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Maddi Kilgore stars as Ariel in the Children’s Theatre of Mason’s performance of “The Little Mermaid” May 10-12, 2013. Provided

The Children’s Theatre of Mason will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a production of “The Little Mermaid” this weekend.

The nonprofit organization’s 23rd full-scale production features 72 youth ages 6 to 18 in the Disney classic.

The Little Mermaid Jr.” is the timeless tale of the beautiful young mermaid Ariel, who longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula, and convince Prince Eric that she’s the girl with the enchanting voice.

The group celebrated its milestone anniversary by distributing 500 tickets to needy students and their families within the Mason, Kings, Lakota, Lebanon and Milford school districts.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. All performances are at Mason High School, 6100 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Tickets are $10 available online at www.childrenstheatreofmason.com or at the door.

Posted in: Events |

Tags: Tags: arts, children's theatre of mason, drama, maddie kilgore, performance, the little mermaid, theater

Angela Vettikkal / Photo provided

A Mason High School junior twirled her way to a $3,000 scholarship this month.

Angela Vettikkal was named a finalist and scholarship winner in the Cincinnati Overtures Competition, an arts competition of the Cincinnati Arts Association for Tri-state students in grades 9-12.

The competition awards $3,000 scholarships to one student in each of six categories. Vettikkal won in the dance category for her Indian cultural dance performance.

Five other Mason students were named semi-finalists in the competition: Ryley Arnold, vocal music; Leah Hall, theater; Katie Hibner, creative writing; Katie Lipps, visual art; and Christina Vergara, dance.

“We are delighted by our students’ talent, and the enormous time and effort they have put in to get to this point,” said Aaron Roberts, Mason’s visual arts department chair.

“Qualifying for the semifinals is a notable accomplishment for these young artists and performers,” he said.

Posted in: Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: angela vettikkal, arts, cincinnati arts association, cincinnati overtures competition, indian cultural dance, mason high school, scholarship

The Mason Community Players will hold auditions from 6-9 p.m. today and Tuesday for its “Damn Yankees” summer show.

Auditions will be held at Mason Intermediate School, 6307 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Those auditioning should prepare to sing 16-32 bars of musical theater song not from “Damn Yankees” and be prepared to do a cold reading from the script.  Roles are for teen and adult performers.

The production will be staged July 19-22 at Mason Middle School.

For audition information, call 513-398-7804 or email damnyankess@masonplayers.org.  For character descriptions or play information, go to www.masonplayers.org.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: arts, auditions, damn yankees, drama, Mason Community Players, mason intermediate school, mason players, production, summer show

The Children’s Theatre of Mason will stage “Camp Rock” May 11-13 at Mason High School.

The high-energy production is based on the Disney Channel’s hit movies, Camp Rock and Camp Rock II, The Final Jam, and features dozens of original songs from both the original movie and the sequel.

Directed by Dirk Doebereiner, the production revolves around the beloved Camp Rock’s battle for survival against the glitzy new Camp Star.

“If you loved Disney’s “High School Musical” or are a fan of “Glee,” you will love this production of Disney’s Camp Rock,” said CTM President Karen Kilgore.

“We have such a talented cast, and there are so many themes that will strike a chord with our audience: overcoming obstacles, boy meets girl, pretending to be someone you’re not, to name a few. As always there’s sure to be a few surprises for the audience. It’s a great show.”

Tickets are $11 and are available at the door, by phone at 513-398-0116, by email at tickets@childrenstheatreofmason.com or via Paypal (with a $1 surcharge) at www.childrenstheatreofmason.com.

Moms get free admission on Mother’s Day with a paid admission.

Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  CTM will partner with the Mason Middle School Mentoring Program to collect donations of non-perishable “snack food” items.  Monetary donations are also accepted.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Events |

Tags: Tags: arts, camp rock, children's theatre of mason, dirk doebereiner, disnet, drama, karen kilgore, mason high school, play

Mason Middle School was well represented at the recent Ohio Music Educators Association Solo and Ensemble Festival.

Students are evaluated by professional adjudicators at the competitive event and awarded a rating ranging from I to V, with I being the highest score.

More than 100 Mason students performed 96 “events” at the festival, with 74 of those events receiving a superior rating.  All Mason events received one of the top three ratings, according to the school.

“We are so proud of the over 100 students from MMS that worked so hard to prepare for this event,” said Kyle Young, band director.

Participating students include:

7^th Grade

Rachel Albers, Rishi Ambani, Natalie Anderson, Akash Bakshi, Nathan Banks, Josh Bitner, Avery Brookbank, Katy Byerly, Brandon Cahal, Caroline Carr, Gabe Carr, Aubrie Chiu, Tyler Chumney, Allison Ciepichal, Joe Cooper, Steve Davis, Sritej Devineni, Thomas Doerflein, Ally Dreyer, Karli Farrell, Clarence Gao, Marcel Goodwin, Katie Griffiths, Rachel Hardin, Ali Hendricks, Jessica Huang, Beth Ellen Johnson, Jocelyn Kang, Elijah Kelly, Tanvi Keole, Mary Clare Kunkel, Will Lance, Josh Lange, Alicia Liew, Abigail Lisk, Jacob Langbein, Audrey Lund, Katie Lyons, Peyton Marion, Corinn Marakovits, Abby Martin, Satoshi Matsutani, Olivia McBurrows, Brendan McHugh, Gabe Menelik, Emily Miller, Makayla Miller, Max Mitchell, Jenna Montes, Logan Nawrocki, Sarah Nickell, Akhil Pallerla, Krupa Patel, Ben  Peck, David Potts, Mitch Puma, Kathy Qian, Astha Rastogi, Kathy Ren, Nikki Richardson, Maddy Ring, Samantha Segerman, Alexander Shearer, KC Shen, Aditya Singh, Ben Smith, Josh Suguitan, Dennis Sweeney, Evan Urbanowicz, Sam Varner, Josephine Waller, Emily Wang, Drew Weaver, Jordan Woodward and Shirley Yang.

8^th Grade

Nicole Baah, Toni Bizzarro, Kara Blumberg, Nina Bredemeier, Jake Broekema, Allison Bruns, Alex Chung, Josh Damge, Michael Darby, Jessie  Dibb, Kaitlynn Dirr, Lenox Emmert, James Enouen, Andrew Gao, Drew Grisham, Max  Harper, Olivia Headley, Tyler Henry, Chris Hessler, Emily Kearney, Pamela Knesel, Frances Kraimer, Jeffrey Li, Nick  Marino, Emily Miller, Dennison Min, Jordyn Mitchell, Danielle Morey, Shreya Nalluri, Andrew Neal, Ally Peebles, Brandon Reffitt, Alejandro Rivera, Tim Romer, Zach Rudy, Vivek Saini, Anthony Scoburgh, Lauren Shropshire, Michael  Shu, Lexi Suttner, George  Valcarcel, Madelyn Wilkinson, Megan Wolff, Austin Woodruff, Ryan Worley and Kevin Yang.

Posted in: Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: arts, kyle young, mason middle school, music, ohio music educator's association, omea, solo and ensemble festival

Ivy Moody of Mason is featured in The Children's Theatre production of "Rapunzel" this month at the Taft Theatre, downtown. Photo provided

A Mason teen will take the stage in the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati ‘s production of “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale” this month.

Ivy Moody, a sophomore at Mason High School, is in the production’s chorus.  The play runs March 23-25 and 31 at the Taft Theatre, Downtown.

Moody toured the nation with the “ANNIE” Broadway National Tour in 2008-2010 as the orphan Pepper.  She returns for her fifth season with the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, having appeared in “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer,” “Seussical Jr.,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Holiday Follies 2.”

She’s described as an avid tap dancer and performer, who also sings, plays the violin and ukelele and is an honor student.

The Children’s Theatre production brings the classic fairy tale to life with a few twists, including a 17-foot dragon.  The puppet, created by the Frisch Marionette Company, is the largest puppet created by the organization.

Tickets range from $7-$20 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com.  Patrons are invited to donate eight inches of hair to benefit Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which provides wigs to cancer patients.  Donors will receive a special gift at the show.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Events |

Tags: Tags: arts, children's theatre of cincinnati, drama, ivy moody, rapunzel, rapunzel! rapunzel! a very hairy fairy tale, taft theatre

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati will stage Disney's "My Son Pinochio JR" Feb. 10-12 and 18. From left to right: Austin Woodruff, Madison Kilgore, Morgan Reece and Ana Sucaldito. Austin, Madison and Ana are from Mason. Photo provided

Three Mason teens have starring roles in the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s production of Disney’s “My Son Pinocchio JR.”

The production is being staged this weekend and Feb. 18 at the Taft Theatre, downtown.

Madison “Maddi” Kilgore stars as the Marionette; Ana Dominique Sucaldito stars as the Crying Shop Girl and a member of the chorus; and Austin Woodruff stars as the Idyllic Pinocchio and in the chorus.

Maddi, a Mason eighth-grader, is a Children’s Theatre veteran, having starred in “Cats,” “Seussical,” Willy Wonka,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Sucaldito, a senior honor student at Mason High School, also boasts a long line of theatrical credits to her name, having starred in “Peter Pan Jr,” “Tom Sawyer,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Mulan Jr.”  She won an Orchid award in 2009 for excellence in vocal performance for her performance in “Godspell.”

Austin, an eighth-grade student at mason Middle School, most recently performed in the Children’s Theatre productions of “Peter Pan Jr” and “Cats.”  Over the summer he participated in the Children’s Theatre’s STAR program, a training program that selects participants on the basis of competitive auditions.

Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 18.  Tickets are $7-20, available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Events, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: ana dominique sucaldito, ana sucaldito, arts, austin woodruff, children's theatre of cincinnati, disney, drama, maddi kilgore, madison kilgore, my son pinocchio jr, taft theatre

The Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance is teaming up with Creative Collaborative to help women reconnect with their creative sides.

The organizations will hold six “Kick Booty Creative Boo[s]t Camp for Grown Gals” sessions from 10 a.m. – 2 pm. on Saturdays through this year at the Snyder House at Cottell Park, 5847 Irwin-Simpson Road, Deerfield Township.

The first session kicks off on Jan. 14 with a session themed “Coming Home to Creativity.” Other sessions are held on March 17, May 12, Sept. 8, Nov. 17 and Dec. 8.

Creative Collaborative founders Robin Ok and Glenda Miles will lead sessions, which are designed to provide women with insight and hands-on tools for befriending the creative process, writing prompts and time to journal, said Meredith Raffel, MDAA executive director.

Participants will have the chance to create and take home art projects such as collage, jewelry, shrines and other crafts.

“We are thrilled to present programming that allows women time and support to connect with themselves and each other, ” said Raffel. “‘Kick Booty’ is a safe place for their self-expression and much needed ‘me’ time, and women who have attended in 2011 have been truly delighted.”

Cost includes $55 per session, with discounts available for group registrations. Cost includes lunch, a t-shirt and art supplies. Register online at http://kickcreativebootyinjanuary.eventbrite.com.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: art, art workshops, arts, creative collaborative, glenda miles, kick booty creative boo[s]t camp for grown gals, mason-deerfield arts alliance, meredith raffel, robin ok, series, women

Acting Up, a Mason-based community youth theater, will hold auditions for its spring musical revue on Dec. 12-13.

The revue features songs from popular Broadway shows like “Legally Blonde,” “Wicked” and “Avenue Q,” along with selections from Disney films and the TV show “Glee.”

Auditions will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. both days at Mason Intermediate School, 6307 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Auditions are open to youth ages 12-18 or college-age Acting Up alumni. Auditioners should prepare 32 measures (about one minute) and sing a cappella or with a CD.

The show, which will be double-cast in late March at Lebanon Theatre Co.’s Mechanic Street Playhouse, will require 20-25 cast members in each cast. Each cast will perform over one weekend. Rehearsals begin mid-January.

For more information, call 513-494-6062 or go to www.actingup.com.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: acting up, actingup, arts, auditions, cast, community theater, drama, lebanon, lebanon theatre company, mason, mechanic street playhouse, plays, spring musican revue, theatre, thespians, youth

Acting Up, a Mason-based community youth theater, will hold auditions for its spring musical revue on Dec. 12-13.

The revue features songs from popular Broadway shows like “Legally Blonde,” “Wicked” and “Avenue Q,” along with selections from Disney films and the TV show “Glee.”

Auditions will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. both days at Mason Intermediate School, 6307 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Auditions are open to youth ages 12-18 or college-age Acting Up alumni.  Auditioners should prepare 32 measures (about one minute) and sing a cappella or with a CD.

The show, which will be double-cast in late March at Lebanon Theatre Co.’s Mechanic Street Playhouse, will require 20-25 cast members in each cast.  Each cast will perform over one weekend.  Rehearsals begin mid-January.

For more information, call 513-494-6062 or go to www.actingup.com.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Community, Events, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: acting up, actingup, arts, auditions, cast, community theater, drama, lebanon, lebanon theatre company, mason, mechanic street playhouse, plays, spring musican revue, theatre, thespians, youth