Stage Notes COVID-19 Support Fundraiser
To our generous supporters:
2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global arts community has felt the loss in a profound way and the arts community in the North Country is no different. Stage Notes had no option but to cancel our July 2020 production of CATS. Stage Notes gathered on February 14, 2020, a month before schools closed, to showcase the talented Stage Notes class of 2020. It was a beautiful night filled with music, friendship, laughter, and a few tears. We are thankful for that evening. It turned out to be the last night we were all together. Stage Notes salutes the graduating class of 2020.
Like so many, we are still unable to operate on a “business as usual” model. That does not mean that Stage Notes has gone away! It’s only intermission. We have remained connected with our students. In the spring, during lockdown, our current students joined with alumni in creating a virtual performance of Stage Notes singing our “theme” song, You’ve Got A Friend, to help send a message of hope and unity to all of our Stage Notes friends. Over the summer, our students gathered in very small groups to learn a dance to the apropos song Brand New Day from The Wiz with our choreographer, David Simmons. Our Stage Notes president, Michele Glover, had Stage Notes masks made for all of our students and board members, spreading the message to our Stage Notes family and community that “wearing a face mask is an act of love”. As always, our focus and concern is for the safety and good health of our students, and our community.
Now, here we are, on the precipice of a strange year. We have high hopes of giving our students the theatrical experiences that they long for. Whether it is a virtual production, or a show next summer in a public venue (be still my heart), we plan to use this year as a time of growth. It’s time for Stage Notes to UNMASK OUR POTENTIAL!
It has never been more important to keep the arts alive. Stage Notes takes our role in arts education very seriously and we thank you for your past support. We are humbly asking for your help in meeting our operational costs to stay afloat. For the first time in many years, we find ourselves looking at financial hardships we haven’t known since our earliest years. If we are able to remain in business, we will continue our goal to cultivate, promote, sustain, and support the arts in our community. Your contribution to Stage Notes will help us maintain the high standard of theater and philanthropy which you have come to expect from our organization.
If you can help, please click the "Donate" button below!
Come see Pippin and Chicago!
The 2019 show season is new and exciting because we will be creating a “summer stock” experience for our students; producing two musicals back to back. PIPPIN will be July 11-13 and CHICAGO, HIGH SCHOOL EDITION will be July 25-27. Both shows were originally directed and choreographed by the great Bob Fosse.
PIPPIN: With an infectiously unforgettable score from musical theatre giant, Stephen Schwartz, Pippin is the story of one young man's journey to be extraordinary. Heir to the Frankish throne, the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh and the intrigues of political power. In the end, though, Pippin finds that happiness lies not in extraordinary endeavors, but rather in the ordinary moments that happen every day.
CHICAGO: In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess," Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream"; fame, fortune, and acquittal. This sharp-edged satire features a dazzling score by Kander and Ebb that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse. Stage Notes will be presenting CHICAGO, HIGH SCHOOL EDITION which is a full-length version of the musical, adapted for performance by high school students with family audiences.
Tickets available at all Watertown Kinney Drugs locations, and at the door!
Sponsor Stage Notes' 2019 Season - PIPPIN & CHICAGO
To our generous supporters:
Stage Notes began in 2009 out of a desire to teach our students that their talents can make a difference in our community. Ten years later, thanks to supporters like YOU, Stage Notes has donated over $50,000 to local organizations and continues to provide students with rich theatrical experiences, as well as life lessons in philanthropy. As we enter our second decade of “Performance With A Purpose”, we vow to continue advocating for and promoting the arts in the North Country.
The 2019 show season is new and exciting because we will be creating a “summer stock” experience for our students; producing two musicals back to back. PIPPIN will be July 11-13 and CHICAGO, HIGH SCHOOL EDITION will be July 25-27. Both shows were originally choreographed by the great Bob Fosse. The next six months for Stage Notes will be based around an education on Fosse and his signature dance style. We are proud to have David Simmons returning this year to choreograph both musicals. Stay tuned for details about each of these exciting productions.
To read the full letter from our Artistic Director, Ticia Aumell, please click HERE
We respectively invite you to consider a gift of $100.00 or more to help fund Stage Notes two musicals for 2019. Please know that any gift is appreciated. With funding for arts education being cut in many schools, and the possible elimination of the National Endowment For The Arts, Stage Notes takes our role in arts education very seriously. Some of our proceeds from last season went to support local arts-oriented scholarships in our community, to help local students pursue higher education in the arts.
Thank you for supporting this vital cultural need in our community and helping to make it a lasting commodity for our youth. Thank you also for helping instill a life lesson in philanthropy for our students.
To see a sample of advertisement sizes please click HERE
Please click the "Donate" button below, and you will be taken to Paypal to complete your donation. You do not need a Paypal account. Any major credit card is accepted. When you complete your transaction, be sure to fill in the name of the student you are sponsoring, and the size of commercial advertisement you would like, if applicable. If you would like a commercial advertisement, please send your ad artwork to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For help with adding the name of the student you are sponsoring, please click HERE
Thank you!!
A CHORUS LINE and 2017-2018 Closing Notes!
We have exciting news for you.
Support of the arts and philanthropy education are the two cornerstones of Stage Notes. Our 2018 show season will support local performing arts scholarships, providing assistance to the aspiring performers in our community as they pursue their dreams.
Stage Notes will be making the following donations to these local performing arts scholarships:
Watertown Lyric Theater - $1,500
· Up to 4 scholarships are available for non-Lyric Theater sponsored summer theater, music camps, workshops, or learning programs.
· 5 annual scholarships are awarded for higher education. Funding amounts will vary depending on the returns from Lyric's annual productions, sponsorships and fundraising efforts. These scholarships are for higher education, for those pursuing a career in music, theater, acting, directing, technical support, music education or other aspects of the performing arts. Preference will be given to those who have performed with our company in the past but all applicants are welcome.
Danny Burgess Memorial Scholarship (Little Theatre of Watertown) - $1,500
· This scholarship is open to applicants enrolled in an accredited college/university in the coming school year and majoring in a performance art or have been actively involved in community theater in Jefferson or Lewis County, New York.
Patrick R. Farmer Scholarship for the Arts – $1,000
· Graduating students majoring in the fields of arts and music with first preference given to students graduating from Watertown High School and second preference for Jefferson County graduates. Students with a B average preferred. This is a four-year award of $500 annually.
Ann B. Northrop “You’ll Never Walk Alone” Scholarship - $250
· To provide scholarships to Jefferson County (NY) students pursuing post-secondary education. The ideal student will have been active in music or music programs, either through school or extracurricular, including, but not limited to Watertown Lyric Theater. When practical, preference will be given to Watertown High School students.
Watertown Morning Musicales Scholarship - $250
· A graduating senior from Jefferson County who is pursuing a career in music.
In living our motto, Performance With A Purpose, the Stage Notes Foundation is proud to announce additional contributions to our community.
- We have continued our commitment to The Watertown Urban Mission by collecting 453 school supplies for their backpack program at our production of A Chorus Line.
- We are making a donation of $750 to Paws4Potter, a canine walk to support canine cancer.
- $500 to The Antwerp Food Pantry
- $200 as a hole sponsor for the Friends of Farm Memorial Golf Tournament which benefits the Patrick R. Farmer Scholarship of the Arts
- Earlier this year we purchased two ABC Fluency Kits for the Malawian Early Readers program through the Malawi Early Literacy Team.
During our school year our students were proud to volunteer for WPBS at their All-Star Auction and Family Fun Day at Boldt Castle. Our students shared their talents at the Samaritan Medical Center volunteer recognition dinner, The Heart Walk recognition event and Lessons and Carols at St. Patrick’s Church. We volunteered at Watertown Lyric Theater’s production of The Addams Family and sang the National Anthem for the Watertown Fire Department’s Charity Hockey Game.
Stage Notes began in 2009 out of a desire to teach our students that their talents can make a difference in our community. Ten seasons later, thanks to families like YOU, Stage Notes has donated over $50,000 to local organizations. It is because of YOU that we are able to provide students with rich theatrical experiences, as well as life lessons in philanthropy. THANK YOU from all of us at Stage Notes!
I hope you are as proud of your accomplishments as we are of you!! WAY TO GO TEAM!
Much love and respect always,
Ticia Aumell, Artistic Director & the Stage Notes Board of Directors