Districts and a Week to Decompress

Until Monday, I hadn't gone home earlier than 5 PM since my first few weeks of teaching. I'd forgotten what it was like to spend more time at home than at work. But this week is my relaxation week, when I get to tell my students to leave after 6th period, and find out what the traffic is like coming back from the 9th Grade Center in the afternoon.

The District Thespian Competition was on Saturday, and I my troupe performed pretty well, all considering. We, or should I say they, received four Superiors, three Excellents, and another one that we don't talk about. I can't take credit for any of it, they worked really hard, and did well. Having been through it as a sponsor, I have a list of things I will do different next year:

1. Audition acts long before registration, probably as early as November 1st. This is to prevent any problems with really really bad acting, which we had.
2. Give the performers their Adjudication Forms before we get on the bus so that I don't have to worry about them and it's not my fault if they get lost. In case you're wondering, yes, we had problems with the Adjudication Forms. I left them on my desk at school and found out as the first act was on stage doing their intro. I then lost another set again when I handed them to one of my students who walked off to go watch someone else.
3. Make rehearsal and punctuality absolutely mandatory. Cut acts who fail to rehearse to my satisfaction.
4. Be harder on them in rehearsal. I wasn't nearly critical enough.
5. Read the plays I'm not familiar with.
6. Clearly define responsibilities. For example, assign who is responsible for blocking their scenes/monologues.
7. Require that their stuff be memorized by registration at the beginning of December.

All in all, it was a really great experience. I had a really good time, and I think they did too which is what matters.

Rehearsals for "Once On This Island" are Monday. Here we go again.

An Old Light Bulb

I'm beginning to get burned out. It's not difficult to figure out why. Since we got back from Christmas break, I've been working intensely on getting ready for the District Thespian Competition this coming weekend. We are almost ready. Almost, however, is far from where I think we should be. With a little over 48 hours until our first event performs on Saturday, the group sat on the edge of the stage, reluctant to use the remaining time for rehearsal. I fail to grasp the logic behind this behavior. The knowledge that a panel of judges will sit behind a table looking for errors with which to rip you apart would scare me into rehearsal, whether I liked the piece or not.

This procrastination on the part of my students is beginning to drive me insane. How could they not be freaking out about this? Perhaps they are more courageous than I, for they do not fear the pen-wielding judges. Perhaps they are simply foolish. I actually have two students who have yet to rehearse together. Neither of them takes Drama, so I don't see them to remind them that, by the way, the judges are merciless, and they're representing the troupe, not just their sorry selves. They'd better not say they, "proudly represent" our troupe, because frankly, them going is a courtesy to a senior who was in Christmas Carol before dropping out/getting the boot.

I'm getting burned out. Spending afternoons with unmotivated high school students will do that to you.

Just Thought I'd Brag A Little...

85 words

Touch Typing

As I sat on my bed furiously typing the random selection of words this website generated, I began an attempt to make sense of the randomness. Instead of words, I began to see phrases, almost as though my mind was automatically searching for a story. It was one of the most bazaar stories I've ever heard in my life, although I think some of the things my students come up with could probably rival it. There was something about cowboys and Indians, and students missing school...I don't know.

The point is, my mind wanted to make sense of it. I'm sure a psychologist somewhere could give me a completely logical reason for this. For now, though, I think I will chalk it up to having an overly active imagination.

Whatever the case, Donations Services did me well as far as my finger speed goes. Just another thing with which I can wow my students.

A Few YouTube Faves

I really would like to write about something other than my job, but that's honestly the only thing on my mind most of the time. A seemingly endless To Do List seems has imprinted itself into the back of my consciousness, and it will be supplanted by nothing else. Virtually every moment spent not thinking about school I fill will mindless entertainment, generally in the form of YouTube. So, in that vein I bring you my YouTube favorites.

Mad TV's Parody of the Feist "1 2 3 4" iPod Nano Commercial


I came across this in my search for the song featured in the iPod commercial (which I find absolutely infectious and must frequently stop myself from singing in class) and found it absolutely hilarious. Mad TV parodies are always hilarious. Favorite line: "They iScrewed me again!"

The music video for the actual song is absolutely fabulous as well, which I suspect is why Apple used it in their commercial in the first place. I love that it was filmed in a single shot, there's something very "live theatre" about all that. Another Feist song, "My Moon, My Man" was also filmed in a single shot and is performed on one of those people movers at an airport. Very cool.

Human Tetris



A totally random game show from Japan. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the 25 Years! Banner that hangs in the background in one of these videos (there's maybe six of them). Is that 25 years of human tetris? And if so, why haven't they brought this to the US yet? It's absolutely hilarious!

Human Pacman



The perfect stress-reliever. I love how they're running through traditionally quiet places (libraries, computer labs). My guess is the people in those mind-numbingly quiet places could use a good laugh and a little "laka laka laka laka" from a guy dressed in a Pacman ghost suit.

Random thought: kitty poo=more stinky than people poo

Okay, methinks that's enough from me for the time being. And remember, if all else fails, check YouTube.

Riding the Wave

My feelings about my job go in waves. Some days I think it's the best job in the world, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Some time when I'm having one of those days I'll post about it. Today, however, is a day of valleys. On days like today and yesterday--and lets throw in this whole week for good measure--I feel completely and totally inadequate, and that anxious feeling rises in my stomach and starts taking over. My heart beats a little faster, I get distracted, can't focus, all I want is...silence--a rare commodity in a room full of talkative teenagers.

I've never had to deal with stress like this before. I've never been responsible for this much. I've never had other people depending on me. In the past it was all on me, if I failed I paid the price, not someone else. The anxiety is not necessarily that I don't know how to do something, rather that I don't know what to do at all.

It's days like today that make me wonder what they were thinking hiring me. My guess is that the decision makers have no idea what it takes to be a Drama Director and assumed it was simple enough for a fresh college graduate who has never taught a day in her life.

Today was one of those days when the waves were fast and frequent. Nothing really horrible happened, but it was enough to kick in the fight or flight instinct. It's on days like this that I want to run.

Parking Stickers

I cleaned out my car a couple of weeks ago, ridding the windshield of the parking stickers from college. I've finished that chapter in my life, and pulling the stickers off the glass was just putting a period at the end of the last sentence. Being the pack rat I am, I wanted to keep them, so I taped them into my journal. I like keeping things that mean something, have some kind of sentimental value.

For me, the represent membership in a club to which I no longer belong. Last year I lived at ADK House, I was one of the girls, I could park there with no fear of the ever roaming tow truck. That bit of my past is over and done with. If I went back and knocked on the door there is a 50% chance that the girl opening it won't recognize me.

Its the same with the FSU parking sticker. I no longer have a right or reason to be on campus. Driving down I-75 on the way back to school, I used to get this feeling of solidarity as I looked through the rear view mirror and saw the same sticker in the windshield behind me. That person and I are alike in at least this, we have that it common. I don't have that anymore. As I drove up I-75 a few days ago to visit a friend, I didn't see any of these parking passes. I wouldn't have recognized an FSU sticker even if I saw one.

In case you're wondering about the pictures, I finally got a digital camera and have been going picture crazy ever since. It's a good thing. I'm a visual person, so having a way to show you what I'm talking about is a good thing in my opinion.

I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. I had planned to get some lesson plans done over the break, but true to form, I procrastinated and haven't really done any of it. I think I know what I'm doing with them tomorrow, but beyond that I have no idea. I have some more thoughts on this, but I really should get some sleep so that I'm not unprepared and exhausted tomorrow.