The Inside Scoop on “Newsies”

The show is being presented by SFAC’s Musical Theater Camp students on Friday Aug. 2nd at 7pm and Sat. Aug. 3rd at 2pm and 7pm

The show is single cast, and in total, there are 40 students involved:  8 on the tech team, and 32 in the cast. The ages of the students in this pre-professional program range from those who just completed 8th grade to those who are sophomores in college.

In addition to students, some of our faculty (which includes vocal coaches, costumers, counselors, pit musicians, music directors, and administration staff) are currently studying at schools such as Carnegie Mellon University and Oberlin Conservatory.

How is Camp structured? Students typically begin the day with dance from 8-9 AM, followed by piano from 9-10 AM, and a mix of vocal coaching and group singing from 10-12 PM. They break for lunch from 12-1 PM and then have an hour of acting work directly after. From 2 PM to 4:15 PM, the students will begin to run full numbers, and during the last couple weeks of camp, rehearse in the Performing Arts Center. At 4:30 PM, the students have an hour of recreational activity, followed by dinner from 5:30-6:30 PM. Then, at 7 PM, they are back at the Performing Arts Center running bits of the show until 9 PM. After this, the students return to campus and get ready for lights out at 10 PM.

In case you wondered, the “Newsies” poster (shown below) was designed by Nathan Olsen, a former Sitkan who designed posters for Oklahoma, Little Shop of Horrors, and Into the Woods. The poster was designed in 2020, when SFAC was originally supposed to perform Newsies, but ultimately got shut down due to Covid-19.

Ed. note:  The cool photo above was taken by James Poulson and shows the Library Newsies Event for Kids (held on Thursday July 25th), where student performer Lizzie Slogotski from Victoria, B.C., appeared in “newsboy costume” and handed out crayons to kids. And the “Fun Facts” above were gathered by SFAC 2024 summer intern Rafaela Doser.