Urbana Park District summer theater auditions April 22-23
URBANA -- Tryouts for the Urbana Park District's summer theater program will be April 22-23. This year's musical production of Newsies, will be performed at Parkland College for four days starting on July 21.
Performers between the ages of 6 and 20 are welcome to sign up for auditions. Youth actors with dance and tumbling experience are strongly encouraged to audition for a role. Auditions for soloists and members of the ensemble will be separate.
Soloists will need to bring a song to sing. An accompanist will be available for those who bring sheet music. Children will perform their numbers and dance in small groups for one hour during the audition for their role.
Rehearsals are scheduled Monday through Thursday from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Phillips Recreation Center in Urbana. An additional session will be held on Fridays after the first several weeks of practice.
For more information on next week's auditions or to sign up online, follow this link.
Guest Commentary: We need to control our tongues
by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
In a civil, polite society we shouldn’t run around slapping comedians, politicians, radio or television personalities, or musical performers. The list goes on and includes everyone. Will Smith’s stunt of slapping comedian Chri Rock at the 2022 Oscars was a bad idea. It was only by the grace of God and mainly the grace of Chris Rock that Smith was not arrested or sued. Before this is all over, Rock could still take him to court. At this point in time, it doesn’t seem likely.
On the other hand, it was a bad idea for Chris Rock to use Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in a joke that highlighted alopecia, the disease that has been tormenting her.
Diseases and disabilities are issues with which people struggle. The joke angered Will Smith. His feelings got totally out of control as he bounded on stage to slap Chris Rock. While many people understand how Smith must have felt and may have thought Rock deserved it, we still have to restrain ourselves.
I suspect there are people who probably have wanted to slap a politician or two. You can’t do that because you would go to jail. Furthermore, that is the wrong way to conduct our behavior.
What about Vladimir Putin? You couldn’t get by with that in Russia. Regardless of how evil and heinous an individual is, if you slapped him while walking down Broadway in New York City, a policeman would most likely arrest you. This is a far-fetched scenario even though most of the free world is ready for Putin to be totally removed.
If you have been working on your list of people to slap you might as well put it away. It won’t work. You will eventually end up in jail, in court, or both.
We do have free speech in America. People can hurl words freer than hurling punches. Words can and do hurt. There are repercussions if you slander, malign or use your speech against others in a way that “hurts” them. However, television, radio, and political events frequently allow the rhetoric to go way out of bounds.
An idea for us all is to control our tongues and our actions. Most of us have spoken before we thought. We may have reacted in a way without seriously considering the action. Too often a fast mouth or quick action may have brought regret.
There are lessons to be learned from this year’s Academy Awards. Mainly, don’t act like those people.
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In a civil, polite society we shouldn’t run around slapping comedians, politicians, radio or television personalities, or musical performers. The list goes on and includes everyone. Will Smith’s stunt of slapping comedian Chri Rock at the 2022 Oscars was a bad idea. It was only by the grace of God and mainly the grace of Chris Rock that Smith was not arrested or sued. Before this is all over, Rock could still take him to court. At this point in time, it doesn’t seem likely.
On the other hand, it was a bad idea for Chris Rock to use Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in a joke that highlighted alopecia, the disease that has been tormenting her.
Diseases and disabilities are issues with which people struggle. The joke angered Will Smith. His feelings got totally out of control as he bounded on stage to slap Chris Rock. While many people understand how Smith must have felt and may have thought Rock deserved it, we still have to restrain ourselves.
I suspect there are people who probably have wanted to slap a politician or two. You can’t do that because you would go to jail. Furthermore, that is the wrong way to conduct our behavior.
What about Vladimir Putin? You couldn’t get by with that in Russia. Regardless of how evil and heinous an individual is, if you slapped him while walking down Broadway in New York City, a policeman would most likely arrest you. This is a far-fetched scenario even though most of the free world is ready for Putin to be totally removed.
If you have been working on your list of people to slap you might as well put it away. It won’t work. You will eventually end up in jail, in court, or both.
We do have free speech in America. People can hurl words freer than hurling punches. Words can and do hurt. There are repercussions if you slander, malign or use your speech against others in a way that “hurts” them. However, television, radio, and political events frequently allow the rhetoric to go way out of bounds.
An idea for us all is to control our tongues and our actions. Most of us have spoken before we thought. We may have reacted in a way without seriously considering the action. Too often a fast mouth or quick action may have brought regret.
There are lessons to be learned from this year’s Academy Awards. Mainly, don’t act like those people.
Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of Grandpa's Store, American Issues, and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.
This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
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