Catch up time!
Saturday was spent walking to Lincoln Center, Central Park and figuring out where the BTW's would be. It was a huge treat to be alone, explore the city and plan out my week.
I spent a great two hours in the Library for Film and Theatre looking in the archives. Saw a collection of director's notes and sketches for the 1956 production of Waiting for Godot (Herbert Bergdorf) and checking out the Musical Theatre resources.
At my 3:00 pm appointment the nice film man set me up at a computer to view the December 18, 2008 production of Gypsy with Patti Lupone and Boyd Gaines. I discovered that it was a Juniper Street Production (my alumni!). The show was great-performances were amazing. The filming was wonderful and I spent most of the show watching the actor's choices, the seamless flow of the sets and excellent pacing. I wanted to be locked in when the library closed at 6:00 to watch shows all night. Sadly, they watch us like a hawk so I didn't try to stay.
Dinner with DJ Gray followed Gypsy. DJ and I talked about how I might go about setting up workshops for next summer, what guest artists would expect and some ideas on marketing and designing workshops. It was very helpful that she had spent the day in a dance workshop and is taking her second MT workshop with Betty Buckley, so she will take notes on the "business" end of workshops.
I woke up Sunday with the day ahead of me and no one to disagree with me choices. I took a 45 minute walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent four hours wondering from room to room and making decisions about what to see based on what was around the corner. By far the highlight was the Alexander McQueen exhibit. Well worth the one hour wait it is a true work of theatre. Exquisite clothes, brilliant designs and all of beautifully curated made it as theatrical as any show I've ever seen. I got so many ideas about how to use color, texture and the use of video. projections, special effects and music. Who knew my next set ideas would come from a museum?
Sunday evening I met up with my friend Carolyn Greer, Kentucky State Thespian Director. Carolyn and I have been to many conferences and workshops and decided we needed to see a show. Since we had both spent most of the last two days walking we were looking for some light entertainment and we purchased last minute tickets to Pricilla, Queen of the Desert.
Pricilla was a visual treat. More costumes than twenty shows combined this was a loud, fun salute to the '80s. Flying singers, a giant bus that lights up and dozens of 30 second costume changes. In spite of the glitz, drag queens and glitter it had a story at it's core which is what good theatre must have.
Monday morning brought the long awaited BTW. The Jazz studios at Lincoln Center is a great place to hold class. We started the morning in a share session using the questions the teachers had posted online in the weeks leading up to the workshops. The last one the facilitator asked was "What 21st Century Skills can we teacher through Musical Theatres?" Hmmm. Wonder who sent that in? Some of the answers were: non verbal communication, people skills (in this Facebook, texting world), enunciation, pronunciation, public speaking, audition skills=interview skills, improv skills.
My second session was with the brilliant prop designer Jenny Marino. Jenny has designed the props for Phantom of the Opera, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers. She took us through the steps of Time, Talent and Budget as well as Research and Material Gathering. She is a great resource in that she can design on a Broadway budget, but still works with community theatres who have a $300.00 budget. I took three pages of notes and came away with at least twenty new products, tips and ideas. Her best advice was to give prop design over to students to see what they can create-with visuals and guidance.
The next workshop was the incredible John Tartaglia. John has been involved with puppets since he was seven and is a Tony nominee for Avenue Q. He has been a puppeteer on Sesame Street and Shrek. Although I have limited experience with Bunraku puppetry in IB Theatre John encouraged us to use puppets with our special needs kids, kids who have trouble expressing themselves and for team building. We all received a set of Peepers (puppet eyes) to practice. The highlight is when John pulled out Princeton (from Avenue Q) for a Q & A and photos.
Our last workshop of the day was using the Viewpoints Directing Process. My IB seniors had introduced me to Anne Bogarts Viewpoints last year, and this workshop spent time with us using space, shape, time, emotion, movement and story. Many of the techniques can be used in directing large musical theatre scenes where the student actors must be aware of where they are, how to look at their space, access, adjust and tell a story without a director giving them every tiny movement.
After the last workshop we attended Hair. Truthfully, it's not one of my favorite shows so I went in with no expectations. The music, energy and performers were wonderful. The ensemble work was a highlight-especially after the Viewpoints workshop). This was the second show in a row where the audience was brought onstage. The end of Hair has the entire Orchestra section dancing on stage with the actors-great connections there.
Following the show the BTW teachers had a great Q & A with most of the principles and cast. Great questions were asked and the actors talked to us until their Stage Manager made them stop. They were so excited to talk to us and talk about how the show has evolved from the tour to it's present form. They shared director notes from as recently as this afternoon and the two dance captains discussed how closely the choreography and movement must stick to what was taught, yet feel and look improvised moment to moment. The best question was how they could relate to a topic (the Vietnam War) when those actors weren't born until after the event. Their response was that Hair is about every generation protesting what they believe in-an unjust war, gay marriage or a government system. This way the show can connect with all ages and generations.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hello old friend
It probably seems like I've forgotten the blog world, but I've been keeping it all in my head while I've been planning my CTG experience. An update:
Graduation was on June 9th-the earliest in 28 years of teaching. A bit bittersweet as my number 2 and 3 daughters graduated from HS. The fun part is that I got to give them their diploma.
Two days after graduation our production of Starmites moved back into Bridges Auditorium for a ridiculously difficult rebuild/two performance/prep to take 45 kids, 8 adults, and the entire show to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln NB. The challenge was closing Forty-Second Street one week and opening Starmites again for the first time since February. I also brought in a TD who helped us redesign the show for a 2800 seat road house and an 800 seat Theatre with no fly space. We rehearsed the show, the build (we had 90 minutes in Nebraska), the strike and the truck load.
The kids had two great shows on June 15 & 17 and we finished loading the truck at 1:00 am. It drove off with an amazing dad behind the wheel and the rest of us left in shifts over the next few days.
The entire week I spend a lot of time really looking at the show and all of the skills the kids were learning. How did I teach them? What worked? What didn't? What could be taught differently in a classroom without the "A" team and have a similar outcome?
One of the reasons for our success is that I continue to bring theatre artists and technical professionals who bring a lifetime of experiences different than mine to share with the students. I think many of my tech students learned four years of work in two weeks.
I also learned about the importance of reaching out to a playwright and what an amazing impact that can have on students. Barry Keating (author of Starmites) had left a message on our Theatre Facebook page in the spring. I contacted him to help us secure royalty free performances at the festival and he sent me his cell phone and many messages of encouragement. More on that later.
Fast forward to Nebraska. The low points: Family emergency with our Musical Director and she never arrived. The entire cast, our principal and most of the adults having an emergency landing in Denver. The high points: Watching the five kids I took a day early meet with the entire tech staff of the theatre and, based on their preparation and questions, impress the technicians and get approved to run the show without adult assistance. Seeing my students perform on a Friday in one theatre and Saturday night in another and act as if they had been doing it their entire lives.
The best moment was when the VP of Samuel French Inc gathered the students around her to show them a video Barry Keating made for them to congratulate them on their selection to perform at the festival. It was amazing! It's on YouTube under Barry Keating/Claremont HS/Starmites. After seeing the show the reps from Samuel French asked if our dept would be willing to workshop musicals for them-very cool! As of result of the Barry Keating connection many of the students are in contact with him and learning how much a project can still mean to a writer 25 years after it is written. This isn't something I have ever taught or talked about in class (except for our experiences with Sister Helen Prejean and Dead Man Walking) but I will certainly suggest to kids in the future that they consider making a connection with a playwright.
So what does Starmites have to do with my project? I used the week in production and in Nebraska to really look at what 21st Century skills are and spent many a late night reception with Jim Palmerini (Educational Theatre Association) and Anita Grant (a colleague on a Arts Task Force) talking about my project and what I need to do to prepare students.
Sooooo in the 1 1/2 weeks I was home I looked over some materials on 21st Century Skills, how to create and prepare workshops and making lots of plans.
Here I sit in my hotel room in Manhattan (just arrived four hours ago) and this is what I have set up so far:
Tomorrow I am meeting with Barry Keating to give him a scrapbook my students made for him. He would like to talk about doing a project together. Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment at the NY Library for Film and Theatre to look at their archives and see a screening of the Patti Lupone version of Gypsy. Tomorrow night I will meet with DJ Gray, CHS alumni, to talk over my long range plan and brainstorm with her what I need to look for while in my workshops. She and I have worked together since 1994 and she knows the CHS students and our program very well so she is the perfect sounding board. In addition, she lives in NYC and is a Broadway choreographer (Xanadu, Spelling Bee) so she knows what skills are needed in professional theatre.
My Broadway Teacher Workshops are Monday-Wednesday. I'm fortunate to have two friends, also Thespian State Directors, who are attending so I can have some ongoing conversations with teachers I know as the workshops progress.
On Friday I will spend the day with alumni Ana Rose Greene as she readies Million Dollar Quartet for the road, has a Spiderman rehearsal and loads in Follies from DC. Ana Rose co founded Juniper Street Productions which has had as many as seven shows running on Broadway at one time. Not bad for someone who graduated in 2001!
On Saturday I will be meeting our one of my favorite alumni John Lee Beatty. John has been nominated for 14 Tonys (won two) for his set designs. He will be a great resource as someone who has had a long career in the arts and how learning and technology has changed what he has done since he began in the early '70's.
I am also meeting with Michael Alden (CHS-'74 who won his Tony for Grey Gardens) as he prepares to leave for London to produce The King's Speech for the stage. Michael will have a unique prospective because he is the only alumni I am meeting with who did not attend college. I look forward to hearing some insights on this from him.
Lastly, I am seeing Eli Bolin (my first Thespian President at CHS) who is the co creator of The Story Pirates (which is now bi-coastal) as well as being a composer on Sesame Street.
Somewhere in there I get to visit Joe Norton (Broadway Cares/EFA VP of Education) for an office tour and chat, as well as a couple of other unscheduled stops.
In the beginning of this process I wondered how I was going to fill my time. Now I am finding myself frantically trying to figure out how I am going to see everyone and still sleep enough so I don't snore during the shows I'm seeing.
Stay tuned!
Graduation was on June 9th-the earliest in 28 years of teaching. A bit bittersweet as my number 2 and 3 daughters graduated from HS. The fun part is that I got to give them their diploma.
Two days after graduation our production of Starmites moved back into Bridges Auditorium for a ridiculously difficult rebuild/two performance/prep to take 45 kids, 8 adults, and the entire show to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln NB. The challenge was closing Forty-Second Street one week and opening Starmites again for the first time since February. I also brought in a TD who helped us redesign the show for a 2800 seat road house and an 800 seat Theatre with no fly space. We rehearsed the show, the build (we had 90 minutes in Nebraska), the strike and the truck load.
The kids had two great shows on June 15 & 17 and we finished loading the truck at 1:00 am. It drove off with an amazing dad behind the wheel and the rest of us left in shifts over the next few days.
The entire week I spend a lot of time really looking at the show and all of the skills the kids were learning. How did I teach them? What worked? What didn't? What could be taught differently in a classroom without the "A" team and have a similar outcome?
One of the reasons for our success is that I continue to bring theatre artists and technical professionals who bring a lifetime of experiences different than mine to share with the students. I think many of my tech students learned four years of work in two weeks.
I also learned about the importance of reaching out to a playwright and what an amazing impact that can have on students. Barry Keating (author of Starmites) had left a message on our Theatre Facebook page in the spring. I contacted him to help us secure royalty free performances at the festival and he sent me his cell phone and many messages of encouragement. More on that later.
Fast forward to Nebraska. The low points: Family emergency with our Musical Director and she never arrived. The entire cast, our principal and most of the adults having an emergency landing in Denver. The high points: Watching the five kids I took a day early meet with the entire tech staff of the theatre and, based on their preparation and questions, impress the technicians and get approved to run the show without adult assistance. Seeing my students perform on a Friday in one theatre and Saturday night in another and act as if they had been doing it their entire lives.
The best moment was when the VP of Samuel French Inc gathered the students around her to show them a video Barry Keating made for them to congratulate them on their selection to perform at the festival. It was amazing! It's on YouTube under Barry Keating/Claremont HS/Starmites. After seeing the show the reps from Samuel French asked if our dept would be willing to workshop musicals for them-very cool! As of result of the Barry Keating connection many of the students are in contact with him and learning how much a project can still mean to a writer 25 years after it is written. This isn't something I have ever taught or talked about in class (except for our experiences with Sister Helen Prejean and Dead Man Walking) but I will certainly suggest to kids in the future that they consider making a connection with a playwright.
So what does Starmites have to do with my project? I used the week in production and in Nebraska to really look at what 21st Century skills are and spent many a late night reception with Jim Palmerini (Educational Theatre Association) and Anita Grant (a colleague on a Arts Task Force) talking about my project and what I need to do to prepare students.
Sooooo in the 1 1/2 weeks I was home I looked over some materials on 21st Century Skills, how to create and prepare workshops and making lots of plans.
Here I sit in my hotel room in Manhattan (just arrived four hours ago) and this is what I have set up so far:
Tomorrow I am meeting with Barry Keating to give him a scrapbook my students made for him. He would like to talk about doing a project together. Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment at the NY Library for Film and Theatre to look at their archives and see a screening of the Patti Lupone version of Gypsy. Tomorrow night I will meet with DJ Gray, CHS alumni, to talk over my long range plan and brainstorm with her what I need to look for while in my workshops. She and I have worked together since 1994 and she knows the CHS students and our program very well so she is the perfect sounding board. In addition, she lives in NYC and is a Broadway choreographer (Xanadu, Spelling Bee) so she knows what skills are needed in professional theatre.
My Broadway Teacher Workshops are Monday-Wednesday. I'm fortunate to have two friends, also Thespian State Directors, who are attending so I can have some ongoing conversations with teachers I know as the workshops progress.
On Friday I will spend the day with alumni Ana Rose Greene as she readies Million Dollar Quartet for the road, has a Spiderman rehearsal and loads in Follies from DC. Ana Rose co founded Juniper Street Productions which has had as many as seven shows running on Broadway at one time. Not bad for someone who graduated in 2001!
On Saturday I will be meeting our one of my favorite alumni John Lee Beatty. John has been nominated for 14 Tonys (won two) for his set designs. He will be a great resource as someone who has had a long career in the arts and how learning and technology has changed what he has done since he began in the early '70's.
I am also meeting with Michael Alden (CHS-'74 who won his Tony for Grey Gardens) as he prepares to leave for London to produce The King's Speech for the stage. Michael will have a unique prospective because he is the only alumni I am meeting with who did not attend college. I look forward to hearing some insights on this from him.
Lastly, I am seeing Eli Bolin (my first Thespian President at CHS) who is the co creator of The Story Pirates (which is now bi-coastal) as well as being a composer on Sesame Street.
Somewhere in there I get to visit Joe Norton (Broadway Cares/EFA VP of Education) for an office tour and chat, as well as a couple of other unscheduled stops.
In the beginning of this process I wondered how I was going to fill my time. Now I am finding myself frantically trying to figure out how I am going to see everyone and still sleep enough so I don't snore during the shows I'm seeing.
Stay tuned!
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