Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is Kids Coop Theatre?

• Kids Coop is a company that aims to provide each member with a wonderful learning experience, and an opportunity to foster their self-esteem.  Our focus is helping young actors reach their full potential.
• We welcome beginners as well as experienced actors.
• We hire Southern New Hampshire’s best youth theatre professionals to teach and inspire your child/teen.

What is the time commitment for a Kids Coop production?

• For the actors, about 10 weeks prior to the show. We do not have rehearsals during school breaks. Most rehearsals run about 2 hours 2 nights per week and then  3-4 hours on Sunday afternoon. Except for lead roles, most actors will not need to be at every rehearsal except for tech week.
• For the parents, volunteering your time and talents is a requirement for any show your child is involved in.  This means about 6-8 hours.  Familes with  multiple kids in a single production are required to put in additional hours.

Can my child who has never acted before and cannot dance or sing, still be in a show?

• Every child cast in a production has a role . We have had inexperienced actors with NO training take on lead roles because they fit the part, and 10 weeks later, they had solos on stage! We hire great directors who really strive to pull the best out of every actor.

My son is interested, but he is concerned he will be the only boy.

• Yes, we have more girls then boys at Kids Coop, but boys are cast in EVERY show, and have a wonderful time.  We have about a 1 to 3 ratio of boys to girls.

What is the financial commitment?

• It can vary by production, but typically, production fees (which are only required for the productions you preform in) are about $100 for the first family member, $75 for the second and $50 for each additional family member. This includes a production t-shirt. In addition, each family has a refundable fee of $150 that is submitted at the casting audition, and returned when the co-op obligations are fulfilled at the end of the production.  To fullfill your co-op responsibility you must volunteer at least 6 hours of your time for the production your child is in and assist with theatre strke.  Strike means moving out of the theatre after the final performance. The more people we have the quicker it goes.

What if something comes up and my child is no longer able to participate after being cast?

• Up until the first rehearsal, all but $15 is returned.

I have previous experience in theatre during College/High School, etc. Will there be opportunities for me to help out?

• YES! We are always looking for stage managers, house managers, lighting, set sound and costume people!

How does the casting process work?

• Once a show is planned an email is sent to all enrolled families inviting them to be part of the cast.  This email will include all the casting, rehearsal and performance dates as well as fees required.  You will need to look the dates over carefully to see if there are conflicts before you accept the invitation.  If there are conflicts you must note them when you sign up.  You sign up for the show by following the link provided in the invitation.
• If selected to be in the cast you will then receive a letter welcoming you to the casting audition along with an arrival time.
• You show up at the specified time and pay the necessary production and co-op fees.
• Casting is done in small groups and usually takes about 1 hour.

What does the casting audition involve?

• The director, music director and choreographer handle the casting.  It can vary by show but the audition usually includes reciting a short monologue, and singing 16 bars of a song.  If you receive a casting audition you are already IN the show.  The directors decide the roles for each of the cast members based on their casting audition.

What happens if more children apply for casting then there are available slots?

• We have over 200 actors enrolled in Kids Coop.  Our all-volunteer board has already increased our number of annual productions from 2 per year to 3 or more AND we now offer summer camp and a teen show/program. Even with that we are unlikely to be able to cast every actor that applies for every show, and likewise, we can no longer continue to offer future lottery exemptions to those actors who were not selected for a production. The board will apply an proprietary process so that each productions casting needs are properly addressed, and will duly recognize the actors who are bypassed for any given production as they apply the process in the future, although we can make no assurances that they will be cast in any production in a given season. Hopefully as more parents step up to the plate, and are willing to produce our shows, we may once again be able to offer casting to all our actors

You have several people on the board. What do they get paid?

• Our board members are ALL volunteers.

Where are rehearsals held? Where are the shows held?

• Rehearsals are typically at the YMCA in Londonderry, and our shows are at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry.

Will I have to pay full price for tickets for my family?

• All members get discount tickets prior to tickets going on sale to the public, except for shows where the tickets are already discounted compared to our regular prices.

Can my child, who is only 7, but will be 8 before the first rehearsal; still join and participate?

• Any child who will be 8 before the first rehearsal can be in the show.

Does your organization have insurance?

• Yes

We live in Massachusetts, but there is nothing like Kids Coop there, can we still enroll and participate?

• If you are OK with the commute to rehearsals, we have many families from outside the local area, including Massachusetts.

We do not have/read or do email, can we still participate in Kids Coop?

• No, we ONLY communicate by email, and you will have to make sure your spam filter does not block us!

How can I apply to be in the pit band for a KCT production?

• There is a link at the bottom of out Home page which will allow you to apply.

If you have a question that was not included in this list, please feel free to contact us.  Be sure to let us know in your email that you did read the "Frequently Asked Questions" page.  Otherwise you will probably just get referred back to that page.  We will try to respond to all questions within a week.