Monthly Newsletters - November 2025
Articles for this month include "Holiday Performances", Student Spotlight - Collins Six, Campus News, and more!...
Holiday Performances
Dear Parents, Students, and Future Students!
For some, it may be at the mall, and for others, it may be in a neighbor’s yard. For me, it always ends up being at Lowe’s. During my random visits for LAAPA’s hardware needs over the years (especially around this time), I always end up being a bit surprised to see the holiday decor flashing away and appreciative for the personal reminder. So today, as I picked up my new and improved weed trimmer head and A/C filters, I began to channel my innermost jolliness in anticipation of our 2025 productions being just a few weeks away!
The season kicks off with a performance from our acting students: “You Can’t Take It with You” is showing ONE DAY ONLY on 8 November at Three Rivers Theater, located in our new Covington campus. Tickets are available here!
We will be hosting our first ever Fall Kids’ Music & Arts Day at our new Covington campus! From 10AM-1PM, join us for a day of pumpkin painting, pin the tail on the turkey, face painting, music, dance, and drama mini lessons, and more fun fall-themed activities! Sign up now by clicking here!
We will have a brief closure for Thanksgiving from 24-28 November; that’s Monday-Friday!
Next up are dance performances! Our Southshore Hip Hop III class will be performing at Kenner Christmas Village on 5 December. Southshore Dance Co. students will be performing at Kenner Christmas Village on 6 December. Northshore Dance Co. students will be performing at Terra Bella on 12 December and in the downtown Covington Lollipop Parade on 13 December! Our Winter 2025 Dance Showcase, The Midnight Dance, will be held 14 December for our Northshore students and 15-20 December for our Southshore students.
Matilda auditions will be held on 7 December in anticipation of our upcoming Southshore musical production. More details to follow!
Our 5th annual Winter Variety show will be held on 18 December. This is directed and produced by our drama students! As always, the format changes year to year, and we look forward to everyone joining us for some classic holiday entertainment!
Of course, our main event of December will be our winter music concerts – Southshore concerts will be held on 6 December, and Northshore concerts will be held on 20-21 December. Tickets are not necessary for these holiday performances - instead, we ask for monetary donations towards the Teresian Sisters (please note - no physical gift donations, i.e. toys, infant items, clothing, etc., will be accepted).
Music students should sign up for our winter concerts by Friday 7 November! Learn more here. When signing up, please make sure that you receive a confirmation email from us. If you have signed up, but did not receive a confirmation email, please contact us, as we may not have received your participation form.
Here’s a little more information on what to expect for our music concerts:
For our music concerts, all musicians are invited to perform! Even if you just began studying this past fall, you can work with your instructor to perform even a brief piece, with the underlying goal of providing a positive introduction to the stage.
1.) For vocalists - practice holding a pretend microphone in your lessons to simulate your actual on-stage performance. If you’d prefer not to hold anything, the other option is to leave the microphone on the stand.
2.) For pianists - you will be performing on a full-sized grand piano at the concerts. The piano should feel very similar to our pianos at LAAPA.
3.) For guitarists - we provide a Fender amp (with plenty of optional effects) and a direct connection to the auditorium’s sound system. If you want to use your amp/effects pedal, please bring your patch cables, and let us know in advance of the date for setup planning!
4.) For drummers - we will have a Yamaha custom acoustic drum set on stage, like the ones many of you use in your lessons. You only need to bring your sticks!
5.) For strings, brass, and woodwinds - now is a GREAT time to ask your teacher to show you how to TUNE your instrument. We highly recommend learning this skill to all violin, guitar, brass, and woodwind students if you haven’t already. Our faculty will be on hand to help you tune before the concert begins as well.
6.) There are no tickets to purchase for our Winter Music Concerts. In lieu of tickets, we ask for monetary donations to the Teresian Sisters. More information on this mission and others we support is available at www.laapa.com/mission. Please note - no physical gift donations, i.e. toys, infant items, clothing, etc., will be accepted!
7.) Professional videos are available; just specify a video for each performance when filling out the participation form.
8.) Seating for parents and guests is all on a first-come, first-served basis. Each concert will typically last up to 1 ½-2 hours. We ask that you be prepared to remain for the full concert. Students who leave early will miss out on our group photographs at the end of each show!
We look forward to seeing you all on stage this holiday season!
~ Ryan Cullen, Academy Director
Get your tickets for "You Can't Take It with You!""
Get yours before they sell out!
There will be two showings of the play, so join us for one or join us for both! Tickets can be purchased here or click the button below!
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November Birthdays and Upcoming Events
Shoutouts - New Students and Faculty & Staff!
November Student Spotlight - Collins Six
This month’s Student Spotlight features Covington campus student Collins Six! It’s been about a year and a half since Collins joined us here at LAAPA, starting out with drum lessons - his longest program with us - and subsequently adding guitar and voice lessons.
Outside of LAAPA, Collins is an actor in school productions at Christ Episcopal. He also enjoys reading and swimming - but you’ll never catch him partcipating in a sport that involves a ball of any sort! Collins is a huge fan of folk music, and his favorite artist is Sufjan Stevens. As far as bands go, his top pick is Fleet Foxes! Collins has aspirations to become a movie director, not unlike Christopher Nolan, in addition to participating in film produciton. He’d also like to find himself on Broadway one day!
Mr. Christian is his drum instructor, and Collins is extremely appreciative of his calm teaching style, never expressing any frustration. Should he have any questions, or a need to revisit material, Mr. Christian will always take the time to ensure Collins has a full understanding of what they are working on. Lessons have helped him develop talents and skills that further expand upon his preexisting abilities, allowing for him to dive further into school theater as well as participating in drum line. Collins’ favorite part of lessons are getting to work on his specific interests, while simultaneously being taught technical skills, such as theory, in relation to what he enjoys most - another accolade he gives to LAAPA’s intructors. Regarding LAAPA as a whole, he’s a big fan of the new Covington campus, but what Collins really wants to acknowldege is the friendliness and professionalism of all of LAAPA’s instructors. He loves working with Mr. Christian, as well as Mr. Ben (guitar) and Ms. Annabelle (voice). Collins, it’s been inspiring to watch you excel across so many areas. We’ll all be supporting you as you continue to broaden your horizons and succeed.
Artwork by Michaela Howell
We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!
Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850. Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!
With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!