2023 Legally Blonde by Squalicum Musical Theatre

Squalicum Musical Theatre Institute ("SMTI") is a three-week summer intensive program in Northwest Washington State, run by educators with expertise in the performing arts. Each summer we work with high school students across the Bellingham Public School District to produce a full-length musical, resulting in a weekend run of four performances. Our goal is interscholastic collaboration, so students from any of the district's high schools can audition to be in the show or apply to serve offstage on a production crew. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (our Tax ID# (EIN) is: 84-4409467).

We had a fantastic first year (see last year's highlights of Mamma Mia!), and are gearing up for our second annual show! This summer we are doing Legally Blonde, the hilarious stage musical adapted from the 2001 movie, in which Elle Woods goes to Harvard Law School to win back her boyfriend but discovers herself in the process. We are currently raising funds for student financial assistance. Many people don't realize the expense involved in producing musical theatre. Just obtaining the rights to perform the show costs us over $3000 (not to mention set construction, props, costumes, advertising, etc)! Because of the expense, most theatre programs charge cast members a fee (we've seen up to $495 for locally comparable programs) to partially cover production costs and hope to at least break even after ticket sales. We want to minimize this cost to students, so we charge cast members a $150 production fee for their 20-day participation in our educational program. We also don't want finances to be a barrier for any students, so we want to provide financial assistance to those for whom the fee would pose a hardship. We are aiming to raise enough for eight $150 scholarships this year--a total of $1200. Any amount you can spare toward this student fund would be so helpful! (Btw, we do not charge any students who are in the crew/offstage part of our program, and furthermore, the four members of our executive team donate our time entirely!)

Visit our website for more information SMTI's mission and programs!