by directly publicising things going on in rehearsals and show preparation.

Other platforms for advertisement:

- Radio (university and local)

Closer to the dates of the show, a group of principles and production team can advertise the show by talking about it to various radio stations, to help boost awareness and ticket sales. See contact list.

- Newspapers (university and local)

A great way to raise awareness and ticket sales, both on and off the university campus. See contact list.

- Television

Another platform to raise awareness by advertising the show and ticket sales. See contact list.

- YouTube

Over the course of rehearsals, clips and video diaries will be filmed to upload to all social media sites and our YouTube account; vlogs, interviews and promotional videos are an effective way to create excitement and interest around the show for the public.

- Photography

Any photos of rehearsals and show preparation should be uploaded to all social media platforms and the shows website.

- Campus advertising

Promotion around campus is highly important, as students will make up a large percentage of our audience. A poster will be created to be approved by YUSU, to then have up on available screens across campus. This can also be sent to the Student Cinema, to advertise before weekly screenings. Flyering on campus and posters will also gain welcome attention for the show. We would like to create a banner to hang up on the outside of Central Hall in the weeks running up to the show, if this can be approved by YUSU. Another way in which to advertise across campus effectively is through the use of branded merchandise. We plan to order a form of clothing (for example hoodies or sweatshirts) for every cast and production team member, with the official logo for the show printed on the back, to create further awareness and curiosity across campus.

- YSTV

As has been done with previous shows, getting in contact with YSTV to create a short promotional video proves to be effective in advertising it looks both professional and exciting, something that is greatly important in publicising the show.

- Posters and flyers

Using the decided logo and design/colour scheme for the show, posters and flyers will be designed to be distributed across York and the university, where the majority of our audience will reside. Travelling to Leeds and other nearby cities to publicise is also important. See distribution plan.

Website

Having a professional-looking, regularly updated website is imperative to the productions success. It will be primary seller for tickets, and must include information about the

story of the show itself. Fundraising events will be detailed here, and blog should be kept in the run up to the show. As with the social media sites, any photos and videos will also

be uploaded here in an easily-accessible gallery. In order to save any extra costs, making use of contacts within the

production team of webmasters will be much more cost-effective and simple to create a website we want.

Schools

As Seussical is a family-friendly show, we plan to take advantage of this by making sure local schools are made aware of the performance. By sending out information packs to schools in the area (see contact list), before the end of autumn term, teachers will have time to arrange and get the necessary parental permission for school trips. To encourage teachers to get their pupils involved, we plan to put together creative writing packs for primary school classes, and design fun and engaging workshops related to the show, as the Dr. Seuss books and its characters lend themselves very well to this.

Fundraising

An important part of P&Ps job will be to publicise not only the show, but also any fundraising events surrounding it. This can be done most effectively through Facebook where events and pages can be created, and Twitter where information can also be posted. The website should also detail anything like this, to make the public aware of how to get involved. Your Shop

They have offered to sell tickets, which will be a huge help to us as they are one of the most popular campus shops. Their screen will also display the production poster once approved by YUSU.

Summary

We hope that our pitch has shown you what a

fantastic show Seussical is and how exciting it

would be to stage. Its eclectic mixture of drama,

music, humour and wackiness make Seussical

enjoyable for people of all ages.

We believe that with our dedicated production

team, Seussical will be challenge to produce, but

also enjoyable as we get to work with the wealth

of talent in CHMS and alongside a committee with

a reputation of putting on amazing shows.

Thank you once again for taking the time to read

and consider our pitch

The Seussical Team

Appendix A Budget

Appendix B Fundraising Ideas

Rocky Horror Event

Venue: The Courtyard

Description:

Dysfunktion will arrange the whole Rocky Horror Show soundtrack and perform it,

possibly including guest appearances from CHMS members, at The Courtyard. We will

charge 3 per ticket and aim to sell a minimum of 50, bringing in a total of 150 from

ticket sales. This amount will be added to with a raffle with prizes hopefully donated by

businesses in York. Raffle tickets will cost 1 per strip and we will aim to sell a minimum of

50, giving us a minimum total profit of 200 for the event.

Dr Seuss Event

Venue: The Courtyard

Description:

This event will hopefully get people excited for the show and we would be looking to hold

it about a month before the show. A similar format to the Kilimanjazzro event will be

followed, hoping to make a profit of around 300.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Description:

5 for a box of 12 doughnuts and doughnuts will then be sold for a pound each, enabling

us to make 7 per box. Each cast member will be asked to sell a box of doughnuts, with a

cast of 50, the potential profit of this is 350. If people were to buy a box of 12 doughnuts,

these would be sold for 10. Doughnuts will also be sold around campus, outside nisa, the

library etc, and also in the foyer of the music department and potentially in other

departments. However, it is expected that more than box could be sold per cast member,

and the suggested order and profit is:

200 boxes of twelve, bought at 5 each, with the doughnuts sold at a 9:1 ratio of

individual to boxes, could make a projected profit of 1360

Dr Seuss Bar Crawl

Description:

A fancy dress bar crawl, with an organised route into town and then giving discounted

club entry. This would need to be organised with the club and bars to get the best offer

and drinks deals however wrist bands for the event could be sold at 3 each. With a

minimum of 50 people attending, profit would be expected to be around 150.

Personal Fundraising Targets

Description:

Each cast member will have a personal fundraising target of 30. This is the minimum each

cast member would be expected to raise. Therefore a cast of 50 will potentially be able to

bring in at least 1500 from personal fundraising. It will be down to each individual cast

member on how they choose to do this.

Busking

Description:

Various ensembles go into town; main target weekends will include weekends of the

Christmas fayre, and before Christmas. Bank Holiday weekends are also likely to be busier

and this will be prime busking time! Busking will be scheduled throughout the year with

different ensembles. Projected profit would be a minimum of 50 a day. At least 8

sessions over the year will raise 400.

Bake Sale

Description:

A baking rota will be made, and each person will be asked to make 12 cakes to sell. Two

people will bake at a time, and will be sold three times a week in the music department

foyer. Sold at 50p each, this would make 12 a day and 36 per week. If this runs for 10

weeks projected profit will be 360. There will also be other opportunities for cakes to be

sold, for example during the breaks of rehearsals of orchestra and uni choir. If 12 is made

each time, and 6 rehearsals are targeted, the projected profit is 72.