What is ShowBiz Starz?

ShowBiz Starz is a theatrical training program for teen-agers ages thirteen to twenty-one. It was an offshoot of ShowBiz Kidz in September 2000 to handle the growing enrollment and designed to challenge older students by offering one production from the classical repertoire each season. Emphasis is placed on broadening the actor’s technique and preparing those students wishing to pursue a professional career that includes college or university instruction. We hold auditions in the fall for a company of actors that will learn their craft together in once-a-month workshops and all shows will be exclusively cast from this group.

The ShowBiz Starz Acting Company typically does four productions per year: one musical, two straight shows and one classical play. Auditions are held the first week after an intensive Audition Workshop where each student is prepared for the audition with monologues and/or scenes and taught song and dance combinations, if it is a musical. Emphasis is given to scripts that offer a wide variety of parts and a chance to put each student’s unique talent to good use.

Past productions include

• “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits”, a compilation of Shakespeare’s most well known and best loved scenes and monologues set to a rock and roll and hip-hop score,
• “As You Like It”,
• “Little Shop of Horrors”,
• “Into The Woods Junior”,
• “Li’l Abner”,
• “Romeo and Juliet”,
• “West Side Story”,
• “The Hobbit”,
• “She Loves Me”,
• “The Taming of the Shrew”,
• an audience participation version of “The Wizard of Oz”
• and a 1950’s version of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

ShowBiz Starz students are expected to uphold our “Principle of A.W.E.” and strive to have great Attitude, Work ethic and Energy and Enthusiasm at every rehearsal and performance. Because we only rehearse once a week, we expect students to work independently on everything they are taught and prepare it for presentation to the directing staff at the next rehearsal. Excessive absences and tardiness will not be tolerated and can result in a student being evicted from the company.

The remainder of our 2005-2006 season consists of the spring musical “Bye-Bye Birdie” and a co-production of “The Wizard of Oz” with Big Girl Productions and ShowBiz Kidz.