SERA: The Musical

Hey everyone!

Remember a while back, this past February, to be exact, SERA00's first survival show, SERA00 Star City, was going on? I never did tell you the results of that, did I? Well now there's a reason to bring it up again. There was more than one prize for the winners of each stream, and if you recall, getting cast in the next SERA00 musical was one of them. That musical is premiering this Sunday! Why has it taken more than seven months for the musical to begin its run, you ask? At the time of Star City, the musical didn't actually exist. So the musical first had to be created, songs had to be written, dances choreographed, before the cast could even begin rehearsals. All the while, the members had to continue their SERA00 activities as well.

Let's talk about the winners. There were two streams, Star Talent and Star Power. You can refer to the second Star City post from February for the full list of contestants in each stream. Here are the results:

Star Power
1. Arron
2. Sammi Willis
3. Tang Tang Tsang
Runner-up: Holly Stern

Star Talent
1. Rachel
2. Macey Fent
3. Sayoung Yoon
Runner-up: JY

There's actually an overwhelming CASUT00 presence in the rankings, given the ratio of CASUT00 and SERA00 contestants. The first place from both streams were snagged by a CASU member. Miss Avery is pretty pleased by the results. It shows that CASUT00, who debuted after SERA00, is gaining traction in the entertainment industry.

To the musical - it's actually an adaptation of the 2013 movie "SERA", which was headlined by SERA00 members playing the four main roles. Actually, Angel's role was more of a cameo. Anyways, I listed the runner-ups in the rankings above, but as mentioned in the original Star City posts, only the top three from each stream will be cast. Perfect, since there are three main roles in the movie: Agent R, who was played by Luna, Agent T, who was played by Fracken, and Sera, who was played by Sassan. The cast of the musical will rotate between the winners of the Power and Talent stream. On the day of the premiere, there will be two showtimes, one by each cast. We skip Monday, which is Thanksgiving, and then from Tuesday, there will be one performance each night, alternating between Power and Talent from thereon. The last day of the run is October 31st, Halloween!

"Power" Cast
Agent R: Arron
Agent T: Sammi
Sera: Tang Tang

"Talent" Cast
Agent R: Rachel
Agent T: Sayoung
Sera: Macey

Of course, the musical is not devoid of participation from non-Star City contestants. Angel had a cameo in the original movie as the character "Gillian," and she'll be reprising that cameo throughout the run of the musical, with Harley filling in on days Angel isn't available. If you've watched the teaser for the musical, you'll recognize that the theme song in the background, "Follow Me", is sung by Luraland. She'll be releasing that as a solo single as well.

As a special treat and tribute to the original cast, the last performance on Halloween will be a special - sung by the original cast of the movie. The acting and dancing will still be done by the Star City girls, since it takes a lot of practice and rehearsal to coordinate the performances. Luna, Fracken, and Sassan will only be appearing on stage during musical numbers.

As for the technicalities... pricing remains the same as they were for Dreamweavers - $119, $89, and $59 for the three tiers, and the Halloween special is priced $144, $114, and $84. Run time is 120 minutes, 8 PM every day at the SERA00 City. Except for premiere day, which has two shows - 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM.

Anyways, I hope you can catch one of the shows during its run - if not, we'll be posting videos of the musical numbers from the two premiere shows, and the Halloween special show. SERA00 is also coming back with a new single soon - the election single, in fact ;) So look forwards to that as well. As always -

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SERA00 Star City [2/2]

Hey everyone!

I split up the post because the first one was getting too long. Tonight will be the first of our two-night 2016 SERA00 Winter Concert!

I was talking about Star City in the previous post as if it was all going to happen in the future, which understandably made some of you confused, as there have been a lot of ads and commercials for the show recently. Yes, you're right - the first episode has already premiered yesterday night. The results from the first challenge will be revealed at the beginning of the next episode, but the surprise I mentioned earlier is that we will actually be revealing the results on the second day of the concert! Both to the members and the audience, both of which have never seen the results before the reveal.

For those who haven't seen the first episode yet, I gotta say right off the bat that you won't be seeing me on the show. I'm sorry. I was not one of the souls brave enough to risk my rank for a stab at a solo concert and musical role T.T At least now I'll be able to provide a (hopefully) unbiased commentary of the show.

PARTICIPANTS

STAR POWER

STAR TALENT

B rank Samantha Willis “Sammi” Hollis Stern “Holly” C rank Tang Tang Tsang Fawn Cobbleton Eclair Holland "Echo" Felicia Russel “Felicity” Ginelle Gerald “Ginger” Piper Weston Yura Chung Oakley Canterbury Cindy Howe Ariande Wong “Ariel” Braelyn Rowe Liesl Surrey Kaya Courtland April Heffron 00 rank Katarina Ren “Katalie” Xue Ling Kuo Emily Wattana Cora Hyland “Coral” Erica Cortez Seren Ellery Judy Kim “Juhyun” Linda Hoang “Liha” Yuzuki Ito CASUT00 Arron Isabelle Nikki Holiday

B rank Raine Colbert Macey Fent C rank Sora Takashi “Soracchi” Mikayla Iverson Jessica Caves Kai Lee “Kailee” Shannon Hunton Kerria Santivejkul Isla Hedley Emma Jung Poppy Ganeson Briar Ross “Briar Rose” Eliza Moir Celestia Charrete Aspen Wilkenson Haley Wickham 00 rank Henley Rey Izumi Kimura “Ice” Dana Jennings   Romy Stokes Jenna Moore Sayoung Yoon Leanne Chen “Lychee” CASUT00 JY Rachel Madison Ava

As I was compiling this list, I realized something that may be confusing which I will clarify now. If you read my election results post, you will see some girls, like Sayoung - who is listed high up under B rank, but is listed under 00 ranks on this list - whose rank seems inconsistent. Well, even though in the election she landed within the bracket required to move up to B rank, you cannot become an official member just by ranking high at an election. You remain a 00 rank despite your ranking until you are promoted by Management. The only difference is that when other 00 ranks get promoted, the automatically become C ranks - she will become a B rank.

Anyways, my thoughts on the participants: unsurprisingly, none of the A ranks elected to join. Likely, it was because the higher ranked A ranks felt no need to join the show (honestly, if Sassan wanted a solo concert, all she would have to do is ask), and the lower A ranks weren't positive that they could snag first place to retain their A rank. Same with the B ranks, although there were a couple who took the chance - 4, to be exact, which means that unless the winning three are dominated by B ranks, at least a couple of them are bound to drop a rank. As expected, all the C rank and 00 ranks joined, as there was really no threat to their position, and same with the CASUT00 girls.

Alright, I was finishing up this post during a break - we're running a dress rehearsal at the concert venue. We're just wrapping up now and we can already hear you guys lining up outside the stadium :o I'm glad it's not too cold tonight! I'm going to go prepare with the rest of the members now. See you on stage!

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SERA00 Star City [1/2]

Hey everyone!

Remember that thing I told you I tell you about? Well, here it is. Introducing...*drumroll*...SERA00 Star City! No, I'm not talking about the SERA00 City. This is SERA00's first survival show! 

Like the election, participation is voluntary, and all SERA00 and CASUT00 members are eligible to join as a participant. I wouldn't say that the show is targeted towards the 00 ranks, but rather that it's likely all or most of them will join, compared to official members who have already debuted. Later on, I'll discuss reasons why official members may or may not want to participate.

So how does the show work? There will be two competition streams that members can choose from - Star Talent and Star Power. Star Talent participants will be judged solely on their dance and singing skills, whereas Star Power participants will be judged on idol aura, stage presence, performance. To those who are not in or are new to the idol scene, the Star Power stream may seem rather abstract to you. How can it possible match up with the Star Talent stream?

It's the same way that Sassan is ranked above Luraland, despite Luraland being the better singer. The way that Yumichan and Sayoung are miles ahead of the other girls in their generation, despite joining SERA00 at the same time. Of course, it's not to say that talent doesn't get you anywhere, or that girls who gain popularity through means other than singing or dancing talent don't deserve it. I'm not making such a generalization, rather, I'm trying to explain why the concept of Star Power should not be taken lightly.

The judges will all be celebrity guests and trainers who have no affiliation with SERA00. That's right - even Miss Avery is taking the break on the judging in this show. 

After each challenge, participants will be evaluated and ranked.

Phase 1: Solo performance

Phase 2: Self-cam

Phase 3: Same stream team performance (elimination round)

Phase 4: Musical performance

Phase 5: Cross stream team performance (elimination round)

Phase 6: Solo performance (final elimination round)

You might be thinking that Phase 4 is rather random. After all, musicals aren't for everyone, and despite SERA00's recent run of "Dreamweavers," being an idol doesn't require any experience in musical theatre. Well, at the end of the program, there will be a first, second, and third place winner for each stream, six winners total. These six girls will make up the main cast of SERA00's next musical! 

Members who are eyeing a role in the musical might consider joining the program. Viewers might argue that it's unfair to pit rookie idols against seasoned idols, but it's not an easy road for official members either.

The final ranking from the program will OVERWRITE your current ranking. First place winners get A rank, second and third get B rank, and everyone else gets either C rank if you're an official member, or if you're a 00 rank then you stay as a 00 rank. In other words, current B and A rank members have a lot more to risk losing if they decide to join compared to 00 and C ranks.

But nothing bolsters improvement like a little friendly competition. So Management is offering some pretty big prizes for the winners of each stream. Mimicking the old SERA00 Complex, the SERA00 City is able to host three sizes of concerts (from smallest to largest) - SERA00 Stage, SERA00 Encore, and outdoor concert. First place winners get a solo outdoor concert, second places get solo Encore, and third places get a solo Stage.

Granted, it's not a full-blown concert like the ones we do as a group, but it's still a super attractive opportunity, even for the top members. Can you imagine that in the 9 years SERA00 has been active, not a single member has put on a solo concert? Ever?

More to come. Here's a thumbnail selfie for your time.

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My last "Dreamweavers" performance + 2015 Summer Concert!

Hey everyone!

Tonight's 7PM performance of the Dreamweavers musical will be the last in my run as SophieAnn, and then I'll pass the baton on to Sammi, then Sayoung, and the CASU-J girls, Sachi and Yuka. I've been privileged with the chance to act with Sassan as the main character Angelissa, as well as to perform for all of you this past week. It's been an amazing opportunity! So, for those of you who would like to come out and see the current cast perform for you one more time, we promise to give you a show worth seeing ^_^

I'm gonna go grab something to eat now, before going to makeup and costume. (Yessssss I'm working on those posts from Hong Kong!) I'll see you all on stage tonight!

Oh, and don't forget that our 2015 SERA00 Summer Concert, "To The Sky" will be held on September 4-6 as not to interfere with the run of the musical. Tickets will be sold until the night before the concert so be sure to get one if you'd like to come. Everyone is invited :)

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Dreamweavers: the musical

Hey everyone!
Exciting news! YS Entertainment is putting on its first musical ever! The casting is a mix of YS artists and unaffiliated musical actors and actresses, so you can expect a great show! The musical "Dreamweavers" runs exclusively throughout August with one performance every night at 7 PM.

The main cast consists of four characters:
Angelissa
Fletcher
Jayme
SophieAnn

Angelissa is the main character, who suffers from Mild Intellectual Disability (MID), although it is set in a fictious time period not quite in the past, but similar to the pre-technology era. The plot line evolves around Angelissa's life in her band of travelling people, and the relationships she builds with the people around her, including her friends Jayme and SophieAnn.
In her world there is a legend - a legend of a mystical band of people who can weave suggestions and plant them in people's dreams, making them believe everything they dream. They are called the Dreamweavers. With the ability to weave powerful, potent dreams, one young Dreamweaver named Fletcher feels as if the world is in his hands. With dreams, he can weave anything, from a cure for a sickness, to creating love sickness.
When Angelissa crosses paths with the Dreamweavers, the musical is just beginning.

The characters Angelissa and SophieAnn will be played by members of SERA00 and YS artists, while all other characters featured in the musical will be played by various musical actors and actresses, as well as YS artists. If you want to see a particular cast, I have included the schedule for YS artists below (I don't know about casting outside of YS):

August 1-8:
Angelissa - Angel
Fletcher -
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Kotoka

August 9-16:
Angelissa - Luna
Fletcher -
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Yumichan

August 17-24:
Angelissa - Sassan
Fletcher -
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Evie

August 25-26:
Angelissa - Maya
Fletcher -
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Sammi

August 27-28:
Angelissa - Luraland
Fletcher -
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Sayoung

August 29-30:
Angelissa - Huang Yu Yan
Fletcher - Alex Xue (ECTI)
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Sachi (CASU-J)

August 31:
Angelissa - Sumin (DRE4M)
Fletcher - Sunghyo (ECTI)
Jayme -
SophieAnn - Yuka (CASU-J)

Runtime is approximately 135 minutes. Tickets go on sale June 30th at 8 PM EST. Tickets can picked up at the venue on the day of your show. Refer to the prices (CAD) and seating chart below:
Blue - $119
Green - $89
Purple - $59

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