Off to Massachusetts

I've been saving that particular song title just for the occasion (it's from "Little Women", by the way) - I am in MA!

Yes, friends, I have arrived at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Today marks the beginning of the Shakespeare & Co. Institute, which I will be attending for the next month. I have unpacked, moved furniture around, taken a walk around the area, discovered the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library (just around the corner from me - see photo), and, of course, set up my laptop. Whoo! In about an hour, they're taking us on a tour of the campus, then there's a welcome BBQ, then some sort of meeting.

I'm quite happy to be here. As I was walking, I had to remind myself that I was in Massachusetts. It was one of those things that I knew, but I didn't realize, if that makes any sense at all.

I got a corner room, which is grand since it's a little bit bigger and has two windows. Right now, I'm sitting between the two with a fan aimed at me, and it's almost pleasant. Fortunately, most of the classrooms we'll be in have air conditioning. I can always go visit Calvin, too, since his library is likewise cool (ooh, sorry about that - unintentional bad pun).

On the planes here yesterday, I finished the required reading for the program - "Macbeth" and "Julius Caesar". I liked Macbeth better, although Caesar, I think, is better written. I am looking forward to getting academic again - playing the student and such. Already I have been going metacognitive - as I've worked on the monologue we're supposed to prepare for tomorrow, I have been reflecting on the process, since this is a task I require of all of my drama students. It's healthy for me to have this assignment, I think, since it forces me to consider what I am specifically expecting my students to do verses what I have taught them how to do in terms of "preparing" a monologue. I'm still not sure how to go about teaching this process - largely because I was never really explicitly taught the procedure myself, I suppose. Still, I'm glad to be doing it.

Well, I'm going to explore the dormitory itself a bit (see picture). I'll keep you all updated as things get interesting. For now, though, Happy Monday!

On Broadway

My travels have begun again!
After a week of boredom following the close of another school year, I began my summer trips with a terrific excursion to NYC. Janelle, Kelley, and I all went for "professional development". It really was useful for all of us, I think. We shopped, played tourists, talked shop, and, naturally, saw shows. Kelley and Janelle left on Sunday, but I stayed an extra few days to cram in a few more shows and to hang out with mon ami Jason. For the first time that I can remember, I left the city feeling theatrically satiated. I'll post pictures from the trip soon, but for now I'll give you a run down/review of the shows we saw. For brevity's sake, I'll only do a quick impression of each show, rather than explaining them all. That's what the links are for. :)

Wednesday:
While Janelle and Kelley went to "Wicked", Jason and I bought discount tickets from the "TKTS" booth for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". It was quite enjoyable. A little more crass than I expected (I haven't seen the movie), but the cast was fun and the songs were even better live than on the soundtrack. The set was simpler than I imagined, but I loved the style, especially the palm trees. Too bad we're done with our palm-tree laden show! Not the best show I've seen, but a fun way to start off the trip.

Thursday:
"Spelling Bee" was the only repeat show of the trip, and well worth seeing again. In fact, it held as my favorite show of the week. Jason enjoyed it when we saw it last year, but it was so much fun to see it with two other junior high school teachers. Kelley leaned over to me after the opening song to whisper "They even stand like our students!" The cast was almost all the original players, and they were dang hilarious. I highly recommend this show to anyone considering seeing it.

Friday:
We bought tickets for "The Drowsy Chaperone" a while ago, since I had a feeling it would do quite well in the Tonys. It was a load of silly nonsense, which was fine by us. Only somewhat disturbing was the realization that I very much am the Man in the Chair, a connection to which my friends responded "Of course you are!" Janelle and Kelley thought the "insider" musical theater jokes were a bit too frequent, although we all enjoyed the terrible "King and I" satirical song "What is it about Asians that fascinates Caucasians?".

Saturday:
Jason and I scored tickets to "The History Boys" thanks to my Dad. I was glad to see it. The set design was wonderfully simplistic and the acting marvelous, particularly Frances de la Tour. She was so easy to listen to and understand, in such an effortless-seeming way. There were some great scenes and very quotable parts, although some parts made me a bit uncomfortable educator-wise in a shifting-"oh, he shouldn't do that"-familiarity-kind of way.




Saturday night we attended the anti-Chaperone, as it were. I am thrilled we got to see the revival of ”Sweeney Todd”, though. Bloody, ghoulish, creepy, and the best show we saw in terms of creativeness and sheer theatricality. This is how Sweeney should be done - simple, suggestive, and with symbolism. Manoel Felciano was outstanding as Tobias, especially. Excellent, really.


Sunday:
After seeing Janelle and Kelley off to the airport, I went to a matinee of "The Light in the Piazza". Just as the reviews said, it was a lovely show. I'm a sucker for lighting, and this had some of the best I've seen. The book was weak, and the second act lost something, but the music is just beautiful. Gutsy show, too, given that they had full scenes and songs only in Italian.




Finally, Jason and I went to see "The Water's Edge", a new play that opened last week off-Broadway. It's Greek tragedy set as a modern drama. Given that, the bloodiness of the second act shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. The acting was first-rate, although the set design bugged us both. I'd rank it lowest of the shows I saw on this trip, but I am glad I saw it all the same, if only for the power monologue deliveries.

So there you go. Seven shows in five days. Educational, inspiring, and a most delightful trip. I'll leave for my next trip (an educational conference in San Diego) on Monday. Till then!

Passeggiata

It's been raining almost all day today. As it dried up this afternoon, and blue sky appeared, I decided to go for a walk. I went east this time, and discovered this house:

They actually have a moat and a rose bower. Incredible, especially the way it was just there, within a neighborhood of usual houses.

It even had a special street sign:
"4900 - East of the Sun, West of the Moon."

My walk was pleasant at first, but shortly after finding that house, thunder began rumbling in the distance. I turned in the direction of home, but got scarcely 3 blocks before I was caught in an incredible downpour. About a mile from home, I hid under a tree at first, but the rain showed no sign of letting up. My concern wasn't my getting wet. It was that I had brought a book with me and I didn't want the book to get wet (those of your who know me will express no surprise whatsoever at either of those facts). So I tucked the book into my pants and headed towards home. When the lightening started up, then I got a little more concerned. I waited a bit under various awnings, then as the lightening moved away, got home. My nice neighbor drove past me about a block from our apartments. Gentleman that he is, he met me in the parking lot with an umbrella. I only had about 100 feet to go at that point, and I was already absolutely soaked, but it was sweet of him. He told me, "My mother would turn over in her grave if I left a lady out in the rain."



I enjoyed my walk, though. And my book came through just fine, although my neighbor gave me strange glance when I pulled it out from my waistband.

Grizabella: The Glamour Cat

At the top of my summer to-do's was this task for my cat...

Before:


O, so furry and hot!

After:

I think she's happier (and cooler!), although she doesn't look like it here.



I had her shaved at Petco this time, and last year's shave was definitely a better experience. I first had Nash shaved at a lady's solo business in Fruita last summer. That lady 1) let me stay and help, 2) only charged me $25, 3) took less than an hour, and 4) ask me if I had been saved yet. Petco 1) had me drop Nash off and said I could come get her "3-4 hours later", 2) was filled with big dogs (poor kitty!), 3) charged me $53, and 4) did not seem the least bit concerned with my personal salvation. Next year, I think I'll go back to Fruita.

Painter's Song

As an end-of-the year project, my Advanced Drama students and I set goals under the heading "Things I've always wanted to do but haven't yet (that I can do in the next three weeks)". It turned out to be a terrific success. Many of my students took risks - from going paintballing for the first time, to entering a karate tournament, to compiling a book of poems, to going 2 days without speaking. True to my philosophy, I also set a goal. I decided to paint my bathroom. Here's the photographic results:

Before:




After:


"Green Palm" is so refreshing! I love the bright color.


I took another risk and painted a quote on the wall. Someday, I want to paint quotes all around my house.

"Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
That washes the weary mud away.
A loon is he that will not sing
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!"

Can you name the source?

Children and Art

Happy Memorial Day to you all!

The end of the school year has come unbelievably fast (hence my delay in posting). We have 4 days of school left – hurrah! Then begins the crazy summer o’ travel. I just added another trip to the roster. I’ll be going to San Diego for a training conference for a class I just agreed to teach. It actually seems like an interesting program – it’s designed to encourage the students who get lost in the middle to go to college, particularly those who would be first generation college students. It’s going to make for a crazy year next year (5 preps, not counting advisory or the musical), but interesting.

In Advanced Drama, we had an exciting wrap up to the year. My friend Heidi brought one of her May Term classes of college students to conduct small-group workshops with my students. That was followed by their class joining ours for the first part of our Drama Day field trip. We went to see “The Miracle Worker”, the “Five Guys Named Moe”. In between shows, we went to the mall to get lunch. The shows were great, and even better, so were my students! The worst that happened is a group of them got bored and had me paged over the mall’s PA system. A choir teacher a few years ago took a group of students out to lunch on a field trip and two of them were arrested for possession after being search for shoplifting – I panicked about similar stupidity, but then again, I know these kids and my faith in them was rewarded. We even arrived at the second show a good hour before curtain and my kids kept themselves entertained by playing “Red Rover” on the field in front of the theater. Aw, cute.

I bid farewell to that class on Thursday, since that was really our last official session. We did the formal positive letters to each other, and I gave each of them a drama masks pin and a class photo (thanks to Shutterfly). They were very sweet. Many of them hugged me and said “I love you”. Heaven help me, I love them too. This really was a good year.

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

Me

If you can't get enough of my life....

http://beentherereadthat.googlepages.com/

(Mostly lists so far. We'll see how it developes.)

We Dance!

And another show done!

Yes, after a crazy week (year?), our production of “Once on This Island” was a smashing success. Here’s the rundown:

Monday – During classes I worked with my techies to hang the curtains from the catwalks above our cyc. The curtains are courtesy my parents/IKEA, and did a wonderfully job covering the ugly design of that part of the stage. After school - double dress rehearsal. We ran the show twice through, then dismissed the cast to go get some sleep. Most of them at this point were sick, so the sleep was critical, particularly given the early morning to come. Once the cast was gone, I stayed with a few of the faithful students to finish painting the set. We wrapped up at about 9:30pm, after Kim pried a paintbrush from my hands and refused to let me touch up the mural any more. She’s a great stage manager.

Tuesday – Remarkably, I woke up on time (4:30am). I arrived at school at about 5:30 am, and the students likewise came early. We had a terrific time with the Fox news people, who featured us on their morning show between 6:00am and 8:30am. Then followed a morning performance for elementary school kids, photo call, a break for lunch, and an afternoon elementary school show. The casts did quite well with those performances, and the kids seemed to love it. After school, we gave some notes to the casts, then Janelle insisted I go home. Home! By 5:00pm! It felt… weird.

Wednesday – Assembly for our school in the morning. It was just a teaser – so I stopped the show about 15 minutes from the ending, at a cliff-hanger moment:

Ti Moune dances for Andrea and Daniel
Andrea: (to Daniel) Well, it’s very clear/she’s in love with you./Daniel, if you care,/if you care at all,/you must tell her-
Ti Moune: What is it?
Me: (walking out on stage as the actors freeze in place) If you want to know, come see the play tonight, tomorrow ni-
Audience: BOO!

They booed me! It was outstanding. Other teachers told me they heard conversations all day debating what Andrea’s news was. Excellent.

That evening was officially opening night. 350 people, $1500 net profit, and a decent performance. I was happy. I also fell asleep literally in the middle of eating dinner.

Thursday: Last performance for Cast A. The entire cast did marvelous! They even earned a partial standing ovation. I was thrilled with them, and they were ecstatic. 500+ people, $2245.

Friday: Final performance. So good! A great turn out, and a full standing ovation afterwards. A lot of tears and hugs and flowers and cheering and such. My family came to see the show, as did some of my friends, which was wonderful. I haven’t heard the official tallies yet, but hopefully tomorrow.

I love my kids. That’s the ultimate sentiment I felt this week.
Tomorrow: cast party, techie show, and we begin strike. Whoo!

You'll See

Ahh.

I feel better. After church today, I kicked into gear and finally did some much-needed housework. Five loads of laundry, two loads of dishes, a good vacuuming, and a bit of organization later, and I am feeling much more at peace with my apartment. I am by no means done (you should see the pile I have to iron), but it sure feels good.

Last week, I worked from 7:30am to 10:00pm each day except Friday. I would have done the same on Friday, but the school won’t let me. The set is almost finished, and the dress rehearsals on Friday went pretty well. It was actually rather fun. We did loose a lead (every dang show!), but thanks to double-casting, that’s causing no real stress. No arrests – she just had a conflict with a rehearsal and had to make a really touch decision. As Janelle pointed out, we’re really acting better for her in the long run if she learns from choices like these now. So we stuck to the rules we had established from the beginning, and she lost her part to attend the other commitment.

Tomorrow is our last chance to rehearse before the news broadcast and the elementary school shows on Tuesday. Tomorrow’s also the beginning of 4th quarter at school, which seems so secondary right now. Four of my classes are changing, so I hope I get some understanding students. They will have to be patient with me this week.

I am going to have a bit of supper now, then off to bed. I’ll try to keep you updated on the show as next week progresses!

Make Them Hear You (reprise)

Yes! I am repeating a post title. I feel it's justified, though, given a) my much improved mood and b) one of the causes of that upturn.

After another hard-to-sleep night (thoughts of the show just kept running through my mind. Even once I feel asleep, I just dreamed about the play - we moved the show outside, and I was distressed about getting the sound to work over the wind, blocking on a hill, etc.), I woke up tired, naturally. Towards the begining of the day, though, the sound guy from the district came to check out our system. Dear Janelle took my class, I pulled my techie Josh out of class, and we went to the booth with Jerry. He spent about an hour with us, repairing microphones, agjusting frequencies, and teaching both of us how to actually work the soundboard beyond the basics. The results? At rehearsal today we heard everyone, and I didn't even have to be up in the booth! Ah - glorious!

Other happiness included getting the props I ordered from Oriental Trading, having a mom bring back finished scarves AND volunteer to sew even more, and in general having a good day.

I have found my optimism again, thank goodness. I just hope it sticks!

Make Them Hear You

I do this every year.

Two weeks to showtime, ten rehearsals left, and I am stressed.

On one hand, we are actually ahead of schedule. Kelley, Janelle, and I wound up delivering our "guilt-the cast" speeches yesterday ("We've put so much into this show"..."How dare you waste our time by not knowing your part"..."You will be on stage in two weeks, not us"...etc.). I realized afterwards that we delivered the speech a week before normal. That's probably a good thing.

My dear mother also fielded my usual "It's never gonna happen!" venting phone call ahead of schedule, as she pointed out today.

Basically, I am just stressed. It will come together - it always does. I just need to trust my cast to pull it together... and figure out how to add three more hours to the day. Mmm. That would be marvelous. Did any of you (besides my sister) watch that show "Out of This World"? I have always envied Evie's ability to freeze time. Oh, for that power! You can keep your mind control or ability to fly - give me more time!

I do this every year. Nope, remembering that doesn't help.

Ev'rybody's Gotta Be Somewhere

Photos!

Andy, Dad, and I at Sunset









California Cauliflower











Dad and I at the Farmer's Market










The ceiling at Cantor's Deli











Dad enjoying Cantor's Menu









Dad and I on the terrace at the Getty










Artwork to inspire my set











Andy outside his old preschool











Venice Beach Artwork

Sleep Tite

Hello again, O Faithful Readers!I apologize for my long absence. Most of you are quite aware of my schedule, so I hope you will excuse me. I thought I would post a run-down on the last month, though:

1. Went to LA with my parents and brother. Outstanding trip, especially the Getty, which has become one of my top 3 museums - great collection, excellent layout, very pleasant. This trip provided a much-needed escape from the state. I'll post pictures as soon as I upload them.

2. Hosted a benefit concert for my school in conjunction with one of the school's business
partners. It went... it went. The performers were pretty good, but mostly this was just one more task to get through for me. Definitely the lowest on my show-priority list. Speaking of...

3. The Relief Society play was this week. It's over, so hurrah. While I am looking forward to having my Tuesday nights back, and while I am already enjoying my now-free Saturdays, it was an interesting experience to work with adult actors. Given all of the last-minutes adjustments, the performance actually went rather well. Apparently, the stake president even got teary – a sign of spiritual success, I guess. Personally, I’m just glad it’s done so I can focus on “Island”.

4. “Island” is going pretty well. Our set is underway, most of the special effects are worked out, Monday we go off book, and I spent tonight knitting frog fur. Yes, frog fur. Let’s just say it’s an experiment. Oh, and our show’s going to be on the news. It’s odd, but of all of the stress of shows, the thing I’m most worried about is having to be at school by 5:30 am one morning in order to do this news broadcast. Huh. In any case, I am please to report that so far the only arrest to interrupt rehearsals actually wasn’t one of my actors. Which brings us to

5. Kelley (the dance teacher) and I got in a little scuffle with a crazy, stoned high school kid named “Curly Sue” who crashed our rehearsal on Wednesday. The short version of the story is that the guy made a break for it after shoving Kelley around and calling us both… well… use your imagination. Pretty much any swearing you can think of, he used it. As he ran across the parking lot, Kelley and I chased him until an awesome ninth-grader tackled the druggie in a Superman-esque leap. We wondered what took the detective so long to respond to our requests for help until we learned he was breaking up a fight and arresting a different kid at the time. Ah, spring.

So there’s a quick run down on the major events of the last month. I’ll try to get back in the habit of posting, especially now that I’m down to one show. In the meanwhile, happy March and watch out for curly-haired, stick-wielding strangers.

Incidentally, if any of you are aware of any teacher-education programs that include courses on self-defense, let me know. It wasn’t covered in my degree, although it has proven useful. :)

Diva's Lament

Another found picture:

When I took my job at school here, I found two giant (6' diameter) coins backstage. No one's claimed them thus far, so when we needed to build a clock for our fall play, I decided to paint over one of the coins.
My techie protested vehemently. For reasons I cannot fathom, Techie practically threw himself between the coin and my paintbrush, arguing that it was sacrilegious to paint over a president. I finally managed to talk him away from the coin by promising that I wouldn't touch the other one backstage. This did not stop him from grieving over the passing of the coin, as seen here.

Farewell, dead president coin, you served us well.

Wickeder

I just uploaded some images from my camera and found this picture. Last semester, we held a performing arts assembly. The choirs sang, the dancers danced, my kids did "Rapunzel Uncut", the band performed, and we found we had 15 minutes or so to fill. Kelley volunteered to dance, so Janelle and I decided to combine our talents and do a little something from Wicked. And, as any of you who know me are well aware, I can't resist an occasion to dress up. So here we are just after our performance of "What is This Feeling?"

(Which, incidentally, is one of the braver things I've done in my life. To speak in public is one thing, but for me to get up on stage in front of 1400 people and sing? Yikes. But I did it, by golly!)

Something There

On Wednesday this week I accompanied a group of students from my school to the high school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast”. I have been hearing raves about this high school’s musicals for a while now (incidentally, I never even hear about the straight plays. I assume they do them, but the fact that no word of it carries down is one of the reasons why I am not inclined to do an after school non-musical – they’re just not as popular), so I went with high expectations.

They did… okay. Some of the set was nicely designed, and the singing was pretty good. I was delighted to find we are not the only school who has mike problems. Their orchestra did well for a tricky show, but it confirmed my choice to avoid live accompaniment as long as possible. I guess I was expecting more given their reputation. I’ve been out of touch with high school performances, so I may be too harsh. I did rejoice a little (silently) that our “Seussical” was just a good, though. Our choreography was definitely better, thanks to Kelley’s phenomenal work.

Perhaps I am too critical of shows. My students enjoyed it – they praised it nicely in class the next day. The thing is, I stopped being able to simply sit back and watch a play a long time ago. When I see a play, my mind races. I am constantly 1) scanning the production for ideas to use in the future and 2) thinking about what I would do differently. It’s enjoyable for me, but I am not so sure about those who ask me what I think about it.

Ultimately, I decided we won’t be doing “Beauty and Beast” anytime soon. It’s just not a great show. The dialogue is stilted, and there’s not much room for development or new interpretations. I mean, there’s only so many ways an actor can become a teapot on stage. And when the costumes take away most physical choices an actors makes, it becomes a show about the costumes, rather than the characters. There’s just no way to do that show without spending a fortune. If I were going to do a Disney show, I’d much rather do “Lion King”. Of course, I’d love to direct “Aida” as well, but somehow I don’t see that one getting approved by our principal. Drat.

I enjoyed seeing my former students on stage again, though, especially in a show that I wasn’t involved with. I felt a rather parental-like surge of pride whenever they came on stage, which was a little odd. Oh, and I had a current student up there, too, although I never noticed him. My dear stage manager volunteered to do tech work on their show, so he moved some set pieces on and off and worked their fly system a bit. When I told him after the show that I didn’t see him at all, he did a little happy dance. I loved it – he bought a long sleeved black shirt just so he could wear the proper techie uniform. He was all decked out in black, right down to the piece of duct tape over the logo on his black baseball cap. My little techie’s growing up! And my conversation with him about his work after the show is an archetype of what I love about this age. I’ve watched him become a techie, rather than having him come to me ready-made. Who’d have thought I’d love teaching junior high? But, you know? I do.

Prayer of the Comfort Counselor

Well, "Island" is cast. And it was a tough one! We held three days of call backs this week to pick the leads, after a few days of workshops and a long Friday of auditions. We told the kids we would post the list on Thursday. They took that to mean 7:30 am, when the students are allowed in the building. Except Kelley, Janelle, and I were still casting at that time. Actually, it was just about at 7:30 that we made our decisions. The problem is that we still needed to type the list - which involves sorting and checking all of the names of everyone who audtioned (148, by the way). So, as a crowd gathered outside my closed classroom door and began to pound on it ("We know you're in there!"), Kelley, Janelle, and I decided to meet during 6th period to finish the list and post it. I wrote a note on a piece of paper and opened my door just enough to slap the note on the front of it and slam it shut again. As I walked back over to Kelley and Janelle, we heard a collective "Argh!" from outside. It was actually pretty amusing. For us, anyway.

So we finished the list and posted it just before the last period started. Screams, tears, hugs, et cetera flooded my room. I think my favorite reaction was Cody. He ran into my room. From the hallway I heard him scream "I love you Miss W.!" and next thing I knew, he had thrown his arms around me in a bear hug. That's the kind of casting I like. What I hate are the students like the one I found an hour after school got out, crying in the hallway. I tried to talk to him, explain things a little, but he just seemed embarased that he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks.

The thing is, I've been there. I know what it's like to not be cast, or to not get the part you want. So when I cast a show, I empathize with these kids - I know what they're feeling. I try to remember that I lived through it, and if they ever want to do any kind of theater, they need to experience rejection. Still, I want to make them all feel like Cody. My high school theater director used to post lists on a Friday, and he would always have a substitute that day - he would have three days before having to see any of the actors who auditioned. College was just as distant, and other theater companies "posted" with phone calls to the actors. I don't know what it's like for my kids - to have their directors right there when they see the list. I don't know if talking to the upset students helps or just makes them feel worse. I hope it's a good thing to have the three of us around.

In any case, the long part (for now) is done. Janelle, Kelley, and I went to lunch on Friday (end of the quarter - so it was a teacher work day) and worked out a rehearsal calendar. A smart move we made was delaying the first rehearsal to Tuesday. We have time to plan, and the kids have time to calm down. Another good idea we've developed is creating section leaders. We're appointing students for each area (1 for each set of leads, 1 for the dances, and 1 for each section of the chorus) - they will be the ones who take roll, track behavior problems, and communicate with the cast groups. Hopefully, this will help us keep a better eye on our 148 students.

I am excited, though. I've been looking forward to this show for a while, and it's nice to get it officially underway.

A bientot!

In a Little While

Sorry for the delay. While I have had a hiatus between shows, things have still been busy. It's concert season at school - I've had a concert to supervise stage crew during every Wednesday this month. It's been fun to see the students perform in such different capacities, but I'm ready for a break.

I'm watching "Once Upon a Mattress" as I type this. While I am thrilled to see musicals making a comeback, this one has been sliced down for TV and seems to be targeting the 10-year-old girls. The costumes are fun, and I like the castle set; but this show is definitely better on stage. Still, exposure is exposure, right? And I am still offering extra credit to my students for watching.

I am enjoying the supporting cast, too. Tom Smothers is charming as the king, and Carol Burnett plays well for the camera. Denis O'Hare is old enough to compliment Tracy Ullman as Winifred, but he also plays Dauntless with a cute naivete. Plus, Matthew Morrison is just plain yummy. I miss the depth you get in the fuller version, though.

While we're on the topic of movie musicals, I should say a word about Rent. I didn't like the added sexuality (as if the play doesn't have enough as it is), but I think I liked the show overall. I don't think it will make any new fans, either, but for what it represents in a revival of the movie musical. I hope "Producers" is decent enough to pull in more than the Mel Brooks/Broadway crowds.

Speaking of Mel Brooks, do you know what his latest project is? A Broadway Musical version of "Young Frankenstein". Yup. That's right - Hollywood's attraction to Broadway has nothing on Broadway's infatuation with Hollywood. Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, The Producers, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, The Wedding Singer... the two coasts are getting closer and closer together....

Another Day

And another show down!

The elementary school performance went splendidly. The audience, all 850 of them, was fully engaged and responsive for the entire show!
Thursday night had a typical weeknight audience - quiet and smaller, but they still enjoyed the show. The actors were a little thrown by the difference between that audience and the kids of that morning, so the show itself was shakier. They pulled themselves together, though, and we had a near-perfect show on Friday.

Overall, we made about $1200 dollars, which after deducting the cost of the show, brings in about $550 profit. I was happy, though, that the quality of the performances has really gone up, while my nerves during shows have calmed. It seemed, well, doable in a rather simple way, if doing a show can ever be simple.
No one else dropped out, although two of them came close at the last minute. The lights worked, my actors were loud enough to be heard (glory be!), and everyone seems happy with it. My kids even got me a lovely bouquet of roses and kept it a secret! There was an "incident" our school detective took care of, which only reinforced my growing support for sterilization as a legal consequence. I'll tell you about this particular incidence of stupidity sometime, perhaps. Other than that, it was a pretty smooth run.

After the show, I had about ten hours to rest before conducting auditions for the Relief Society play. Those also went well - we had 20 show up, and 20 parts to cast for. Now they just need to all show up to the read-through on Wednesday....