December 22, 2016 by Kristan Seemel
As 2016 comes to a close, we’re looking back at some of our favorite moments from the year. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Las Casas. We look forward to a fabulous 2017!
Tickets for the Joci Awards went on sale in early March, with a record-breaking 115 tickets sold on the first day alone!
On May 1, we awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to 27 students representing 13 different high schools at the 2016 Joci Awards. More than 600, including an exceptional panel of judges, attended the show.
In June, Kevin Parman (Las Casas Board President), Doren Fein (Programs and Development) and Ana Flores (Operations and Communications) traveled to NYC to celebrate our educational partner, Camp Broadway, as they received special recognition at the 2016 Drama Desk Awards.
A couple of weeks after the Drama Desk Awards, we found ourselves in the Big Apple once more as Travis Anderson and Madeline (Barbara) Burrow participated in the 2016 National High School Musical Theatre Awards/Jimmy Awards. Through this 10-day program, Travis and Barbara experienced private coaching with top professionals and trained for a finale performance (on a real Broadway stage!) to compete for additional scholarship funds. Travis and Barbara had a Texas-sized cheering section, as additional staff and numerous board members made the trip up for the show.
In August, Camp Broadway returned to San Antonio and the Empire Theatre for the third summer in a row. We saw many past campers return and welcomed two Joci Awards alumni, Elyse Echevarria and Yasmyn Sumiyoshi as Assistant Stage Managers for the week. Travis and Barbara also stopped by during a special lunch on stage of the Majestic to share their Joci and Jimmy Awards experiences with campers. P.S. – Registration is now open for Camp Broadway 2017.
The 2016-2017 Behind the Scenes (BTS) season launched in September; the group includes 40 participants from the Magik Theatre, The Playhouse, SAY Sí, Woodlawn Academy for the Performing Arts, Harlandale ISD, Northside ISD and San Antonio ISD. Since the season began, BTS students have toured the Majestic and Empire Theatres, seen The Sound of Music and participated in a post-show talkback with the cast and seen Jersey Boys and participated in a mock audition master class with cast members and music director.
Las Casas hosted the first party of the 2016-2017 Broadway in San Antonio at the Majestic Theatre season for the cast and crew of Cabaret in late October. Held at the stunning St. Anthony Hotel pool deck, more than 100 guests were in attendance and the cast and crew called it “the best party ever thrown for the Cabaret cast.”
