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Teacher's Notes
JR. HIGH ACTING
8/18/2010 Our play for the dessert theater this year is "Don't say No to the USO" This play is set in the 40's during the war years. The initials U.S.O. stand for United Service Organizations. Founded in 1941, during the early dark days of WWII, its mission was to supply a "Home away from Home" for America's on the move military personnel The action takes place mostly in a U.S.O. club located in Brooklyn, New York. The time is 1942, when things weren't looking so good for Uncle Sam. About the 1940's The 1940's was a time of dynamic change and to a large degree, shaped and defined what is known as today's modern way of life. The term "teenager" was a brand new label, making adolescence into a cult to be savored, respected and commercially catered to as never before. Since most men over the age of 18 were in the service, younger teenage boys were often the biggest men in town. And for the first time, they had money to spend thanks to the many jobs available in the scarce labor market. Girls, too, earned money in a new profession: babysitting for parents who worked the night shift at war plants. Shrewd merchandisers were quick to capitalize on this new teenage phenomenom, especially in the entertainment industry. The jukebox came into vogue spinning "platters" to the tune of five billion nickels a year by the later part of the decade. Swing music, which was all the rage with its free flowing improvisational style, set the stage for rock and roll and other modern self-expressive types of music. The radio developed a format for playing "hit singles" and designed a weekly program, "Your Hit Parade," which today has been expanded into "America's Top Forty." The innovation and ingenuity that WWII demanded brought Americans aerosol cans, helicopters, the first computer, nylon toothbrush bristles, ballpoint pens and much more. And so it was that technology began to burgeon early in the 40's with an impact on the world that has had far-reaching implications and pushed us into our modern Information Age. This play has a variety of characters, from Kilroy, the American G.I., to Professor Milton Sullivan, a hypnotist,an air raid warden, a military policeman, Russian Spies, G-men, think untouchables, A tapdancer, a western union messenger,Rosie the Reviter, and a large cast of sailors and USO hostesses. And yes there will be Swing Dancing to Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller Big Band Music!!! Also, here are the rehearsal dates for you Early Birds!! April 11 11-3 April 12 1-5 April 13 3-7 and Performance from 7-9 .
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