March 3, 2014

Dear 5th Grade Musical Parents/Guardians:

With our opening night of Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka” KIDS fast approaching (its already a little over a month away!), it is time to start planning ahead for ! Costumes for the show are not extremely complex; hopefully many of these items your child already owns or can easily find at a local thrift store! Costumes must be seen, signed-off, and approved by Mrs. Schetley by Tuesday, April 1st, 2014.

Costumes should be brought to your child(ren)’s assigned Rehearsal clearly labeled with your child’s name on the inside of all and accessories. Please place any accessories in a plastic bag attached to the hanger you provide with the for storage. The following are the lists of costume needs based on your child’s part(s). If you have extras that we could borrow of any of the items on the lists, please let me know so we can help make our costumes as economical for our group of over 100 fifth grade students as possible!

1. Candy Man Kids (Ensemble): Normal “school” clothes are perfect: , plain t- /polos, and dark or black (no rips or tears). To give the idea that this takes place in any time period and not necessarily the present, please make sure that there are not large logos or brand names visible on the clothing articles.

2. Oompa-Loompas (Ensemble): Same dark or black jeans as for the Candy Man Kids with a black, plain t-, black (converse, , or jazz dance styles are perfect) and white . If you cannot find white suspenders, cutting out two three-inch wide strips of felt or fleece to pin to appear to be suspenders is fine, as well. Add any bright/neon accessories such as the following to customize your individual Oompa-Loompa such as brightly colored , Day-Glo wigs, striped with rolled up pants, etc. Have fun with making the Oompa-Loompas come to life!

3. Squirrels (Ensemble): Same dark or black jeans and black shoes as for the Oompa- Loompas with a long-sleeved grey shirt or sweatshirt. Please see photo example on my teacher page for ideas on making squirrel ears from felt to hot-glue either to a , , or to create ears. A grey boa or another type of grey bushy tail pinned to the back of the shirt will give the illusion of a tail.

4. Willy Wonka: Purple or black hat, purple opera or tuxedo with green pants, and black shoes. Should look sharp and colors worn should be bright and draw attention to the mysterious nature of the character.

5. Candy Man: Brightly colored striped jacket with black pants and a white . I will provide a barbershop-style hat to wear.

6. Charlie Bucket: Neutral pants, a Henley shirt and newsboy hat in shades of grays or light beiges. Should appear impoverished but not dirty.

7. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket: Both should be shades of neutral colors such as grays or light beiges. Mrs. Bucket should have a mid-length , , and while Mr. Bucket should have a jacket with a patch here and there, a Henley shirt and pants. He’ll need a hat for his outdoor scenes, too. Should appear impoverished but not dirty.

8. Grandma Josephina, Grandma Georgina, Grandpa Joe and Grandpa George: Neutral- colored (for the Grandmas) and (for the Grandpas) plus a nightcap or mop cap. Should appear impoverished but not dirty.

9. Phineous Trout: A brightly patterned sports jacket over a contrasting shirt and black pants.

10. Augustus Gloop and Mrs. Gloop: Both should be dressed in forest green accents: for Augustus he should have lederhosen (or suspenders with a ribbon glued across the front to appear like they are lederhosen) with white long socks and a felt hat or beanie. A couple small pillows can be used to make Augustus appear “stuffed.” Mrs. Gloop can have a medium length full skirt with peasant-style blouse and jacket. A felt hat may be a nice touch, as well.

11. Veruca Salt and Mr. Salt: Both should be dressed with light pink accents: for Veruca she should have a faux fur jacket, matching set, etc. to obnoxiously display her wealthy status. Mr. Salt should have a with a pink dress shirt to help tie the two together. A tie or and/or hat are optional.

12. Mike Teavee and Ms. Teavee: The two should have red accents on their clothes: Mike should be in jeans, , a , and any video game or super hero t-shirt (think Batman, Superman, etc.) and should have any type of a gaming device (old Gameboy, iPod, etc.) with him while Ms. Teavee is the epitome of a classic “television mom” such as June Cleaver with a full skirt and blouse with an apron or .

13. Violet Beauregarde and Mrs. Beauregarde: The two should have bright colors and patterns that are bright and bold. They are a “rough around the edges” pair with costumes that don’t quite seem to match and seem slightly garish for these two Southerners.

We are also looking for the following props/set pieces to help bring our show to life. If you would consider letting us borrow or donating the following, we would be very grateful! • Large, old-fashioned radio • Disposable White Lab • Five Pairs of Safety Goggles (or more if you have them!) • Bubble Machine • Playground Balls of various sizes (“nuts” for the squirrels) • Any large appliance box (dishwasher, refrigerator, stove, etc.)

Thank you all again for being so supportive of your child(ren)’s interest and love of the arts; it has been such a pleasure working with all of them so far and I cannot wait to have you see all of their hard work come together for the performances. If you have any questions or concerns regarding costumes, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Schetley [email protected] (412-) 833-1600 ext. 5060