What is Act 4’s first concentration? Our main concentration is an exciting, professional-quality musical theatre production which will be performed at the end of May, 2010. We hope to have 2 casts, 2 matinees and 2 evening performances.
What’s the name of the musical? We don’t know yet! It will depend how many kids we get signed up, what their talent level is, and their ages. We may end up writing a musical, or parts of one so we’re sure that everyone is involved.
Does my child have to audition? YES – for singing only. Auditions will be held September 23rd and 30th. All children and youth will audition, but everyone will get a part. We just want to see what each child is capable of, and most interested in.
Does my child have to act and sing? NO. Some kids (a limited number) will be able to take part in our stagecraft program. They will be involved in set design and construction, lighting, sound and multimedia tech and stage management.
Do we have to do lame choreography? NO. You have to do cool choreography though.
What if some kids have dance backgrounds and some have never danced? No worries! The musical will be choreographed for a variety of abilities. Your child doesn’t need any dance background to register.
What are the other 3 concentrations? Faith Formation, Social Project, and Fun.
What is “Faith Formation?” In this module, kids will learn the basics of the Christian faith. But it’s not all about learning like in school. We hope that kids will get to “experience” what it means to have a relationship with God, and what it means in particular to be a follower of Jesus. Older kids will have lively discussion groups and younger kids will be more likely to do activity-based learning.
Do we have to be part of the church? NO. All children and youth are welcome to this program. Please read the brochure carefully to understand what is involved.
Can my child bring a friend from another religion? YES. Everyone is welcome. The study of Christianity may be interesting to friends from other religions. We will do our best to relate the themes discussed to their particular faith context. Speak to Rev. Anna or Rev. Jen personally.
We’re technically Christian, but we’re not all that religious. Will religion be pushed on my child? NO. In the United Church we do not insist that everyone be like us in order to be “saved” or to have some special relationship with God. And we care more about exploring the questions of faith than providing doctrinal answers.
Can my child skip the “faith formation” part then? NO. All participants registered must take part in all four concentrations.
What’s a “Social Project?” First we have to decide on a theme for our musical – it will be something to do with social action, social justice, world peace, or the environment. Then four separate social projects will be introduced, one for each age group. We hope that kids will get to participate in works of both charity and justice.
Can my child earn “community service” volunteer hours for school through this program? YES. Absolutely. The social project module fulfills this requirement. Please let us know what is required from your school and we’ll fill out the necessary forms.
My teenager is worried this is a program for little kids. No way! Tell them this program will be sick. (That’s a good thing.) Kids will be divided into four age-appropriate groups. Grades 3-5, 6&7, 8-10 and 11&12. Think of it like being in a movie that has people of all ages – kids included. Discussion groups, the social project and fun time in the youth centre will be in age groupings.
Can my child bring a friend? YES. Absolutely. Everyone is invited. Registrations close, however, after September 30th.
Can my child drop into this program whenever they like? NO. This requires a 9-month commitment from both parents and children. We will ask you and your child to sign a commitment form. Musical productions cannot happen without full commitment from all participants from start to finish.
What if my child is sick? Do not bring a sick child to the program, for obvious reasons – even if s/he’s feeling under the weather or just recovering from a contagious virus. But please call or email us so we know. If at all possible, come in place of your child and read his or her part.
Can my child miss a session for a birthday party, special sporting event, or special school event? NO. Musical rehearsals don’t work unless everyone is there every week. Choreographers and acting directors can’t work with what they can’t see.
What if we’re planning a family holiday sometime throughout the year? Please discuss this with Rev. Anna before registering your child. We expect to work through next Spring Break, so let us know well in advance if you’re going away.
Will there be any “homework”? YES. Your child will have lines to memorize which will have a quick deadline – within 2 weeks of starting production. This will require parental help at home. They’ll also need to learn the songs, but we’ll send you mp3 files so they can learn them by rote. They’ll have some more time to get the songs down.
Are there extra rehearsals? YES. We hope to use district-wide Pro-D days to workshop choreography and blocking. This will be a fun day with lunch provided. Close to production time, there will be technical rehearsals, full rehearsals and a dress rehearsal. We will have a year-long schedule by August 1st.
Do parents need to participate? YES. Closer to production time, there will be costumes to make, PR to do, and tickets to sell. Let us know in what way you’re willing to help. On special workshop days, we could use all the parental help for supervision that we can get.
What if my child is special needs or has behavioral challenges? If so, we ask that you as a parent or another adult accompany your child each week through the program. The leaders do not have any special training in this area.
What if I can’t afford the fees? The program is designed around $50/month/child. However, you may pay as little as $10/month/child. If you cannot afford this, please speak to one of the ministers and we will arrange a bursary for you. We do not want to turn any child away because of economics.
How many kids do you need to run the program? We need a minimum of 3 in each age grouping, although we may be able to alter the groupings slightly, depending on who registers. But we won’t run the program with a broad age spread – it’s no fun for the older kids.
Will my child be safe? The United Church of Canada takes safety very seriously and has a very strict zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse and misconduct. All of our leaders have current criminal record checks.
Why is our/your church doing this? Faith and life go together. An intellectual belief in God is not nearly as valuable as a relationship with God. Optimally, one’s spirituality is woven through all of life – from personal relationships to education, choices in shopping and voting, career paths, volunteer activities and acts of service toward others and the planet. This is what ACT 4 will be teaching and modeling for the kids. And yes, faithful people are fun people too!
Do you guys really have a Wii? YES! And all kinds of other cool stuff too. We hope that each age grouping will get time for fun and play each week.
Is space limited? YES. Be sure to register early – first come, first serve.

More Questions? Email or phone Rev. Anna or Rev. Jennifer
gilmorepark@telus.net (604) 277-5377

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