Well, I have started rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast now, but with a couple of snags... I currently do not have a music director or a pit director! They both are out sick - the music director in particular does not know when or IF he will be able to help with the show at all! Now, I would normally be very supportive (I mean, having to have a section of your small colon removed is a major deal), but in this case - IT WAS NOT EVEN MY SHOW TO BEGIN WITH!! I did not pick this monster of a show. In fact, I had no part in the whole decision-making process. So now, I am stuck with a show that I didn't really want to do in the first place, without a music director (who pushed the show choice on the administration) and I am not getting the help that I really need to make the show actually work!! It just makes me want to scream!
I do not know how they expect me to pull off a show of this magnitude without the staff that is necessary to make it happen. I am stuck teaching music to the entire cast while I should be taking care of costumes, props, and a gargantuan set that I have to build myself! I just don't have any clue what to do at the moment. I am new to the area, so, I do not know who to ask for help even if they could. I do have a parent support group, but they are in shambles because their president resigned since her daughter did not get the lead (good grief...!), but that is a whole other story...
All I feel like I can say right now is - HELP!!
Casting Completed
Well, I have finally cast my first show of the season for Skyline High - Beauty and the Beast. The whole process went relatively smoothly (thank heavens!). While the students were freaked out by an audition with a monologue, we still had around 65 people audition for the show. I thought a really respectable number considering that I am the new guy and people were skeptical about what I may do with the show.
I did have to deal with small political issues (who doesn't really) by making sure I give auditioners ample consideration before making casting choices - just to make sure that there are no irate parents or distraught students.
I posted the cast list on Friday at 5:00pm and then promptly left. It will be very interesting to see what kind of reactions I get on Monday. I really do not look forward to justifying my decisions to anyone... We will just have to wait and see though...
I did have to deal with small political issues (who doesn't really) by making sure I give auditioners ample consideration before making casting choices - just to make sure that there are no irate parents or distraught students.
I posted the cast list on Friday at 5:00pm and then promptly left. It will be very interesting to see what kind of reactions I get on Monday. I really do not look forward to justifying my decisions to anyone... We will just have to wait and see though...
Done. Now the count down starts...
Well, my first summer of graduate school is over! I have now finished 1/3 of my graduate degree. There were some extremely frustrating times as well as some very enlightening times and classes and people as well. This summer I took a bunch of Technical theatre classes - Lighting, Design Methods, Creative Costuming, Makeup, Directing, and Dramatic Lit. I was really glad to have the opportunity to meet a ton of wonderful people and make some great friends! I was also very glad to have a lot of my current teaching practices confirmed as well as learned a lot of new techniques to take back to my kids.
I was also very pleased to learn some new techniques in the areas of lighting and makeup that have been particularly difficult for me. Since I am colorblind lighting and makeup have always been a much more difficult practice for me to master. I was pleasantly surprised to have an instructor that was able to cater to my disability - and show me how to attain the same results as everyone else AND have it make sense to me at the same time. Saturation charts and the color wheel are fastly turning in to my best friends.
I think that the best part of the whole experience, however, has been meeting some great new people that are in the same boat that I am. That they are one-man-bands or just starting drama programs and go through the exact same trials and issues that I do. It will be great to be able to contact some different resources that know what I am talking about and what I need. I am very excited for the next two summers! In fact, that has turned into the highlight of my year thus far!!
I was also very pleased to learn some new techniques in the areas of lighting and makeup that have been particularly difficult for me. Since I am colorblind lighting and makeup have always been a much more difficult practice for me to master. I was pleasantly surprised to have an instructor that was able to cater to my disability - and show me how to attain the same results as everyone else AND have it make sense to me at the same time. Saturation charts and the color wheel are fastly turning in to my best friends.
I think that the best part of the whole experience, however, has been meeting some great new people that are in the same boat that I am. That they are one-man-bands or just starting drama programs and go through the exact same trials and issues that I do. It will be great to be able to contact some different resources that know what I am talking about and what I need. I am very excited for the next two summers! In fact, that has turned into the highlight of my year thus far!!
Into the Fire!
Well, I am now in the full swing of my Graduate program at Central Washington University! The first 2 sessions were great. Hella stressful, but really great. Papers that are 5 - 10 pages due in 2 days. Entire design projects for large-scale shows due in a week - CRAZY!
However, I am loving getting to know all the new people and getting the chance to network. The other thing that has been really nice is the confirmation that I have been teaching the right things in my classes thus far AND getting new ideas for teaching from a different set of professors and educators. I think that I got so used to the way that I learned things in my undergrad that having the ability to get a new perspective is VERY refreshing.
I love the people! All the "first years", as we call ourselves (kinda a la Harry Potter) have been really good to work with. There is a wide knowledge base and a very diverse variety of teachers at the program. Since this is the case, a lot of what we are covering is a review, of sorts. Many of the teachers do not have theatre backgrounds, so they have the need for really basic skill that someone like me, who graduated in theatre earlier, already has. However, I like the opportunity of watching different professors than who I had in my undergrad teach some of the same things. It gives a new perspective to the subject and it gives me a chance to look at the way that they teach that subject.
I am really stoked for the rest of the summer!!
However, I am loving getting to know all the new people and getting the chance to network. The other thing that has been really nice is the confirmation that I have been teaching the right things in my classes thus far AND getting new ideas for teaching from a different set of professors and educators. I think that I got so used to the way that I learned things in my undergrad that having the ability to get a new perspective is VERY refreshing.
I love the people! All the "first years", as we call ourselves (kinda a la Harry Potter) have been really good to work with. There is a wide knowledge base and a very diverse variety of teachers at the program. Since this is the case, a lot of what we are covering is a review, of sorts. Many of the teachers do not have theatre backgrounds, so they have the need for really basic skill that someone like me, who graduated in theatre earlier, already has. However, I like the opportunity of watching different professors than who I had in my undergrad teach some of the same things. It gives a new perspective to the subject and it gives me a chance to look at the way that they teach that subject.
I am really stoked for the rest of the summer!!
Yay - the addiction returns!
My top 3!!It is back! My drug - as it were - So You Think You Can Dance is back! For some reason watching all of these people do what I wish I could is mesmerizing. The more I watch, the more I want to watch. Is it that I miss being on stage so much that just watching others do it is very satisfying? I am not sure. All I know is that I love it! Yay for the DV-R and watching it over and over.
Wow...
It is like comparing night and day. I have now had the opportunity to work with the students that I will be teaching at Skyline High School. It is unbelievable the difference that I saw in the focus and quality of work that I saw from these students when compared to all the others that I have taught to this point. Now, I understand that I only had one day to compare, but even then, the feeling of yearning for understanding and improvement that I received from these students was great! I truly got the impression that the vast majority of these kids wanted to be in a real drama class and to learn new techniques and methods - including both acting and technical theatre students.
This is not to say that the students that I have had at other places did not want the same things, but they definitely were not as focused and motivated to accomplish anything near what I experienced with this new set of students. Starting with this kind of base and motivation excites me very much! The quality of work that can come from this kind of experience is unbelievable! I am way more excited about this new opportunity than I dreamed possible!
This is not to say that the students that I have had at other places did not want the same things, but they definitely were not as focused and motivated to accomplish anything near what I experienced with this new set of students. Starting with this kind of base and motivation excites me very much! The quality of work that can come from this kind of experience is unbelievable! I am way more excited about this new opportunity than I dreamed possible!
Motivation?
This is going to be a little weird. chicken butt. <--- Candace's two bits.
The rest of this year is going to be weird. It is the first time I will move from one place to another because of my job. I do not know why, but the whole concept of finishing out the year in a place that I know I will not be coming back to will be interesting to say the least. It also makes further interactions with the other teachers kind of awkward. Especially since they also know that I am not sticking around. Makes me kinda feel like I am abandoning both the teachers and the students who I interact with on a daily basis.
The prospect of going to a bigger school with an already established program just makes the current situation seem bleak and unproductive. It will be a challenge to stay motivated - but even that will hopefully help me stay on top of things.
The rest of this year is going to be weird. It is the first time I will move from one place to another because of my job. I do not know why, but the whole concept of finishing out the year in a place that I know I will not be coming back to will be interesting to say the least. It also makes further interactions with the other teachers kind of awkward. Especially since they also know that I am not sticking around. Makes me kinda feel like I am abandoning both the teachers and the students who I interact with on a daily basis.
The prospect of going to a bigger school with an already established program just makes the current situation seem bleak and unproductive. It will be a challenge to stay motivated - but even that will hopefully help me stay on top of things.