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HISTORY, ETC.

OUR HISTORY:

Broadway On Tour was founded in 1989 by Daniel Halkyard with the goal of providing a professional environment for children and young adults to learn theater arts and performance. The theater has been in continuous operation ever since at various locations around Orange County and, has continued to improve the quality of instruction and performance every year. We have a volunteer board of directors to handle show production and administration. Our artistic staff for each show are hired as contractors, there is no permanent overhead. We properly license all shows we perform and have a long term relationship with our performance venue.


OUR MISSION:

We strive to provide Orange County and the surrounding area with affordable live theatre for young actors and families to enjoy by giving aspiring performers a safe place to learn and explore the arts while receiving the highest quality theatre training and being a part of an experience that mirrors our community through diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity.


OUR DIVERSITY POLICY:

Reflecting our World through Diversity 
Broadway on Tour (BOT) is committed to creating a safe space free of to foster the growth and creativity of Orange County and surrounding area youth in a theatrical environment. We believe that every person deserves to be treated with respect, equality, and love regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, or gender. Our goal is to celebrate the diversity of our world through the creation of art, and to also reflect these values within our organization. BOT strives for our stages, board, and audience to mirror the wonderfully diverse community of Orange County. We advocate the “free to be Me” culture, so that BOT can truly be a safe space for all. 
 
We commit to:
• Inspire community members to audition for our shows, volunteer, or join our board and creative team in order to tell stories through theater that  reflect our world. 
• Create a space where our performers, volunteers, patrons, board, and creative teams hold one another up with love, kindness, in hope that all generations that come after will see one another as equals regardless of race, ability, identity, or religious affiliation. 
• Promote diversity within our board, performers, creative teams, production teams, and audiences, to create opportunities which advance BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, whether backstage or onstage. 
• Foster a creative environment through diversity to ensure fairness, justice, and inclusivity in our policies and procedures.
 
Our efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity include: 
• Discounted community rates and supplied select community groups with complimentary seats to each of our productions.
• Open captioning at every performance to ensure that our deaf and hard of hearing audience members can access shows.
• Sensory friendly adjustments to accommodate neurodiverse theatre patrons.

Open casting for all roles regardless of race, color, gender, or socio-economic status. 
• Casting of youth performers to include those who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+
• Our board is open to include those who identify as women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+. Our current board is 90% female and includes members of the Asian and LGBTQ+ community.

 

STAFF

Staff varies from show to show, but we always use theater professionals from the Orange County area. These representative staff bios are from some of our recent productions:

JOHN BLAYLOCK

Resident Writer, Director, Musical Director

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John has been working with Broadway on Tour to create and workshop musicals since 2001.  Some of his original musicals premiered at Broadway on Tour include “A Sleeping Beauty Christmas," and "The Frog Prince." He has also had work produced by Barrington Stage Company, Surflight Theatre, Sesame Street Live, Common Man Musicals, and Phoenix Theatre Company. He is currently the Director of Creative Writing at California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley, and works as a Musical Director at McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts. He received the National Youth Arts Outstanding Director award for his direction of BOT's 2019 production of Sweeny Todd.

KARIE SEASOCK

Choreographer

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Karie's choreography can be seen in music videos, local theater companies, and high schools. She is the resident choreographer of the Pacifica High School choir program including an award-winning show choir. Karie can be seen performing around the Disneyland Resort, Knott's Berry Farm, and on the Disney Channel in "The Suite Life On Deck".  One of her favorite accomplishments includes six years performing in the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Karie teaches dance at the Orange County Song and Dance Company.

ROBERT LAOS

Choreographer

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He has worked at the Disneyland Resort for 19 years as a performer and  a Maintenance Choreographer. Aside from teaching and choreographing, he is also a professional dancer, singer and performer. He has performed in many stage productions even touring the US in live performances. He directed dance and movement for BOT's award winning 2019 production of the musical Be More Chill.

LUPE MACDONALD

Director

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Lupe began her association with BOT in 2013 when her daughter was cast in the Holiday Show. While working backstage, she knew immediately that this was a theater family she could spend a lot of time with! She began her career as a professional actress while in high school and then went on to earn a BFA in theater from Cal Arts. Besides teaching Tap, Jazz, and Musical Theater classes she has also choreographed and co-directed many HS Plays, teaching in the Musical Theater Conservatory at OCSA.

AMANDA MURPHY

Choreographer

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Amanda Murphy developed a love for Musical Theater choreography as a high school student. Over 100 productions later, Amanda is still choreographing musicals and still loving it!  She has choreographed for many local theaters including Orange County Children’s Theater, The Maverick Theater, The Attic Theater, The Huntington Beach Playhouse, the La Habra Depot Theater, and many high schools – but Amanda has been the go-to choreographer for BOT since 1998.  Some of her favorite credits include: Shrek the Musical, Aladdin, Seussical the Musical, All Shook up!, Joseph.. Dreamcoat, High School Musical, and Peter Pan.

BOARD

LAURIE HOLDEN
Interim President, Artistic Director

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Laurie Holden has been with Broadway On Tour for over 25 years and believes very strongly in what live theater can bring to the community: for those acting on stage as well as for the audience. She has directed countless shows, and was nominated for National Youth Art's Best Director award for the 2019 BOT production of Be More Chill.

Broadway on Tour Executive Board

Laurie Holden - President

John Blaylock - Director of Creativity

Peggy Haidl - Treasurer

Vicky Fish - Secretary

Members: Jann Carney, Nicole Chang, Jean Law, Scott Law, Kari LaFleur, Amanda Murphy

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