Tomato Patch at Kelsey Theatre

TOMATO PATCH JR.

SPRING SESSION REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

For Registered Students:

Scroll down for important information about the Spring Session

All classes for the Spring Session are full. If you are still on the waitlist, you will be notified if a spot becomes available.

Please read before registering:

A third-party vendors owns the portal that you register through. The company name is Active Works. Before registering, please be aware of the following:

Active Works offers insurance on your registration. Before purchasing the insurance, be aware that our refund policy is 100% of tuition less a $25 administrative fee if you withdraw before the session starts. If you withdraw on the first day of class, we will refund 50% of the tuition fee. After the first day. there is no refund for withdrawing.
Active Works offers an Active Works membership with a free 30-day trial period. If your only connection to Active Works is Tomato Patch Jr., there is no benefit to your taking this offer. You will not receive a discount for Tomato Patch Jr.
Your payment for registration will appear on your credit card as Active Works (or something similar with the word Active in it) and may not say Kelsey Theatre or Tomato Patch.
You will receive emails from Tomato Patch Jr. through Active Works. Please be careful not to delete any emails that say Active Works, Kelsey Theatre, or Tomato Patch without checking to see what it is. The email also may show up in your Spam/Junk folder. If so, please mark it safe so you will receive all communications from us.

Before registering for the Spring Session, please scroll down and read the information below about the Spring Session. All students will be participating in The Magical Library of Miss Miriam Buttersham. Doing the show requires a much more intense commitment, so please make sure you understand the commitment before registering.

The Fall and Winter Sessions will feature regular classes as in the descriptions below. Classes are on Saturdays for one hour for ten weeks.

The Spring Session will be the production of The Magical Library of Miss Miriam Buttersham. The Saturday classes will be a combination of regular class and rehearsals. See below the class descriptions for information on the Spring Session.

9:00 to 10:00: Seedlings, Ages 4 to 6--We will inspire the imagination and develop confidence through acting out guided stories, improv games, and more. Each week will also feature some aspect of theater including props, costumes, set pieces, music, sound effects, and prop crafts. Students will also be given instruction on developing their voice for the stage.

10:00 to 11:00--Sprouts, Ages 7 to 9--Through improvisational games, acting exercises and scene work, the students in these classes will develop the fundamentals of becoming strong, young actors. Students will have vocal/physical training and explore working with a variety of theater materials. Students will acquire improved communication skills, as well as bettered self-confidence for performance. We will be breaking up the classes into smaller groups based on age and experience.

11:00 to 12:00--Green Tomatoes, Ages 10 to 12--Through improvisational games, acting exercises and scene work, the students in these classes will develop the fundamentals of becoming strong, young actors. Students will have vocal/physical training and explore working with a variety of theater materials. Students will acquire improved communication skills, as well as bettered self-confidence for performance. We will be breaking up the classes into smaller groups based on age and experience.

NEW! 11:00 to 12:00--Red Tomatoes. Ages 13 to 14--Through improvisational games, acting exercises and scene work, the students in these classes will develop the fundamentals of becoming strong, young actors. Students will have vocal/physical training and explore working with a variety of theater materials. Students will acquire improved communication skills, as well as bettered self-confidence for performance. We will be breaking up the classes into smaller groups based on age and experience. Students 13 and 14 years old will be in group separate from the 10 to 12 year old age group.

INFORMATION ON SPRING SESSION OF TOMATO PATCH JR.

The Spring Session of Tomato Patch Jr. runs from March 15 to May 17, 2025. All students in this session will be part of the spring Tomato Patch Jr. show The Magical Library of Miss Miriam Buttersham. Synopsis: Come with us to the magical library run by Miss Miriam Buttersham. When Miss Buttersham reads you a book, it really does come to life! Children with library cards to the Magical Library can find themselves in classic stories, including Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Millions of Cats, and more.

Being a part of a show is an amazing experience! Children learn to collaborate to create something much bigger than could be accomplished alone. The lessons they learn will stay with them and help them develop self-confidence in front of an audience and understand that the hard work of attending rehearsals and learning lines pays off in the creation of a show they can be proud of being a part of. And the parents will be proud of what their children accomplish!

Auditions:

9:00 am class--Students in this class do not audition. All will participate, but will not have speaking lines.
10:00 am and 11:00 am classes--These students will audition. All will receive speaking roles and will have body microphones for performances.

Auditions will be held on March 1 and 8 during class hours. The classes are split into four groups, and auditions will be done in groups and the remainder of the hour will be regular classes for each group. For those who are not in the winter session, please send an email to projects@mccc.edu to request an audition appointment.

Please bring a list to auditions of all of your conflicts to during the rehearsal period and performances (March 15 to June 1). Please be honest about your conflicts. Missed rehearsals have a serious impact on your child's performance and the performance of the cast as a whole.

Rehearsals:

For students with lines, there will be an additional rehearsal one set day each week in addition to the class on Saturday. Information about weekday rehearsals will be sent out when all roles have been cast. When you complete your conflict sheet for auditions, your child will be put in the appropriate cast with a rehearsal day that avoids your conflicts.

Depending on casting, classes on Saturdays may be longer than the usual hour. Please keep 10 am to 12 pm open on Saturdays. You will be notified of class times for each Saturday the week before.

Tech week is where the students are introduced to the costumes, light, makeup, microphones, the set, and the flow of the show. Each cast will run the show and watch the other cast run on alternate nights during the week. All students in the show, including the 9 am class, must attend rehearsal on Saturday, May 17 from 9 am to noon and every night during Tech Week from 5:30 to 8 pm. We will try to avoid a Friday rehearsal that week in order to give the cast a chance to get some rest before opening day, but please keep Friday night open in the event we need to have rehearsal that night.

Please be on time for rehearsals. The rehearsal period for this show is very short and the students have a lot to learn during each rehearsal. All students should be ready to start at the assigned time.

Students with lines will need help learning their lines. We will provide some guidance to help you to help your child learn their lines.

Performances:

Performances will be split between the two casts. Each cast will perform for a full weekend.

First weekend: Saturday, May 24 at 1 and 4 pm, Cast A.
Sunday, May 25 at 1 and 4 pm, Cast B.
Second weekend: Saturday, May 31 at 1 and 4 pm, Cast B.
Sunday, Jun 1 at 1 and 4 pm, Cast A.

School shows: School shows are being offered on Wednesday (Cast A) and Thursday (Cast B), May 28 and May 29 in the morning. We do not know how many tickets will be sold yet, so one or both could potentially be cancelled; however, we do not expect to cancel either day.

Students will need to take the morning off from school to participate in school shows. Mercer County Community College will provide a letter to explain your child's absence from school, if needed.

Parents are requested to volunteer to work backstage during tech week and performances. Any parent who volunteers for a performance should also volunteer for a tech rehearsal so they can become familiar with the flow and procedures backstage.

Parents are requested to provide a base costume of leggings and a t-shirt in an appropriate color for their child's character in the show. Costumes and costume pieces will be provided by Tomato Patch Jr., as well as makeup.

Each child will receive a t-shirt with the logo of show on the front for participating in the show.

Classes are held at Kelsey Theatre and the adjacent Communications Building on the Mercer County Community College Campus in West Windsor, NJ.

Any questions should be submitted to projects@mccc.edu.