That's a wrap!
Dear Parents and Guardians Of Drama Students,
What an incredible year it has been for the Drama Studio! Thanks to the generosity and creativity of our families, we were able to provide amazing opportunities for our students and financially support 12 stellar productions of our 3 Senior Drama Festival shows, plus funding for all seniors to get headshots, industry consultants to support studio and staged work, new furniture and self-taping equipment for our shared studio space, discounted or comped tickets for a Freshman and Sophomore outing to see The Outsiders on Broadway and so much more!
PODS was a force this year with clever fundraising and crafty budgeting to get things done. We raised money while providing learning experiences through this winter’s Broadway Ready Dance Workshop, where a Broadway Dance captain, Raul Contreras taught choreo from a show and a mock dance call, and organized 2 consecutive Fundraiser Cabarets at Chelsea Table + Stage, staring the talented students of our Drama Studio. Robust merch and concessions sales brought in lots of money and camaraderie at studio events, thanks to all the volunteer parents who gracefully rolled racks of drama merch, set it all up, sold as much as they could to large excited crowds, and then dismantled it all at the end of the night. Brave parents cold called local businesses to sell thousands of dollars in ads for our SDF playbills. Strong parents hauled tons of snacks, ice and beverages from Costco, Krispy Kreme, and local markets, to sell at our concession sales, and helped deliver props and costumes for our shows. And backstage, parents gave their time to sit outside dressing rooms and keep a watchful eye while getting a cool behind the scenes view of the inner workings of our studio productions! A dedicated and crafty bunch we are! Thank you to all our generous fundraisers and volunteers. Our kids are so very fortunate.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025 - you did it! And to the parents - you did it too! We will miss you! Please come back and visit!
A Very Special Thank You to this year’s Drama Board: Belinda DiGiambattista, Ayana Green, Johnny Malheiro, Mike Rovner and L. Scott; and Class Reps: Matthew Mills and Melissa DiMemmo, Michelle Sadowsky, Princess Bey, Adina Sales and Robyne Walker Murphy, and Andre Daquigan. You guys were an incredible support! Big shout-out to Johnny, Mike, L., Sarah I. and Sara B. - we literally couldn’t have done it without you! Grateful for everything.
And please welcome the incoming 2025-26 Drama Board and Class Reps. Note that there are still some open positions - please, please, please reply to this email if you would like to take one of them!
2025-26 PODS BOARD
Drama Studio Co-Reps: Mindy Greenberg and Jamie Ganey
Secretary of Communication: Mike Rovner
Treasurer: Johnny Malheiro
Merchandise Coordinators: OPEN
Fundraising Chairs: Kristi Molinaro and 1 OPEN
SDF Co-Reps: Gabrielle Smith and 1 OPEN
Recording Secretary: Belinda DiGiambattista
Grant Specialist: OPEN
Freshman Class Parent: OPEN (will be an incoming freshman parent)
Sophomore Class Parent: Kimberly Turck
Junior Class Parent: OPEN
Senior Class Parents: Sarah Ireland, Sharon Marcus and Rebecca Fontes
It has been an honor to serve as your Co-Reps this year of the Drama PA. Thank you for supporting and trusting us. We wish you and your families a wonderful summer. Stay tuned for info on our back-to-school PODS meeting and ways you can support our studio in the coming year.
With Gratitude,
Mindy Greenberg & Traci Graper
NEXT PODS MEETING:
AFTER SUMMER BREAK!
For those of you who missed any (or all) of our PODS meetings, worry not! We've got the receipts. Or videos. With AI notes. Either way, you can catch the latest here. FOMO no more!
PODS MEETING #1 - 9/9/24 (password: 969435)
PODS MEETING #2 - 10/1/24 (no password required)
PODS MEETING #3 - 11/4/24 (just meeting notes, no video)
PODS MEETING #3 - 12/2/24 (video/notes)
PODS MEETING #4 - 1//13/25 (video/notes)
PODS MEETING #5 - 2/10/25 (video/notes)
Prefer to raise your hand rather than raise a few bucks?
Or both - you can certainly do both. In either case, please fill out THIS FORM so we can rally the troops when necessary. You're in the troops if it wasn't obvious.
Important Drama Links & Apps
1. Remind App
Please have students sign up for Remind App
Codes to join Remind:
Freshmen: @lagdrama28
Sophomores: @lagdrama27
Juniors: @lagdrama26
Seniors: @lagdrama25
COMING SOON!
The Purpose and Mission of the Drama Studio PA and its yearly fundraising efforts are to
support our Drama Studio students and faculty. We are a group of parent volunteers elected by
the Drama Studio parent body. At its essence, theater is storytelling. These stories can
illuminate the human experience and help us understand ourselves and our relationship to
others. Being a Drama student requires courage, vulnerability, deep introspection, and
understanding of the self. Regardless of your child's future path, what they learn from four
years of Drama at LaG will serve them in every aspect of their lives. Please join us in any way
you can to support their unique and valuable process. In the past few years, Drama
Studio funding has gone to support the following programs and events for our teachers and students (not a complete list):
The Drama PA Studio Annual Appeal supports:
-
The Spring Drama Festival (SDF): Drama students in the Senior class display their acting talents during the school’s annual Spring Drama Festival and perform in various shows, directed by LaG faculty and is also open to the public. Last year's shows included Rent, Our Town, You On The Moors Now, The Laramie Project, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.
- Drama Student Workshops, Panels, and Master Classes: Theater/Audition Dance Technique Class with Broadway performer and LAG alum Tommy Bracco; 16 Bars and Beyond with Broadway performer Nicholas Rodriguez; The Business of Show with talent agent Jamie Harris from Clear Talent; Audition/Intuition with Broadway choreographer Michele Lynch, Q&A with Alison French, Casting Directory; Introduction to Screenwriting for Short Films with playwright and Lag alum Cayenne Douglass; Songwriting and Introduction to Musical Theater with Larry Pressgrove; Lag parent and improv actor and teacher; Voice Over Workshop with LaG alum and voiceover artist Marisa Dargahi, and much more.
- Senior Support: Headshots for the senior drama students with Stomping Ground Photo; industry showcase consultants and website support; senior graduation; and, most importantly, the Drama PA is a major contributor to the Spring Drama Festival (SDFs) each year.
- Consultants, music directors, special guests, and other in-class support: The PA has supported musical accompaniment for Winter and Spring Sings; special in-class workshops on mask work, and stage combat; workshops on on-camera acting and we have purchased props for scenes; new benches, shoe cubbies, and desks for the Drama dance room and office; and plays for our online Theater Library, and much more.
- Faculty Support: Your support will help supply our Drama faculty with the tools needed to teach effectively during the school year. Some items in the past have included laptops, AirPods, ring lights, microphones, green screens, and adaptors. We have also provided extended-education classes for teachers, including a recent Juilliard class, Celebrating Black Playwrights, and Harvard class on Leading for Excellence and Equity. We also celebrate our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week and with Holiday Kudos Boards.
