Goodbye, 2021

New Year's Eve is one of reflection and resolutions. This year, I'm not spending much time on either. Just pushing on and not looking back on this one. My goal for tonight is to enter the new year writing. I've been posting as much as possible on the Young Playwrights Guide this week and have the draft of an essay about the importance of youth writing and digital theatre in my Drive. I look forward to doing more of that in the days ahead.

I'm also gearing up for the return to school on Monday, but not exactly sure what that day will bring. As my wife and I began our prep this evening, the biggest unknown is exactly who will be in the room. Her school has decided to go virtual for at least a week; mine has not made that call. I imagine we will be in-person, but I also expect that the room won't be full. Maybe we begin the week with a one-off SEL activity to ease us back into the groove and to assess who is there and how that week will go. Remote teaching is different from in-person teaching; a hybrid of both is yet another thing. Using the day to gauge will be of help.

Otherwise, the plan is to keep the students in mind and to continue "taking them seriously". Encourage their work, their ideas, and their voices and keep putting it into action. It has been a good adjustment bringing that idea to the fore. Doing it more should get them even more engaged than they already are.

Happy New Year, everyone! Make it a good one.

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Welcome, November!

For most teachers, November is the first time there is a significant break in the calendar. In New Jersey, public schools have at least the last two days of the first week off due to the annual NJEA Convention. Some districts took the entire week. We will return to two full weeks before a shortened Thanksgiving weekend that mirrors this one. They couldn't come at a better time!

A few weeks ago, a text message spam bot from the NJEA wrote to ask if they'd see me at the convention this year. The reply was simple: "Nope!" All the best to those with the energy to get down to Atlantic City this weekend, but I need this time to myself. These first nine weeks of school are the toughest I've ever experienced and while I'm not in school, I am still working. There is plenty of grading and lesson planning and home projects that need attention.

And please check in on your teacher friends. Last year was hard, but this year is much harder. I won't be surprised if 2022 brings an even greater swath of retirements than we saw at the end of 2021.

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Finding Fun

Last year was difficult. This year is harder. It's okay that I haven't posted in a month, but because I made the promise to myself that I would write a blog post every month this year, I'm determined to get one in. Yet, I am not going to write about education. At least not in the traditional sense. I'm quickly learning that sometimes a break is necessary. I've been finding ways to do that a little at a time during the weeks and am going to try and extend that here and change things up a bit.

This past spring, I accompanied my oldest son to a STEM event at the BSA troop that he wanted to - and ultimately did - join. The troop partnered with the Central NJ Rocketry Society (CENJARS) and the local HobbyTown shop to provide the scouts with the gear to build and launch model rockets. We had an awesome time and is a day we remember well. Not only was it fun to see my son launch a rocket that he built himself, but he also had the dubious honor of building the rocket that traveled furthest. - so far, in fact, that it landed about 20 feet up in a tree at the other end of a long field. One of the guys from CENJARS used a pole that extended just enough to retrieve the rocket.

We had so much fun that I checked out the hobby shop and learned that one of their specialties is Tamiya Mini 4WD slot cars. They have a good stock of car kits and parts and host a monthly race attended by a regular group of families and adults who thrive on a friendly and competitive race with 1/32 scale cars that they build at home. A kit costs about $12-17 dollars and run on AA batteries, so we figured it was worth trying once and encouraged all three kids to get involved. They love it so much that we've been there every month since. The kids have even placed in the top 3 a few times; the oldest won a new kit by placing first in his very first race! We even brought a group of our oldest's friends for the race on his birthday.

Not only do the kids love this, but I do, too. (I'd say "secretly", but no one in my house would be surprised to hear me say it). You can watch the video at this link to learn more about how building and racing works. It is unlike anything I've done before and has become an activity that we do together. Wins all around!

I'm writing about this because I haven't had a hobby in a very LONG time. I collected baseball cards as a kid and dabbled in a few scale models, but even then, I never considered myself a person with a hobby. In fact, I've come to realize that I viewed hobbies as something only children do and often claimed that I "didn't have time" for anything outside of work or raising small kids. And to some extent, that may be true. This is why I'm making note of it. In a year that is proving to be more challenging that most, after 18 months like we've never experienced before, it has been good to make time for fun and to do something completely unrelated to work. I am happy to have found this and even more happy that it was a result of doing something fun and challenging with my children. If you have the chance to find an activity that can do the same for you, I highly encourage it.

Have fun!

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Who Killed Pinocchio?

Today in the TYA class at NYU, we will talk about one of my favorite moments in theatre history: the end of the Federal Theatre Project. The FTP, was a product of Roosevelt's New Deal that put visual and performing artists to work in a series of regional centers around the United States. The program included a series of performance units, as well, including the Children's Theatre Unit. The work produced in this unit was incredible. While the work included traditional adaptations of fairy tales, there were also some new works that explored news and issues of the day. It made the FTP an incubator for new work and new voices... which unfortunately was also the product of its demise in 1939.

The plays that seem to cause the most controversy were The Cradle Will Rock and Revolt of the Beavers, both produced in 1937. These plays explored the plight of workers and decried the greed and corruption that led to unfair working conditions in a steel town and fantasy world, respectively. This fueled anti-Communist sentiment within Congress who eventually defunded the entire Federal Theatre Project in 1939. Both plays are referenced in the 1999 movie, Cradle Will Rock, which serves as an excellent intro to the historic project through the lens of the production process for the titular play. Beavers is briefly mentioned in a scene where two actors dressed as beavers sing and dance for FTP director, Hallie Flannigan. Unfortunately, the movie makes light of the production, casting it off as a cute musical for kids, when in reality it may have been so upsetting to adults that it was the final nail in the coffin for the entire Federal Theatre Project (don't ever call theatre for young audiences "cute" again!).

To raise awareness of the program shutdown, the cast of the children's theatre unit production of Pinocchio in New York City, re-staged the final scene of the play on their closing night in December 1939. As I've heard the story told, the lights suddenly went out and a loud sound - a slam, a bang, or perhaps even a gunshot - rang out through the theatre followed by a funeral scene for the murdered Pinocchio. "Who killed Pinocchio?" the actors cry. In response, the cast reads a list of the names of Congress members who voted to defund the FTP. The cast then led the audience out into Times Square shouting "Save the Federal Theatre!" A Pinocchio puppet was left "dead" onstage in an icon image captured in Life magazine.

It's incredible to think of how widespread and influential the Federal Theatre Project was in its time. I'm also moved by how much a cute, little play for children was able to do. While the result wasn't positive, the incident serves as a strong example of just how power theatre for a child audience can be!

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End of Summer (or Expecting Another Shoe)

My summer ended this past Wednesday when I reported to school for the first of two professional development days. It was good to be back and I am excited by the prospects of another year with my students. However, there is a lingering, nagging sense that feels out of place for me - one that I can't quite put a name to. It isn't positive, but it also isn't completely negative. Maybe it is an internal warning not to get too excited.

Obviously, the last two years brought challenges that completely changed what I do, but we've also moved forward. I was thrilled to learn that my course load at the high school has increased to five Theatre classes (with 50 combined students). That's almost a 500% increase in students from the one class with 11 students in my first semester just two years ago. How we've been able to build a program through a pandemic is beyond me. Perhaps its just that we kept going?

Yet with that excitement there's also a dread that something else will pop up. It's like I'm looking over my shoulder expecting the next big disruption. Perhaps it is best to say I'm entering the year excited as always, but much less energized,... not a great feeling, but one that can bring growth. I know I'm not alone in these feelings and so I wish all the best for my fellow teachers this year. Hang in there!

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Using Games to Teach Design

This past week, I led a summer camp at Monmouth County Parks that introduced the basic concepts of theatre design to students in grades 6-8. This is most definitely not my comfort zone as my design background is largely self-taught and I do not need to run any tech at school. However, I think there's something to the idea that one doesn't fully understand something until they can teach it and leading these camps has definitely taught me a lot.

Building from the experience last year, I incorporated a few changes into the program that worked well. The main change was moving away from a diorama-style build to one that would allow for a larger scale. The workshop encourages students to think more about scale and function that artistic skills, but working in the confines of a shoe box limited how things could work. This year, we used foam to create a base and backdrop on which the set would then be built. This allowed for a generous 1 inch: 1 foot scale and resulting set models that are easier to manipulate because they are bigger. Students who had chosen to build sets based in natural settings cut corners to not have to build such large trees and mountains. This produced great teachable moments when their "scale actors" suddenly dwarfed the trees! Theatre seems easy from the audience's perspective viewing the finished product - there's a LOT of work that goes into the planning and execution of what ends up on stage. You can see the students' models in the pictures included on this post.

I also picked up a valuable lesson that I will incorporate into my design unit at the middle school. I could tell that the campers were going to finish early on the last day and asked my wife, who is also a drama teacher (Instagram / TpT) for ideas of what I could do with them in the meantime. She suggested bringing in the board game Clue to play and to maybe incorporate into a final lesson on design. In the morning, I (re)introduced the game to the campers and instructed them to design one of the rooms from the game. I handed each of them cards from the Who, What, Where decks and encouraged them to build the room as they imaged it, but to incorporate elements (or clues) about the weapon and suspect into the drawing. They did this with subtle hints like color (for the suspect name), or a cutting board (for the knife), and in other ways. We played a modified game of Clue using those drawings, which didn't quite go as planned. Then we played the board game after. I think if I were to switch the order of those things, there might be an interesting and fun lesson about designing a location on stage. We'll see.

As fun as this camp was, I am glad that the summer camp sessions are over. As of this writing, there are 15 days until my first (PD) day at school. My wife and I are trying to use this week to do a number of family things with the kids before we need to really get serious about planning, prep, shopping, etc for whatever this school year has in store for us all!

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Preparing for September: 5 Things I'm Doing

The first day of school is in 33 days. Here are five things I am doing to prepare:

1) Revising Lesson Plans

Earlier this week, I got the first look at my class schedule and rosters for the upcoming year. There is an even split between my middle school and high school load that includes a course that I haven't taught yet. Additionally, the middle school curriculum is set up so that the procedure is the same, but the content rotates every year. This allows students to take the class in both 7th and 8th grades and to have the majority of the class work different each time.

This year, one of the performance projects in the middle school Theatre class will be Puppetry. The students in my first year loved this so much that I put it on hold last year, so that I could learn more to expand the curriculum and secure a grant from the Holmdel Foundation for Educational Excellence. I also want to thank Ms. Edna Bland for her expertise and guidance.

2) Incorporating more Games & SEL

If you have not participated in the #games4ed Twitter Chat, you may want to make plans to join in on Thursdays / 8 pm EST. This group of educators share examples and questions about incorporating games and puzzles into subject at every grade level. I've used some of the ideas presented here to build lessons and assessments that are more fun for students and for me. 

3) Cleaning Up Social Media

It's no secret that I love social media. It has been a great way to communicate and gather information, but it gets messy. I find it helpful to sort through the accounts, update profiles, delete or rearrange any posts that may be necessary, and set up a preliminary post schedule. As someone mentioned in the comments of a post earlier this week, there are so many places to be online that it is important to pick just a few and focus there. I find it best to communicate with parents on Facebook, students on Instagram, and the rest of the world on Twitter. It is a lot to manage (I do this for the theatre program and the high school), but once you get into a groove, it works. My best advice would be to keep a schedule and use a platform like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or IFTTT to help. There are many others, too.

I also encourage you - whether in a school or organization - to balance your sales with interest stories. When I thought of how many times I block telemarketers, or unwanted ads, it just made sense.

4) Shopping

I am fortunate to have a small budget through school that covers basic classroom supplies. However, there are other things I will need to help me with management. Planners, dry erase markers, things like that. Oh, and clothes. It's amazing how quickly I can wear through my "teacher costumes"!

Also, you may want to set up an Amazon wish list for your classroom or department, if you don't already have one. There are times when someone may want to help, but you don't know exactly how. Purchasing an item from this list is a nice, simple way for community to get involved. And for any theatre teachers out there, connect with Dr. Jimmy Chrismon who runs the ThEDTalks Podcast. Not only are his interviews interesting, but he shares out teachers' wish lists each August.

5) Getting back into a routine... sort of

I've been teaching summer school and a few camp programs this summer. It helps keep me in practice and is a nice supplemental income when we're not receiving a regular paycheck (my wife is a teacher, too). It's still a summer schedule and I will beginning getting back into a groove of waking up early and going through the routines that get all of us out the door. I'm sure we would benefit from keeping a more regular routine during the summer, but we are a family of five and we're tired. It's been quite a year and using time to rest and recover has been well worth it.

PS - As I'm writing this, we are anticipating the announcement that New Jersey schools will be masked on the first day. It is an ever-changing situation... but isn't that how we would describe teaching anyway? What have you done to recover from the school year? What are you doing to prepare for September?

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Building Connection and Understanding

The stereotype of athletics vs. arts is a tired one.

I realize that the tension is present in some schools and communities, but I believe it is time to move past that. If education is truly for the benefit of the whole child, then creating a culture (in school, at home, in the neighborhood, wherever...) where a student's participation in athletics, arts, and academics is paramount.

I am fortunate to be in a school district where that idea is a reality. There are great people in the athletic department and administrative chairs who see the value in what we do in the arts programs. I frequently connect with coaches to ensure students can be on stage and on a team. Many of those same students excel in Honors and AP level coursework, too. However, it takes work. It requires conversations and sacrifice and recognizing the common ground between us. In my school, we've done this through conversations (largely on social media, of all places) about leadership and coaching and the values we seek to instill in our students. (I've posted about my perspective on what school theatre is for here and here).

Whether you have the privilege to be in an environment like mine, or struggle in a place that does not see the value in arts education, I encourage you to reach out to community. Ask questions of stakeholders and detractors. Identify areas of common ground. Use your advocacy tools to demonstrate that value. Nothing is a panacea, but is a place to start. 

I'm curious to hear from you. What are relationships like where you are? How can we work to build understanding and connection among programs, activities, and factions that are traditionally viewed as opposed to one another?

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Advocacy is Storytelling

We talk a lot about advocacy in Arts Education. It is essential, but also can feel esoteric, or inaccessible. I've seen people recoil at the mention of it; the word has political undertones that some just don't want to touch. 

I find it helps to think of advocacy as storytelling. The synonyms for the word seem to support that idea. After all, advocating for our work is simply supporting, championing, and (more simply) sharing what that work is and what it does.

I've found support in the blogs, books, and podcasts of people like Chase Jarvis, Seth Godin, and Dr. Brené Brown. Their suggestions to make a habit of the process of creating and sharing work, to "ship" the product, and to be "awkward, brave, and kind" have helped me formulate a direction for my advocacy. To me, theatre education provides the opportunity for students to create and perform, yes, but also to explore, experiment, interpret, collaborate, and develop a disciplined work ethic. Advocating these aspects meant documenting students' experiences in rehearsals, behind the scenes, and in between performances via social media, press releases, news articles, and email communications sent directly to the students, teachers, and parents within the school community. This opened up aspects of the work that our audience doesn't always see, or understand. We saw an increase in "outside" support (people volunteering their time and materials) and - although I don't have numbers to compare it to as we did not perform last year - I believe there was an increase in attendance during the performances. Seeing the students engaged in the process gave a tangible example of the importance of what we do in ways that my words just can't.

In summary, we encourage students to tell their stories through their artwork. As artists, educators, and organizations, it is important that we do the same by taking control of the narrative of what that work means. After all, if we don't tell our story the way we want it to be told, someone else will surely tell it in their own way.

How do you advocate for your work in arts education? Please share your ideas in comments, or engage with me on social media. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thinking Digitally

When school went virtual last March, our winter musical performance was put in hold. This happened everywhere, of course, but we were hit especially hard because the call to postpone came just minutes before the end of the school day - just 3 hours before students would return for hair & make-up on opening night. The experience resulted in an incredible story of resiliency starring my students, but that's for another time.

Without a live event, and the uncertainty of what lay ahead, the creative team began exploring options to showcase the students' work in another way. We considered a scaled-back concert, outdoor performances, and inevitably some kind of stripped-down streaming presentation. Circumstances kept changing and, unfortunately, we ran out of time. The show was cancelled and in deference to the seniors, we decided not to repeat the show again the following year. One thing haunted me throughout the experience - if we had just recorded one dress rehearsal, we could have worked with the licensing company to present it online. Lesson learned. I would not make that mistake again.

This past winter, we forged ahead with the goal of a live performance, but with digital/streaming as a backup plan. I recorded something at least once every week as a way to document what we were doing behind the scenes and to get the audience acclimated to watching online... just in case.

We had plenty working against us, both Covid and non-Covid related. Eventually, the decision was made to film the show and stream online. The final two weeks were a unique experience that none of us will forget. While the result wasn't we wanted, streaming the show had plenty of positives. For one, we were able to have a show where we couldn't last year and likely wouldn't under the circumstances we faced. Also, being online expanded our audience beyond the doors of the auditorium to reach far away relatives, friends, and other theatre people who would not have seen the show live. Plus, the students had the unique experience of watching their performances "in real time".

On September 13, we will be 18 months removed from the first day of Covid quarantine. That is a long time to endure without an art program and I saw our survival in the push to keep doing something. In the professional field-at-large, there are organizations who found ways to continue producing their work digitally while others have struggled to survive. I get it. Theatre is live performance and doesn't always translate well to the screen (an irony that my middle school students pointed out when we were virtual), but surely that is better than nothing.

I've seen concern from some theatre artists via Twitter that some organizations and communities are moving away from digital presentation as buildings begin to open up again. It is surprising to see that given how successfully companies like the National Theatre in London, among others, had done so. I realize that the collaborative nature of theatre and the copyrights, licenses, contracts, and other elements provide a hurdle as currently constructed. Surely, with digital technology so prevalent and easy to access we should continue to explore ways to not only make the art accessible during times of inaccessibility, but more equitable, too.

PS - My assumption is that visual artists and organizations fared better during quarantine as digital is inherently visual. The art teacher at my school did an excellent job getting her students' work out online even though there was a large learning curve for her to do so). However, that is not my field and I really don't know the realities of the visual art world and would love to hear from some of you about that!

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Social Media Take-Over for Arts Ed NJ

August already?

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me and there's a lot on my mind. Just 30 days to the first in-service for me, which means I will spend more time focused on school prep this month. There are a few things in particular that I'm eager to explore. This week (August 2-6), I will touch on some of them during a social media takeover of the 
Arts Ed NJ accounts. Come join the conversation!

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Drive and the Student Actor

This past week, I began reading Daniel Pink's book, Drive. (I know that I'm late to the party on this one, but many things happen only when it's time). I'm one chapter in and already a fan of Pink's thesis that human motivation is not necessarily driven by rewards (money, fame, praise, etc). There's something more intrinsic involved. That makes a lot of sense to me and I'm eager to find out more.

One quote from the first chapter really hit home for me: "If you need me to motivate you, I probably don't want to hire you." While the source comes from a "business leader, who didn't want to be identified", I immediately related it to casting actors and team building in the collaborative realm of theatre. I've adapted that into the quote in the graphic on this post. It's harsher than what I would say to a student, but it is easy to imagine it being said outside of the school setting and in the "real world" - professional theatre and beyond!

Student actors often ask me what they can do to really stand out in an audition. Whether that audition is for me or for another director, I tend to give two pieces of advice: make a choice and be open to direction. It's less about being the best and more about being eager to work. If you're not eager or excited to do the work necessary to perform in a show, then you're going to have a hard time doing that work. It goes for theatre; it goes for anything.

Sometimes people just aren't "into it" and, for some things, that's fine. When it comes to school theatre, I want to work with anyone who wants to put in the work to create an exciting experience with me. What I look for in student artists are motivation and excitement. However, I don't expect anyone to be as excited about the work as I am. (I LOVE this stuff).

More to come as I keep reading, I'm sure!

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Get Action!

https://store.artofmanliness.com/products/get-action-poster

Recently, the universe has been sending reminders that nothing happens without taking action. That's come to me from Theodore Roosevelt (via The Art of Manliness) saying to

"Get action; do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create; act; take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.”

Taking action is an oft repeated theme in the Dare to Lead podcast with Dr. Brené Brown and no better stated than in the episode "Brené on Armored versus Daring Ledership, Part 1 of 2" in which she says

"to research leadership is easier than to practice it."

That is true of just about everything, especially in education. We can research, and learn, and think, and plan, but in order to get anything out of that process, we must do. The best educational theory and buzzwords and concepts don't mean anything until they are put into action. Only then can we know what "works" and what doesn't. That is true for teachers and it is true for students, too.

I think of all that I plan to accomplish establishing a culture within the theatre classes and after-school program. I can set expectations, I can talk about reflection, but until it is done, it really doesn't mean anything. That can be lost easily and I think we would all do well to remember it, especially after the two school years we've just had.

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Thoughts on the Fourth of July

It is difficult to get started, but nothing happens without that first step. Of course, constant revision is necessary, too. That's true in writing; true in governance.

Today we celebrate the start with an eye ever-present on improving future drafts and an appreciation for the freedom to make those revisions.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

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Who is school theatre for?

Back in March, I wrote a post exploring my initial thoughts about the role of a school theatre program within the larger school community. A few weeks later, I created a brief survey that I sent to the membership of my high school drama club to gain insight on students' perspectives of the program and its function. About 20% of the students who received the survey provided a response. The results were generally what I expected:

students participated in their school theatre program as a creative outlet and because it was a place where they felt comfortable to be themselves

Those within the drama club frequently refer to it as a "family". I've only been at the school for two years, but what I've seen supports the kind of inclusion you might assume when you read or hear that word.

On the flip side, families can be exclusive groups, too. The next logical step is to explore the perception of the program from those who are outside the family... or is it?

Who is school theatre for? The quick and obvious answer is it is for the students who are active members; however, the primary function of the club is to present stories that are seen by those who exist outside of the family. It is an interesting tight rope to maneuver. That dichotomy also makes school theatre an incredible training ground for collaboration, empathy, and leadership.

More on that in a future post. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. How do you balance the need for school theatre to serve its students members and the community audience? Is there a point where one may take precedence over the other?

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Goodbye is Bittersweet

Yesterday was the last day of the school year and I said "goodbye" to students (and a colleague) with whom I had the honor of working these past two years. We've been through some unusual and emotional moments together, most of them Covid-induced, but also that's the nature of doing work in the theatre:

the people you work with become like family.

Saying goodbye has always felt bittersweet; although I think that's only become a recent revelation for me. More often it feels sad and uncertain. I could see that in the seniors as they teared up, or had the first moments of uncertainty as they talked about what lies ahead. Graduation is a celebration of what has been accomplished, but Commencement is the beginning of something totally new. The 8th graders embraced that change as they join a family they've been destined for. The seniors are leaving the nest for things unknown.

One thing that I've found comforting in my "advanced age" is the ability to offer my students the assurance that while leaving high school (and everything they've ever known) can feel sad, there's a whole new world of possibilities waiting for them.

I can't wait to see what they do next.

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What Makes a "Good" School Theatre Program?

The end of the school year is awards season; my relationship with awards is complicated. Before entering the classroom full-time, I ran a youth playwriting competition and adjudicated forensics and dramatics festivals for middle school and high school for many years. My thoughts on the many sides of these experiences is fodder for another post; this is about how a recent awards show has led me to marvel at the culture and consistency within a handful of local high school theatre programs.

Two common things I've noticed are significant student involvement and the presence of a Thespian troupe. These likely go hand-in-hand as Thespians includes a variety of service initiatives and performance festivals to feed hungry theatre students' appetites. Then I wonder about each of those students... what draws them to theatre, or drama club? What is the motivator for putting in so much time and energy to these projects? And then I take a view from the other side: does having so many students involved in a drama club mean it is a "good" one? I'm not normally one for subjective terms like "good" or "bad", but the subjectivity is what is interesting. What makes a theatre program and/or drama club a "good" one for students?

Just the other day, one of the Honors Acting students asked what first got me into theatre. I told the old story about being an 11 year old working with his uncles in summer stock, but then took a moment to really think about why I kept going back. What made me invest so much into the theatre that over 30 years later I'm still so drawn to it and so passionate about it?

It was the one place where I felt like I belonged.

It was the one place where I felt like I was really good at something.

That would be my answer to the student's question, but also may answer my question: what makes a "good" high school theatre program. But is it really that simple? I'd love to hear what you think.

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Milestones

Logged in today to begin tinkering with an idea for a blog post and noticed that with 13 posts already this year I have tied my previous record of 13. This post will surpass that.

On the one hand, I'm glad to be having such a "prolific" year just five months in. On the other hand, wow, I really didn't write much before!

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Musical Chosen!

This week, I put in a licensing request for the winter musical at the high school. It is an unconventional choice that will surprise the students and challenge them to work on things they haven't in a long time. I'm excited by it and looking forward to beginning the work.

Unfortunately, that work must wait. I've learned from experience to get the final confirmation that we're good to go before getting to far ahead. In the meantime, I will binge on the soundtrack and make notes as they come along.

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"Make Up Your Mind, Make Up Your Mind, Laurey!"

A few weeks ago, I posted about engaging my theatre students in a conversation about their ideas for next year's winter musical. The email I initially sent spawned some great email exchanges and eventually we met for a "face-to-face" conversation over Google Meet. I was hoping the talk would give me some insights into their ideas about what makes a good musical (which it did), while also leading me toward a solid decision about next year's show (which it did not).

Their ideas about what to do varied widely. They seem to want more "serious" material; there was also a lot of talk about shows like Mamma Mia! and Shrek. I don't know that you can get a wider span from "serious" to Shrek. One thing I enjoyed seeing was how seriously they took the conversation and that they acknowledged how difficult it could be to select something that met so many factors. I'm a proponent of being open in my process so they can learn these things. I just wish it had brought me closer to a definite selection.

The choreographer and I have some ideas, so I am confident that we will choose a show soon. I wanted to get the students' input in order to build interest and increase participation in a program that was in decline when I began there last school year. In that sense, this was a "win" for us as a program. I loved how invested they were in some new ideas like drama club swag and smaller projects between shows. Those will be interesting ideas to continue exploring as we start the new year.

For now, I'm back to the drawing board... but leaning closely toward some more "classic" shows. They haven't done many of these in a while and I think there are a few that offer more "serious" fare than the more modern titles they threw around. One title mentioned in an email did not come up in conversation the way I thought it would. It seems a revival of an R&H standard piqued some interest, which I loved because I'm a proponent of R&H's work as experimental and darker musical fare. It was fun to hear it discussed that way. I will be adding the show to my ever-expanding and eclectic perusal list.

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Student Voice and Musical Choice

Last weekend (April 22-24), we wrapped up our winter musical production of Disney's The Little Mermaid with an online streaming performance. My students worked tirelessly to make it happen and while we all preferred sharing with a live audience, the experience of watching the show with their families and friends made it even more special. I'm proud of the work they did and deeply appreciated the support, excitement, encouragement, and congratulations sent by teachers and peers to the cast and crew. It is the sum of the experience that will have the greatest impact; it is why I love doing this work so much.

Unfortunately, I can't publicly share the whole show, but here is a sneak peek video that I put together ahead of the performance last week. You can also see the "tribute" video for last year's production of Into the Woods, which we weren't able to produce because of Covid.

Those who know me will find it no surprise that I am already working on the musical for next year (I can't rest, but I also love doing this so much). I'm also reflecting on the drama club as a whole and exploring ways to expand its work and elevate its visibility within the school community. To my joy and surprise, the students are thinking about these things, too.

Last week, I sent out a student survey to get some insight from the entire drama club membership. Of the 72 students listed, only 20 have replied so far, but I also noticed these responses were from students who were not actively involved. I followed up with the cast and crew of the most recent show and openly asked for their ideas about what show to do. I gave them some factors that I consider when making a selection and encouraged them to do the same. Those factors were:

• who is/may/may not be involved?
• what are the strengths of that group?
• what provides a new experience, or challenge for the group?
• do we have the technical capability/time/interest?
• variety (for example, following comedy one year with tragedy the next)
• what will an audience come to see?*
• what is appropriate for both audience and actors?

This lead to some interesting email exchanges and I was encouraged by how deeply students were thinking about their choices. Then one of our graduating seniors wrote to me as the representative from a group that had been discussing this in a group chat. And the play titles were very interesting. So, I asked the student to meet with me and the dance teacher to talk further. I'm so glad that I did!

What the conversation revealed is that the theatre students have an profound desire to do more serious work. Their choice of a classic, golden era musical was particularly intriguing. The dance teacher and I are using this insight to explore other titles we originally felt might be uninteresting. We also have a conversation with a larger group of students planned for Tuesday. I think this is an incredible opportunity for us to build and grow together by holding each other accountable.

We do a lot of talk about student-driven work, student voice, student inclusion. If this has taught me anything it is how important those things can be when they are put into action.

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No Rest for the Weary

Because I can't rest, my first hours of spring break have been consumed with what musical to do next year. Mind you, we haven't even finished post-production on the video for this year's show.

I love what I do and can't wait to get back into action. Even the planning process excites me so much!

What to do? What to do?🤔

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Mentionable and Manageable

Two years ago, I shared this quote with the TYA class and it became a touchstone for students throughout the year. With Mr. Rogers as our guide, we began to feel more comfortable with the idea of exploring life questions with young people. I did not think to include it in class this past fall, but the sentiments permeated the course and the thoughts and projects generated by the students were similarly contemplative of what can be explored through children's theatre.

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Struggle in Children's Entertainment

What if rather than 18,000 mini-adventures solved in under 30 minutes, there was a longer narrative arc? What would this tell the show's viewers? I don't think PAW Patrol is the cause of all the childhood anxiety we might see, but I do wonder how it may play a part.

Many television shows for young children unfold within the time allotted for each episode. From Sesame Street to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to PAW Patrol, adventures for the youngest viewers are small and contained. Rarely, if ever, does the adventure extend beyond the end credits. Shows for the next age bracket - Dora the Explorer, Elena of Avalor, Liv and Maddie, Danger Force, etc. - also keep the journeys within the confines of each episode.

If we consider the "if you see it, you can be it" mantra of representation in children's media, what would happen when children see their 2D heroes battling over a series of episodes rather than tie up problems in a neat little bow each day?

Does anyone remember Liberty's Kids? It has been a while since I've watched, but I remember narrative arcs longer than just one episode. The characters were on an extended journey where each episode involved a smaller quest that may or may not have implications for the next step. A better example may lie in the narrative structure of video games. Each level works as a new episode in the world of the character. While the landscape and bad guys may change, the hero character is still on a journey to get to the end. Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, even something as simple as Subway Surfers, keep the story going until the absolute end is reached.

I'm a bit out of my element with these musings. My background is in children's theatre, but I've seen plenty of child-centered television while raising my three kids. Please let me know if I am overlooking anything there, or clarify any misconceptions I may have. However, on a meta scale, I think it would be fascinating to see how well children would digest an entire season of a show that really challenges it characters to get to the end of the road. How might that influence their creative and critical thinking? What changes might they make when solutions don't quickly solve a problem? What influence would that have on their self-perception?

The Role of Theatre in Schools

March 12 is a dubious date in my school theatre program. There are two reasons for this distinction:

1. March 12, 2020 - opening night for our winter musical, Into the Woods, which was postponed due to Covid just minutes before the end of the school day
2. March 12, 2021 - the final day of filming our Covid-restricted winter musical, Disney's The Little Mermaid

There may be many things to say about redemption and tenacity when you look at those two dates together like that. It was certainly the message that I repeated to the students as we pushed toward the end of filming through a variety of Covid-, and non-Covid-, related delays and hiccups and issues and roadblocks. But what I think is more interesting, and likely more important, is the influence those experiences will have on the students who lived them. The past two years have been difficult, which makes it easy to view them negatively; however, there is strong positive flip-side to that story. I'm curious how it will be perceived by my students and how it will play a role in their futures.

That leads me back to a question that I love to explore: "what is the role of theatre in schools?"

School theatre saved my life; there are others who have told me the same thing. Participation in theatre programs has benefits within a student's future artistic life as well as within the "real world". That has been seen in research published in Youth Theatre Journal and in my own doctoral dissertation. Now I'm curious to learn how school theatre programs can play a role within the larger school community. What is the perception of these programs from participants and non-participants? How do school theatre programs influence the overall function of a school? What happens with theatre programs are not present, or suddenly seek to exist? How about when they are first built, or "revitalized" after a significant absence?

Looks like I have some reading to do... and surveying my students for their stories... uh oh! Is this another research project in the works?

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Ups, Downs, Pivots, and Awards

We had quite a time in the classroom this past week. 1/3 of the musical cast is now in quarantine due to positive Covid contact. They won't return until two days before our first dress rehearsal. We will now shift our plans to a fully filmed performance, which may actually take some pressure off of the cast.

In brighter news, two students in the Playwriting class received Honorable Mentions for their original, one-act plays. It is awesome recognition of their creativity and the hard work they put in to the piece. The students all loved the class so much; it was great to get their feedback about it at the end of the class. This is some fun icing on that cake!

Back to it all tomorrow!

Woah, We're Half Way There...

Friday marked the half way point in the school year as we began the 3rd marking period. It was a bittersweet time to say "goodbye" to the inaugural group of Playwriting students at the high school and hello to a new group of middle school Theatre students & the first Acting 2 Honors class in many years.

I struggled to put together a lesson plan map for the Acting 2 Honors class that I liked. The curriculum guide left by the previous teacher had some great idea for performance projects with a devised piece and a performance for children. But, the structure felt too disjointed for me. It wasn't until I peeked at the student surveys from the Playwriting class that it finally clicked. What the writing students enjoyed so much was the ability to learn from lectures, lessons, and exercises while having the freedom and time to let their creativity flow at their own pace. The one-on-one instruction was also helpful. That was it. If that was what creative students wanted, now I needed to find a way to apply it to the honors level acting class.

Friday afternoon, I presented my ideas to the Honors class at our first meeting. The class would have an acting studio-type structure and engage them in a series of individual and group performance projects. They liked the ideas of the devised and children's theatre pieces, but also the opportunity to do some self-reflection and to develop their own individual goals and projects. We will see how that all works out, but I'm excited by their excitement. I cannot wait to see how giving them the room to run supports whatever their imaginations can conceive.

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To Be a Philosopher...

Recently, I have been devouring all things Thoreau. My current read is the biography by Laura Dassow Walls titled Thoreau: A Life. I fill up spare time in lines, or enduring insomnia, with articles about his work and his environments. The philosophy of seeking to know life and then living in accordance with that "different drummer" speaks to me much as it did as a teenager first encountering Thoreau and Emerson. Yet, it feels more visceral, particularly that part about living. About doing.

The quote in the image is what speaks to me most these days. I also think it clearly presents the piece that is often missed by those who read philosophy... we must use our thinking to "solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically."

Practically.

It isn't enough to think the thought, or hold the belief, we must take action. And this does not necessarily mean whipping up a fervor around the beliefs, rather, we must take action personally. Live the life we've imagined, to paraphrase another of Thoreau's oft quoted phrases.

We must walk the walk in our own lives in a way that speaks to our own beliefs and understandings - to our own souls, if you will. This must be done regardless of what those on the outside might want or espouse. Taking action on philosophy is not a group effort, it is an individual one. The more of us who act on our personal philosophies within our own lives, the more a movement can build.

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What is a "Waste of Time"?

Procrastination is defined as a habitual delay of something that "should be done". I often interpret that as "wasting your time"... but what constitutes as a waste of time?

As I write, I am sitting in my car outside a music studio where my daughter is taking ukulele lessons. There is an hour until she's done, which gives me an hour of time to use. How should I use that time? What should be done right now?

Playing a game on my phone would be a waste of time. That isn't necessary right now - it shouldn't be done. Knowing that I had this time ahead of me, I actually made the decision that I would not play games while waiting. There is work I could have done, but I try to use as much time as I can for family matters and personal projects. So instead, of leveling up in Disney Tsum Tsum, I've chosen to write a blog post.

But couldn't that also be a waste of my time? Shouldn't I also be doing something else? Who determines what I should and shouldn't do?

Our default answer here is probably work-related. I could use this time for grading papers, or making lesson plans for next week. Typically, I do that on Sundays. I could also use this time to catch up on emails, reading, working on a project, anything really. No matter what I choose to spending time on, any of those activities could be time well spent, or a complete waste of that time. It is all a matter of perspective.

This leads me to turn attention back to school. As a theatre teacher, I often have students who see my class as a waste of their time. I could provide arguments and evidence of why it is not, but from their perspective, those arguments don't matter much. Theatre class, or gym class, or art class, or math class, or any class can be perceived as a waste of their time. How many times do teachers hear "when will I ever use this in life?"... how many times have we asked that question ourselves? Why? Any of those subjects have use. They are in the curriculum for a reason. It goes back to perspective - or perhaps more specifically - goals.

What is the goal of a 7th grade student? What is the goal of 11th grade student? A basic answer could be: "to do well in school".  If that is the case, we might argue that a student seeking to do well in school should apply themselves equally in every subject and every assignment - anything that has to do with school should be the focus of "doing well". But that doesn't happen. We all have our own interests and perspectives that make it virtually impossible to approach everything with equal interest and seriousness. Perhaps then it becomes more important to ask what does "doing well" mean? How do we define "well"? That can't possibly be the same for each person, either.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if individual students had personal goals for the year ahead. For example, the 7th grade student may want something general like "to do well" with the added goal of identifying the subjects and fields that they are most passionate about. This may help further down the road when specializing: choosing electives, or narrowing down potential college and career plans. The 11th grade student may then have more specific goals focused on college applications and majors that mean "doing well" in the classes that will provide the best opportunity to achieve those goals.

What is emerging here is a more individualized, and specialized, approach to education that reaches beyond simply "doing well". Now students are reaching for specific goals; taking specific action. I wonder how a change like that would not only alter education but also improve student engagement across-the-board. I also wonder what would be lost in such a shift.

I don't have answers here. Nor am I making any strong suggestions or recommendations. This is a line of thought about what is or is not a "waste of time". Maybe the answer to that question is "whatever does not further our goals", but even then is it possible to have a clear view of the unknown future from a uncertain today?

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"It's Just Nice to Have Something to Do"

Last week, we returned to school after winter break. This was also the time we scheduled to begin rehearsals for Disney's The Little Mermaid, the musical that I am currently directing at school. It took some time to get rehearsals off the ground, but we all finally got into the swing of things on Monday. A few small groups kicked things off as we built the "Under the Sea" number through choreography and music rehearsals. However, a growing number of students had to go on quarantine throughout the week, but we had a Google Meet link set up to allow them to continue working on the show from home. On Thursday, I joined rehearsal from the Meet. You can see a video of that here.

Prior to the start of rehearsal, I had the chance to talk with one of the students about her time at home. She attended via Meet the day before and I wanted to learn how the experience went and to tell her it was encouraging to see her working on the routine while away. The student had a simple, but very important thing to say at the end of our conversation: "It's just nice to have something to do!"

That one brief statement meant a lot and hit upon a major reason why we have pushed forward with big plans to mount a musical this year: the kids need it. You will see their excitement and energy on display in the video I posted above. I plan to share more videos throughout the process. I think it is a simple way to share the joy they have for the work and also a window into the hard work and detailed process that goes into the production of a high school musical.

I hope other schools might follow suit. I'd be curious to see how other groups are managing this odd and unfamiliar path this year.

Break a leg, everybody!

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