MND at AC

Anderson College is presenting A Midsummer Night's Dream in mid-January (12-14 and 18-21). I'd like to take as many of you as possible to see it. (Hey, you can review it for one of your play reviews!)

I don't want you guys to "copy" AC's production at all -- and I don't want you to think I'm trying to compare theirs to ours. Our MND is our own production -- it'll reflect our delightfully quirky talents. Your character is YOURS to craft, and I don't want you to copy anyone else's interpretation.

However, there is also much wisdom to be gained from watching how "someone else does it" and learning from their mistakes and accomplishments. And -- here comes a Rameyism-- "All good ideas are stolen." =)


Expect me to hit you with this first thing on Thursday & Friday. I'll track down ticket prices. All shows (they say) are at 8pm, so we should plan on a Fri night if possible (to avoid sleepy students or sleepy church-goers). And I'll need some parents to drive.

*dances*
"Goin' to see a Shakespeare play!!"
(Always makes me happy ...)
=)

PS -- if you're just now joining me after the break, please read the post before this one.

New Year's Resolutions

Trust that your holidays have been ... holidayish.

Ours are busy, but in a nicely relaxed way. Still wrestling with school work and grad school work, tackling MND preparations, and scrambling to create lesson plans ahead of time so 3rd quarter doesn't entirely crush me (not in the first couple weeks, at least).

**Check out the cool posters**


Speaking of MND, we've

• created fuller character descriptions for each of the major roles
• shopped online for some costume items (boots! sweet)
• bought some deliciously obnoxious 60s-style clothing for fairies
  
• sketched out some set designs for Mrs. Smith to work with
  
• thought through some basic blocking for the more "lively" scenes

but lots more still to do!


And the bane of our existence: memorizing MND lines ...

Take my advice and work on your MND lines a little bit each day from now till the 9th.

Remember what Mr. R told you to do -- read over a chunk, then force yourself to stumble through from memory without looking at all. Work thru the scenes like that, bit by bit. It tells your brain to actually make connections -- instead of thinking it'll get prompted whenever it can't remember a word.

At first, you'll think you're not making much progress -- but then the lines will snap into place -- and they'll be far more solid than if you try the traditional "stare at the lines" approach.

-----------------------
These vacation days seem to be slipping through my fingers like sand...

Enjoy what's left of the break.
I'm looking forward to meeting in drama class again -- how about you?!?


Happy 2006!

WELL! *ahem*

THAT wasn't exactly the end of the semester I was expecting.

It's kind of like a massive pileup--I've got a bunch of assignments only partially collected; several students scrambling to finish projects; and a couple of grades I'll just have to drop entirely because I'm not going to try to track them all down (like my outside reading assignments).


On the good side, I've enjoyed plenty of fellowship these past 5 days (still have 3 refugees from Greenville who lost their power early Thursday morning) ... Got some Christmas shopping done.... Celebrated a friend's birthday with wonderful food & fun ... Getting ready to celebrate Coart's (27th).

So I'll pause here to say Happy Birthday to all you December babies:
Claire, Sam, Nate, Bethany, Bettina, & the Mr.
(I think that's it -- if I forgot you, sincere apologies)


I've seen the video footage of your scene performances a couple of times now, and I just wanted to say once again that you all did a fantastic job! I'm really proud of the work you guys have done this past semester.

Can't wait to get drama class started up again in January!
(AFTER enjoying my break first!)


Merry Christmas!

PS> how are the MND lines coming?
*ducks as things come flying past her head*

=)

Congratulations ... and Enjoy the Break!

Ya worked hard.
Ya need a break.


So here:
1) goof off a lot
2) learn your MND lines--off-book date is Jan 9!
(Yes, those two things can peacefully coexist. ;)



I'm taking one more drama blog grade for this week. Otherwise, your grade is what you see on TeacherEase.

I'll speak to each of you individually about your grade on the scenes. We'll discuss all the great stuff you did well, plus one or two things I want you to focus on improving next semester.

Thank you for an excellent semester of work. I am very pleased with your progress and your good attitude toward tackling Midsummer.

I'll post on the blog once in a while over vacation -- feel free to drop by & leave me a note. ;)
(Most of the interesting Ramey news ends up on my Xanga .... )



Thanks for making my life cheery & bright.
Merry Christmas!

Wow

Yes, truly ... wow.

Photos are now online

you guys were great! All of you! I was uber-pleased. And so were many people in the audience who took time to tell me what a great job you guys did:


"Did anybody even miss a line? I couldn't tell ... it seemed like they made no mistakes!"

"Your casting was really interesting -- and it worked, often surprisingly well."

"Wow. That was really impressive. I can't wait till Midsummer Night's Dream -- it's going to be amazing!"

"I honestly didn't think Jill and Puddleglum were going to release the knight from the chair --they had me convinced even though I've read the book and knew what they were going to do!" And a 6th grader told me that Puddleglum looked EXACTLY like what he expected. :)




"Hamlet had me convinced that he was really crazy."
(and someone else told me Ophelia fell very convincingly. =)





"I liked how Edmund was so excited about the Turkish Delight ... and how he tried to lick the box."



"I liked the Scrooge & Marley scene a lot!!" (and the rest of us enjoyed the flour spectacle. heehee)

"I never really understood that conversation in Perelandra until I saw Bethany and Mr R do the scene -- and then I got it! I think I'll go finish the book now ... "

"Nate did a really good job making Rilian so angry and enraged when he was in the chair, and then immediately peaceful and joyous once the spell was broken."

"Interesting choice having Sara play Aslan -- she did a good job with her voice and with being calm."

"Taylor and Bettina had the best argument I've ever seen!" "And their scene was really funny!"
(I asked Griffin if his 'fights' with Taylor look anything like the scene -- he said no, they are more violent. ;)


Lots of people commented on being surprised by the 2 overturned chairs. ;)



"Every single scene was so convincing. Your actors nailed their objectives."
(That comment made me really happy. =)

"You teach some very, very talented students."
Yes, I do. ;)

(and I plan to post more photos soon -- this is just to whet your appetite) :)


thanks muchly for ALL your hard, hard work over the past several weeks to pull those scenes together.
Please forgive my nagging you in recent days to rehearse -- I hope you can see how it pays off in the end. =) You may have skipped lines, lost words, or forgotten your blocking, but everybody knew his/her role well enough that you could keep going and make it look convincing.

And I was very impressed with your professionalism -- you guys focused well, ran line rehearsals in the green room, stayed on task, and happily jumped in to help out your friends whenever they needed it (whether mopping up the flour from the stage or moving stuff around for the next scene or loaning a prop or just telling somebody, "Hey, you did a great job!")

It makes me happy to see you guys working well TOGETHER -- caring about one another, supporting one another. That shines through in your work -- people can tell that you guys are friends, not just competing for attention.




Bask in the glory for a few days. =)
Then break out that MND script and work on those lines!

(I can hear the groans from here.) :p

Break a leg

=)

(Funny how we don't believe the superstition anymore -- that wishing someone a good performance is a jinx -- yet we still use the phrase....)



One last line rehearsal ...
Deep breath ....
Get into character before you walk up the stairs to the stage

enjoy!

Performance Details

Stuff you really, really need to pay attention to....


Scene Performances

Performance Order

Thursday

1. Turkish Delight
2. Jill Meets Aslan
3. Captive of the Silver Chair
4. Hamlet & Ophelia
5. Antigone Retold
6. Perelandra
7. Marley Visits Scrooge

Friday

1. Antigone Retold
2. Perelandra
3. Hamlet & Ophelia
4. Marley Visits Scrooge
5. Turkish Delight
6. Jill Meets Aslan
7. Captive of the Silver Chair
   

When:
Thurs & Fri, Dec 8 & 9
1:00pm


Where:
main auditorium stage


Who:
Thurs: little kids (3rd/4th)
Fri: big kids (6th & up)


Lunch
Watch what you eat for lunch ... you'll be onstage in little more than an hour. Avoid milk, soda, and eating too much. But DO eat. You could pass out on stage if you skip food entirely.

If you don't want to eat at lunchtime, eat substantially at snacktime. Make it protein & complex carbs -- not sugar.

Pictures
I'd like to take shots of you guys doing your scenes as well as a few "portrait" shots of the two (or three) of you in character. It's fun to be able to look back and say, "Wow ... that was me!"

We'll have to squeeze them in when we can -- before the performances, probably. I won't take a ton of shots -- if y'all want a really good set of photos, we can arrange a time for that after school or sometime the following week.

Thursday: Photos for "Turkish Delight," "Jill & Aslan," & "Scrooge & Marley"
Friday: Photos for "Captive of the Silver Chair," "Antigone Retold," "Hamlet & Ophelia," & "Perelandra"


Call time:
Be in full costume and seated in the drama room by 12:45 at the latest.

Have your props laid out on the correct side of the stage (off stage, down the steps). Think through your entrance so you know whether you need to come from the drama room or from the science room (happily, they are connected, remember?) =)

If you're getting your picture taken (see above), be dressed and seated on the stage by 12:15. Thursday photos: You have permission to eat at 11:30.


Dressing Rooms:
Girls-- you've got the room between the drama room & the science room. You can also dress in the bathroom downstairs -- but you MUST not leave any of your stuff in that bathroom -- bring it with you to the drama room during performances.

Guys-- Use the bathroom downstairs but don't leave your stuff around during the performance. You can also change in one of the empty Sunday School rooms upstairs (above the library), but again -- don't leave your stuff up there.

I plan to put a full-length mirror in the drama room.


"Green Room":
Traditionally, the backstage room where actors wait to go "on" is called "the green room." I can't remember why ... anyways, our "green room" will be the drama room. Before you perform your scene, you need to be in the drama room.

• Be in the drama room in full costume by 12:45.
• Do NOT be late.
  
• Do NOT leave the drama room between 12:45 and performance time for any reason other than death or the apocalypse.
• Don't visit the audience before the show. It shatters the "illusion" of your character ... and without illusion, theater is nothing. Besides, that's really unprofessional.
  

Once 1:00 rolls around, you need to be QUIET. Your noise will carry out into the performance area, even with the door shut. Use that time to prepare for your role -- get into character; look over your lines; play a quiet card game; relax and breathe deeply... just be QUIET. It's a great time to run a quiet, no-inflections line rehearsal with your scene partner.

You can also stand quietly outside the drama room door and watch what's happening on stage. Just make sure no one in the audience can see you.

Bethany (on Thursday) & Rebekah (on Friday) -- would you make sure things stay calm in the Green Room? Thanks muchly.


When It's All Over

After performing your scene, join us in the audience to watch the rest of the performances. I'll save seats on the ends of rows for you.

Curtain Calls:
Do a curtain call (return for applause) at the end of your scene. I know where they end, so I'll get the crowd to applaud at the right moment.
End your scene, pause for a count to 5 (or until you hear the applause), and walk to the front center to take your bow -- Please add this to your rehearsals this week.

Don't be surprised if you're called up to the front again for a mass curtain call at the very end. Probably depends on the mood of the crowd. [Hence your seats on the ends of rows in the audience.] =)


Heading to the Next Class:
On Thursday, you'll have to change quickly and get to chapel on time. Don't use drama as an excuse to be 20 minutes late for chapel...

On Friday, I'll give you time to greet the audience and sign autographs ;) before shooing you off to the last hour class. Enjoy the fellowship; bask in the glory. You will have earned it!!

******
Whew.
A LOT of details.



--Rehearse every day this week (M-W).
--Work on the three things I listed in the previous post: speak LOUDLY, speak SLOWLY, and "overdo" your characterization.
--I need to see the following scenes again at these times:

• Silver Chair scene -- Tuesday at 11:30 (Nate & Claire -- you'll probably have to miss the lunchtime chapel meeting) ... and please talk to me Monday before your recess rehearsal about some blocking changes for your scene
  
• Hamlet scene -- Tuesday after the MND rehearsal
  
• Scrooge & Marley -- Wednesday at 11:30
  

Others have asked ... I'll take you on first-come, first-served basis
Taylor & Bettina -- Monday, 11:30


These scenes are gonna be AWESOME
*nods*