TOMMY AWARDS CEREMONY GUIDE TOMMY AWARDS CEREMONY The Tommy Awards program culminates in a ceremony that honors and recognizes excellence in high school musical theater. The 2015 Tommy Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 6pm. The ceremony is a celebration to honor the excellence seen throughout the year. Participating schools attend to support each other and celebrate. It is a truly magical night filled with outstanding high school musical theater performances. There are award presentations throughout the show, with multiple recipients in each category. Awards are presented to the school or individual. Schools that are being awarded a group award (Outstanding Ensemble or Outstanding Orchestra, for example) are encouraged to bring a group up on stage and have one representative accept the award. There are no acceptance speeches. In between award presentations, students from the Outstanding Musical productions perform medleys highlighting their shows, and Outstanding Lead Performer award recipients also perform medleys of solos. There will be a group number featuring the Outstanding Supporting and Dance Performers, a group number featuring the Spirit Award recipients as well as a finale number, in which Outstanding Lead, Outstanding Supporting and Outstanding Dance Performer award recipients perform. Every award recipient and school will know that they are receiving an award in advance of the final ceremony. Additional information for those performing in the ceremony is provided below. CEREMONY TICKETS: Tickets will are on sale now and are available online, by calling 608.258.4141, or in person at the Overture Center Ticket Office (201 State Street). For group tickets please contact Sarah Knab at sknab@overturecenter.org. COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS: Complimentary tickets are distributed as follows: Each school contact (teacher or director) will receive two (2) complimentary tickets to the performance. Schools receiving an Outstanding Ensemble or Outstanding Orchestra Award will receive complimentary tickets for up to 15 members of the orchestra or ensemble. All students participating in an Outstanding Musical, Lead Medley, Supporting, Dance Performer or Spirit Award number receive a ticket for themselves. DIRECTOR S & DESIGNER S CEREMONY For awards in the design categories, a special reception will be held on Friday, May 29. At this reception we will recognize and award the outstanding designers and technical achievement. Cocktails will be served at 6:30pm with the awards reception beginning at 7pm. This is a free event for all attending. SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS PERFORMING & RECEIVING AWARDS Students performing in the ceremony include award recipients in the following categories: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lead Performer, Outstanding Supporting Performer, Outstanding Dance Performer and Spirit Award recipients. Directors are required to submit music (piano/vocal, bass, and percussion parts) for their Outstanding Musical medley and Outstanding Lead Performer solos in May. Music sent in late may not be allowed.
Outstanding Musical award recipients will perform one 4-minute medley or song from their production. Outstanding Lead Performer award recipients will be grouped together in medleys of 6-10 students and will perform one 32-bar cut from their role. They may also be asked to perform back-up to the other performers in their medley. Outstanding Supporting Performer & Outstanding Dance Performer award recipients will perform a group ensemble number. Students may be selected to perform a short solo (dance or vocal) within the piece depending on the number. Spirit Award recipients will perform a group ensemble number. Students may be selected to perform a short solo (dance or vocal) within the piece depending on the number. Students who receive an Outstanding Lead, Supporting or Dance Performer award are eligible to participate in the Finale Number. This is a group number which closes the awards ceremony. Outstanding Ensembles & Outstanding Orchestras are allotted 15 seats for representatives to attend the ceremony. These groups will be escorted to the stage when it is time to accept their award and then escorted back to seats in the house afterwards. These two groups do not perform at the ceremony and do not need to attend rehearsals but a representative may be asked to arrive early to the ceremony for additional instructions. TENTATIVE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE This schedule is subject to change and will not be finalized until May 2015. Saturday, May 30, 2015 12:30pm - 4:30pm - Spirit Award number Sunday, May 31, 2015 12:00pm - 4:30pm - Supporting & Dance Performer number Sunday, May 31, 2015 4:30pm - 9:00pm - Finale number (includes dinner break) Monday, June 1, 2015 4 PM - 9 PM - Rehearsal for two Lead Performer Medley groups Tuesday, June 2, 2015 4 PM - 9 PM - Rehearsal for two Lead Performer Medley groups Wednesday, June 3, 2015 4 PM - 9 PM - Rehearsal for two Lead Performer Medley groups Thursday, June 4, 2015 4 PM - 9 PM - Tommy Band rehearsal (no student rehearsals) Friday, June 5, 2015 3 PM - 9 PM o Tech rehearsals on stage for Outstanding Musical medleys, Lead Performer medley groups, Outstanding Supporting & Dance Performer number Finale number and Spirit Award number. Each group will receive either 45 or 60 minutes to rehearse with the Tommy Awards Band. Groups are only required to be at the rehearsal for their group. Saturday, June 6, 2015 All day o Tech rehearsals on stage for Outstanding Musical medleys, Lead Performer medley groups, Outstanding Supporting & Dance Performer number Finale number and Spirit Award
number. Each group will receive either 45 or 60 minutes to rehearse with the Tommy Awards Band. Groups are only required to be at the rehearsal for their group. Sunday, June 7, 2015 6 PM - Ceremony REHEARSAL CONFLICTS Students are required to be at rehearsals for their numbers or medleys in order to participate in the final ceremony. Student and director availability and conflicts are requested and taken into consideration when the schedule is finalized in May. We understand there may be conflicts with graduations and personal commitments. We do our best to accommodate these situations. In some circumstances, award recipients who are not able to attend rehearsals may not be able to perform at the ceremony however they are still welcome to attend the ceremony to receive their award. SEATING FOR PERFORMERS AT THE CEREMONY Seats are reserved for anyone performing or receiving an award at the ceremony. Video monitors and ushers located in the house notify and escort students and groups to the backstage area when it is their time to perform. Time is provided for costume changes (lead performers only) and for vocal and physical warm-ups once students are backstage. Once their performance is complete students and groups will be escorted back to seats in the house. This allows them to see as much of the show as possible. COSTUMES, PROPS AND SCENIC PIECES COSTUMES: Outstanding Musical medley performers should wear jeans and the t-shirt from their school's production. A souvenir Tommy Awards t-shirt will be given to each participant in an Outstanding Musical medley. Outstanding Lead Performers are asked to wear their costume. Please contact Karra Beach if you no longer have the costume pieces. A souvenir Tommy Awards t-shirt will be given to each Outstanding Lead Performer. Outstanding Supporting and Dance Performers are asked to wear jeans and will be given a Tommy Awards t-shirt to wear during their number as well as for the Finale Number. Spirit Award Recipients are asked to wear jeans and the t-shirt from their school s production. If no t- shirt was made for their show they should wear the Tommy Awards t-shirt. Outstanding Ensembles & Orchestras are not required to wear anything in particular but are encouraged to wear the t-shirt from their school s production. PROPS & SCENIC PIECES: Props and scenic pieces, unless key for a particular performance, are not allowed. There will be 4 x6 platforms located on the stage for use by participants. These platforms are static and cannot be reconfigured during the performance. The diagram is not final until April each year. Please contact Karra Beach if you have props or scenic pieces that you wish to bring.
Please notify Karra Beach immediately if your performance contains one of the following items (or any others you think may need approval) as they require pre-approval by the Overture Center's Technical Director in advance and may not be allowed for your performance: 1. Starting pistols 2. Open flames PREPARING YOUR PERFORMERS 3. Confetti cannons 4. Water or liquids Outstanding Musical Medleys: Please arrange and stage a 4-minute medley or song Outstanding Lead performers: Please select a 32-bar solo for the character they are receiving the award for. Lead performers will be grouped into medleys. Please see the National High School Musical Theater Awards website for an example of what one of these medleys looks like. MUSIC & TECHNICAL ELEMENTS Music accompaniment will be provided by a live band. Handheld microphones will be available for solo performers, and additional microphones (floor & hanging) will capture ensemble performers. Minimal lighting will be designed and provided by Overture Center technicians. Please see the stage layout on the following page.