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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