The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Most people would deem December during the holiday season "the most wonderful time of the year." But for a member of FYP, that adage applies a little bit later. Instead of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, we get excited by freshmen and first-years rehearsing monologues and running through vocal warmups.

That's right; our favorite season is upon us! Auditions for this year's production of The Addams Family are taking place this Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, with callbacks to follow next Tuesday. If you're interested in being a part of this year's production, there are still slots available over the weekend—come out to our auditions or interviews! Our production of The Addams Family will hit the stage this April 10th, 11th, and 12th; tickets available now!

WORDS OF WISDOM

to nail your audition, from 2014-2015's creative heads.

SINGING

"In a music audition, I'm looking for preparedness, a song that shows off their vocal range, a positive attitude, and personality!" says Bridget McGlone, this year's music director.

DANCING

"Dance auditions are 25 percent nailing the moves and 75 percent acting it out. Someone could not do any of the moves correctly but have a great time with it and really give 100 into the character and they would leave me with an amazing impression of them," says Jaylyn Noble, choreographer for The Addam's Family. "They should just come and have a great time! That's the most important thing."

ACTING

"The key to a successful performance is just being confident and trusting yourself. We care less about if you mess up the words, but care more about the execution or just how comfortable you feel about yourself," says Mike Liebenson, this year's director. "Be prepared, that's it. There's no reason to be nervous if you're prepared. If you come in confident, ready, we will be right there with you."

Giving Thanks

Tis the season to give thanks. Although FYP members won't be gathered around a dinner table to feast on turkey and stuffing together this Thanksgiving, we still recognize how much we have to be thankful for as a result of being members of First Year Players at Syracuse University. Aside from the opportunities that FYP provides, being a part of this organization means automatic acceptance and love from hundreds of students on this campus.

Some Renters at Show Reveal

"I'm thankful for FYP because it has allowed me to maintain my theater interest throughout college, while giving me roommates and best friends," says Will McDonald, a Drowsy Chaperone cast member. FYP members often end up living together in the later years of college because they've created such a strong connection with one another.

Regardless of how long each of us has been a part of this org, the gratitude for FYP abounds. How could it not? From organized events to just hanging out to watch a movie, there's always something to do you when you're in FYP. We consider ourselves more than lucky to have this organization in our lives. "FYP provided me with friends and memories I will have for a lifetime, and I could not be more thankful!" says Kelly Egan, a stage crew member of Rent.

"I'm thankful for FYP because it has given me a place to call home on this enormous campus since freshman year," Wedding Singer cast member Lauren Green says. "So much has changed since then, but the love and kindness from every single person in this organization has not—and for that, I am forever grateful." Green provides her answer from a flat in London, where she lives with three other FYP members for a semester abroad.

Drew Muller & Sam McAllister, '14-'15 Producers

"FYP provides a space for me to be myself and be surrounded by people I love and respect," says Andrew Martini, a Rent cast member. "No matter what mood I find myself in, I know there's someone in FYP who can cheer me up." One of the biggest perks of FYP: you can always find someone with a smile plastered on his or her face for us when you need it! And no matter what walk of life you're coming from, First Year Players provides a safe space for you to be yourself.

"FYP has shaped my college experience," adds Sam McAllister, a cast member of The Drowsy Chaperone. "The people within this org inspire me to be better every single day. There are so many diverse talents of people within this org, and it continues to amaze me."

Finding Your Place

F e e d  Y o u r  P r o g r e s s 
F u e l  Y o u r  P a s s i o n
F i n d  Y o u r  P l a c e  

This is First Year Players' mantra, and it comprises what we as an organization hope to help our members accomplish year after year. From bonding events to performances to the show itself, these phrases are instilled in the very nature of what FYP is. Last Thursday we held the "Find Your Place Cabaret," for instance, where FYP members and those from outside organizations performed. Even within events like Adopt-A-Street and the staff retreat, we look to embody the goal of this organization—that is, Finding Your Place.

We turned to nine staff members to get a little more insight as to what the term "Find Your Place" means to them, and how it relates to their experiences in First Year Players. Quotes include the speakers' names, positions on staff, and what show they were originally a part of.

Staff at Adopt-A-Street

"To me, Find Your Place means being in an organization full of 90+ people and still being able to talk to them all like they are my family and to have a personal connection with each and every one of them."

-Jaylyn Noble

Choreographer '14-'15

The Drowsy Chaperone '12

"Find Your Place means always feeling comfortable in your own skin whenever you're around the people who mean most to you. In FYP you can always find your place no matter who you are, because we're all a fun-loving group of people who are able to pick you up when you've fallen down."

-Gabby Dizon

Social Chair '14-'15

Rent '14

"Find Your Place is a phrase that I believe every new student at any university is faced with in some way.  College can be an exciting and new adventure for many, and I think one of the most important things outside of academics is finding that place on campus you can call home.  As a member of FYP for two years now, I can see the ways in which this organization gears so much of what it does in order to tailor the freshman experience.  Last year I had the opportunity to mentor an incoming cast member, and I could see firsthand the impact that was made on all the cast members, from the first rehearsal to closing night.  Being a part of FYP is that home away from home.  It is a place where friendships and relationships are formed for not just the few years while at Syracuse University, but the many years to come after."

-Mike Landivar

Set Construction Team '14-'15

The Wedding Singer '13

Nalae White & Gabby Dizon at the staff retreat

"Find Your Place is having somewhere to go to, or a group of people to go to, where you feel safe and you feel like you can be yourself, and you're just at your happiest. Theatre in general attracts the best people, because people who love to perform love to do things for others, and are open people and love to share a positive experience with as many people as possible. FYP is like that because everyone's included. It's a large group of people where everyone's different, but everyone appreciates each other, and no matter what, everyone is accepted. And that's hard to find." 

-Jesse Roth

Campus Outreach '14-'15

The Drowsy Chaperone '12

"To Find Your Place is to leave your comfort zone and never look back. It's acting on some of your greatest fears, meeting people who may share some of those fears, and then deciding to conquer them together. It's a work in progress towards realizing, molding, and accepting who 'me' is while having the undoubted support of the foundation of 'we.'"

-Carina Clores

Community Events Team '14-'15

Rent '14

"I was involved with other organizations before FYP, but none of them ever made the campus seem small enough to fully connect with. FYP reaches a really diverse group of people and brings them together into a family that has not previously existed in the SU community. It's cliche at this point, but you really do Find Your Place with us. We're a grossly proud and passionate and loud organization that never leaves the honeymoon stage of our love. Can you blame us for wanting to shout it from the rooftops?!"

-Bailey Pfohl

 Acting Coach '14-'15
The Drowsy Chaperone '12

Bailey Pfohl & Bridget McGlone at the staff retreat

"For me, Find Your Place means finding a space where you feel completely comfortable and safe, surrounded by people who accept you for you. That is what FYP is: we are a group of diverse students who support each other no matter what—with the added benefit being that we get to do what we love with people we love."

-Kate Poland

Community Outreach '14-'15

The Wedding Singer '13

"Find Your Place means realizing who you are, discovering who you want to be and figuring out how to get there. In FYP, we give first year students the opportunity to find their place, and through them and through FYP, we find our own place in the organization and on campus."

-Chip Weber

Social Events Team '14-'15

Rent '14

"Find Your Place means finding a group of people with whom you feel 100% comfortable. There is never any judgment or ridicule. These people just accept you and your flaws. They help celebrate with you when you are at a high point in your life and help lift you up when you are at a low point. First Year Players has offered that to me. I can go into a room or see someone on the street and I know I will get a warm smile. This is an organization of people who all genuinely care about the wellbeing of every member. We are each other’s family."

-Mackenzie Maloney

Stage Manager '14-'15

The Drowsy Chaperone '12

Staff at the 2014 retreat

Shacks & Cabins

Shacks and cabins.

FYP has spent a lot of time in these places over the years. Last week, the organization participated in Shack-A-Thon, an annual Habitat for Humanity event.

The objective is to build a shack, decorate it, and have at least one member of the organization inside the shack at all times for three days and two nights. Various organizations on campus participated in the event, and FYP was glad to be a part of it again this year.

Our immensely talented art team designed and created an Addams Family-inspired shack, complete with a headstone. We all enjoyed spending time bonding inside the shack.

And the bonding soon continued. The Saturday after Shack-A-Thon ended, FYP went on our annual staff retreat to Camp Casowasco in Moravia, NY. All day Saturday and Sunday morning, we spent time as a collective organization, without cellphones or the distractions of our hectic lives back in Syracuse.

“It was amazing to see the staff come together the way it did through creative, competitive, and emotional vessels,” this year’s director Mike Liebenson says. “We got to break down barriers, and it was just a really impactful experience. It kind of reminded us that no matter where we came from or what our back story is, we’ve found our place.”

Creatively, the organization got to explore their individual gifts via a talent show, as well as in groups through activities. Other events during the weekend sparked friendly competition between members, balanced out by emotional conversations. The retreat provided a way to amplify the connections we’ve already made as a staff and allowed for fresh friendships to form.

As an organization, FYP emphasizes personal connections and interactions between members above anything else. Simply put: we’re a family. And the addition of new members each spring for the show is what keeps us all going.