Overview
At Playa Sola High School, it’s business as usual – the jocks, geeks, popular kids, etc., all try to navigate a world of insecurities, grades, fashions and text messages. Then, during a school trip to a historic mission, the minds of two high school seniors are inexplicably switched. Suddenly, Kyle Fairbanks, a charismatic slacker/surfer is helping everyone with their calculus, and scholastic superstar Natalie Watson has become an expert on heavy metal lyrics and is calling everybody “dude.” In this screwball-comedy-for-a-new-generation, Kyle and Natalie have to find out how to get their brains back as they juggle friends, classes, rumors, scholarship competitions and, oh yeah, Kyle’s super-hot, snob-of-a-girlfriend Ashley. Driven by a contemporary pop score that reflects influences from rock, techno, R&B, ska, and rap, CHANGING MINDS is a musical that’s delightfully bright, laugh out loud funny, and is sure to have you singing and clapping along as Kyle and Natalie, Brad and Claire, Shelly and Freddy, Garrett and Ashley, and all of their classmates as they discover that sometimes the best way to figure out who you are is by…CHANGING MINDS!
Casting & Production
Casting
NATALIE – High School Senior, attractive but not showy, ambitious, a highly motivated and driven student, maybe a little careful about showing her feelings, but they’re there and they run deep.
KYLE – High School Senior, very charismatic, fun-loving, attractive, a surfer. Perhaps a little shallow because he’s never had to ask himself many questions, but deep down he is kind rather than mean, lots of untapped potential but still the guy everyone wants to hang out with.
CLAIRE – High School Senior, bubbly, fun, comfortable with herself, a great friend.
BRAD – High School Senior, Kyle’s best friend, also a surfer, friendly, unpretentious, approachable, a bit insecure about who he wants to be, but aware enough to realize it.
ASHLEY – High School Senior, very pretty and utterly devoted to image. Ultra trendy—and her wardrobe reflects it. Her entire life is viewed through a lens of who is up and who is down. Ashley is always up.
TANYA – One of Ashley’s minions. She wants desperately to be like Ashley, but is naive about many things. Still she tries really hard and dresses the part religiously.
BRITTANY – Ashley’s first lieutenant. As a result she has the same fashion trends, opinions and somewhat catty style as Ashley.
GARRETT – A student of the weird, the unique, and the paranormal. He’s convinced that the truth is out there–it could be anything and it’s a lot more interesting than what he’s learning in school.
CHLOE – Valley girl, not incredibly deep, but accepting of new, ideas, enticed by the mysteries of the universe. BOB – One of Garrett’s friends; willing to listen to Garrett and take him semi-seriously.
TED – Another of Garrett’s friends; a good listener as well.
CHRISTIAN – Another of Kyle’s friends, one of the surfer crowd.
FREDDY – Computer geek; intelligent, great with technology, not so great with girls—that’s not to say he’s not interested. He has a thing for Shelly.
SHELLY – A wannabe member of Ashley’s crowd. She tries hard to look the part and fit in, but isn’t nearly mean or judgmental enough. Inside, she’s a nice person trying to get out.
MS. O’BRIEN – High School Teacher; she’s dealt with these exhausting students for a long time and has a pretty thick skin—that doesn’t mean they can’t happily surprise her now and then.
MR. MOLINA – The enigmatic caretaker at the mission. He seems like he’s always watching for something under the surface of what’s going on, like he has an agenda that no one else knows about.
SKEETER QUINN BELLOWS – Fanatical surfer, comes from a family with old, old money and deep, deep pockets…but he couldn’t care less, dude.
NATALIE’S MOM – voice offstage, KYLE’S DAD – voice offstage, GIRL ANNOUNCER – voice offstage, ANNOUNCER – voice offstage, GUY WHO CHECKS OUT NATALIE, GUY CARRYING GUITAR CASE, WAITER
CHORUS – Additional students, teachers, featured dancers and singers.
Orchestral Information
8 Musicians
Keyboard 1
Keyboard 2
Keyboard 3
Guitar 1 (Electric)
Guitar 2 (Acoustic, Electric)
Bass (Electric)
Drum Set
Percussion
Credits
CHANGING MINDS
Music by BRET SIMMONS Book & Lyrics by DAVID HOWARD
Originally developed and produced at Actors Cabaret of Eugene, OR. Directed by Joe Zingo, Managing Director, Jim Roberts Premiere production at Germantown High School, TN., E. Frank Bluestein, Director
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