For the past 2 months my life has been consumed by another production. Now it is closed. I must say that Beauty and the Beast went quite well (pictures to come soon). The pit orchestra was amazing, the actors are the best students that I have ever worked with (honestly), parents have said it is the largest audience they have seen in the space since time immemorial, and now other schools want to rent our set from the show. This has turned out to be a very good experience to begin my time at Skyline High.
I was very skeptical about doing such a large show for my first one in a new school with students I did not know and a space I was not familiar with. While there were some pretty big snags in the entire process (i.e. - music director finding out he has cancer just being one of them...) everyone in the process pulled together to make a fantastic show.
Now it is time to choose another show, but somehow I find myself less than motivated to finalize a decision about the show. I am very excited to spend some time with Candace and Shiloh. To take some much needed time away from the production cycle.
For now, I have to focus on trying to get the aftermath cleaned up from this giant show. While it takes months on end to create a show of this magnitude, I love that other people think that it can all go away in a week. Thank heavens I am surrounded by helpful, caring, concerned, loving people that can help me accomplish what seems to be an impossible task....!
My little flower girl
So I finally got the pictures that we had taken of Shiloh (indirectly I might add . . . I never even got the originals) a while back. I must say that she is the cutest thing and what a HAM for the camera. My favorites are the ones that she is not posing in though:
Specifically Ambiguous
As I sat and watched the Presidential Debates this evening I wondered - will anyone ever answer a question that is posed? The answer was a resounding "No." Not only would it be nice to hear what the candidates actually think, but it would also be really nice to have a debate that does not result in juvenile name-calling and a bunch of he-said-he-said stupidity. I was hoping that something that I heard tonight would sway me in way way or the other regarding the upcoming election. However, the only thing that was confirmed to me was that Obama is a much more eloquent and intellectually appealing individual than McCain.
McCain seemed almost arcane in his mentality toward every topic that was discussed. He also, on more than one occasion, reverted to name calling and pointing out small faults in order to divert attention away from obvious shortcomings of his own. Obama seemed to have a much more concrete regimen for the things that need to be done; and he has the means and the vocabulary to see those things come to fruition. McCain seemed to rely (for me at any rate) too much on past experience that had little direct correlation to the current situations facing the nation. While Obama is somewhat less experienced in the world of politics and government when compared to McCain it did not seem to be something that was detrimental to his persona and presence. In fact, it seems that this plays to his advantage - not being as "jaded" and corrupted in the ways of governmental process and influence.
At this moment in time it looks like I am swaying toward the "Vote for Change."
McCain seemed almost arcane in his mentality toward every topic that was discussed. He also, on more than one occasion, reverted to name calling and pointing out small faults in order to divert attention away from obvious shortcomings of his own. Obama seemed to have a much more concrete regimen for the things that need to be done; and he has the means and the vocabulary to see those things come to fruition. McCain seemed to rely (for me at any rate) too much on past experience that had little direct correlation to the current situations facing the nation. While Obama is somewhat less experienced in the world of politics and government when compared to McCain it did not seem to be something that was detrimental to his persona and presence. In fact, it seems that this plays to his advantage - not being as "jaded" and corrupted in the ways of governmental process and influence.
At this moment in time it looks like I am swaying toward the "Vote for Change."
I want more... HELP!
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!!
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!!