Frequently Asked Questions
& Policies
Registration
The first step for all students to join our program is to register for a show. All students who register will be cast in a role. No additional steps can be taken until registration is complete. The full cost of tuition is $550 billed over several months.
Students are only able to register for the show that matches their current grade level. We will not grant requests to select a different show based on preference if it does not match a student’s age. For summer shows, the grade level represents the grade the students will ENTER in the fall, not the grade they just completed in the spring.
Your registration fee includes everything a student needs to participate in our program. This includes weekly rehearsals/tech/performances, a script, costumes to be worn under a base layer, a show t-shirt, a professional headshot, and production photos. The entire text of our refund policy is listed in your order confirmation email and below.
If you are a lucky winner of a full or partial tuition voucher from one of many of our NFP partners who we support, please plan to register normally and make the first payment to secure your seat the same way as everyone else. This will not be a “payment” for you, merely a deposit to reserve your seat. After registration is complete, your seat is secure, and the flurry of registration activity has calmed down, please email Miss Colleen at colleen@ghostlightetc.com with images of the front and back of your voucher. She will then be able to refund your deposit and make a note to not post any additional payments to your account.
Auditions
Upon registration, you will receive an order confirmation email. In that email, you will find a link to our audition sign up page. This link should only be used for students already registered. Please book your child an audition time slot that works for your schedule. These appointments can be edited after they are made by the user with the link in their appointment confirmation email.
You can anticipate that a student’s audition will take approximately 5 minutes. We do our absolute best to stay on schedule and ask for a little grace in understanding that you might be called in a few minutes before or after you scheduled audition time.
A parent/guardian/adult who is aware of the student’s schedule should accompany the student into the building to complete conflict paperwork (see “Conflicts” below) while the student auditions. For high school/college students, they may complete this paperwork for themselves but should ensure they know their schedule and can fill out the paperwork confidently before attending their audition.
Preparation for an audition
Students should prepare 16-32 measures/bars (about the equivalent of one verse and one chorus) to sing at their audition. This is your time to showcase your personality so come with something you love to sing and shows us your range!
Ideally, we’d love to hear selections that are done in the style of the show being cast, preferably from a musical that is not the current show selection. (i.e. If you are auditioning for Frozen, you might consider singing something from Moana as they are both female-led, modern Disney shows. If you are auditioning for a jazz-based show like Chicago, you might want to select something from Anything Goes, another jazz based Broadway musical set in the same era.)
Please bring printed sheet music for the accompanist. If needed, students are welcome to look at a separate lyric sheets during their audition, but remember - we love to see your faces while you sing!
Cast Selection
We ask that all families, to the best of their ability, allow the Ghostlight ETC staff to select the right cast for their student out of all possible options. This will also result in rehearsal time being selected for you out of the possibilities listed on the registration page.
If you require special accommodations to only be considered for certain casts with certain rehearsal times, you must submit that request at the time of your audition in writing to the Ghostlight ETC staff.
At no time will staff ask if there are special considerations for you and your family and these conversations must be initiated by the student/parents.
Understand that limiting the casts we can place a student in limits the roles we can consider them for and reduces opportunities for balanced casts and for individual children.
Example: If we are putting on a production of Annie with three casts and through the audition process we find the three students who would be the best fit for the role of Annie, we need to be able to distribute them between the three casts; one in cast A, one in cast B, and one in cast C. If all three of those “Annie”s are in the same carpool, needing cast A, only one of them will be cast as Annie in cast A while the other two get smaller roles in cast A instead of the lead in cast B or C.
This is a personal decision for each family if they choose to prioritize casting or convenience.
Siblings from the same household will be placed in the same cast without a request.
If you are forming a carpool group, that is absolutely a choice you can make but it will dramatically limit the casting opportunities for the student.
Individuals needing to be placed in the same cast for carpool purposes must ALL individually submit a written casting request at the time of auditions that all request the SAME cast (i.e. “for carpool purposes, my child must be placed in Cast A”).
The Ghostlight ETC staff will not accept lists of other students’ names for casting purposes; any names provided will not be considered.
Conflicts
Attendance at all rehearsals, tech rehearsals, and performances is essential for the success of each student as well as for the success of the overall show.
Attendance at ALL tech rehearsals is mandatory.
Families may request to attend an alternate rehearsal time with a different cast based on a conflict ONE time throughout the session. This may or may not be approved based on the rehearsal schedule and should NOT become a routine or be an expected accommodation.
All families submitted a conflict form at the time of registration that is consulted by the directing team regularly.
TWO Absence Cap:
During any rehearsal session, each student is entitled to TWO absences from regular rehearsals before the risk of penalty will arise.
Students who submitted zero planned absences on their conflict form have a little flexibility in their attendance but are encouraged to attend all rehearsals.
Students who submitted two planned absences on their conflict form cannot miss any additional rehearsals for any reason without risking penalty.
Students who submitted more than two planned absences on their conflict form already had those absences impact their casting. Additional absences will risk an additional penalty.
Students should plan to stay home if they are legitimately ill. If they have already reached their two absence limit, this may result in a penalty. Students with detectable fevers will not be permitted into a rehearsal.
Possible outcomes of absences:
Exceeding two absences will first cause students to be removed from scenes/songs learned on the date of their absence.
A high number of absences for a student will result in a student being recast out of their original role and into a less demanding role as a result of their attendance at any point in the process. We try to avoid this at all costs, but in these circumstances, refunds will not be available..
What should I do if I need to be absent?
All conflicts and absences outside of completing the conflict paperwork must be submitted via email BEFORE the start time of rehearsals at ask@ghostlightetc.com.
Messages about absences/tardies submitted any other way will not be accepted.
Ensure that you have checked resources on the Ghostlight App to learn missed material.
If a dance was learned on the day of your absence, it is your responsibility to return fully knowing the choreography.
If, upon your return, the next time that dance is rehearsed, you do not know it, you will not be in that number.
Mandatory Parent Meeting
For the first 15 minutes of the first rehearsal of each session, we will host a MANDATORY parent meeting in our lobby where essential information is distributed.
A parent or representative must attend this meeting for EACH student. They must sign in, retrieve a packet, and stay for the meeting.
Any student who is not represented by and adult to learn all necessary important information will not be allowed to attend the first rehearsal.
If you cannot attend, it is the family’s responsibility to reach out to the Ghostlight ETC team to learn the essential information that was missed.
Rehearsal
Attendance at rehearsals is vital for the success of each child and for the show overall.
Students should come to all rehearsals with their script, a pencil with eraser, a water bottle, and clothes they can move in comfortably.
Students may not choose to attend another rehearsal for a cast they are not in without explicit permission from the Ghostlight ETC team. This may be granted on a one-time basis but will not be allowed to be made routine.
Tech Week
Attendance at all tech week rehearsals is mandatory for all students.
Tech week extends from the Sunday before a show opens through the closing of the show.
Rehearsal time slots will be different times than a student’s typical rehearsal time. A tech week schedule will be made available before tech week begins.
We make a concerted effort to alternate casts to limit late nights for any one group repeatedly. Students will not be called beyond 10pm, but if called, are expected to attend.
Performances
Students should arrive 1 hour before the start time of their show and be dropped off.
At drop off, parents should plan to keep all unnecessary items such as street shoes, coats, bags, etc. to help keep backstage clutter to a minimum.
Parents should not accompany students backstage without express permission from Ghostlight ETC staff.
Tickets
Tickets are the only expense not included in a student’s tuition price. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ghostlightetc.com/tickets approximately a month before performances begin.
All ticket transactions are all conducted through Humanitix.
Ticket purchasers are responsible for placing and managing their own orders, seat selection, payment, and refunds.
Ticket refunds are initiated and controlled by the patron using links in the ticket confirmation email and not Ghostlight ETC staff. Refunds will be processed at 80% of the face value of the tickets to account for lost credit card processing and website convenience fess. The ability to process a refund for an event closes 24 hours before the event begins. After this time, refunds will not be available.
Tickets are non-transferrable between events.
Errors made while placing ticket orders are the responsibility of the customer and will not result in a refund provided by Ghostlight ETC.
Tuition Refund/Enrollment Cancellation Policy
Payment is due at the time of registration.
Within 30 Days of the Time of Initial Enrollment
A cancellation fee of $110 will be charged to any students who elect to withdraw from any Ghostlight ETC program for any reason at any time after registration.
A partial refund can be processed up to 30 days after the date of your original registration. (this amount is the amount that has been already paid to Ghostlight ETC less the $110 cancellation fee and any processing, convenience, or credit card fees). To determine what 30 days after registration means for each participant, time stamps from your online purchase will be consulted (this time is also available to you in your order confirmation email.)
If your initial enrollment choice was the payment plan and you opt to withdraw your enrollment within the 30 day refund window, it is the responsibility of the customer to log into their account and cancel their subscription to avoid future payments being withdrawn automatically. Failure to do this will not result in additional refunds if payments continue. Ghostlight ETC cannot unsubscribe a customer from a payment plan. (applicable through Spring 2024)
Outside 30 Days of the Time of Initial Enrollment
No credits or refunds will be granted if request is received outside of a registrant’s 30 day window.
Ghostlight ETC will not provide credit for future enrollment.
If your initial enrollment choice was the payment plan and you opt to withdraw your enrollment outside of the 30 day refund window, all payments through the entire subscription will still be billed and must be paid as this is in accordance with our refund policy. If you cancel your subscription to avoid payment, you will incur a debt to Ghostlight ETC that must be paid before enrollment in another production will be allowed.
Enrolling From and Invitation Off a Waitlist
A student invited to join a production off a waiting list will purchase their registration in a "final sale" situation. Refunds will not be available to these individuals.
All refunds will follow the above policies. If the date of initial enrollment is fewer than 30 days from the date of first rehearsal, no refunds will be available after the date of first rehearsal. The refund window for the session closes for all situations on the date of first rehearsal for the session.
Refunds given will not include any processing, convenience, or credit card fees paid through online engines (i.e. Squarespace, Paypal, Stripe, etc.)
All refund requests must come through our email at ask@ghostlightetc.com
If any extenuating circumstances arise, please be sure to contact us to discuss possible exceptions to this policy.
Scholarships/Financial Aid
If you or someone you know is facing financial hardship but want to participate in our program, please consider applying for one of our scholarship opportunities.
We have funds available through our non-profit arm to support students financially where necessary at varying levels. We aim to distribute these funds as fairly as possible for all sessions.
The application form for a scholarship can be found at www.ghostlightetc.com/scholarship
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