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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Simplifying for the New Year 2021

Welcoming the new year with this Emerson quote on my mind. All things considered, 2020 brought opportunity and improvement for me and my family largely because we continued to refine and follow through on the principles that we hold important. Insights from gurus like Dr. Brene Brown, Jay Shetty, Chase Jarvis, and Mel Robbins have helped me in this pursuit.

I'm beginning 2021 with an audit of my activities and commitments. How well have they, and will they, address my principles, visions, and mission? To quote another favorite author: "Simplify, simplify, simplify!" (Here's a great article from Psychology Today that simplifies Thoreau's philosophy further). Taking the time now to decide where to spend my time in the future should free up even more time to use toward those things that matter most. 

When the school year is over, I plan to do the same audit on my curriculum and after-school programming to get at the heart of the my purpose in those endeavors, as well. The hybrid learning model in which I have been working has made it necessary to streamline so much already. It will be interesting to look back and see what worked and what did not and how I can potentially bring the same simplification process to a more "normal" school year in the fall (assuming we are finally free of our social distancing measures by that time!).

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Moving Forward with Resilience and Variety

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday sparked two thoughts for me:

• how traditions are often refreshed and revived for the better
• just how resilient we can be in times of difficulty

I want to start with that last one because it sticks with me in a new way this year. It is easy to get caught up in how difficult things are in any given moment. The last eight months have certainly been awful with Covid ravaging around the globe, but let's notice how well people have been adapting and, in many cases, thriving, in this environment. I have an example specific to the parade, but let's first look at my field of educational theatre.

As you may know, school theatre programs were unceremonious and suddenly shut down in mid-March as schools and municipalities were forced to close to prevent the spread of Covid. My students and I were informed of the postponement of our production of Into the Woods just minutes before the end of the school day on opening night. Delivering that news to the cast and crew on that day was the most difficult thing I've ever done. However, those students were so incredibly resilient. We had the opportunity to get back a significant portion of our rental costs for the backdrop and costumes if we boxed them up and shipped them back THAT DAY. A significant number jumped right to the task. That act of strength in the face of heavy disappointment has allowed us to secure the rights to a bigger show at a very reasonable cost this year. We are thankful for Charles H. Stewart Backdrops, The Costumer, and MTI for their flexibility throughout all of that last year. It leaves us in a great position to do whatever possible to put up a show this spring.

I share that story to highlight how school theatre programs, as well as local and regional theatres, across the country are working extra hard to create opportunities for their students and communities to gather safely and experience the art of live theatre. Many schools are filming their shows and streaming to paying audiences (our likely process this spring). In some locations, even in my home state of New Jersey, it is possible for small, socially distanced groups to attend live performances in the theatre spaces... something that Broadway cannot allow. Yet, all this time, there is such a heavy focus on how Broadway is closed down. We are out here making theatre happen and I strongly encourage those craving live performance to support their school theatre programs and community playhouses!

There will be a lot of school theatres breaking with tradition in order to mount productions this year. As I recently told my students, the one thing we can be sure if is that we can't be sure of how anything will ultimately go. Macy's and NBC found a way to break with tradition and give us a refreshed and captivating Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday. While it was odd to see the parade without people lining the streets, and the daylight and clear weather in some segments were obvious signs that some portions were previously recorded, the result was exciting! I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Land Acknowledgement and Wampanoag Blessing and the inclusion of groups from some of New York City's other parades. This was a great way to liven up the event and give us something that we don't always get to see. I hope these can become regular segments of the parade and that Macy's & NBC can further explore avenues to bring in performances and groups that aren't commonly seen on television. Frankly, they could cut back on more of the pop stars and celebrities in order to do it. Maybe adopt more of a variety show type atmosphere? That's what makes shows like NBC's America's Got Talent so appealing. Where else do you "fringe" performers like spoken-word poet Brandon Leake, ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, or dog shows like Olate Dogs, celebrated so publicly?

In the end, I'm grateful to have a new perspective from which to view my own work and popular entertainment in general. The holiday season is a great time to dream about new beginnings in the New Year. What great examples for me - and for all of us - to embrace as we continue to move forward throughout it all.

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