Broadway Stars (Grades K-2)

Let your freak flag fly! We're bringing life to everyone's favorite fairy tale creatures for our 2026 Broadway Stars Mainstage Production, SHREK: THE MUSICAL JR.! Join our talented cast of young performers and learn how theater can make everyone the hero of their own story! Broadway Stars was created by a professional performer turned child development specialist with the primary goal of helping children develop the foundational skills and technique every musical theater performer needs while giving them the opportunity to find their voice, build confidence, and do what every budding Broadway Star loves most: PERFORM! Classes are taught by a team of professional teaching artists with years of experience both in the classroom and on professional stages, and feature a customized curriculum designed to challenge and showcase the strengths of each young performer. PRODUCTION ADMIN FEE INCLUDES: *2 Full Cast Rehearsals *Tech Week Rehearsals *4 tickets to our production (Additional tickets will be available to purchase closer to the performance) *Scripts & other class materials *Costumes (Families will NOT be asked to go out and purchase items for the show but may be asked to bring clothing you already own.) *Props & Sets *Week Long Rental at The Biograph Theater AFTER SCHOOL PICK-UP: Stages offers after school pick-up from British International School Lincoln Park and Skinner North. Pick-up will be approximately 20min before the start of class to give us enough time to gather students and walk over to Drucker Center. WHAT TO EXPECT: --Weeks 1-2 (Jan 5 - Jan 17): Setting the Stage— Families who are new to Stages are invited to join us for a FREE TRIAL the week of January 6-11, 2025. The first two weeks of the semester will focus on learning and perfecting the foundational musical theater skills every Broadway Star needs when performing on stage. Classes will participate in acting games and begin to learn music and choreography for their auditions. These first two weeks of the semester also allow our teachers to get to know students and start to determine which scenes, songs, and roles will be the best fit for each child. --Weeks 3-4 (Jan 19 - Jan 31): I Hope I Get It!-- During weeks 3-4 of the semester, students will participate in a personalized audition process. Auditions at Stages are designed to be a low stress, fun experience where Broadway Stars get to show off what they’ve been learning the first few weeks of the semester and tell us what they are most excited to do in the show. Every audition will look different as every child is different. For children who are new to performing or nervous about auditioning, this will be an informal, low-stakes experience. For children who are older, have been performing for a while, or are ready for a challenge, this will be treated as a more formal audition. How Does This Work? Each class will be assigned specific scenes and songs from from our musical, not the entire musical. Classes will come together for the final performance to perform the show in its entirety. EVERY CHILD WILL BE GIVEN A ROLE OR SPECIAL PART IN THE SHOW. We will work together with participants to make sure they have a speaking line, solo, duet, etc. that they are excited to perform! --Weeks 5-12 (Feb 2 - Mar 21): Putting It Together-- During Weeks 5-12, children will begin putting together their show! Each week, classes will work on their assigned scenes and songs. During these classes, we will focus on learning and rehearsing musical numbers and choreography, blocking acting scenes, and introducing various theatrical elements that will be used in our show such as sets, props, and costumes. Don’t worry, it’s not all work. Classes will also have the opportunity to play theater games designed to introduce new performance skills and brush up on concepts we’ve learned in previous classes. --Weeks 13-16 (April 6 - April 25): Prepping for Opening Night-- Classes will begin running doing “Run Thrus” where they perform all of their scenes and songs from start to finish. We’ll also start adding in transitions so performers know when and how to enter/exit the stage, when to get microphones, make a costume change, or pick up a prop from the prop table. These classes are VERY important and we ask that you do your best to ensure your child is at every class unless they are ill. --Week 17: Tech Week– Monday, April 27 - Thursday, April 30 The week of the show, we will be having rehearsal after school April 27 - April 30 where ALL of the classes are brought together to run the show in the space. These rehearsals will be MANDATORY. *Students in K-2 Classes will not be required to attend every night during tech week. Dates will be confirmed mid-March to give families plenty of time to make arrangements to ensure their child’s attendance. SHOW DATES: May 1-3, 2026 SHOW LOCATION: The Biograph Theatre (2433 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614)