Hi TADA! Friends and Family,

How are you doing? I hope you're all still hanging in there. How many of you remember the poster where the cat is hanging on by its paws? This was an exhausting workweek for me and it was also a very successful workweek for all the different hats that I wear at TADA!.

I have some personal good news and TADA! good news. I’ll tell you the personal first - I finally got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s mint chocolate cookie and my classic lays potato chips, rye bread, and Diet Coke, Tylenol coated round pills AND masks! (I used Amazon Smile so TADA! will make a few cents in the deal) I haven’t had a migraine in a week but now I’m ready if I do.

TADA!’s good news is even better. I’m so fortunate to report that TADA! has received a grant from NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund and a PPP loan. Breathing has become easier. I’m also excited to say that we’re reaching more kids virtually each week! Education classes have resumed (with new ones starting in June), Ensemble Programs are going incredibly well, and on Saturday we will premiere our first online musical, Sleepover, on TADA!’s YouTube channel.

Even though we’re not physically together, I love that we still touch our Education Students, Ensemble Members and Audiences (as well as their families) - we touch them creatively, emotionally and mentally. Here is part of a wonderful email I received from a mom of a 6 year old TADA! student:

“We’ve never met personally, but I wanted to thank you. Sammi loves TADA!. Each weekend, we make the trip from New Jersey to bring Sammi to class. Sheltering in place has been challenging for a six year old with no siblings. This is hard enough for adults to try to comprehend. It’s definitely too much for a kid. She’s sad and lonely and clearly tired of being stuck with two grownups. Last weekend, I clicked on the TADA! YouTube link and watched magic happen. Her face lit up, she straightened up and began her warmups. She sang, she stretched, she instructed me in technique. Instead of talking about what she was missing out on, she reveled in the fact that I would finally get to see what happens in class. She rehearsed. A lot. She set the scene, assigned me lines and blocking and ran the rehearsal. She gave me notes. She had us switch parts and rehearse again. Later that day, we performed for David. It was one of the best days in weeks! Thank you for creating such a wonderful place. Thank you for letting kids explore their creativity instead of just teaching them to imitate existing performances. Thank you for making my daughter so happy in the middle of all this craziness!”

This email invigorated the entire TADA! Staff and Board. TADA! may not be considered essential to all but it is essential to many, which is why we Hang in There, Baby!

Best,

Nina Trevens Producing Artistic Director/Executive Director

PS - please forward this email on to others who may be interested in TADA!’s programs and tell them to visit TADA!’s website TADATHEATER.COM

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Subscribe to our email list. Hi TADA! Friends and Family,

I hope you enjoy these weekly e-blasts when you learn a little about TADA! and about me. I know I write very stream of consciousness and this e-blast is definitely more of that than the others, especially since I deleted the completed copy by mistake this morning (crying since I really was happy with it) and had to rewrite it quickly to meet the deadline to get it to you.

A funny thing happened on the way to nowhere. It’s funny that so much can happen in a week without me leaving my home. Well, I actually did venture out on Sunday to go to the supermarket - where else would I go? The drug store - that’s about it. I sometimes go for a walk but I only go out once a week. It was good to get out although it’s weird to be afraid - afraid of people getting too close or people who aren’t wearing their masks. Although, how much fresh air do you get with that mask covering your nose and mouth?

I could say a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum (I hope you get the reference) - if I call all the webinars forums instead of webinars. I’m taking so many and learning (sometimes) so many new things, more than ever in my life, more than when I was in school even. I’m also in so many Zoom meetings - who knew about Zoom four months ago - I certainly didn’t, and now it’s part of my everyday vocabulary.

This past weekend I saw a lot of theater (not TADA!) on a screen (of course) -- The Phantom of the Opera, Buyer and Celler, Les Mis reunion on Seth Rudetsky’s Stars In the House, and the Hamilton cast celebrating A Chorus Line anniversary. And yes, I made contributions to the non-profits as I watched.

Are you doing more of anything since you can’t go out?

For me, it’s eating. I’m eating more things that I really shouldn’t be eating. However, I can’t find these items anywhere - regular Lays Potato Chips, Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream, Seeded Rye Bread, Diet Coke (I had basically given this up for over a year but now...), Tylenol (the coated pills because I can’t swallow the bigger caplets) and ground turkey. To help with the migraines I’m getting more often now, I need the potato chips and the Diet Coke and the Tylenol (although Tylenol has never helped in the past, only Advil Migraine did, but with COVID-19 around I’ve been told to take Tylenol - guess I just lost a Tylenol sponsorship).

I’m also seeing more of my father who lives in Florida - his 90th birthday is at the end of May - we were going to gather the family there to celebrate but that won’t be happening now. That’s disappointing but I speak to him every day and I see him now more than I did two months ago. Four times a week his caregiver FaceTimes me so we can see each other as we talk. I don’t know why we didn’t do this before, but we didn’t.

There are many things that I didn’t do before that I am doing now. My mind just keeps coming up with new ideas for TADA! - some we’ve started doing, others will start in May and others are still percolating. Our Ensemble Members and the Ensemble Staff (Joanna, Ashley, and Gabi) have great ideas as well on how to stay in touch, what we can do together, create together and how we can have fun together. It doesn’t stop there, Katy and the Education Department are also thinking up new ways to offer classes and camps remotely. In fact, new classes will start in May. For summer camps, we have Plan A, B, C and D depending on when we can safely be at 15 West 28th Street together and if not they will happen remotely as well.

The best thing that happened this past week is that I got to see my TADA! kids (they actually aren’t all kids - there are teenagers and some are even older) three times! I was so happy to hear them and see their beautiful faces. I love these people so much. We had our first Zoom Youth Council Meeting and we got to sing Happy Birthday to AJ. Here they are:

We also had our first Zoom HOT (Hang out Time) and our first Zoom New Work Development Workshop for Because We’re Girls - Here are their faces:

And since we’re doing this online we can have Alumni (those are the older ones) involved as well which is a benefit of doing this online. And, yes, we could have been doing that before but, well, we didn’t.

My creativity is non-stop. Deirdre Broderick (who wrote The Perfect Monster and Odd Day Rain with me) and I did put one project on hold - it was about anxiety in youth and teens, but this isn’t the time for that. However, we're writing a prequel to Odd Day Rain about how the characters came to be living in a totally virtual world. Hmmm...I wonder how we thought of that?

It’s so great that now people can be a part of TADA! even if they don’t live or travel to NYC. So, if you know people with kids who like to perform or if parents are looking for something for their kids to do - suggest TADA! to them. They can learn the song and dance for “A Pirate” here. They can do the TADA! song challenge, click here for lyrics/instructions and here for samples. Everyone can watch “A Day In the Life of a Kid” on TADA!’s YouTube channel here and you can always check us out on Facebook and Instagram.

Have a good week! I hope you are all finding the benefits of being alive during this time. Embracing change and exploring new ways of being together.

Best,

Nina Trevens Producing Artistic Director/Executive Director

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15 W. 28th St. 3rd Floor New York, NY | 10001 United States

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Subscribe to our email list. Hi TADA! Friends and Family,

I hope you found ways to enjoy the holidays this past weekend. Chocolate covered matzah or chocolate bunny? Passover and Easter are major holidays that celebrate rebirth. Passover is also about the journey from slavery to freedom, and of taking responsibility for yourself, the community, and the world.

This is what many of us - TADA! included - are doing right now. We are figuring out a new way of being (rebirthing) and redefining freedom at a time when we may feel like slaves to this virus. We have all had to take responsibility for ourselves and our communities. TADA! is very committed to serving our community which is why we have created new and remote TADA! programming and connections for all of you who want some TADA! at home.

As a four-time cancer survivor, I have had rebirths. I had to fight to stay alive, to think positively, to plan for a future that I wasn’t certain of at the time. Doing and planning is how I got through those times of uncertainty. TADA!’s staff is doing and planning. Planning for in-person summer camps, live musicals for next season, as well as more remote activities and programs. We are ready for whatever is possible. Because we don’t give up!

Speaking of not giving up, did anyone learn “Never Give Up” this weekend? If not, you can still learn it here. Have you done the TADA! Challenge? Click here for instructions/lyrics and here to see what others have done! I want more people to know about TADA!, please help us by asking your family and friends to:

Follow us @tadatheater on Instagram Like our Facebook page Subscribe to our YouTube channel Visit our website tadatheater.com and join our mailing list

TADA!’s incredibly dedicated staff speak daily about how to better serve you and how much we miss the in-person interaction with all our kids. We made you this visual message. We hope you enjoy seeing all of us. Think of ways your extended family or a group of friends can work together to send a message to others.

Click here to get names and titles of the TADA! staff.

Have a good week!

Best,

Nina Trevens Producing Artistic Director/Executive Director

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Subscribe to our email list. Hi TADA! Friends and Family,

I miss being with my TADA! kids and I’ve been thinking a lot about what we can still do together. As I talk to our Ensemble Members and their parents, it’s nice to hear about what they are doing together but I’m also hearing how much they miss being at TADA!. It makes me wonder, do you need more ideas of what to do with your kids while at home? Do you want activities for your kids to do without you? Cards, board games and puzzles are good and they’re fun, but what else can you do? The answer is - Musical Theater!

As parents (who aren’t necessarily theater professionals) you're probably thinking that you don’t know how to give your kids musical theater experiences at home. You may be thinking “Come on, Nina, that’s why I send them to TADA! classes and/or bring them to see TADA! shows.” To help out, TADA!’s staff has been busy creating material to help bring TADA! to you. Below are some activities we have come up with to keep your kids (and you) creative, active, singing and dancing at home.

Here’s what we have come up with for this week:

Watch TADA!’s YouTube Channel. There are many great numbers from our shows over the years. There’s a great number, “Sayonara”, from our last production How to Eat Like A Child that I think we can all relate to right now. Substitute the lyrics “I hate them” with “I hate it (COVID-19)”. Included are two videos because Mira and Hallie alternated singing the song in the last production and they were both terrific.

Learn a new Musical Number from a TADA! musical right in your very own home. Every Saturday a new musical number will be highlighted for you to learn. Choreography will be taught by various artists starting with Joanna Greer, TADA!’s Associate Artistic Director teaching you choreography (the dance steps) to “Never Give Up”. Look for a TADA! email on Saturday. #TADAHereWeAre challenge. Have you recorded and posted or sent your version of the TADA! song yet. Why not? We want to see you! Let your kids direct or choreograph you doing the TADA! song. Be silly and do it as a family. Find the instructions and lyrics here! Visit our website TADATHEATER.COM to see new content almost daily.

Very soon we will be streaming previously recorded TADA! productions from years past for you to watch at home. We’re working with our writers and designers to get the permissions we need to show performances for a limited period of time.

Please stay home, stay safe and healthy. Let your creative juices flow and let me know if you have any ideas to share.

Best,

Nina Trevens Producing Artistic Director/Executive Director

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Subscribe to our email list. Hi TADA! friends and family,

We've made it through another week!

What are you doing with your time once you've finished the schoolwork (or helping with the schoolwork) or the work at home work? I finally succumbed and signed up for Starz to watch Outlander. I've also been cooking more and been cleaning (why is my apartment still a mess?).

I don't suggest Outlander for kids but I do suggest the videos we're sharing below for both adults and kids to watch together or separately - whatever helps you get through the day. All these songs were written many years ago but have something to say to us today.

TADA! thanks all of the first responders, doctors, nurses, EMT's and our everyday heroes such as food delivery people, restaurant, supermarket and pharmacy staff, mail carriers, garbage collectors and countless others for helping to keep us safe and healthy. Think about these people as you watch a clip from Heroes.

Did you know that TADA! produced a musical called Odd Day Rain which takes place in the future at a time when all people lived life totally inside and everything they needed they would get from their computers? Even school was conducted online. Can you believe that? It was written over 15 years ago! There were, however, a few kids who live in the outside world. To see what life is like in this odd future click below for two musical numbers.

TADA! performed a medley of Jason Robert Brown's 13 at the 35th Anniversary Gala one month ago. Watch it here. Here are some lyrics that I think we can all relate to today even though we're not just about to turn 13.

"Now I’m stressed, life is a disaster. And I’m cracking from the strain, going totally insane. And I’m just about to turn, Just about to turn, Just about to turn, Thirteen! Everything switches Thirteen! Everything turns around Thirteen! End up in stitches Thirteen! Find a way underground Thirteen! Can I get through it? Thirteen! Life has changed over night"

Unfortunately, life for us has changed overnight. TADA! has to extend the cancelation of all programming through the end of April. We hope to be able to begin on-site programming again in May. However, that doesn't mean there's no TADA! in your life. You can watch the videos over and over and you can stay in touch with TADA! by: visiting our website at TADATHEATER.COM; checking Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages; and watching many performance videos on TADA!’s YouTube Channel.

And, be sure to be on the lookout for the "TADA! Here We Are!" challenge coming to you later this week.

Remember as the TADA! Song says

"We're a family. One big, crazy, happy, hardworking family. Where you can be square, or let down your hair, whatever you dare. We'll always be there."

The TADA! staff is working hard to make sure we really will always be here for you now and in the future. You can contact us through email [email protected] or call 212-252-1619 and leave a voicemail and we will get back to you.

Please stay home, stay safe and healthy.

Best, Nina Trevens Producing Artistic Director/Executive Director

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15 W. 28th St. 3rd Floor New York, NY | 10001 United States

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