Aftermath ;)

WELL
that's over.

Sad, isn't it? That something can take so much time and effort and be so... ephemeral ("short-lived"). I think the magic of the theater is partly in its temporary-ness. Once a production is over, it's gone. Yeah, we have the video... but it's just not the same as the "real thing." For three nights at New Covenant School in Anderson, SC, these characters lived and breathed on a real stage because YOU brought them to life in your own unique way. No one else will ever do a production of Midsummer quite like ours.


Loose Ends

• Is anybody missing anything that you brought to school for the play? Let Bethany know. I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment ... leaving for Italy on Wed (!)
  
• Your costume items (unless it came from your closet) belongs to the school because NCS paid for it. If you really liked something you (or someone else) wore and you want to buy it from the school, come talk to me.

Photo CDs & Poster Reprints
If you want a copy of the production photos (cast photos and stills) and the promo posters (in PDF form), I will take orders to burn CDs when I get back from Italy (right after spring break). They'll cost $2.

The photos will be in JPG form and you can upload the files to WalMart.com or SnapFish or other Internet photo printers to get your own prints made (if you want one to hang on your wall). ;)

If you want print copies of any of the posters that were hanging in the lobby, they cost $1 (to cover the cost of using the color copier and the shiny paper).

I'll post a signup sheet next to the testing calendar in the computer lab .... and I'll fill the orders when I get back.


Looking Forward
I'm kicking around a couple of ideas for 4th quarter. What do you think of these?

One-Act Plays
I'm thinking of having you guys split up into perhaps 2 groups to produce --entirely on your own -- short one-act plays. (These usually run about 10-15 minutes.)

Drama students would direct, be the assistant director, audition for & fill all the roles, and work backstage for each "production."

We might even be able to run two rounds of these, so that lots of people get a chance to both act and direct (not at the same time, of course). We could do one group in late April and another in late May.


Script-Writing
Some of you might really enjoy the process of turning a story into a script for the stage. (It's a lot of fun, if you like creative writing and theater production.) I can think of some short stories that would make wonderful one-act plays. But they need to be re-written for stage.

Possibilities
Wuorio's "You Can't Take it With You" (there's a play out by the same name, but it's NOT the same story)--cranky old Uncle Basil gets sick & tired of his whiny, pansy, money-grubbing relatives calling him names behind his back because they think he's deaf. They want his money. He finds a way to truly "take it with him." hehehe

Dahl's "The Landlady." One of my favorite short stories ever which I read to the 7th graders. Creepy middle-aged woman lures a naive young man into her home so she can ... add him to her collection. The suspense is wonderful. And if we do this one, I demand the right to at least audition for the lady.... cuz she's just delightfully disturbing. ;)

I dunno if there's any way to make "The Most Dangerous Game" into a full play. I think you'd have to skim through the action scenes in the woods and finish with the scene in Zaroff's bedroom. But this is a fantastic story with fascinating characters.

Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger" requires imaginative re-writing since there's little dialogue. And you'd have to decide -- since Stockton leaves you hanging at the end, how can you pull that same thing on the audience.

Finally, many of the Norse myths are ripe for theater -- including the story about Thor dressing up like a bride to get his hammer back from the giants (hahahahahahahaha) as well as the tale of the death of Balder (that one has lots of intrigue, cool disguises for Loki, and rich irony).

Oh, and the 9th graders are working through the Arabian Nights tales. I think those have definite potential. ;)


Directing Seventh Grade Drama
the 7th graders will begin their drama unit for English class in late March. (If you were here last year, you might recall seeing A Sunny Morning, In the Fog, The Governess, and When the Rattlesnake Sounds in late April).

If I can work it out, I'd like to have at least some of you mentor the 7th graders as they go from auditions to full performance in about a month. This would open up opportunities for you to direct, help with costume and stage design, and coach young actors in characterization skills. And this allows more of you to act as "directors" without stretching our small drama class too thin.


Obviously, those three ideas up there could end up working together.
For example, we could divide April between working with the 7th graders, writing our own scripts, and casting student productions.... which would be performed during the last full week of school. (Sort of a last dramatic hurrah for the school year.)

and if you hate all three of those ideas, feel free to offer one of your own! ;)

*****
Did you see the post below this one?
... just checking ....


*****
we would appreciate your prayers for us as we take the juniors & seniors to Italy. Pray for safety, wisdom, good health, no disasters, and a great time. We will certainly miss the rest of you guys -- I truly love being with my students and sense a "gap" in my life when you're not around.

Cindy Udall will be teaching the drama class while I'm gone. I plan to be back in the classroom on Friday the 24th.

If I can get online at any time in Italy, I'll update my Xanga.


take care.
I can honestly say that I teach the most wonderful, incredible, and amazing group of students on the planet, hands down.
I *dare* anyone to prove me wrong. ;)


blessings