Group Singing Usually Sucks...

You know how a large group of people singing usually sounds pretty terrible? There are lots of people singing who really shouldn't so it all ends up sounding like a convoluted mess vaguely resembling a popular song. That is, of course, unless the large group of people singing are all theatre people, and therefore sing all the time. I was fortunate enough to witness this a couple of weeks ago at Districts. Owl City came on before Closing Ceremonies, and the room burst into song. Actually, we'd already been singing, because they played Lady GaGa right before that, but I digress. We'd gotten through the first stanza when the music cut out. But to room kept singing...on key, and in perfect time. Some were even singing the harmony. It sounded great.

Just one reason why theatre people are awesome.

Anyway, I haven't been writing much of anything lately. I tend to shy away from this blog when things get busy out of a sense of guilt. Why should I spend any amount of time on blogging when there is work to be done? But I've just spent the last couple of hours wasting time, so why not spend a little more, eh? I felt like I should post something, if only to remind the internet that I exist.

Another One Bites the Dust

This weekend was a serious fail as far as NaBloPoMo is concerned, however, I blame it on The Foreigner and am resolved to try to continue for the rest of the month (until I get busy again).


Speaking of Foreigner, it's over. Two months of hard work has come to an end, and the only thing that remains are memories and dried droplets of paint on the black stage from careless brushes. And maybe some stickiness from spilled Coke. That reality is one of the hardest things about theatre in my opinion. It's so temporary. You work on it for a set amount of time, then you do it, then it's over. I don't think I would want it to keep going much longer, but I still miss it when its gone. For me, taking down the set is the hardest part. We spent weeks putting it up, getting it to where it needed to be, painting, building, taping, painting some more, hour after hour; the whole thing came down in three.


The only thing that makes it easier for me is knowing that there is another show coming in a few months. There are already things I'm working on and planning for December and January. I have not one, but TWO one acts in the works, one with 6th period as an in-school performance, one with 4th period for Districts. I'm only sort of directing them, acting more as a consultant/producer for student directors. I wanted to put it in my student's hands and see what happens. Hopefully they will rise to the occasion.

Baby Steps

Someone asked me in the first few months of teaching what my goals were for my Drama program. I didn't really know how to answer; my best response was basically that I wanted it to be like the drama program when I was in high school. That was my goal two years ago, and still is, to a certain extent. But now I approach the question with a slightly more educated and realistic eye (is that the best way to say that? I don't know). My ultimate goal is to be able to put on excellent productions that are primarily student run. I want to be able to sit in the front row and watch, without having to worry that there will be some disaster backstage that will require my immediate attention.

That is a pretty lofty goal, especially from where I'm standing. But I think it's doable. Here are a few steps we need to take towards excellence:

1. Establish a sense of pride in the program as a whole and in the quality of work. At this point, we don't know what a really excellent program or even an excellent production looks like, nor do we know what it takes to get there. I need to start showing my students what excellence looks like. We need to go watch other people who are being excellent. This has its pitfalls. The tendency might be for them to compare themselves, rather than take it as inspiration to do better.

2. Get out of the mindset that we can wait until the last minute to pull it off "because we always do." I think this is what has killed us with "The Foreigner." A few strategic people have established the attitude among the cast that later is okay, so we've taken far too long to get off book, and find costumes, know our cues. In today's rehearsal, we were where we needed to be about two weeks ago because two weeks ago, I was still yelling at people to be off book, and they were still making excuses. This is a great segue into my final point.

3. I need to be a jerk about things like missed rehearsal/tardiness, and missed deadlines. I don't know how to do it. I don't have the heart to tell someone who has been in rehearsal for a month that they won't be in the show because they aren't off book, or because they missed 3 rehearsals, or because they were late a few times. How do I tell a parent that their kid is out of the play because they had some kind of obligation and didn't tell me in advance? In reality, I HAVE to if I want the program to succeed. Teaching them that being there sometimes is not okay. Aside from the difficulties of trying to rehearse or block a scene without a character, it also destroys a sense of trust among the cast. How can I expect one person to rely on the other to make an entrance or know a cue if they aren't even at rehearsal?

On the Eve of a New Year

Well, summer has come to end, and I'm staring a new school year in the face. I also have a terrible case of insomnia. Dang it.

I am incredibly un-enthused about this school year. I'm going into it without knowing a lot of things, and with more work than I had last year, and with less room for error just because it's my third year, and not my first or second. Also, we're going back to the 7:20 start time. I'm not a morning person. At all. In one sense, I'm glad that I'll get out of rehearsal at 5pm instead of 6:30, that I'll get to see something other than school in the daylight. On the other hand, anything I do before 9am is basically rubbish.

As frequent readers of this here blog might remember, I'm a worrier. It's what I do. Also, I like lists. So here, in no particular order, are things I'm worried about this year:

- Fall play. I'm not sure what it is yet. Both options have their own separate set of problems.
- I don't have a good strong senior leader. This could be a problem.
- My classes are all a jumble, and they may stay that way all year long.
- I had a couple of GREAT classes last year, and I'm afraid my standards for awesome are completely shot. Forever.
- No strong Senior leader.
- I had some really awful students last year, and I don't want their kind again. Ever.
- Musical. Don't know what it is yet. Also, no seniors (it seems ridiculous a little, but they're REALLY important).
- One Act. Don't know what it is yet.
- Certification stuff. Should have done it this summer. Didn't. Will invariably do it on the night before it's due and have Dad proof read it. Just kidding. But seriously.
- Two more preps this year than last year. Didn't do them over the summer (in my defense, I didn't know that I had them, one of them I found out about YESTERDAY, dang it.)
- Did I mention that I don't have a strong Senior leader?

Pictures

I finally downloaded all of the pictures I've taken in the last two months onto my computer. Here is a small selection. I have more, but the my internet connection is running really slowly for some reason and I don't have the patience for it. Perhaps I'll post more later.

Here's one side of the "Arsenic and Old Lace" set, including the most complicated part, the stairs.

This is the other side of the set, and the second most complicated part of the set. The windows took about 6 hours to make, but they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. I actually had to put some of my Advanced Stagecraft knowledge to use and join the windows with splines.

The whole set in all of it's glory. It was more impressive in person, and it was a heck of a lot of fun to play on. Fun fact: the picture on the stage right wall (that's the far left, for you non-theatre people) would slide every time anyone opened or closed the door so that by the end of the show it was almost sideways. I got a kick out of it, although it likely distracted some audience members from enjoying the show fully.

Here are some shots from my trip to Tampa for the Florida State Thespian Festival. I love some of the architecture in downtown Tampa.

The Tampa Theatre is probably the most aesthetically pleasing theatre I've ever been in. Check out those light fixtures!

The exterior of the Tampa Theatre. It harkens back to a time when people actually went to the theatre.

Some random building we walked past. I thought it was pretty.

A totally cool mural painted on the side of a music store.