Broadway Stars (Grades 5-10)

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 the talented cast of our Middle School Broadway Mainstage Show and learn how theater can make everyone the hero of their own story! Stages’s unique approach to working with middle schoolers focuses as much on the process as it does the product, allowing young performers to learn audition technique, participate in character and scene study, and learn the fundamentals of song interpretation while rehearsing a fully staged production. Classes are taught by a team of professional teaching artists with years of experience both in the classroom and on professional stages, and features a customized curriculum that will challenge and showcase the strengths of each young performer in the cast. Stages 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! PRODUCTION ADMIN FEE INCLUDES: *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 Theatre WHAT TO EXPECT --Weeks 1-2 (Jan 10 to 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, 2026. Click this link to book a free class to see if it's the right fit for you child! 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. Students will be introduced to Uta Hagen’s Acting Technique, which we will utilize as a framework for character development throughout our rehearsal process. 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 24 to 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. Middle School Musical students get the chance to do a comprehensive audition process with singing, acting, and dancing portions. Casting will be done more traditionally with 1-2 actors playing each role. EVERY CHILD WILL BE GIVEN A ROLE OR SPECIAL PART IN THE SHOW. We will work together with children to make sure they have a speaking line, solo, duet, etc. that they are excited to perform! --Weeks 5-12 (Feb 7 - Mar 28): 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 13-15 (April 4 - April 18): Prepping for Opening Night-- During Weeks 13-15, 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. TECH WEEK: Monday April 20 - Thursday April 23 The week of the show, we will be having rehearsal after school April 20 - April 23 where ALL of the classes are brought together to run the show in the space. These rehearsals will be MANDATORY. SHOWS: April 24-26th, 2026 SHOW LOCATION: The Biograph Theatre (2433 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614)