Friday, May 27, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Happiness!
I found my kitty!
It involved sweeping the parking lot with a flashlight, spending 5 minutes trying to coax her to my reach, hoping a fence, then (even more interesting) hoping back over a fence while holding a cat with one arm as she clung to me, claws in my chest.
But she's back!
And, believe me, all of my windows are shut.
Yea!
It involved sweeping the parking lot with a flashlight, spending 5 minutes trying to coax her to my reach, hoping a fence, then (even more interesting) hoping back over a fence while holding a cat with one arm as she clung to me, claws in my chest.
But she's back!
And, believe me, all of my windows are shut.
Yea!
With Cat-Like Tread
An update:
No Natasha yet, although late last night there was a development. Just as I was about to go to bed, a neighbor knocked on my door. She told me she had just seen my cat, and her husband was watching her as we speak. I threw on some clothes, and dashed outside. By then, Nash (if it was her) had slipped away, though, for she had disappeared. It surprised the husband, who was dilligently watching the car she ran under, but I was not surprised. Remember, this cat is an expert at avoiding people.
As I walked back to my apartment to get a flashlight, I did see a furry shape dash across the parking lot into the bushes near to the construction site next door. I searched the bushes, but to no avail. I retired a half-hour later, with thorny hands but higher hopes. My wonderful neighbors said that other people in the complex had seen her earlier in the week as well.
I am feeling much more optimistic, so I am sticking with the idea that it was her. This means a) she is alive and b) she is very close. Much better than my worried imagination scenarios.
It made me happy enough to forgoe canvassing the nearby animal shelters this afternoon in favor of high tea with Janelle and her friends. It was a last hurrah before her wedding this weekend, and it was delightful. Yes, I was dressed in a black pageboy wig, black clothes, and heavy black eyeliner (today was my annual poetry reading session in my English classes), while the others were in British lady's clothes. I donned my beret, and joined them with a set of gloves and was pronounced the French friend that rounded out their British trio.
Tea was served at the Grand America hotel downtown. It was delicious, elegant, and rather European.
I shall go out again at sunset tonight to search again. Here's hoping!
No Natasha yet, although late last night there was a development. Just as I was about to go to bed, a neighbor knocked on my door. She told me she had just seen my cat, and her husband was watching her as we speak. I threw on some clothes, and dashed outside. By then, Nash (if it was her) had slipped away, though, for she had disappeared. It surprised the husband, who was dilligently watching the car she ran under, but I was not surprised. Remember, this cat is an expert at avoiding people.
As I walked back to my apartment to get a flashlight, I did see a furry shape dash across the parking lot into the bushes near to the construction site next door. I searched the bushes, but to no avail. I retired a half-hour later, with thorny hands but higher hopes. My wonderful neighbors said that other people in the complex had seen her earlier in the week as well.
I am feeling much more optimistic, so I am sticking with the idea that it was her. This means a) she is alive and b) she is very close. Much better than my worried imagination scenarios.
It made me happy enough to forgoe canvassing the nearby animal shelters this afternoon in favor of high tea with Janelle and her friends. It was a last hurrah before her wedding this weekend, and it was delightful. Yes, I was dressed in a black pageboy wig, black clothes, and heavy black eyeliner (today was my annual poetry reading session in my English classes), while the others were in British lady's clothes. I donned my beret, and joined them with a set of gloves and was pronounced the French friend that rounded out their British trio.
Tea was served at the Grand America hotel downtown. It was delicious, elegant, and rather European.
I shall go out again at sunset tonight to search again. Here's hoping!
Monday, May 23, 2005
O, Men of Dark and Dismal Fate
Alas! My dear cat is missing!
I discovered late Sunday night that Natasha had escaped the apartment through a loose screen window in my library. Andy and I have searched the surrounding areas, but to no avail. She is, we have learned before, an expert at hiding.
I am quite sad. I miss my kitty and I worry about her. I believe I will have to leave it up to the kindness of strangers, as it were, in the hopes that she gets sent to Animal Control.
I don't know what else to do, which I hate. Living in an apartment makes it seem more unlikely that she'd find her way home. After all, what she knows of the building is what she's seen through a transport cage and what she saw as she leaped from my second story window.
<>
I am trying to perk up with the anticipation of the end of the school year, the excitement of announcing our choice for next year's play (we'll tell everyone at the farewell assembly on Friday), and general summertime mirth. Unfortunately, I just miss my cat.
I discovered late Sunday night that Natasha had escaped the apartment through a loose screen window in my library. Andy and I have searched the surrounding areas, but to no avail. She is, we have learned before, an expert at hiding.
I am quite sad. I miss my kitty and I worry about her. I believe I will have to leave it up to the kindness of strangers, as it were, in the hopes that she gets sent to Animal Control.
I don't know what else to do, which I hate. Living in an apartment makes it seem more unlikely that she'd find her way home. After all, what she knows of the building is what she's seen through a transport cage and what she saw as she leaped from my second story window.
<
I am trying to perk up with the anticipation of the end of the school year, the excitement of announcing our choice for next year's play (we'll tell everyone at the farewell assembly on Friday), and general summertime mirth. Unfortunately, I just miss my cat.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Mambo!
Two and a half weeks of school left!
The year is winding down, and boy do we all feel it. It's strange, actually, to think of how few classes I have left, particularly with the block schedule. I believe I only have about 4 more class periods with my Advanced Drama class, which I am rather sad about. They're my favorite class, after all. And, boy, are they marvelous right now. I wish I had another year for them so I can enjoy all they've learned. As one of our final activities, we went to see "West Side Story" at the PTC. Great set design, horrible directorial decisions. The worst? An addition of a little blond kid, dressed in white. He sang a solo during the ballet sequence, which was fine, but then the ending! Maria trails off stage after Tony's body and the various gang members, leaving the gun in a spotlight down center. I can deal with them ignoring the stage direction that the adults remain on stage "helpless". However, this production ended not with the gun, but with the little boy appearing again, walking to the gun, looking mournfully down at it, then out appealingly at the audience.
ugh! Awful! I now refer to this as the "crying Indian" ending - it smacked of the sentimentality of the 1970's anti-litter commercial.
The happiness was that my students were just as critical as me! We had a great discussion on the bus ride home. I have taught my students well.
That discussion redeems my students from an earlier one in the week. In reviewing for this show, I was quizzing them on the creators. I asked them who wrote the lyrics for it. They didn't know. I said it was the same man who later wrote "Assassins", "Sunday in the Park with George", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and "Into the Woods". One of them ventured a guess - "Andrew Lloyd Webber?"
I gave him a withering look and informed him that he could burn in theater hell for making that mistake. (They laughed.)
Other happy theater news - the Tony nominations were announced Tuesday. And we picked out musical for next year!
But I can't tell you what it is here. I know a few of my students read my blog, and we're keeping it a secret until our school's farewell assembly in two weeks. I am excited about it, though!
Au revoir mes amis!
The year is winding down, and boy do we all feel it. It's strange, actually, to think of how few classes I have left, particularly with the block schedule. I believe I only have about 4 more class periods with my Advanced Drama class, which I am rather sad about. They're my favorite class, after all. And, boy, are they marvelous right now. I wish I had another year for them so I can enjoy all they've learned. As one of our final activities, we went to see "West Side Story" at the PTC. Great set design, horrible directorial decisions. The worst? An addition of a little blond kid, dressed in white. He sang a solo during the ballet sequence, which was fine, but then the ending! Maria trails off stage after Tony's body and the various gang members, leaving the gun in a spotlight down center. I can deal with them ignoring the stage direction that the adults remain on stage "helpless". However, this production ended not with the gun, but with the little boy appearing again, walking to the gun, looking mournfully down at it, then out appealingly at the audience.
ugh! Awful! I now refer to this as the "crying Indian" ending - it smacked of the sentimentality of the 1970's anti-litter commercial.
The happiness was that my students were just as critical as me! We had a great discussion on the bus ride home. I have taught my students well.
That discussion redeems my students from an earlier one in the week. In reviewing for this show, I was quizzing them on the creators. I asked them who wrote the lyrics for it. They didn't know. I said it was the same man who later wrote "Assassins", "Sunday in the Park with George", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and "Into the Woods". One of them ventured a guess - "Andrew Lloyd Webber?"
I gave him a withering look and informed him that he could burn in theater hell for making that mistake. (They laughed.)
Other happy theater news - the Tony nominations were announced Tuesday. And we picked out musical for next year!
But I can't tell you what it is here. I know a few of my students read my blog, and we're keeping it a secret until our school's farewell assembly in two weeks. I am excited about it, though!
Au revoir mes amis!
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Hey There
Well, I'm back from NYC, and my theatre addiction is somewhat mollified.
Our trip was fantastic! Dad scored us a fabulous hotel room that was literally on Times Square. It was great to be able to stop by during the day to drop stuff off as needed.
In addition to seeing the plays I listed before, we also did the Museum of Natural History (the Hayden Sphere exhibit was quite fun), the new MOMA, and some general wandering around. On Sunday, before our flight, we went downtown to the Greenwich area and wandered. To my utter contentment, we also went to the Strand bookstore, a great new/used/hard-to-find bookstore (I bought 7 books there) and to a drama bookstore closer to the Theatre District (4 books). Mmm... two bookstores in two hours - delicious!
As for the shows:
"The Musical of Musicals: The Musical" was hysterical, but you definitely had to be a musical-buff to enjoy it, I think. There were some references even I didn't get (mostly the Jerry Herman section. All I really know by him is "Hello, Dolly!".) The theater is was in was dang awesome, too. It was in a below-ground converted movie theater complex - five theaters ranging in size from about 200 seats - 500 seats. The whole thing was done in concrete and steel with ornate lime green and gold accents. A live-theater complex - oh the possibilities!
"Shockheaded Peter" was my favorite show of the weekend. Unfortunately, it was only about 2/3 full (I think it freaks people out). The theatrics, the use of puppets, the timing and playing with the audience was all excellent. I think I learned more watching this show than I would have at any teacher's conference (thereby justifying my taking a day of "professional development") to go on this trip. I recommend this show to anyone going to NY in the near future, although it doesn't look like it will be around for long.
It also made me wish that the Tony's would open up to nominees from off-Broadway as well. Some of those shows deserve the publicity, and the costuming of "Peter" was definitely comparable to any of the shows running on Broadway, let alone the other elements of the show. "Best Musical"? Probably not. The most innovative and stylish piece of theater I've seen in a long while? Definitely.
"Monty Python's Spamalot" was our original purpose for this trip. We actually bought the tickets back in January and even so were up in the nosebleeds. A stroke of luck - my friend (I should add quotes to that to pacify my students) Jason decided to join us in NY at the last moment, so we bought a ticket for this show from a scalper. It turned out to be in the row behind us, two seats over. Cool, huh?
The show was hysterical - very silly and flashy and fun. It's nice to see the musical comedy lording over the Lloyd Weber mega-shows. The most interesting part of the experience for me was seeing a show with an entire audience who had most of it memorized. I am used to seeing shows that I already know (probably 95% of the shows I see I have all of the music memorized beforehand), but here the actors only had to say the opening sentence of a bit ("Old woman!"), or in some cases, simply walk out on stage, and the audience would erupt in applause and cheers. The worst of it was when they sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" - there were many whistlers in the house. They anticipated this, though, and the bows included a sing-along to the song.
After the show, I did the cheesy thing and got some autographs. Sure, I had to explain to my students exactly who was David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, and Hank Azaria and why their signatures are cool ("Who, Tim Curry? Jim Carey would have been cooler" I was told several times.) It was also pouring rain, at the time, which is why my poster is slightly waterlogged and why Tim Curry wound up signing my chest. (Hee!)
(Okay, not really. I just held the poster against my chest to give him a surface to write on. Still, my statement is not entirely inaccurate.... :) )
I look forward to seeing the Tony's (June 5th on CBS). I also look forward to going back. I still want to see "Wicked", and I don't want to see the reduced touring version. Perhaps this summer....
For now, adieu!
Our trip was fantastic! Dad scored us a fabulous hotel room that was literally on Times Square. It was great to be able to stop by during the day to drop stuff off as needed.
In addition to seeing the plays I listed before, we also did the Museum of Natural History (the Hayden Sphere exhibit was quite fun), the new MOMA, and some general wandering around. On Sunday, before our flight, we went downtown to the Greenwich area and wandered. To my utter contentment, we also went to the Strand bookstore, a great new/used/hard-to-find bookstore (I bought 7 books there) and to a drama bookstore closer to the Theatre District (4 books). Mmm... two bookstores in two hours - delicious!
As for the shows:
"The Musical of Musicals: The Musical" was hysterical, but you definitely had to be a musical-buff to enjoy it, I think. There were some references even I didn't get (mostly the Jerry Herman section. All I really know by him is "Hello, Dolly!".) The theater is was in was dang awesome, too. It was in a below-ground converted movie theater complex - five theaters ranging in size from about 200 seats - 500 seats. The whole thing was done in concrete and steel with ornate lime green and gold accents. A live-theater complex - oh the possibilities!
"Shockheaded Peter" was my favorite show of the weekend. Unfortunately, it was only about 2/3 full (I think it freaks people out). The theatrics, the use of puppets, the timing and playing with the audience was all excellent. I think I learned more watching this show than I would have at any teacher's conference (thereby justifying my taking a day of "professional development") to go on this trip. I recommend this show to anyone going to NY in the near future, although it doesn't look like it will be around for long.
It also made me wish that the Tony's would open up to nominees from off-Broadway as well. Some of those shows deserve the publicity, and the costuming of "Peter" was definitely comparable to any of the shows running on Broadway, let alone the other elements of the show. "Best Musical"? Probably not. The most innovative and stylish piece of theater I've seen in a long while? Definitely.
"Monty Python's Spamalot" was our original purpose for this trip. We actually bought the tickets back in January and even so were up in the nosebleeds. A stroke of luck - my friend (I should add quotes to that to pacify my students) Jason decided to join us in NY at the last moment, so we bought a ticket for this show from a scalper. It turned out to be in the row behind us, two seats over. Cool, huh?
The show was hysterical - very silly and flashy and fun. It's nice to see the musical comedy lording over the Lloyd Weber mega-shows. The most interesting part of the experience for me was seeing a show with an entire audience who had most of it memorized. I am used to seeing shows that I already know (probably 95% of the shows I see I have all of the music memorized beforehand), but here the actors only had to say the opening sentence of a bit ("Old woman!"), or in some cases, simply walk out on stage, and the audience would erupt in applause and cheers. The worst of it was when they sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" - there were many whistlers in the house. They anticipated this, though, and the bows included a sing-along to the song.
After the show, I did the cheesy thing and got some autographs. Sure, I had to explain to my students exactly who was David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, and Hank Azaria and why their signatures are cool ("Who, Tim Curry? Jim Carey would have been cooler" I was told several times.) It was also pouring rain, at the time, which is why my poster is slightly waterlogged and why Tim Curry wound up signing my chest. (Hee!)
(Okay, not really. I just held the poster against my chest to give him a surface to write on. Still, my statement is not entirely inaccurate.... :) )
I look forward to seeing the Tony's (June 5th on CBS). I also look forward to going back. I still want to see "Wicked", and I don't want to see the reduced touring version. Perhaps this summer....
For now, adieu!
Friday, April 29, 2005
A Hell of a Town
Hello from the Apple store on Prince Street in NYC!
Tonight: "Musicals of Musicals"
Tomorrow Matinee: "Shockheaded Peter"
Tomorrow Night: "Monty Python's Spamalot"
Our Hotel: LITERALLLY on Times Square, baby! (Boo-Yah!)
TTFN!
Tonight: "Musicals of Musicals"
Tomorrow Matinee: "Shockheaded Peter"
Tomorrow Night: "Monty Python's Spamalot"
Our Hotel: LITERALLLY on Times Square, baby! (Boo-Yah!)
TTFN!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Pretty Little Picture
Here are a few pictures from Seussical's run. I'm working from my mom's computer, so kudos to her for taking them.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Friday, April 15, 2005
Make 'Em Laugh
Yesterday I returned to teaching while nursing bottles of juice. After finishing my orange juice, I moved on to a bottle of Odwalla Superfood.
"Ew! What is that?" The kids cry out in chorus.
"It's juice," I reply, taking a swig of it.
"But it's green."
"Yeah. So?"
"It looks gross. Can I smell it?"
I shrug. "Sure." As I make the rounds so everyone can smell it, they comment on it:
"It's not green, it's black - No, purple."
"Nah, it's green. It looks like shredded grass."
"No, it looks like what happens after you drink stuff like this!"
"Hey, it's good for you!" I say in protest. They look at me skeptically (yeah, I'm being judged on what I drink from people who dissolve sugar cubes in Mountain Dew for breakfast). So I read the label to them: "Odwalla's Superfood with micronutrients. Put some green in your genes-"
I am cut off by a horse's guffaw from the corner.
"Not 'jeans', James," I explain to the kid who's now pounding the desk with laughter, "Genes as in genetics."
Ah, junior high school. At least I keep them entertained.
"Ew! What is that?" The kids cry out in chorus.
"It's juice," I reply, taking a swig of it.
"But it's green."
"Yeah. So?"
"It looks gross. Can I smell it?"
I shrug. "Sure." As I make the rounds so everyone can smell it, they comment on it:
"It's not green, it's black - No, purple."
"Nah, it's green. It looks like shredded grass."
"No, it looks like what happens after you drink stuff like this!"
"Hey, it's good for you!" I say in protest. They look at me skeptically (yeah, I'm being judged on what I drink from people who dissolve sugar cubes in Mountain Dew for breakfast). So I read the label to them: "Odwalla's Superfood with micronutrients. Put some green in your genes-"
I am cut off by a horse's guffaw from the corner.
"Not 'jeans', James," I explain to the kid who's now pounding the desk with laughter, "Genes as in genetics."
Ah, junior high school. At least I keep them entertained.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Something's Gotta Give
I woke up this morning at 5:30, coughing. I spent a half-hour deliberating, then called in sick again.
Two days off in a row. Not typical for me when I only have a cold. As I debated this morning, I wondered what it was that makes me so reluctant to miss school when I'm sick. I convinced myself in the end that it would be best for me to take a second day off. After all, if I went to school, I'd either be crabby or exhausted all day. Then again, I didn't have any lesson plans set up for a sub for today. I ended up recording some short instructions on my Subfinder account, and wishing the sub good luck. Drama days are tough on substitutes.
I am compensating for missing two days of school by spending my afternoon grading English papers. I am about halfway through them now.
In the end, I think taking today off was a good idea. Knowing my colds as I do, today should be the worst of it. When the coughing sets in, talking (i.e. teaching) only aggravates it. I hope spending a day in silence will help expedite the healing process.
I think I have fine-tuned my cold schedule. Here's how it goes:
Pre-cold: General weariness
Day 1: Sore throat
Day 2: Runny nose and tired, but feel fine otherwise (always a deceptive day!)
Day 3: Completely congested, with headache.
Day 4: Congestion improves a little, coughing begins
Days 5-?: Cough, cough cough.
And so it goes. I am glad, though, that I got the cold now. This should set me up well for the Shakespeare Festival next week and our upcoming trip to New York (!).
Well, back to papers and, hopefully, school tomorrow.
Two days off in a row. Not typical for me when I only have a cold. As I debated this morning, I wondered what it was that makes me so reluctant to miss school when I'm sick. I convinced myself in the end that it would be best for me to take a second day off. After all, if I went to school, I'd either be crabby or exhausted all day. Then again, I didn't have any lesson plans set up for a sub for today. I ended up recording some short instructions on my Subfinder account, and wishing the sub good luck. Drama days are tough on substitutes.
I am compensating for missing two days of school by spending my afternoon grading English papers. I am about halfway through them now.
In the end, I think taking today off was a good idea. Knowing my colds as I do, today should be the worst of it. When the coughing sets in, talking (i.e. teaching) only aggravates it. I hope spending a day in silence will help expedite the healing process.
I think I have fine-tuned my cold schedule. Here's how it goes:
Pre-cold: General weariness
Day 1: Sore throat
Day 2: Runny nose and tired, but feel fine otherwise (always a deceptive day!)
Day 3: Completely congested, with headache.
Day 4: Congestion improves a little, coughing begins
Days 5-?: Cough, cough cough.
And so it goes. I am glad, though, that I got the cold now. This should set me up well for the Shakespeare Festival next week and our upcoming trip to New York (!).
Well, back to papers and, hopefully, school tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
What is this feeling?
Hello my dear, dear readers!
I promise I did not forget about you. There are, in fact, three reasons why I haven't posted in a while.
1) Immediately following the show, I went to Denver for my spring break, and then to Grand Junction the following weekend for my mom's birthday, thereby removing me from computer proximity.
2) I have been rather daunted at the thought of writing about the show - wrapping up that story, as it were.
3) I actually did write a lovely post for you; a lengthy one in fact, but when I clicked the "Publish" button, I got a "operation timed-out" message, and a refreshed screen - all that was left was the title of the post. Oy! Frustrated, I decided to wait for a better time to write.
And today is it! My post-show cold finally struck and I am home right now, wrapped in an afghan on my couch, surrounded by orange juice (care of my brother) and tissues, watching the Hallmark channel and sniffing. In short, I have called in sick and have decided to write.
So. The show. Here are some summaries:
- 3 performances
- No major glitches (!)
- Audience attendance was about 520 all three nights (a good crowd for us)
- Several teachers came with their families - a wonderful showing of support.
- Opening night, a kid in the audience threw a golf ball onstage. No one was hurt, though, and the detective caught the kid.
- Worst problem? The sound system reset itself during the second-to-last-song on our last night. Unfortunate, but our actors did exactly what they should do - they waited for the music to fix itself, then continued as if nothing had happened. I was proud of them!
- Total profits? $6000!
Overall, I am quite happy with the show. The kids were very sweet - they got us directors some lovely bouquets of flowers and presented them to us during bows the last night of the show. They also managed to thoroughly embarrass me (something that is not too easy to do since I started teaching at a junior high school). I'll tell you that story another time.
I was also delighted to have my friend Heidi come see the show, and my parents, my sister, and my grandmother all came to town to see it. It was wonderful to visit with them and to show off my students a little. Amusing moment: My family snuck backstage before the show to say hi and found me in the choir room, surrounded by little people dressed in yellow, all raising their hands towards me and chanting. As Rachel put it, "We were wondering what kind of cult you were running at your school." No, no. It was just our pre-show cheer. :)
So "Seussical" is done. Strange. I am doing my best to fill the void, though. Janelle, Kelley, and I have already started the selection process for next year's musical. We have narrowed it down to a few choices - "Once Upon a Mattress", "The Pirates of Penzance", and "Crazy for You" are the top runners. It's surprisingly difficult to find good musicals with sizable choruses that are not too "objectionable". I am excited about our choices, though, and glad that I've got such fun people to work with. We're hoping to have our show selected by the end of this year, so we can get a jump start on the preparations. That's the problem with doing a good job - I keep raising the bar on myself.
My advanced drama class, troupers that they are, is also plunging ahead with our preparations for our school's Shakespeare Festival. We've got a one-act to perform for the ninth graders and then again in the evening for families/friends. After that, I think we might call our season done. They've put in a lot of work this year on shows, and I think we need the last month of school to relax and have fun.
Oh, get this. I am actually seriously considering taking a group of students to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City this fall - my first overnight field trip (as a chaperone, that is). It's definitely in the hazy planning phase, but my principal has okayed it, so I think it might happen. Talk about fodder for my blog!
Well, readers, I think this is getting to be a long post. Besides, I want to go in search of some more medication in my cabinets to see if I can clear up this sinus pressure.
Have a happy Tuesday! I'll write again soon, I promise. :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Another Openin', Another Show
My dear faithful readers -
This will be a shorter post, I'm afraid. We have officially gone on spring break. I have just arrived in Grand Junction, stopping by on my way to Denver for the extended weekend. Thus my blogging will be rather intermittent for a while.
I realize I have not yet commented on the events of last week, i.e. my show. I will give you a much fuller account when I have a computer that works and time to do it in. For the time being, let me just say that it went remarkably well. No one was arrested, no set pieces collapsed (although one student did run smack into Whoville while making an exit Thursday night), in short, there were no exciting disasters. We made just over $6000 on this show, and had about 530 people attend each night (a large audience by KJHS' standards).
I hope this will suffice for now. I will tell you many, many more details soon, beloved readers, as well as an account of my adventures in Denver with Emily and Rachel.
Until then - adieu!
This will be a shorter post, I'm afraid. We have officially gone on spring break. I have just arrived in Grand Junction, stopping by on my way to Denver for the extended weekend. Thus my blogging will be rather intermittent for a while.
I realize I have not yet commented on the events of last week, i.e. my show. I will give you a much fuller account when I have a computer that works and time to do it in. For the time being, let me just say that it went remarkably well. No one was arrested, no set pieces collapsed (although one student did run smack into Whoville while making an exit Thursday night), in short, there were no exciting disasters. We made just over $6000 on this show, and had about 530 people attend each night (a large audience by KJHS' standards).
I hope this will suffice for now. I will tell you many, many more details soon, beloved readers, as well as an account of my adventures in Denver with Emily and Rachel.
Until then - adieu!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
One Day More
And so, faithful readers, we come to our final days!
Today (Tuesday) was our teaser assembly and final dress rehearsal. The assembly went pretty well. We picked the best 7 songs for that cast and ran them pretty much in the order they appear in in the show.
I was really happy with the teaser. The kids did a nice job and the audience was wonderful. They were engaged, receptive, and engrossed (a remarkable things when you remember that it was a junior high school crowd).
In between songs, I gave away a couple of sets of free tickets to the show to kids who could answer some trivia questions about Dr. Seuss (What book did Dr. Seuss write after his editor bet him to write a book with less than 50 words in it? What teacher at our school has the same birthday as Dr. Seuss? and Where did Theodore Geisel get his nom de plume from?) . That was a new thing this year, and I think it made show tickets a bit more desirable to the students.
It's hard to say this, but I am actually declaring the set finished. Maybe. Watching my drama classes do their monologues today, I kept looking at the set behind them, noting things to change: Rounding out that staircase on the backdrop, masking the curve under the Whoville platform, add some shadowing on the mountains, et cetera. Maybe if I get a chance tomorrow afternoon before the show, I will keep tweaking.
I was good today, though. After rehearsal, I only stayed for another hour or so to make a call, answer some emails, and to type up some cues. I was actually home by just after 8. Better, I let my stage crew go right after rehearsal.
I am tired, though. It was an early morning for me (I was at school by 6:45 to help my kids set up for the assembly), following a long week. I still like it, though. Moreover, I adore these kids. I love the devotion they are giving.
Here's an interesting side effect. I think that what with running around all day the past few weeks, I've lost some weight. At least, my pants feel looser on me. A good thing, yes, but the ill-fitting pants results in a frequent sensation that my zipper is down. When I hear kids snickering after I turn away from them, I worry about that. Granted, with a crowd like we had at the assembly, there were perpetual snickers that had very little to do with me. Still, I keep having to check my fly.
And you can tell that I've been spending way too much time in middle school when I find the possibility of embarrassing myself like that an interesting phenomenon. Oy.
Tomorrow it begins!
Today (Tuesday) was our teaser assembly and final dress rehearsal. The assembly went pretty well. We picked the best 7 songs for that cast and ran them pretty much in the order they appear in in the show.
I was really happy with the teaser. The kids did a nice job and the audience was wonderful. They were engaged, receptive, and engrossed (a remarkable things when you remember that it was a junior high school crowd).
In between songs, I gave away a couple of sets of free tickets to the show to kids who could answer some trivia questions about Dr. Seuss (What book did Dr. Seuss write after his editor bet him to write a book with less than 50 words in it? What teacher at our school has the same birthday as Dr. Seuss? and Where did Theodore Geisel get his nom de plume from?) . That was a new thing this year, and I think it made show tickets a bit more desirable to the students.
It's hard to say this, but I am actually declaring the set finished. Maybe. Watching my drama classes do their monologues today, I kept looking at the set behind them, noting things to change: Rounding out that staircase on the backdrop, masking the curve under the Whoville platform, add some shadowing on the mountains, et cetera. Maybe if I get a chance tomorrow afternoon before the show, I will keep tweaking.
I was good today, though. After rehearsal, I only stayed for another hour or so to make a call, answer some emails, and to type up some cues. I was actually home by just after 8. Better, I let my stage crew go right after rehearsal.
I am tired, though. It was an early morning for me (I was at school by 6:45 to help my kids set up for the assembly), following a long week. I still like it, though. Moreover, I adore these kids. I love the devotion they are giving.
Here's an interesting side effect. I think that what with running around all day the past few weeks, I've lost some weight. At least, my pants feel looser on me. A good thing, yes, but the ill-fitting pants results in a frequent sensation that my zipper is down. When I hear kids snickering after I turn away from them, I worry about that. Granted, with a crowd like we had at the assembly, there were perpetual snickers that had very little to do with me. Still, I keep having to check my fly.
And you can tell that I've been spending way too much time in middle school when I find the possibility of embarrassing myself like that an interesting phenomenon. Oy.
Tomorrow it begins!
Friday, March 11, 2005
At the End of the Day
Look at me! I'm out of my school before dark. I will tell you this - it's weird. After working 14 hour days all week, it's odd to see sunlight.
I'm out early today because it was not a student non-attendance day. We actually scheduled two of our dress rehearsals for today so we could have some non-interrupted time to work with the casts. We ran the show twice, once with each cast. It's looking pretty good. The kids have found awesome costumes. Some of the leads have been dropping lines lately, which baffles me since they are lines I know they know. But it's coming together and I am optomistic.
The fish and hunch puppets are working well, thanks to the ingenuity of some of my Advanced Drama class. The shadow puppeteers need more time to practice with them. I hope that part comes together, since it could be nifty if it does.
We have gotten amazing support from some families this week. A couple of families have come in after practice and because of their help, we're actually almost done with the entire set! I haven't had to cut back any of the design. It's all cut and painted, so all we have to do is brace Whoville and mount the backdrop. The lights we're renting should arrive on Monday. Here's hoping they work.
Our lightboard went out earlier this week. No one knows why, although it did the exact same thing last year. Unfortunately, all of the programs were whiped out from the computer up there, too. Oh, and our sound system isn't working, either. So aside from not being able to see or hear the actors, everything's great!
I'm kidding. A little. Worse comes to worse, we can still do basic stage lights, we just can't do the effects we'd like to.
Apparently, I've taken to referring to myself in second person. Hmm.
So as we come down to the wire, my to do this for this weekend is:
-Make 3 Bird tails
- Sew some body mic belt packs
- Sew a field for the clovers
- Make the program
- Write Thank You notes
- Find some Thank You gifts
I was going to start on these projects now, but suddenly this week is catching up with me. I think I'll take the advice that a chorus of my kids shouted at me as I drove past them on the way home today: "Get some sleep!":)
Maybe tomorrow I'll write about some of the show dreams I've been having. ...
Au revoir!
I'm out early today because it was not a student non-attendance day. We actually scheduled two of our dress rehearsals for today so we could have some non-interrupted time to work with the casts. We ran the show twice, once with each cast. It's looking pretty good. The kids have found awesome costumes. Some of the leads have been dropping lines lately, which baffles me since they are lines I know they know. But it's coming together and I am optomistic.
The fish and hunch puppets are working well, thanks to the ingenuity of some of my Advanced Drama class. The shadow puppeteers need more time to practice with them. I hope that part comes together, since it could be nifty if it does.
We have gotten amazing support from some families this week. A couple of families have come in after practice and because of their help, we're actually almost done with the entire set! I haven't had to cut back any of the design. It's all cut and painted, so all we have to do is brace Whoville and mount the backdrop. The lights we're renting should arrive on Monday. Here's hoping they work.
Our lightboard went out earlier this week. No one knows why, although it did the exact same thing last year. Unfortunately, all of the programs were whiped out from the computer up there, too. Oh, and our sound system isn't working, either. So aside from not being able to see or hear the actors, everything's great!
I'm kidding. A little. Worse comes to worse, we can still do basic stage lights, we just can't do the effects we'd like to.
Apparently, I've taken to referring to myself in second person. Hmm.
So as we come down to the wire, my to do this for this weekend is:
-Make 3 Bird tails
- Sew some body mic belt packs
- Sew a field for the clovers
- Make the program
- Write Thank You notes
- Find some Thank You gifts
I was going to start on these projects now, but suddenly this week is catching up with me. I think I'll take the advice that a chorus of my kids shouted at me as I drove past them on the way home today: "Get some sleep!":)
Maybe tomorrow I'll write about some of the show dreams I've been having. ...
Au revoir!
Monday, March 07, 2005
Checking in to the "Maison des Lunes"
We preview in 1 week. Arg!
So. Last Thursday we did a set session. Our shop teacher, the stage crew, and a couple of awesome parents joined me on stage after rehearsal and we built the arch, the staircase, and some of the peripherals. One of the moms bought pizza for everyone, too, which was wonderful of her.
Friday, I ordered the paint, which I picked up this morning. 12 gallons - I hope I got enough. :)
Today, our shop teacher worked during classes and finished up some of the platforms extending from the archway. So, after rehearsal, three veteran students and I primed the set with paint leftover from previous shows. Tomorrow will be another group-effort set night, so hopefully we'll be able to pretty much finish it (fingers crossed!).
Speaking of today's rehearsal (Act 1 top to bottom with the assembly cast) - it sucked. (My vocabulary tends to descend the longer I spend at school. :) ) The leads did well for the most part. I could tell how much time they have been putting into this. The chorus did pretty badly, though. They didn't know the blocking or the choreography; they missed cues and entrances; when on stage, they just sat there with no emotion; and there were many times when 1 lead would be singing louder than the collective chorus.
So Janelle, Kelley, and I chewed them out. Guilt trip, yelling, disappointment, etc. Better to scare them into rehearsing well now than waiting until dress rehearsals, I figure. I don't like being the bad-mood teacher, but I swear they just don't seem to be motivated until we get really upset. I think the panic is setting in, though, and I hope they will pull it together. Tomorrow is Act 2 with the same cast. We'll see if they rehearse tonight!
So. Last Thursday we did a set session. Our shop teacher, the stage crew, and a couple of awesome parents joined me on stage after rehearsal and we built the arch, the staircase, and some of the peripherals. One of the moms bought pizza for everyone, too, which was wonderful of her.
Friday, I ordered the paint, which I picked up this morning. 12 gallons - I hope I got enough. :)
Today, our shop teacher worked during classes and finished up some of the platforms extending from the archway. So, after rehearsal, three veteran students and I primed the set with paint leftover from previous shows. Tomorrow will be another group-effort set night, so hopefully we'll be able to pretty much finish it (fingers crossed!).
Speaking of today's rehearsal (Act 1 top to bottom with the assembly cast) - it sucked. (My vocabulary tends to descend the longer I spend at school. :) ) The leads did well for the most part. I could tell how much time they have been putting into this. The chorus did pretty badly, though. They didn't know the blocking or the choreography; they missed cues and entrances; when on stage, they just sat there with no emotion; and there were many times when 1 lead would be singing louder than the collective chorus.
So Janelle, Kelley, and I chewed them out. Guilt trip, yelling, disappointment, etc. Better to scare them into rehearsing well now than waiting until dress rehearsals, I figure. I don't like being the bad-mood teacher, but I swear they just don't seem to be motivated until we get really upset. I think the panic is setting in, though, and I hope they will pull it together. Tomorrow is Act 2 with the same cast. We'll see if they rehearse tonight!
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss
101 years ago today, Dr. Seuss was born - Yea!
To celebrate, we began selling our show pins yesterday - Yea!
In just two days, we sold enough pins to pay for the lights we want to rent! - Yea!
A fabulous parent arranged for a wonderful array of donations, so we're also doing a raffle for funds - Yea!
Another great mom has arranged for 10+ helpers to build our set tomorrow night after she picks up our wood for us - Yea!
After calling around I found the paint supplier for our school district, who offered to sell me paint for our show at district cost (almost %50 less than what I usually pay!) - Yea!
Parent-teacher conferences are through for another year, with my interviews being both complimentary and helpful - Yea!
Our poster is ordered, the kids are excited, and the buzz around school has started - Yea!
Our show opens in LESS than 2 weeks - Yea!
Yesterday, for the first time, I said the following sentence out loud and meant it - "I love my job."-
Yea. :)
To celebrate, we began selling our show pins yesterday - Yea!
In just two days, we sold enough pins to pay for the lights we want to rent! - Yea!
A fabulous parent arranged for a wonderful array of donations, so we're also doing a raffle for funds - Yea!
Another great mom has arranged for 10+ helpers to build our set tomorrow night after she picks up our wood for us - Yea!
After calling around I found the paint supplier for our school district, who offered to sell me paint for our show at district cost (almost %50 less than what I usually pay!) - Yea!
Parent-teacher conferences are through for another year, with my interviews being both complimentary and helpful - Yea!
Our poster is ordered, the kids are excited, and the buzz around school has started - Yea!
Our show opens in LESS than 2 weeks - Yea!
Yesterday, for the first time, I said the following sentence out loud and meant it - "I love my job."-
Yea. :)
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