Auditions for Shrek the Musical!

YATS will be holding auditions for its fall show, Shrek the Musical!

There will be five performances, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20 October 2024, at Le Point d’Eau in Ostwald. Shrek the Musical is based on the DreamWorks film and uses heart and irreverent humor to show the importance of looking past outward appearances to find what truly matters. Filled with great songs and a genuinely funny script, this show is a crowd-pleaser for audiences of all ages!

YATS also offers two free Pre-audition workshops that are open to all. Although not required to audition, these workshops are designed to give people interested in auditioning the opportunity to feel more comfortable with the process.

Why not join the YATS Family?!  Sign-ups for the Shrek the Musical auditions and workshop are now open.  The key dates are:

• Pre-audition workshop :: May 18 and 19 at Lycée Jean Rostand, 5 rue Edmond Labbé, Strasbourg
• Auditions :: May 25 and 26 at Lycée Jean Rostand  
• Callbacks :: May 27, Location to be confirmed

We hope to see you there!

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Guess the YATS musical competition winner!

Congratulations to our winner in this year’s Guess the YATS Musical competition, Stephanie Lee!!! Thanks for “thinking green”, Stephanie! She won two complementary tickets to our fall show. 

We had more than 70 entries this year – a record number. Thanks to all who participated for your enthusiasm!

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Shrek the Musical poster competition

Congratulations to the winner of the poster competition, Vera Abubakirova, a member of our Sunday Afternoons singing group. Although we would love to show you the poster, the Shrek the Musical cast will be the very first people to see it at a reveal in June! YATS can’t wait to share Vera’s beautifully designed poster with the Strasbourg community in the coming months! The poster selection committee and YATS would like to warmly thank all those who participated.

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Workshop performances

Come and join us for the workshop performances of Godspell, athree-time Grammy and Academy Award-winning show, in which messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life with an eclectic blend of musical styles and beloved songs. Performances will be held on June 1 (15h, 20h) and June 2 (15h) at Gymnase Jean Sturm.

You can purchase tickets here from April 29.

Other YATS workshop showcase performances on the following dates.  Please join us!:

• Advanced Level 4 Workshop :: June 8 and 9, at Gymnase Jean Sturm
• Sunday Afternoons :: June 12, at Gymnase Jean Sturm
• Intermediate Level 3 Workshop :: June 13, at Lycée Jean Rostand
• Intro and Entry Level Workshops :: June 15, at Lycée Jean Rostand
• Intermediate Level 2 Workshop :: June 19, at Lycée Jean Rostand

Gymnase Jean Sturm: 18 place du Temple Neuf, Strasbourg / Lycée Jean Rostand: 5 rue Edmond Labbé, Strasbourg

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Meet YATS Executive Board member, Alex Oancea

“Hi, I’m Alex.  I’m a mathematician and I’ve been a member of the YATS Executive Board since July 2023. For the last production of Fiddler on the Roof, I helped with merchandise, with concessions and also organized the Cast Party. I discovered YATS at the same time as my children and gradually got more and more involved.  My daughter Sonia joined YATS in 2021 for the production of Oklahoma! and my daughter Lise joined for YATS’ next production, Annie. They both enjoy it enormously and the YATS shows are certainly among the highlights of the year. 

YATS lives thanks to the hard work of so many dedicated persons, to whom I would like to express my gratitude. YATS is a community that turns hard work into magic: building up to the show is exhausting, but the outcome is always beyond expectations!  I hope YATS will continue to thrive in the coming years, and this will only be possible with new volunteers joining!”

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YATS Alumni in the Spotlight: Joseph Devaux

Past productions:  Grease, Oklahoma!,  Assassins, Into the Woods  

Where are they now? “After high school I spent two years in Strasbourg completing the classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles. I am now studying engineering near Paris (Gif-sur-Yvette to be precise), at CentraleSupélec. I’m really enjoying it here, even though the campus is quite secluded ”, Joseph shared. 

“One of the things I most enjoy is that I was able to find a musical theater group ‘La CommuS’, within the associations on campus. Since most students don’t speak English, we’ve translated all the dialogue into French, but the songs are still in English (phew!).  We will be performing ‘The Wedding Singer’, where I will play the role of the wedding singer, Robbie Hart, on our campus on 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 13, 16 and 17 May.”

Joseph commented on his YATS experiences, “ I’d have to say that my best memories from YATS are the moments right before a show when you’re about to head on stage. I love the thrill and stress that go with it! More than anything YATS is a family. I’m still very close to multiple people from YATS and hope to be for many years.”

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Find your role in YATS

YATS is excited to announce the creation of the following volunteer roles: Logistics Manager, Sound Manager and Lighting Manager.

Job descriptions can be found here. This is a great opportunity to become more involved in YATS activities and to learn new skills in a friendly and relaxed environment. Training and coaching can be provided.

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YATS Likes…

Our friends at Broadway Theater International have opened up registration for their 2024 week-long summer camp which will take place July 7-13, 2024, in the Vosges mountains. Spend a fun week singing, dancing and acting in beautiful, natural surroundings. The week will culminate in a performance in a real theater! There are discounts for siblings and an early-bird discount for students who register by April 15. Find more information at the BTI website .

The second On the Mississippi music festival will take place May 8-12 at Point d’Eau, Ostwald.  Find  more details on On The Mississippi – Music Festival website.