Learning to be Silent

I can't quite believe it, but we have finished our shows for the year. Last week my Advanced Drama kids performed for the school Shakespeare Festival, which marked the end. Now all that's left is 5 weeks of school, 3 concerts, 2 awards nights, and 1 assembly. It is going to go so fast!

Have I mentioned my summer plans yet? I applied for a grant from the NEH to attend a summer institute program for teachers at Smith College. Thanks to that grant, I get to spend an entire month "summering in the Berkshires"; that is, studying Macbeth and Julius Caesar through Shakespeare and Company. Hurrah!


In other news, Janelle, Kelley, and I are planning our trip to New York as well. We've got a hotel, plane tickets, and yesterday I bought tickets to "The Drowsy Chaperone". At a good price, too. Also on my list is:
Slava's Snowshow
Sweeny Todd
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Bridge and Tunnel
[title of show]
Threepenny Opera


So there should be some good blogging topics this summer. I plan on posting during the Shakespeare institute, since I figure it will be a fruitful time for ideas. In the meanwhile, I can't seem to go without working on shows, so currently I am browsing possibilities for next year's musical. I wish Janelle and Kelley were a little more obsessive, so they could join me in my madness. They are pretty compliant, which is nice for collaboration, and I understand why they are not as into it as I am. Kelley's got her husband and daughter, and Janelle's pregnant with her first. I know their home lives come first, which is fine. I figure I'll indulge my time while I am free to do so. Yesterday, a group of teachers on a committee at school went south to Happy Valley to observe a middle school there. I met the theater teacher, and we got to talk for a bit. It was really nice to have someone to talk to who is just as interested in and knowledgeable about musicals as me. It's the lot of theater teachers, I think, to be a bit isolated in their subject areas. It's a shame we don't get the chance to collaborate/visit more.

That school had a tiny theater, though. Their current production has 16 people in it. 16! So tiny!

TTFN