Don’t ever tell Dennis Bowen there’s no such thing as a time machine. He and his compatriots Bob Ehrenberg and Steve Reed have mastered the imagery, if not the mechanical contraption itself, by hosting St. Joseph High School ENCORE presentations biennially dating back to 2014, and they’re ready to fire up the marquee again in the New Year returning the acts of yesteryear.
In fact, auditions for the 2018 ENCORE performance will begin on New Year’s Day — next Monday. While the show itself — the St. Joseph High School Variety Show Reunion Tour — doesn’t take the stage until next August 17th and 18th, auditions are getting underway now so they can whittle the show down to a manageable contingent ready to showcase those talents and more.
ENCORE is a production of talented alums who have graduated from SJHS between the years of 1950 and 2010. Participants have performed in either the SJHS Variety Shows or SJHS Musicals. Some of the Variety Show Acts are the same people using the same material they performed while in high school. Others provide different material or have established careers since graduation.
The inaugural reunion show was back in 2014 when “students” from those eras replicated acts first mastered 15, 20, 30, even more than 50 years ago when they were in high school in a first-class setting to benefit the St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation.
The mission of the Foundation is to raise, steward and distribute resources to enrich the education of students in the St. Joseph Public Schools. ENCORE is one of the means of raising funds for the Foundation to meet their goals.
The Act Selection Committee will begin accepting audition materials on Monday, January 1st and continue to do so through the 1st day of April 2018. Acts will be accepted from:
- Variety Show Acts
- Performers from SJHS Musicals
- Accomplished performers (performing material from their personal careers)
Auditions may be sent in the following ways: e-auditions, CD, DVD, via Facebook, and similar methodology.
Along with the audition itself, applicants must submit the Encore Application Form. That form should be submitted to Dennis Bowen at dennisbowen230@gmail.com or mailed to Dennis Bowen, 30 Water Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085.
Questions regarding the show and the audition process can reach out to the following individuals, based on the type of act you are planning to showcase:
- Questions regarding Instrumentals: please contact Steve Reed stevereed52@yahoo.com
- Questions regarding Drama/Skits/Monologues, etc: please contact Donna Metz donnageorgia@frontier.com
- Questions regarding Chorals and Vocals: please contact Dennis Bowen dennisbowwen230gmail,com.
You can also find more information at the showcase performance process by clicking on the link below:
