Tag Archives: Acting Up

June 19, 2022 · 8:01 am

2021-2022 Orchid Awards for Acting Up

ACTUP-logoSEUSSICAL JR

  • EXCELLENCE IN COSTUME DESIGN – Alicia Farbstein, Sue Speno
  • EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTION – Brent Peebles
  • EXCELLENCE IN LIGHT DESIGN – Allen Young
  • EXCELLENCE IN LIGHT EXECUTION – Rylie Hezlep
  • EXCELLENCE IN LOBBY DISPLAY – Bethany Wright and the Lobby Beautification Committee
  • EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE – Amira Lavender
  • EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE – Audra McCullough
  • EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE – Ava Hartmann
  • EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE – Kyle Rosa
  • EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCING – Adrianna Hartmann assisted by Karissa Cullen, Kristin Goecke, Laura Peebles
  • EXCELLENCE IN PROPERTIES – Erin Heinrich
  • EXCELLENCE IN SET CONSTRUCTION – Keith Mealy, Steve Fair and Crew
  • EXCELLENCE IN SET DÉCOR – Steve Fair and Crew
  • EXCELLENCE IN SET DESIGN – Steve Fair & Brent Peebles
  • EXCELLENCE IN STAGE MANAGEMENT – Tess Hogan
  • EXCELLENCE IN VOCAL DIRECTION – Jeanne Bilyeu

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June 9, 2022 · 2:43 pm

Acting Up Presents Disney’s DESCENDANTS The Musical June 10-12 

Mason High School Theater

ACTUP_Disney Descendants PromoRotten.  To.  The.  Core.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the baddest of them all, welcome to my wicked, wicked world” as you find out just how rotten Cruella De Vil, Jafar, the Evil Queen Grimhilde, and the spectacular Maleficent’s children are in Acting Up Young Performers Community Theater’s production of Disney’s “Descendants The Musical.”

Acting Up is excited to present, through special arrangement with Music Theater International, this modern-day spin on several of Disney’s classic characters as the children from the Isle of the Lost become part of Auradon, the idyllic land of the fairy tale kingdoms.  Come find out if you are an Evil or an Auradon Prep fan as you watch Nick Blaemire’s book brought to life by Madeline Smith and Matthew Tishler’s music in four performances at the Mason High School Theater, June 10 – 12th. Acting Up’s production includes 55 local, talented young performers from across the tri-state area ranging in age from 7-18 years.

Reserved seating tickets are only $15 and are available at ActingUp.com and are also available for purchase one hour before each performance at the box office. Groups of 10 or more attending the same performance can purchase group tickets in advance for a discounted fee of $12 by emailing ActingUp@ActingUp.com and completing a group order form with a single payment.

  • Acting Up is a non-profit, all-volunteer, young performers community theater based in Mason. We are in our 17th year of producing high quality musical productions which involve hundreds of volunteers.

  •  Acting Up is a member of ACT Cincinnati and has won hundreds of Orchid awards from the Association of Community Theatre for numerous productions, including Overall Technical Quality, Overall Performance Quality, Excellence in Dance Execution, and Excellence in Chorus, Choreography and Ensemble.

  • All authorized performance materials are supplied by Music Theater International.

Acting Up presents Disney’s Descendants: The Musical.

Four shows are held over one weekend:

  • Friday, June 10th at 7:00 pm

  • Saturday, June 11th at 2:00 pm (sign-language interpreter will be provided and costume parade before the performance for all costumed youth audience members)

  • Saturday, June 11th at 7:00 pm

  • Sunday, June 12th at 2:00 pm (costume parade before the performance for all costumed youth audience members)

All performances will be at the Mason High School Theater, 6100 Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason OH 45040.

Tickets are available at ActingUp.com or at the door starting one hour before each performance. See our website at http://www.ActingUp.com for additional details and information!

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May 23, 2022 · 3:45 pm

Auditions Announced for THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at Acting Up

ACTUP-logoAuditions for Acting Up’s SpongeBob Musical

Who: Anyone 6-18 years old

When: Monday, June 20 or Tuesday, June 21, 6:20-9:00 pm.

How: You must sign up for an auditions spot on the Sign Up Genius
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040e4facaf29a13-spongebob

Show Info:  SpongeBob is the musical adaptation of Nickelodeon’s long-running animated sitcom you have seen on TV. This crazy, fun musical is described as “Our Town” meets “Armageddon” meets “SpongeBob.” It has music by multiple award-winning, eclectic artists from John Legend to Aerosmith, from Sara Bareilles to David Bowie and many more. This musical takes place in the undersea city of Bikini Bottom, inhabited by happy-go-lucky and ever-optimistic yellow sea sponge SpongeBob SquarePants and his equally quirky circle of friends and neighbors. SpongeBob’s pleasant existence is abruptly interrupted when it is discovered that a nearby volcano will erupt within the next 48 hours!

Though SpongeBob SquarePants is incredibly fun and family-friendly, its timeless story of identity, crisis, and community is also a witty allegory that examines and critiques the politics of the modern era, and it does so in such a way where children will appreciate and understand the plot line, while adults can read between the lines and extract even more from the musical’s message.

What to prepare and bring: Details are on the Sign Up Genius. A song, monologue, audition form and recent photo. Dress to dance.

More information on the show and roles:

Schedule: Rehearsals will begin the week of July 5, and are expected to be Monday-Thursday 6:30-9:00pm and Sundays 2:00-5:00pm. Not all actors will be called to every rehearsal.

Performances will be Sept 23-25 at the Mason High School Theater.
Who’s Directing?: Acting Up’s Fall Musical will be directed by Becca Burgess, with assistant director Brent Peebles. Music Direction by Jeanne Bilyeu and Kyle Heimbrock.

Any questions can be directed to ActingUp@ActingUp.com

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May 12, 2022 · 9:45 am

Disney’s DESCENDANTS Runs June 10-12

ACTUP_Disney's Descendants logoDisney’s DESCENDANTS
Acting Up
June 10-12
Mason High School

Directed by Rachelle Penilla
Music directed by Jeanne Bilyeu
Choreographed by Karly Danos, Leah Major & Erin Speno-Stout
Produced by Adrianna Hartmann

Cast: Kyle Rosa as Ben, Jackson Albers as Beast, Hannah Huisman as Belle, Brooke Chamberlin as Mal, Blake Hehn as Jay, Alyssa Hart as Eve, Ari Penilla as Carlos, Ava Hartmann as Maleficent, Grace Hoffman as Evil Queen Grimhild, Ava Goulle as Cruella De’Vil, John Schoultz as Jafar, Ashton Churchill as Chad, Riley Dexter as Fairy Godmother, Ella Jo Wright as Jane, Grace Major as Audrey, Benny Farbstein as Doug, Zen Cruser as Maurice, Leah Christman as Snow White, Elise Hartmann as Coach/Crowd Member 1, Tristan McKenna as Royal page, Chase Plats as Royal guard, Lucas Maritato as Smitten Kid 1, Nic Churchill as Smitten kid 2/Crowd member 3, Sherene Lavender as Auradonian 1, Amira Lavender as Auradonian 2, Katie King as Crowd member 2 & Owen Dean as Lost boy
Featured dancers: Leah Christman, Jordan Finck, Katie King, Amira Lavender, Sherene Lavender, Lizzy Rees, Lila Sager, Hailey Seifert, Hannah Wasz & Anna Weaver
Teen ensemble: Sara Ahmed, Jackson Albers, Nic Churchill, Zen Cruser, Lily Egner, Elise Hartmann, Hannah Huisman, Zoë Huisman, Lucas Maritato, Maggie McKenna & Maddie Tew
Knight spirit team: C.C. Cohen, Owen Dean, Gabby Denight, Baylor Goulle, Harper Gregory, Logan Hahn, Dylan Hudson, Emma King, Sam King, Maddie Kohl, Griffin Kraemer, Aidan Maritato, Maggie Masterson, Tristan McKenna, Kelly O’Brien, Chase Plats, Audrey Roush, Katie Saunders & Sam Smalec

It is present-day, and in the kingdom of Auradon, all of Disney’s beloved heroes and royalty are living happily ever after, safe from the terrifying villains and troublesome sidekicks they have banished to the magic-free Isle of the Lost. That is until Ben, the benevolent teenage son of Belle and King Adam (The Beast), offers a chance of redemption for the troublemaking offspring of the evilest villains. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos – the children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil, and Jafar – are welcomed to Auradon Prep to attend school with the children of their parents’ sworn enemies. Now entering a completely foreign world and way of life, the four Villain Kids have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?

  • Fri, June 10 at 7pm
  • Sat, June 11 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Sun, June 12 at 2pm

Official page |

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February 17, 2022 · 10:28 am

Auditions Announced for Disney’s DESCENDANTS the Musical at Acting Up

ACTUP-logoAuditions for our Spring 2022 musical, Descendants the Musical, will be on:

  • Mon-Tue, March 7-8 from 6:20-9pm

Callbacks (for those requested) will be Thu. March 10.

​To secure an opportunity to audition, you must sign up for a date/time via SignUpGenius. Additional audition details are provided on the SignUpGenius page.

​We cannot accommodate walk-ins.

Performances will be June 10-12, at the Mason Middle School Theater.

From the SignUpGenius page.

Who: Anyone 7-18 years old (and still in high school, class of 2022 eligible to audition)

When: Monday, March 7 or Tuesday, March 8, 6:20-9:00 pm. Your entire audition will take about 45 minutes – 1 hour.  Callbacks (for those requested) will be on Thursday, March 10 at 6:30pm.

Where: Acting Up Mason, 108 E. Church St, Mason, OH 45040

Show Info:  Based on the popular Disney Channel Original Movies, Disney’s Descendants: The Musical is a brand-new musical comedy featuring the beloved characters and hit songs from the films!

It is present-day, and in the kingdom of Auradon, all of Disney’s beloved heroes and royalty are living happily ever after, safe from the terrifying villains and troublesome sidekicks they have banished to the magic-free Isle of the Lost. That is until Ben, the benevolent teenage son of Belle and King Adam (The Beast), offers a chance of redemption for the troublemaking offspring of the evilest villains. Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos – the children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil, and Jafar – are welcomed to Auradon Prep to attend school with the children of their parents’ sworn enemies. Now entering a completely foreign world and way of life, the four Villain Kids have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?

What to prepare and bring:

  • Song: Be prepared to perform 32 measures (no longer than 1 minute) of any song that highlights your voice. This should be a Broadway-type song. You should sing with karaoke-type music (no vocals) downloaded on your phone, iPod, or CD. There will not be an accompanist. (Please note, no WiFi is available in our building and cell service is spotty, so please have any music pre-downloaded.)
  • Monologue: You should perform a monologue no longer than 1 minute that demonstrates your acting ability.
  • Dress to dance. A short piece of choreography will be taught and performed as part of the audition process.
  • Audition Form: Found on our database at ActingUpdb.com.  Please create an account and enter all your information, including ALL conflicts from March 20 – June 12.  If you already have an account, DO NOT create a new one, but make sure to update your information before printing. Bring a printed copy of the audition form, including your conflicts list, with you to your audition. Please make sure that ALL of your CONFLICTS are listed in the database and printed with your form.  ALL conflicts must be reported at auditions.
  • Photo: Bring a recent photo that looks like you, that you do not need returned. No need for professional photos, it is merely to help the casting board recall who is who.

Schedule: Rehearsals will begin the week of March 20, and are expected to be Monday-Thursday 6:30-9:00pm and Sundays 2:00-5:00pm. Not all actors will be called to every rehearsal.  Performances will be June 10-12 at the Mason Middle School Theater.

Who’s Directing?: Acting Up’s Spring Musical will be directed by Rachelle Penilla, with assistant director Brighton Hummer. Music Direction by Jeanne Bilyeu.

Acting Up COVID protocols: We will continue to follow the recommendations of the Warren County Department of Health.  We will update closer to auditions with current protocols.  For auditions – During the monologue and song portion of the audition, we will ask that all actors remove their mask.

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