Theatre Educator’s Guide to Wolf PAC Performances

Welcome to Wolf PAC!

The heart of Wolf PAC’s overarching philosophy is educational theater. We are an organization that believes in the power and merit of ensemble. In our performance programs, we choose shows that allow for many characters to be featured and on stage as much as possible. Our main goals for our young performers are to learn new skills as actors, gain confidence while on stage, use creative and critical thinking, connect with their peers, and feel safe and supported to grow into their unique selves!

Wolf PAC aims to create an environment where all cast members feel valued, no matter their role. We spend many hours expanding our scripts, adapting what is written to ensure that all performers have a fulfilling experience. While we do not divide up dialogue so that each cast member gets an equal amount of lines, we do make sure that everyone has their moment to shine. The number of words an actor says is not equal to their value in an ensemble; ensembles are about how the group functions as a unit and contributes to telling the story at hand. 

Wolf PAC prides itself on offering a dynamic, positive experience for all young performers who want to learn the craft of theater and stretch their creative minds in a nurturing, accepting space.

We ask that you read all of the info below, with a focus specifically on General Information, Roles and Responsibilities, and the Who's who section to better prepare you for an upcoming season at Wolf PAC!

General Information

So, you’ve been hired as part of the amazing, collaborative team to produce our performance season. We’re so excited to have you! Now what? 

Over the course of the process, you will guide your cast and build a community through auditions, rehearsals, the tech process, dress rehearsals and the final performance. Before you dive into the specifics of your age group, we wanted to remind you of some big picture info that rings true for all of our programming.

  • We believe in process over product here at Wolf PAC. It’s about the learning and the growth that gets us to a final performance, and, in doing so, we find that the performance naturally succeeds. Take your time to teach them the ‘why,’ rather than just getting to the end goal!

  • We are a community and an ensemble. No performance is about one person, even if they are playing a titular role. Everyone should feel that, without them, the production wouldn’t be exactly the unique, amazing, quality show that it is!

  • Planning and communication is key. We can make almost anything work if we know ahead of time. Remember to communicate with the Associate Artistic Director, your team, and your actors.

  • Even as part of a team, you always have a sounding board in the staff of Wolf PAC. We are always here for anything you need: brainstorming, lesson planning, vent sessions, etc. You are not alone in your process.

    Over the course of the rehearsal process, if an actor is going above and beyond and impressing you one way or another, feel free to email them (and their parents) to let them know. We call that a “warm & fuzzy,” but all it is is giving a shout-out to a kid who deserves it. We appreciate you taking the time!

    Either the Associate Artistic Director or the Artistic Director will be in once during the rehearsal process to observe. This is not a test; this is a way for us to feel involved in what’s going on and provide some constructive feedback on rehearsals. Sometimes an extra pair of eyes is helpful in the room. We will be coming by a lot, of course, to check-in and visit, but only one time per season for an official observation. We will then email you our assessment so we can continue the conversation.

    Lastly, one of our mottos here is “it ain’t that deep!” and we do our very best to abide by it. We are creating educational theatre with children and having a blast along the way. That’s the bottom line, so if it ever feels like it’s getting too intense or difficult, please let us know. It’s theatre, it’s an outlet for these young people (and us), and it’s fun.

We understand that sometimes things happen that are beyond your control, but you are hired for a program with us for a specific reason—your unique qualities make you a wonderful fit for the group you are working with! Though you may find someone else to fill in for you, they are not you and the kids deserve a consistent educator during their time at Wolf PAC. You will receive language surrounding attendance and absence policies with your contract.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Responsible for casting the show with their team, attending all production meetings, and sending a welcome email and creating weekly rehearsal plans (1st - 5th grade directors also create emails to families with updates, logistics, rehearsal videos, etc.) (Janine will provide info weekly to help with this.) The Director also creates weekly lesson plans for rehearsals, connects & communicates with their team regularly, and meets with the design team to talk about their vision and technical needs. They lead the technical process and dress rehearsal, and are at all of the performances.

  • Responsible for casting the show with their team, teaching the music in a way that makes sense to their actors, and following the rehearsal plans provided by the Director and adjusting as needed. They will need enough piano skills to teach the music live, and then have the option to play live, use tracks, or be prepared to guide an accompanist for the performances. They will either need to play live or create tracks to help teach their cast. They need to connect & communicate with their team regularly and be available to conduct, if not play, during tech, dress rehearsals and all shows.

  • Responsible for casting the show with their team, creating and teaching choreography that fits the skill level of the actors’ age group. They will follow the rehearsal plans provided and be able to “divide and conquer” during rehearsal time to get everything taught. They need to connect & communicate with their team regularly and be available as a valuable resource to the cast during technical and dress rehearsals and all performances.

  • For 6th-12th productions only, a Stage Manager will write weekly emails to families, create a conflict calendar for all actors, update a live, working tech document with all design needs for the tech team, record blocking and backstage tracking and be responsible for being backstage during technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals and performances to help with transitions, props management, costume changes, overall wrangling and more.

  • A 7th-12th grader who has elected to be a part of a directing team and learn about the inner workings of the “backstage” element of our performance process. They will work either with the directing team or one-on-one with a designer during the rehearsal process and work backstage at technical & dress rehearsals and performances to help with transitions, entrances, exits, etc. Apprenticeships are offered in directing, props, costumes, etc.

  • The design team for each performance program consists of 1 costume designer, 1 props designer, 1 set designer, 1 lighting designer and 1 sound designer. All design team members report to the Production Manager mostly, but the directors will have one-on-one time with their design team to chat about vision and all technical aspects. The design team will come to all production meetings, any designer runs scheduled and all of the tech process, dress rehearsals, performances and strike.

  • During the tech process,(usually within rehearsal time), our staff photographer will come and take pictures of the cast in costume. If a performance is in the Black Box, these pictures will be staged by the directing team. If off-site, these will happen during the dress rehearsals. The Associate Artistic Director will coordinate this between everyone involved!

1st & 2nd Grade

The Team: One Director, One Directing Apprentice and One Design Team

Where: Our very own Black Box Theatre space (rehearsals and performances)

Length of Show: 20-30 minutes 

Past Productions include: Wild Things (adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are), Clickety, Quackety, Moo (adaptation of Click, Quack, Moo) & Run, Stinky, Run (adaptation of The Stinky Cheeseman)

Our first and second grade program offers a performance opportunity to our youngest actors by adapting a popular children’s book into an ensemble-based script. In the fall, we focus on a movement-heavy play, building character moments throughout the process, while in the spring, we expand to a musical revue, with our book adaptation providing the story with some fun musical theatre moments thrown in! 

The original script for these productions can be changed and adjusted based on cast needs. 

  • Auditions take place within rehearsals, usually the first or second week. After reading through the storybook that the script is based on, the actors are encouraged to showcase their talents by singing and speaking together and individually and making BIG character choices so that the director can cast them accordingly. They are our youngest group, and therefore, they will all be featured in some way or another through the script. The space also lends itself to having most of the cast onstage for the majority of the performance. Auditions are super low-key and low-stress for everyone involved.

  • Rehearsals are weekly and one hour in length until we get to tech and dress rehearsals which are an hour and a half. Every cast member is called to every rehearsal and the expectation is that they are utilized and busy the entire time. The attention span of a 1st and 2nd grader may yield some water breaks or moments to recharge, but hopefully we are spending most of that rehearsal time in a productive way.

  • This group gets one performance per cast. The actors are called an hour before their showtime to get into costume, hair and makeup. There are no personal/individual microphones for this performance, so there is no need for a sound check. After the performance, they go home with their families after a job well done!

    Below is a sample rehearsal plan for the first 1st-2nd grade rehearsal:

    4:30-4:40: Welcome & Name Games!

    4:40-4:50: Busy Busy House Miming activities: build a scene/tableau game

    4:50-5:10: Character Walks: sneaky fox, slow motion running, birds, dogs, kids playing a game

    5:10-5:25: Read Book, discuss storyboard

    5:25-5:30: Clean up, say goodbye!

3rd-5th Grade

The Team: One Director, One Music Director, One Choreographer, One Directing Apprentice and One Design Team

Where: Barrack Academy, 272 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (tech rehearsals, dress and performances), Wolf PAC (rehearsals)

Length of Show: 45 minutes - 1 hour

Past Productions include: The Lion King KIDS, Alice in Wonderland JR, Honk JR, Beauty and the Beast JR, Frog and Toad KIDS, Frozen JR

Our third through fifth grade offers a performance opportunity offsite to our elementary school aged actors by choosing a KIDS musical in the fall and a junior musical in the spring. We do musicals year-round for this age group as we find that they learn best through acting, singing and dance at this age. The original script for these productions will be changed, adjusted and adapted to fit a group of 30 kids per cast who all will have a featured moment to shine onstage.

  • Auditions take place within rehearsals, usually the first or second week. After singing through some songs, going through the story and engaging with their peers, the actors are encouraged to showcase their talents by singing a solo, working together in a scene and making BIG character choices so that the directing team can cast accordingly. Auditions are super low-key and low-stress for everyone involved. When casting, think of ways to expand the script to include the most children in the most effective ways. (For example, adding a Thing 1 and Thing 2 to the Cat in the Hat’s track in Seussical or, in The Little Mermaid, splitting Chef Louis’ role to include Sous Chef Huey are examples of ways to break open the script to accommodate more roles.)

  • Rehearsals are weekly, and an hour and a half in length until we get to tech and dress rehearsals, which occur more frequently throughout the week and are 2+ hours. Every cast member is called to every rehearsal and the expectation is that they are utilized and busy the entire time. The learning process for this group is a hybrid of featured moments for every cast member and also learning about being backstage through transitions, exits and entrances, playing multiple characters, etc.

  • This production has two technical rehearsals and one dress rehearsal. It’s important to prepare your cast that these days are coming, so they can be ready for bright lights, exciting costumes and a new space! These rehearsals are a little longer to make sure everything gets done. There will also be the addition of body mics for some actors.

  • This group gets two performances per cast. The actors are called an hour and a half before their showtime to clean any tricky spots, get into costume, hair and makeup and mics. After the performance, they go home with their families after a job well done!

    Below is a sample rehearsal plan for a 3rd-5th grade rehearsal:

    4:30-4:45: Vocal warm-up and quick game!

    4:45-5:00: Review the opening number!

    5:00-5:30: Director works scene 2 with Triton and Ariel, MD takes Mer-sisters for vocal review of She’s in Love, Choreographer works with the rest of the group on Under the sea choreography

    5:30-5:45: Plug everyone into Under the Sea while MD takes Ariel for Part of Your World

    5:45-6PM: Record a rehearsal video of Under the Sea and say goodbye!

6th-12th Grade

The Team: One Director/Choreographer, One MD (if musical), One Stage Manager and One Design Team

Where: Either offsite or Black Box Theatre 

Length of Show: 2 hours

Past Productions include: Godspell, The Addams Family, Seussical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Something Rotten!, SpongeBob the Musical

Our sixth through twelfth grade program is for our oldest age group. Depending on the season, we offer a variety of programming for this age group, as their commitment to theater strengthens. We either do two different plays with multiple casts, or explore one-acts and devising projects during a season, then switch it up with multiple musicals during the next season.

We do the full versions of plays and musicals, with potential cuts here and there for length and mature content.

  • Auditions take place outside of rehearsals, individually and then a group dance audition for our musical season. We ask that big character choices be made while singing so that the directing team can see what they need to see in the initial audition. This is also the only age group where we offer callbacks, involving a second audition to help the casting puzzle. When casting, think of ways to expand the script to include the most actors in the most effective ways. Even more well-known scripts have ways of being expanded to smartly include more parts and stage time. (For example, in The Addams Family, when Gomez flashes back to Wednesday growing up, that part could be played by a younger, different actor than the teenage Wednesday. This allows an actor to have their own moment, makes sense in the script, and gives the original Wednesday a break!)

  • Rehearsals are two hours, twice a week, until we get to tech and dress rehearsals which can last up to 4 hours. The directing team creates a rehearsal schedule at least two weeks out, so that the cast can see who is called for each rehearsal. While we totally understand the need to call smaller groups sometimes, we ask that the full cast be called at least once a week. If you are calling an actor, it is expected that they are utilized and busy the entire time they are there.

    The rehearsals are two hours, which gives lots of time for productive blocking and staging, but also an opportunity for character development and scene work. We push our oldest actors because they can handle it; they love digging deep into the nitty-gritty of the production.

  • These productions have at least three technical rehearsals and one to two dress rehearsals. This is also the time when a photographer will come and take some pictures of the show. These rehearsals add the rest of the design elements to the production and can get tedious for these actors; we allow them to bring things to do, (i.e. homework, books, etc.) but they also need to be prepared to jump up and tech if needed.

  • This group gets three performances per cast. The actors are called an hour and a half before their showtime to get into costume, hair and makeup and sound check. They also are capable of setting their own props and checking in with the SM about what’s needed of them backstage. After the performance, they go home after a job well done!

    Below is a sample rehearsal plan for a 6th-12th grade rehearsal:

    6:30-6:45PM - Check-in - how are we feeling? “What’s on your plate?”

    6:45-7PM: Creations: pick a line of text that you say (paired with a gesture) that is a “learning” moment for you. Either the moment you “know” that you’re just part of the story or a moment that starts to nudge you in that direction…

    7:00-7:30PM: Read Phaeton in a group - Creations, THINK about when and why you come alive and “listen.” Gods, what do you hope the result of these experiments will be? Make sure you know what each of these lines mean!

    7:30-8PM: Block the *transition* between O & E and Phaeton into the beginning of Phaeton (film if need be)

    8:00-8:30PM - Finish Phaeton blocking, order of leaving (creations choose), wrap-up and talk about what’s next

Who’s Who

  • Betsy Wolf Regn

    Artistic Director

  • Sarah Wittwer

    Managing Director

  • Janine Merolla

    Associate Artistic Director

  • Laura Barron

    Programs Director

  • Will Connell

    Camp Director

  • Jamie Amen

    Marketing Director

  • Damien Figueras

    Production Manager

  • Courtney Boches

    Costume Manager

  • Jim Miccolis

    Technical Consultant

This is a quick cheat sheet to help you know who to go to when you need support at Wolf PAC. Reference your staff contact sheet for your individual teams. 

  • Betsy Wolf Regn, Artistic Director: helps with the creative process, all artistic needs, communication with families, and general support/suggestions/advice along the way

  • Sarah Braverman Wittwer, Managing Director: knowledgeable about all things payroll, paperwork, box office and more! 

  • Janine Merolla, Associate Artistic Director: direct report for all directing teams, including music directors, choreographers, stage managers, TAP participants, etc. and anyone involved in performance programming

  • Will Connell, Laura Barron & Jamie Amen, Full-Time Staff: in charge of a variety of programming at Wolf PAC, but also staff the office on rehearsal days to help with daily logistical needs

  • Damien Figueras, Production Manager: direct report for all designers and technical teams

  • Courtney Boches, Costume Manager: head of the costume department and all materials

  • Jim Miccolis, Technical Consultant: knowledge about all things in the Wolf PAC building; helpful hand with general technical needs, load-in/load-out, and setting up for first tech rehearsals