THE NUTCRACKER 2020
Production
This year, our production of The Nutcracker will take place in a digital format. What does that mean? This won’t be the production we’re used to in the theater with a live audience, but this is an exciting opportunity to challenge our creativity as dancers and choreographers and to create something we normally wouldn’t be able to do. We will be hiring a professional production crew to film and produce a high quality, movie-version of The Nutcracker. We will be filming outside, on location at various spots around town. The movie will then go straight to DVD for purchase and will be streamed online. Depending on the current Covid-19 numbers and government orders, it is also our hope to be able to offer a special, outdoor viewing of our production in December.
Timeline
Auditions will be held Sunday, September 13
Rehearsals will run for six weekends (September 26 – November 1)
Rehearsals will take place 9:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays
Each role will rehearse 2-3 times for about 2 hours per rehearsal
Each role will have an in-studio dress rehearsal
Filming will take place on Saturday, November 7. In the event of bad weather, filming will be moved to November 14.
Outdoor viewing will take place in December (date TBD). This will be a ticketed event.
Safety Guidelines for Auditions & Rehearsals
· No more than 10 people in the studio at one time.
· No more than 4 people in the lobby at one time.
· Dancers’ temperatures will be checked before entering the studio.
· Masks will be required when inside the building. Dancers and parents should bring their own masks. EACB will not provide masks.
· Practice appropriate social distancing at all times.
· Dancers should arrive with their ballet attire on under their street clothes.
· Only dancers allowed in the building. If a parent needs to enter for any reason, only one parent will be allowed in the lobby at a time.
· Touchless payment will be offered for registration fees, t-shirts, etc.
· Hand sanitizer will be readily available to all dancers.
· Rehearsal times will be staggered for studio cleaning between rehearsals.
· Dancers should be picked up promptly at the end of their rehearsal.
· All dancers and volunteers will be required to sign a COVID-19 liability waiver.
Auditions
Dancers will audition in face-to-face, small groups. Dancers will be required to submit their audition form ahead of time and will be assigned an audition time. Paper audition forms will not be accepted. Weather permitting, audition check-in will be done outside and dancers will be called into the studio at the time of their scheduled audition. Video auditions may be submitted in the event a dancer cannot attend auditions due to Covid-19 symptoms or exposure. Dancers who submit a video audition will then be cast upon receiving a negative test result.
To avoid the use of barres, auditions will only consist of centre work. Dancers should arrive warm or plan to arrive early and warm up outside on their own. The use of dressing rooms will not be permitted. Dancers should arrive dressed for their audition.
Audition prerequisites: Dancers must be at least 6 years old by the date of auditions. All dancers must be enrolled in ballet.
Attendance
Since we will be working on a condensed schedule, we ask that dancers miss rehearsal only for illness, including but not limited to Covid-19 symptoms, Covid-19 exposure, flu, stomach bug, etc. Absences for any other reason will not be approved. We will not be able to work around any other conflicts such as family vacations, events, etc. Dancers who must miss for illness will be provided a Zoom link to participate live or a recorded rehearsal video.
Filming
Filming will take place outdoors at a designated location (i.e. Keisel Park, Downtown Opelika, etc.). There will be a closed set while filming. This means there will not be an audience. Only dancers, artistic directors, production staff, and a limited number of “backstage” volunteers will be allowed on set during filming. The production will be streamed for parents to view and DVDs will be available for purchase.
Parent Meeting
The annual parent meeting will take place over Zoom ahead of the first weekend of rehearsals. Each dancer is required to have a parent attend the meeting.
Costumes & Props
Costume fittings will be done one role at a time and will take place outside if weather permits. Dancers and costumers will be masked and costumers will be gloved. We would like one costumer assigned to each role. Costumes will not be shared.
For roles utilizing props, props will be assigned to a dancer and will be cleaned between each use. Props should not be shared.
All Nutcracker activities are subject to change.