I have accepted a position to teach Drama at Skyline High School in Salt Lake! I will be moving into a full Drama program (yay no more Speech!) where I will teach Drama 1, Drama 2, Drama 3, Technical Theatre, & Film Studies. The theatre is HUGE - about 2,000 seats - and there is also a black box theatre to do smaller shows.
That is all I know at the moment. I will be going down to sign contracts and get all the details taken care of soon. I will post more as I learn more.
Another closing.
My students and I have just closed Once Upon a Mattress. The response to the show was very positive! Everyone seems to have had an enjoyable experience. All of the comments that I have heard have been positive.
Here are some production shots from the show!!
Yet again...
Here I am at the beginning of another production and I am STILL dealing with the same issues that I had last year - people throwing a fit over content in a show they know nothing about. This year, however, I get to have the immense joy of dealing with the "why didn't my daughter get a lead in your play?" issue. I am so tired of dealing with bigoted conservativism that I could scream!
What ever happened to understanding the art form for what it is worth and accepting author intent? It is written that way for a reason people!! Just because you don't agree with it does not give you the right to hack it to pieces to make your little moral self fell better about it. DEAL!
On the up side - we are all moved into the new house in Preston. Yay for no more driving to work! Now have to work on making new place feel like home...
What ever happened to understanding the art form for what it is worth and accepting author intent? It is written that way for a reason people!! Just because you don't agree with it does not give you the right to hack it to pieces to make your little moral self fell better about it. DEAL!
On the up side - we are all moved into the new house in Preston. Yay for no more driving to work! Now have to work on making new place feel like home...
I miss it...
I have been fortunate to see some good theatre performances lately (it has been quite a while since I could say I had). Watching each of the shows that I did, I noticed an overwhelming feeling of longing - I want to be back on stage! I miss that experience so much... I have moved into a stage in my life that makes it very difficult for me to be on stage. I have been directing a lot, but the sensation and experience is not the same. I am seriously considering auditioning for the summer theatre in town again. (I have auditioned for them before to no avail, but I figure it is time to try again.) Even watching my students on stage in the show that they are running now gives me the pangs and longing to be back on stage for myself. Ah, my drug... too bad it has been to long since I have taken a hit...
I stand corrected
Earlier I posted a blog about the news reporting on things other than So You Think You Can Dance... I was wrong by saying that there must be something other than that that the news could report on. After last night's showing there is nothing more important than that show at this moment! I am totally addicted...
I am torn between whether I want Niel or Lauren to win...
(Yes, Annie, I am talking to you!)
I am torn between whether I want Niel or Lauren to win...
(Yes, Annie, I am talking to you!)
I don't understand...
I am in the process of choosing a new play and writing new curriculum for the upcoming school year and I do not understand one thing - why do people in the educational industry refuse to trust the teachers that make it up? Teachers are the front lines of the teaching profession. They are the ones that are responsible for the learning and achievement of the hundreds and thousands of students that they have in a classroom over any period of time. However, it seems to me that they are the least trusted entity in the entire process. Is it so difficult to trust a teacher that is with your student every day to make smart and informed decisions? that is in a classroom in the business of teaching every day who knows the pedagogical and practical processes that are common practice today?
NCLB particularly has made it very difficult for a teacher to feel like he/she is being allowed to help all the students that they need to reach. Each teacher in the school system (particularly in secondary schools) should have been hired to a specific position because they are qualified and knowledgeable in their content area, but in every instance that I have seen and in every content area I have observed I have seen doubt - doubt from administration, department heads (usually the older veteran teachers who are so set in their ways that change is seen as a challenge to usurp), and parents. Each of those parties should at the very least be willing to trust the decisions that have been made that put a teacher where they are.
I am very fortunate to have a supportive administration that are willing to work with me instead of against me. The fact that I am a relatively new teacher makes my job difficult at times, but as I learn and grow that will improve. I am glad that I can go to my administration with questions and concerns and not feel that it will adversely affect me in any way. I am glad for the opportunities that I have to grow a program with little interference from others (specific colleagues excluded).
The concept that is difficult for many of my colleagues and others to understand is - even though I am a relatively new teacher I DO KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT/DOING!! When I choose a show for my drama season, I have done the research and thought through the possible repercussions that may come from doing the show. I DO know what it takes to create a learning environment in the production process. I DO know what sounds good - while it might not be what you are used to (many of the people where I am have been tainted to believe that all music must sound the same...), but it is the right kind of sound and technique for the kind of show we are doing. Trust me! Just once!
NCLB particularly has made it very difficult for a teacher to feel like he/she is being allowed to help all the students that they need to reach. Each teacher in the school system (particularly in secondary schools) should have been hired to a specific position because they are qualified and knowledgeable in their content area, but in every instance that I have seen and in every content area I have observed I have seen doubt - doubt from administration, department heads (usually the older veteran teachers who are so set in their ways that change is seen as a challenge to usurp), and parents. Each of those parties should at the very least be willing to trust the decisions that have been made that put a teacher where they are.
I am very fortunate to have a supportive administration that are willing to work with me instead of against me. The fact that I am a relatively new teacher makes my job difficult at times, but as I learn and grow that will improve. I am glad that I can go to my administration with questions and concerns and not feel that it will adversely affect me in any way. I am glad for the opportunities that I have to grow a program with little interference from others (specific colleagues excluded).
The concept that is difficult for many of my colleagues and others to understand is - even though I am a relatively new teacher I DO KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT/DOING!! When I choose a show for my drama season, I have done the research and thought through the possible repercussions that may come from doing the show. I DO know what it takes to create a learning environment in the production process. I DO know what sounds good - while it might not be what you are used to (many of the people where I am have been tainted to believe that all music must sound the same...), but it is the right kind of sound and technique for the kind of show we are doing. Trust me! Just once!
The end of another chapter
Tonight I open another show. For the past 6 weeks I have been directing The King and I for Franklin County Arts Council (Preston, Idaho). We were forced to put the show up on a very truncated time table, but it has turned out quite well. It is a small community in a little theatre, but I think they have come up to a level they haven't seen for a long time. There were many times when I was ready to pull my hair out, but there must be stress to create growth.
Now, for the next few weeks I have to change my focus to getting school ready. I have been focussed on this show so much that I have not gotten ANY curriculum ready for the coming year. I have to teach 3 new classes that I don't have anything prepared for. It will be interresting to see how things pan out. I have some really good resources and a good network of excellent teachers that I can pull from, so not too worried.
Now, for the next few weeks I have to change my focus to getting school ready. I have been focussed on this show so much that I have not gotten ANY curriculum ready for the coming year. I have to teach 3 new classes that I don't have anything prepared for. It will be interresting to see how things pan out. I have some really good resources and a good network of excellent teachers that I can pull from, so not too worried.