The Drama Teacher Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Drama Teacher Podcast
Episode 214: Theatre as a teaching tool
The drama classroom is not just a place for games and play time. You can use theatre as a teaching tool - perhaps the most important one students will ever receive. That’s the philosophy of long time drama teacher Michelle Huerta and she has grown and changed over the years as her students have grown and changed.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy School Daze
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 214. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode214.
Today is a lovely conversation. It’s one of those ones that, you know, it starts in one place and ends up in another. You know, I say that and then, well, I suppose all conversations do that, don’t they?
We don’t just stay in one place. Otherwise, all the words would just dump all on top of each other and you wouldn’t be able to understand anything.
Now, I’m thinking about conversations that tumble on top of each other. This tangent is brought to you by Theatrefolk.com.
Our guest today is a 30-year teacher veteran and, frankly, I love what she has to say about being a long-term teacher. I love what she has to say about 21st century students. I love her advice for new teachers and I know that you are going to love it, too.
Let’s get to it. I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I am so excited today to be talking to Michelle Huerta.
Hello, Michelle!
MICHELLE: Hi Lindsay!
How are you?
LINDSAY: Fantastic!
First of all, please let everybody know where you are in the world today.
MICHELLE: I am in Austin, Texas – very far southwest part of Austin, Texas.
LINDSAY: Very nice.
How long have you been a teacher?
MICHELLE: I have been teaching for over 30 years.
LINDSAY: I like the laugh before you thought. It was like, “Oh, my goodness, 30 years.”
MICHELLE: Yeah, yeah.
LINDSAY: Let’s talk about that for a second. That’s fantastic.
How do you feel about teaching for 30 years?
MICHELLE: I can’t believe that it’s been that long. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. But, whenever I say it, I realize that means I must be old if I’ve been teaching that long. But I love teaching middle school and I’ve been teaching middle school now for about 25 years.
LINDSAY: Let’s talk about that for a second.
What keeps you teaching?
MICHELLE: The kids. I just love working with the kids.
I think, middle school, a lot of people go, “Oh, you teach middle school? Oh, my gosh!” but I actually love middle school compared to high school because, in high school, they’re getting to that age a lot of times where they’re a little jaded. They think they’re a little bit too cool.
In middle school, there’s still that excitement about learning new things and figuring things out. I really enjoy their enthusiasm and it makes me energized, if that makes any sense.
I know a lot of people would think that’s crazy – that it usually makes you tired – but, their energy, I feed off of it. It’s just great.
LINDSAY: I think that just means that you’ve actually found and lived the thing you were meant to do, right? – when it energizes you instead of exhausts you.
MICHELLE: Exactly.
LINDSAY: Here’s a great question. It’s really interesting. I talk to a lot of new teachers in a lot of situations where there’s a lot of turnover of teachers. Since I have a 30-year veteran on the line here, do you think that students have changed in your time of teaching?
MICHELLE: They have. They’ve changed and so has education a little bit.
I know we teachers that have been in the field for a long time say, “Oh, this is the same thing, it’s just a different name.” But, I think, especially in the last few years with the use of technology,
Episode 213: Happy Birthday Frankenstein!
It’s Frankenstein’s Birthday this month! Or more accurately, it’s the birthday of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of the classic gothic romance Frankenstein. Drama teacher and playwright Laramie Dean talks about writing his adaptation of the novel (Frankenstein Among the Dead), what it’s like to take on this iconic work and writing for his students. How do you adapt it to the high school stage and high school budgets? How do you adapt it so there is more variety in the gender roles? (PS: there are great parts for girls in his play!)
Show Notes
Frankenstein Among the Dead Laramie Dean Podcast: This Place Scares Us on Frankenstein Among the Dead
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 213, and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode213.
Did you know it’s Frankenstein’s birthday this month? Happy birthday, Frankenstein!
Well, more accurately, it is the birthday of Mary – oh, I’m going to say this so wrong – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley – Mary Shelley – the author of the classic gothic romance, Frankenstein.
Our guest today tackled this iconic story and adapted it into a play – a play for high schools. Not an easy feat, right? There are many movie adaptations, many parodies. “It’s Frankens-teen, not Frankenstein.” That was the worst ever, don’t you think? I think!
Many versions of the monster. How do you make it theatrical? How do you adapt it to the high school stage and high school budget? How do you make it current to the student climate? We can’t publish a play that’s all guys and all the great parts.
So many questions! Let’s get to the answers. I’ll see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello! Thank you everybody for listening!
I’m here today with Laramie Dean.
LARAMIE: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Tell everybody where in the world you are.
LARAMIE: I am in Missoula, Montana.
LINDSAY: Missoula, Montana. Very nice.
We’re going to talk about a lot of things. We’re going to talk about you. We’re going to talk about Frankenstein Among the Dead which is this lovely – let’s see – this lovely thing. It’s a brand-new play here at Theatrefolk.
We’re going to start with you and teaching. How long have you been a drama teacher?
LARAMIE: I started teaching theatre in 2003 as an assistant to one of the professors of the University of Montana where I had just recently finished my bachelor’s degree in acting and I was sort of at odds. I didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore.
Dr Jillian Campana – who is a huge influence on me and my career – asked me to come and assistant direct the university’s production of The Laramie Project. I had never directed before. She said, “Oh, you’ll be great, you’ll be great!”
We had a freshman in the program. He was very hard to reach, and she was having trouble directing him. She said, “You work with this guy after rehearsal.” I was like, “Ah, umm…”
I sat down with him and we talked. I gave him some suggestion and some direction. He changed for the better and, all of a sudden, I went, “Oh, my god, I can do this. I’m actually good at this.” I went back to grad school and Jillian gave me lots of opportunities with TA and then I got my own classes and I had a playwriting class.
Finally, several years down the road, I decided to become a high school theatre teacher and ended up with my job at Hellgate High School which is the most fantastic name a theatre teacher like me could possibly work at.
LINDSAY: Well, we’re going to talk a little bit about horror and that, I think, is just an even better school title when you like horror and you write horror. You work at Hellgate High. I just think that’s fantastic.
LARAMIE: I agree!
Episode 212: Drama Teachers: Take back the classics
Julie Hartley wants you to take back the classics. Lose the idea that Shakespeare is high brow and just for people who only have a grasp of the language. Listen in to learn a practical and classroom driven approach to a classical text.
Show Notes
Julie Hartley website Centauri Arts Camp Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 212. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode212.
Today, we are talking the classics – the “classics” with quotation marks and fancy fonts.
For example, classics, Shakespeare!’
Now, we’re not just talking Shakespeare, we’re not just talking the classics. We are specifically talking about taking back the classics.
The word “classic” has such a connotation to it, right? It makes some people think of a piece that is beyond them. “Oh, it’s so uber important! Oh, it’s a classic!” Or the opposite. “It’s dusty and boring and completely irrelevant to the current times.”
Our guest today wants you to trash both those notions. Shakespeare is current and relevant. Shakespeare should not be put on a pedestal. I love it! I love her approach, and I know you will, too!
Let’s get to it. I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
I am here today, talking with Julie Hartley.
Hello, Julie!
JULIE: Hi!
LINDSAY: First of all, could you tell everybody where in the world you are?
JULIE: Physically, right now, I am in Toronto. I work generally all across Southern Ontario.
LINDSAY: Very cool. Very cool.
When this goes to air, it will be hopefully nice spring weather and maybe even summer weather. Right now, though, I think we’re both dealing with a little bit of winter fatigue. How was the ice storm where you are?
JULIE: Hopefully, it’s clearing up today. It was pretty bad over the weekend, though. We’re definitely ready for spring here.
LINDSAY: I know it, I know it.
I know too that spring for you means something kind of exciting. We’re going to be talking about Shakespeare, and particularly how you can take classical text and really make them come alive in the classroom.
Julie, you were many hats, and one of your great hats is an arts summer camp. Talk about that for just a second.
JULIE: Yeah, sure!
We’ve been doing this for the past 24 years. What we do is, every summer, we bring together up to 500 children and teenagers from all over the world. They come and join us at a big center down in the Niagara region, and we bring together arts professionals – mostly from all over Canada – who offer specialized courses for the teenagers.
In theatre, we have everything from stage combat, clown, improvisation, comedy. We have programs that focus on scene study and other programs that focus on devised theatre. Pretty much, I guess, a child or a teenager could come to us every summer for about five to six years and never cover the same material twice. They have so many different focuses they can choose from, all of them to do with theatre.
It’s a summer camp, but it’s also an arts training ground for kids in the summer.
LINDSAY: I think it’s wonderful. And the name of your camp?
JULIE: It’s Centauri Summer Arts Camp.
LINDSAY: Very nice. Very nice.
You’ve had quite a journey because you didn’t start in Canada. You started in the north of England. I think everybody knows that you are from England, but I’ll just say it.
How long have you been in Canada?
JULIE: I’ve been in Canada now for 25 years. We emigrated in order to set up the camp and it was successful, so we stayed here, and we built an arts career for ourselves here. I was a teacher in the UK before we emigrated.
LINDSAY: I know that you do a lot.
Episode 211: Putting together a touring high school show
How do you put together a touring show with your students? Drama Teacher Mike Yoson and his advanced production class completed their first tour this past year. Listen in to hear the successes and struggles of this fabulous project.
Show Notes
The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 211. Woot, woot! And you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode211.
All right. I love starting with questions. I have so many questions for you! And then, it becomes interactive. You can answer. I can’t hear you but… well, actually, yes. Yes, I can. Of course, I can. I always hear you.
Do you have an advanced theatre class? Are you looking for a new challenge? What about a touring show? Can you imagine putting that together with your students? Eh? Yes? No? Never? Maybe?
Well, our guest today did just that, and you – lucky you – get to find out all the successes and struggles of this fabulous project.
So, let’s get to it. I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
Lindsay Price here from Theatrefolk. Thanks for joining me!
I am talking with drama teacher – Mike Yoson.
Hello, Mike!
MIKE: Hello! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m fabulous! I’m fabulous!
So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
MIKE: I am in Piscataway, New Jersey. That’s the central area of New Jersey, about an hour outside of New York.
LINDSAY: Very cool, very cool.
How long have you been a drama teacher?
MIKE: This is my third year – fairly new.
LINDSAY: That’s okay. That’s all right. We know lots of people who are new.
What was it about teaching? What drew you to teaching drama?
MIKE: Sure.
I grew up being the biggest drama kid ever. I actually went to school for acting. I went to school in New York for that. And then, after I lived there for four years, I came back to New Jersey and I ended up working at a school for students with multiple disabilities as an aide. It was a school that I’d worked at in the past and I ended up having a full-year job there.
Through my time at that school, I realized, “Hey! I think teaching is a really cool thing to do and I really enjoy it.” So, I decided to combine my two passions.
I went back to school, got my theatre ed certifications, and started teaching high school.
LINDSAY: Have you been at the same school since you started?
MIKE: Yes, Piscataway High School.
LINDSAY: But it’s a very specific shift, eh?
MIKE: Oh, yeah.
LINDSAY: To go from “I want to be a performer” to “I want to be in the classroom.”
What do you think it is about being in the classroom that that’s the thing that you wanted to pursue?
MIKE: Well, I loved my high school theatre days. I look back on it so passionately. I just think it was so much fun.
Once I started delving into the teaching, I realized how cool it was to expose kids to theatre for the first time or even develop their skills if they were “theatre kids” from birth like I was. Just to see them grow and develop and find a new passion or just find a place where they can grow more confidence. That’s what I love about teaching theatre.
LINDSAY: You’ve been doing it for three years now. What’s one thing that was pretty unexpected about teaching that they didn’t really prepare you for when you went to school?
MIKE: Hmm…
LINDSAY: Unless you had an amazing teacher, unless you had an amazing school.
MIKE: I had great professors and everything.
I guess the biggest – how do I say it? – obstacle starting teaching was that not every kid is super passionate about what I’m teaching or what we’re doing in class. My first year specifically because, when I came into my position,
Episode 210: A Facilitating a student led production
Have you ever sat back and let your students take control of a play? How do you let students learn from the struggles throughout the process, rather than making the decisions for them? Drama teacher Saran Hankins shares her experience facilitating a student driven production.
Show Notes
Shuddersome The Myths at the Edge of the World Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 210, and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode210.
Today, we’re talking about student-driven work.
Have you ever sat back and let your students take control of a play? Now, how does that make you feel? Does that make you feel excited, nervous, nauseous? How do you let students learn from the struggles that they’ll find throughout the production process rather than making the decisions for them?
That’s exactly what our guest did with a recent production of Shuddersome, and it is a great conversation, so let’s get to it! I’ll see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us!
I am here with Sarah Hankins.
Hello, Sarah!
SARAH: Hello!
LINDSAY: So, first of all, please tell everybody where in the world you are right now.
SARAH: I am at Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi.
LINDSAY: Nice, very nice, and how long have you been at your school?
SARAH: This is my third year teaching at Clinton High School.
LINDSAY: Oh, and how long have you been a drama teacher?
SARAH: This is my seventh year. I’m about to finish up my seventh year.
LINDSAY: Very good. Okay. So, seven years in, what is the thing that keeps you teaching?
SARAH: Honestly, the students because they change so much, and you just get to build these relationships with them that, you know, your normal classroom teachers don’t have. So, they honestly keep me coming back, day after day.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Well, that’s good. It’s good to have something that keeps you coming back. I know that’s not the case for everybody.
What was it that made you want to go into teaching and being a drama teacher?
SARAH: Well, funny thing is – and I just shared this story with students earlier – I actually swore I would never become a school teacher. And then, it just kind of hit me that I would be missing something, and my life wouldn’t be as fulfilled if I weren’t a school teacher.
But my mom is a 36-year veteran of public schools in Mississippi. She retired a couple of years ago. And then, my grandmother was also a teacher, and my sister is also a teacher. So, I guess you could say it runs in our blood.
LINDSAY: Oh, man! I can totally see it, though! Surrounded by teachers and go, “This is not for me.”
SARAH: Yeah. But, as far as theatre goes, when I was in ninth grade, I did a little bit of theatre here and there – at my church or in my school – but we had a community theatre called Brickstreet Players, and they needed a backstage hand and they asked me – this pipsqueak of a ninth grader to do that – and I got in and I met some wonderful people. And then, I met my mentor, and it just worked out where I found my passion.
And so, I’m able to utilize that passion. I was given the opportunity to teach theatre and it’s been a journey ever since.
LINDSAY: Awesome!
What’s the most memorable thing that your mentor has ever said to you?
SARAH: Oh, gosh! Probably that theatre can be summed up in one word, and that is “reaction” and that’s really what life is. It’s reacting to everything that’s around you because you’re not just one person. And so, that really helped open my eyes and helped me to start discovering who I was as a person. And then, in turns,
Episode 209: Page to Stage: What can you learn in 48 hours?
What can you learn when you put up a show from page to stage in 48 hours? Teacher and playwright Scott Giessler shares his experience. If you want your students to have an immediate lesson in problem solving this is the conversation for you!
Show Notes
Life, Off Book Finishing Sentences Oddball
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
Here is the question of the episode:
“What can you learn when you put up a play in 48 hours?”
I’m just going to let that resonate with you. Play to stage in just two days – not two months, not a year – two days!
So, this 48-hour play project, that’s what our guest did today with his students, and he’s going to share his experience with this great project, this great problem-solving project. Aha! Everything is a learning experience.
Now, I have to warn you, the sound may be a little wonky. When we recorded it, there was bad weather on my end, bad weather on his end, so that’s what I’m blaming it on – weather! But what Scott has to say is so lovely. Oh, I really love this conversation, so hang in there. I’m going to hang in there. You do it, too. All right? Let’s do it.
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I am here, talking to Scott Giessler.
Hello, Scott!
SCOTT: Hello!
LINDSAY: So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
SCOTT: I am calling from very cold, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
LINDSAY: I hear you. I feel you. I’m hoping that, when this goes up, maybe it won’t be so cold, but you never know!
SCOTT: Yeah.
LINDSAY: Scott, you are a teacher and playwright, so let’s just start with the teacher first. How long have you been a drama teacher?
SCOTT: I’ve been doing it for 17 years, and it’s been a pretty steady job at that. I started in 2001 and I’ve been just working at it ever since.
LINDSAY: What made you want to get into the teaching aspect?
SCOTT: Okay. Well, I had another life before this where I was working in the commercial sector because I went to college and I wanted to be a screenwriter. After I left college, I went through several different jobs in the commercial sector, just in the entertainment biz – both in Boston. Then, I moved to LA and did a little work there.
There was just a point where I started to realize that there was kind of that big, empty hole in my life of, you know, these jobs are interesting on some level, but I couldn’t care any less about them. And then, it all came to a head when I’d gotten laid off at a job and I just couldn’t imagine applying for any other jobs that were available.
My wife and I sat down and sort of talked about it. We developed a plan to move back east to New Hampshire where I’d spent a lot of my summers. When I got here, as it turned out, the local high school was looking for a theatre teacher.
So, things really kind of magically came together for me, all in the summer of 2001, and they hired me on a wing and a prayer because I had no credentials at the time. Eventually, you know, it started off as just sort of a stipend job when I was a study hall monitor, and I think I taught a theatre class in middle school while I was getting my certification. Eventually, they hired me on full-time at the high school.
LINDSAY: And now, it’s 17 years later.
SCOTT: It is!
LINDSAY: Okay.
SCOTT: Unbelievably, yeah!
LINDSAY: It’s very frightening how time just sort of magically melts, isn’t it?
SCOTT: Lindsay, you ain’t kidding.
LINDSAY: And, the older I get, the faster it melts.
SCOTT: Yes.
LINDSAY: So, that’s how you got into it. 17 years later, why is this the job that stuck? Why are you still in it all this time later?
SCOTT: Man, well, you know, I’ll tell you, I’m not really certain. I will tell you that,
Episode 208: Production Case Study: You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown
Bekah Schneider is a teacher in South Korea and there was a lot to overcome with this production: students not knowing the source material, fear of failure, and doing choreography by Skype. After all that this was her best production experience in 20 years. Listen in to learn why!
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Click the photo below to see more from the show!
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 208, and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode208.
Today, we’ve got a production case study. Oh, production case studies are some of my favorite, favorite episodes. I hope you like them, too! I hope you like them, but I like them because I love learning the how and the why behind a production, and this particular conversation is a real treat.
We’re talking musicals today – one particular musical – You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Our guest today had quite the experience with the show. Little teaser for you! Let’s find out why!
I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everybody! Welcome to the podcast!
I am talking with Bekah Schneider.
Hello, Bekah!
BEKAH: Hey there!
LINDSAY: First of all, tell everyone where in the world you are. You’re in an extra special place.
BEKAH: I am in Suwon, South Korea.
LINDSAY: This is pretty awesome because I’m doing this recording which will mean nothing to you much later in the time when this gets posted, but it’s a Thursday night, and where you are, it’s a Friday morning.
BEKAH: Yes, it’s true. It’s very fun.
LINDSAY: Yes, I’m sure it is. It must be hilarious when you’re trying to communicate home, you know?
BEKAH: Yes. Yes, exactly.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a drama teacher?
BEKAH: I have been a drama teacher officially in school systems, this is year seven.
LINDSAY: Were you an unofficial drama teacher?
BEKAH: Yeah. Actually, you know, I was a professional actress growing up and I did work in our state and traveled with our state. And then, I was a creative director at the church and did acting classes for students outside of that. I didn’t step into formal classroom education until much later in life, but it’s been very fun.
LINDSAY: What made you want to step into the classroom?
BEKAH: I loved what I did working with children, but I knew the influence of working with children would be greater if I had kind of a steady stream of students and classes. I am a single parent. And so, from a work perspective, teaching was something that I was passionate about already with the schedule and then working with children, and it just kind of all fit together. I get to do what I want to do which is drama. And so, I love it. I absolutely love it.
LINDSAY: How did you end up in Korea?
BEKAH: Ah! Now, that is a story!
My brother actually moved to Korea twenty years ago and has been in the international school scene. There’s quite a large community. In fact, even with our DTA community, there’s many of us from all over the world.
And so, he had been over here for twenty years and called me and said, “There’s a job and you should apply.” I said, “No, I’m super happy.” He’s my older brother, so he kind of bullied me and harassed me into at least looking at it.
And then, I applied confident that I would never get the job and confident that we would never move and, you know, we did. So, we’ve been overseas for three years now. It’s been really fun. We really felt like just the series of events that orchestrated us over here were pretty phenomenal and really unexpected. It wasn’t something we were looking for, but I’m so glad we’re here.
LINDSAY: What’s the makeup of the students that y...
Episode 207: A Fabulous Theatre Fundraiser
Don’t you want to learn more about a fabulous theatre fundraiser idea? Of course you do. Listen to drama teacher Alyssa Pitner talk about creating a haunted house with her students. Take notes now, implement in the fall!
Show Notes
Horror Movie 101 Shuddersome: Tales of Poe The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Bottom of the Lake Frankenstein Among the Dead Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo Ashland Falls Close Encounters of the Undead Kind The Haunting of Chip Lake Lodge
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Oh, I hope you’re well. I hope you’re well!
Are you okay? Maybe I’m not so okay.
Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 207. And you can find any links – there are a lot of links – any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode207.
Today, we’re having a little chat about fundraising, specifically a fabulous theatre fundraising idea. Don’t you want to learn about a fabulous theatre fundraising idea that you could do? Of course!
Our guest today has that fabulous theatre fundraising idea and it’s not just an idea. She implemented it. She implements it every year and she’s going to share it with all of you. So, get your pen and paper, get your phone out to take notes, listen in and get all the info, so it’s something that you can implement this fall.
While we’re talking about the fall, if you are looking for the perfect play to produce around Halloween – yes, this all fits in with our talk today – I’m doing a little teaser. Make sure you click the show notes. We have so many great plays that delve into theatrical horror. Zombie makeup unit, anyone?
Click the show notes at Theatrefolk.com/episode207. I’m going to share more news, more titles at the end. I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello! I am here talking to Alyssa Pitner.
Hello, Alyssa!
ALYSSA: Hi!
LINDSAY: All right!
Now, tell everyone where in the world you are right now.
ALYSSA: I am in Queen Creek, Arizona, at Casteel High School.
LINDSAY: Very cool.
And the weather? Is it still warm there?
ALYSSA: Oh, yeah. It’s not even really sweater weather yet. Oh, well.
LINDSAY: Ah, too bad, too bad.
ALYSSA: I know. I don’t have to shovel snow or scrape ice off my windshield. My life’s so hard.
LINDSAY: And how long have you been a drama teacher?
ALYSSA: I’ve been a drama teacher now for three years.
LINDSAY: Oh, cool.
ALYSSA: I’m a newbie, but…
LINDSAY: You’re new. Let’s talk about that for a second.
What made you want to become a teacher and specifically a drama teacher?
ALYSSA: I wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid because I got some weird thrill when I was younger of grading my brother’s homework which I don’t get that thrill anymore as an actual teacher. But, when I was in high school, I had a theatre teacher who let me direct a one-act, and I fell in love. It was the coolest experience of my high school career, and I was like, “I want to do this forever!” and I realized I could. So, that’s what I’m doing.
LINDSAY: I talk to a lot of people who start off in that performing track and then the love of teaching overtakes. Was it always teaching for you?
ALYSSA: I love performing and I love performing in high school and I thought about pursuing it, but I wanted to be a teacher, so that’s where I stayed.
LINDSAY: That’s good. We need people who actually love teaching and want to do it. So, that’s an actual good thing.
So, you’ve been doing it for three years now. What is something that has surprised you about being a teacher?
ALYSSA: Something that surprised me? The amount of paperwork is insane, sometimes. Like, IEP paperwork if I go for that kind of stuff. And how much – as a theatre teacher,
Episode 206: Monologue Competitions: How to compete confidently
How can you encourage your students to compete with confidence? Learn from the source! Student Kelsey Gilmore was chosen as critics choice for monologues and best in show in her district for her monologue performance. What did she do? How did she prepare?
Show Notes
All things monologue at theatrefolk.com Stressed Have You Heard Puzzle Pieces Myth-o-logues A Box of Puppies
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 206. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode206.
Today, we’re talking monologues and, more specifically, monologue competitions.
Do you take your students to monologue competitions? Do you have your students perform monologues in the classroom? How is it going for you? Going okay? Want to do better? How can you encourage your students to compete with confidence?
Well, I think the best way is to learn from the source.
We’re going to talk today to a student who has had great success this year in competition.
If you are looking for monologues for your students, if you just can’t listen to the same monologues over and over and over again, we can help. We can help! We can help!
All you’ve got to do is look in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode206.
I’ve put a link in there to Theatrefolk’s monologue collections, monologue plays. We have a few! In our monologue books, all the monologues come from published plays, and it’s a one-stop shop to find those plays! Theatrefolk.com!
Okay. I will see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
I am here with Kelsey Gilmore.
Hello, Kelsey!
KELSEY: Hello!
LINDSAY: First off, tell everybody where in the world you are right now.
KELSEY: I am in Tallahassee, Florida.
LINDSAY: Awesome!
You are a senior, right?
KELSEY: Yes, ma’am!
LINDSAY: Excellent.
The reason you are talking is that you did something very exciting last weekend at your district thespian festival. Not only were you chosen for critic’s choice for monologues, but you also won best in show.
KELSEY: I did!
LINDSAY: Congratulations!
KELSEY: Thank you so much!
LINDSAY: We’re just going to kind of talk to you about what you did to prepare for districts and what it’s like to compete and maybe some advice for some folks who are listening – our listeners, our teachers, and drama students. I know a lot of them have students who go into competition and are frustrated sometimes with competition.
Let’s start off with some background.
Have you competed at districts every year?
KELSEY: I competed my sophomore and junior year. I didn’t do it in freshman year, though.
LINDSAY: Do you remember what your first competition was like? I know it was a long time ago.
KELSEY: It was very nerve-racking. There were so many people and so much talent. I was like, “Oh! Oh, wow! Wow! Okay… This is new! So many thespians in one place! That’s very cool!”
LINDSAY: District run is pretty huge, too. So, I can imagine it was overwhelming.
KELSEY: I actually won critic’s choice my first year, but that was for a large group musical. We didn’t win best in show, but it was a big feat for me to win critic’s choice with that musical number.
LINDSAY: Did it change your perspective a little? You know, going into it and you see all the people and you see all the talent and you’re like, “I could never do that,” and then to be awarded. Did you go, “Maybe I can do this?”
KELSEY: My freshman year or this year when I won best in show?
LINDSAY: That first time.
KELSEY: Oh, the first time, it still is like, “Wow! This is something completely far away!” But I’m doing it with a group of people. I’m not alone.
Episode 205: Talking Tech Theatre Programs
We’re talking tech theatre in the classroom. What’s the first thing you should buy to build your tech theatre program? How do you design a set when you don’t have a theatre program? These questions and more!
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 205 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode205.
Today – oh, I was going for it, and then I pulled back. I pulled back! Oh, I pulled back! Ugh.
Well, that happens sometimes.
Today, we are talking tech theatre.
If you are struggling with the tech side of things or you don’t have a tech background and you want this for your students, you want to provide this for your students, then this is the conversation for you. It is a great one!
At the end, I’ll give you a little more information on where you can get some great tech units.
I will see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everyone! Thanks for tuning in!
I am here today with Dan Mellitz.
Hello, Dan!
DAN: Hi!
LINDSAY: I like to start by asking, where in the world are you right now?
DAN: Currently, I am in Barrington, Rhode Island, which is one of the many places I have been in the past ten years. But that’s where I am located right now.
LINDSAY: Awesome! You gave two exams today. We’re talking tech today and we’re going to get into all about how you got to be where exactly you are right now in Rhode Island, but can you just share what you gave as their final exam? It was the advanced tech students who were making the thing, right?
DAN: Their final exam was to build a tech table for our program since we currently don’t have one, so they had to team up in two teams and design separate ones and then come together and combine their designs to a final design. And then, together, they built their final design and had to go and make sure all the measurements were correct because they sit over the seats and then they had to make sure it was portable. They did a really good job. I think they need some tweaking. It’s gotten a little heavier than it probably should be. But right off the bat was a really good choice as a final project.
LINDSAY: Well, not only is it an interesting choice as product, but it’s a practical kind of test for them to do and a sort of real-world test, huh?
DAN: Yeah, I’ve done sometimes where it’s like you’re doing all this – you know, build a platform and build some stairs that you don’t really need because I have a million of them – and then you just take them apart and it seems like a waste. This is a very practical item.
I’ve done ones where they’ve had to build backstage prop tables that are foldable. I like practical items because then I can use them, and they get to see them in action rather than just seeing them get thrown away.
LINDSAY: I love that, and I know that people who are listening love that kind of thing, too.
Another thing that I think you and I both know is that a lot of people listening are struggling with how on earth they teach tech. They don’t have tech backgrounds. They don’t have any access to tech. You know, we know lots of people who are putting on shows in their cafeteria.
I know that you have got this great website of resource help called The Techie Green Room which everyone listening can find in the show notes. I kind of feel we’re totally simpatico and on the same page with helping teachers in any which way we can, right?
DAN: Yeah, I think so.
LINDSAY: I think that’s where you’re coming from, right?
DAN: Yeah, I think it’s a really great place to be. I think there’s a lot of other resources out there, and I think I’m definitely not the only one, but I think I’m close to the only one that is ...
Episode 204: When a Play Goes Wrong
Have you been there? The cast is fighting, no one knows their lines, maybe the flu has swept through the entire school. There are times when opening night is approaching and you are sure you won’t be ready. Drama Teacher Lea Marshall shares her experience with the play that went wrong, what she learned and what she’ll change for next time. In educational theatre, EVERYTHING is a learning experience!
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Poster: It's Fun to Do the Impossible Poster: The Show Will Open
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
Hello! I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello again! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 204 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode204.
Today, our guest today, she is a treasure. She is a treat. She is an amazing resource, and I am always so happy, I am pleased as punch, I am over the moon when she finds time to talk to us, and this is a topic I know everyone has experience with, everyone will want to listen in on, and I know that you have been there.
You’ve been there!
The cast is fighting. No one knows their lines. Maybe the flu has swept through your entire school. There are times when opening night is approaching, and you are sure you won’t be ready. Maybe you don’t even want to be ready. Maybe you just want to walk away from this play altogether.
Drama teacher Lea Marshall is going share her experience with the play that went wrong, and what she learned, and what she’s going to change for next time because, in educational theatre, everything is a learning experience, right? Right!
Okay. I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
Welcome to the podcast! I am here talking to Lea Marshall.
Hello, Lea!
LEA: Hello!
LINDSAY: Tell everybody where you are in the world right now.
LEA: I am in North Carolina because I am on break – Thanksgiving break. We got a week this year. I’m sorry. I’m sorry to all of you that did not get a week. We probably won’t next year, so I won’t gloat too much.
I’m in North Carolina, though. I’m usually in Tallahassee, Florida, where I live and teach, but I am in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It’s really beautiful here. I’d show you more, but this is the outside of our little Airbnb. My three kids are inside – two of them are in college, and they’re actually doing homework. So, I stepped outside in 23 layers. I swear, it’s like 50 degrees, but I’m in 23 layers.
LINDSAY: Yes, nobody has any sympathy because (a) you have an entire week off – although, when we post this, it’ll be March or something, so Thanksgiving means nothing – and (b) you’re usually in Florida where it’s warm.
LEA: Yes.
LINDSAY: You have just completed a production of Steel Magnolias.
LEA: Yes.
LINDSAY: And what you would like to say, because we’ve had conversations before about other productions. Are you sitting in yoga pants? Are you done with the show?
LEA: In my yoga pants.
The funniest story is that we did the post-production for To Kill a Mockingbird last time and I was in my yoga pants on the couch. In the middle of production – like, the bad three weeks, the last couple of weeks of it – I re-listened to that only because I needed to remind myself that, one day, again, I would sit on my couch in yoga pants and sound that calm and happy.
I want to be back in that space where I remembered how it felt to be done. And so, I listened to that. I was like, “Oh, I need to record another one so that, next time, I can listen to both of them, and remember how it felt to be done – how good it felt.” It will happen.
You will, at some point, be done.
LINDSAY: That gets us right to what we’re talking about today which is what happens when your production becomes the play that goes wrong.
Episode 203: The Creative and Critical Process
The creative and critical analysis processes are defined parts of the arts curriculum in Ontario. Students learn the steps to help them acquire knowledge and skill in the arts and then develop their ability to craft an informed response to a work of art. Teacher Luke Bramer talks about his experience using the Creative and Critical process in his classroom.
Show Notes
Creative Process
Creative Process: Reflecting on Original Theatrical Works Creative Process: From Page to Stage Monologue Creative Process 1 Monologue Creative Process 2 Monologue Creative Process 3
Critical Analysis Process
Critical Analysis Process Worksheet Critical Analysis Process: Reflecting on Original Theatrical Works
Theatrefolk Resources
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 203 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode203.
Okay, folks. Today, there are handouts. There are samples, documents, visuals, if you so choose. If you’re in your car, please do not download said handouts, samples, documents, and visuals. But I wanted to let you know that they are available, and you can check out everything in the show notes which I just said but I don’t mind repeating. That’s Theatrefolk.com/episode203.
We’re talking about a specific curriculum-based process that teachers in my home turf of Ontario, Canada, use, but it’s the kind of thing that we’re sharing. We’re talking about the creative process and the critical analysis process – each of which come with handy dandy graphs which, again, you can find in the show notes – unless you’re driving a car. Please do not download the graphs when driving.
What is it? Don’t download? No download graphs. Do not download graphs while driving. No download while driving. Got it? Got it.
We did this conversation first as a Facebook Live and now it’s here for you.
Sit back, relax, and I’ll see you on the other side.
LINDSAY: All right, everybody! Hello! Thank you for joining me!
Today, I am talking to Luke Bramer.
Hello, Luke!
LUKE: Hello! How’s it going?
LINDSAY: Ah, it’s going very well! We’ve recently moved, so we have nothing. It might be a little echo-y, but I think we’ll survive. We’ll survive.
Luke, please tell everybody where in the world you are right now.
LUKE: Sure. I am from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I work at Glendale Secondary School as part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District Schoolboard’s Audition-Based Program of the Arts.
LINDSAY: Oh, Hamilton! In my head, you were in Toronto, but you’re actually even closer!
LUKE: Yes.
LINDSAY: That’s pretty awesome!
Okay. How long have you been a teacher?
LUKE: I’ve been a teacher for eight years.
LINDSAY: And why are you a drama teacher? What was it that drew you to this path?
LUKE: For sure. I went to the University of Windsor and took Drama and Education and got really excited about that but loved the theatre portions of it. And so, I did a lot of stage managing while I was there, and I feel like my drama class is now like a show every single day – you know, lots of things to manage. But I got into a program at Glendale specifically and they have a specialized program there, so I got to do a lot more of the theatre and education which is what I really enjoyed doing.
LINDSAY: Ah, tell me why! Let’s get into why drama and education.
I have friends to went to the performance side of Windsor. What was in specifically about teaching that really drew you?
LUKE: I’ve always enjoyed the performance aspects, but actually getting students excited about stuff and actually getting to see them onstage taking over was really terrific. Being at Glendale,
Episode 202: Shakespeare on a Shoestring
What does Shakespeare on a shoestring mean? It means no set, no elaborate costumes, all sound done onstage and life. Just like Shakespeare would have done in his day. If you’re looking for a doorway to Shakespeare, if you’re looking for a show to tour or take to a festival when you don’t have any tech at your disposal, then the shoestring philosophy will be right up your alley. Tune in to learn more!
Show Notes
Shakespeare on a Shoestring: Cymbeline
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 202 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode202.
Woot! Woot!
I am thrilled to have this conversation that I can present to you and we are going to share a great concept. Well, I’m not going to share it. Our guest is going to share it.
It’s all about Shakespeare on a Shoestring.
Michael Calderone is who I’m talking to, and we have actually just published his play – Shakespeare on a Shoestring – Cymbeline! – here at Theatrefolk.
So, we have the concept which turned into a play which turned into a published play, but we’re focusing on the concept – the concept about how we can do Shakespeare on a Shoestring and how you can do Shakespeare on a Shoestring.
I am always, always, always up for a way to make Shakespeare accessible to students and to open that door to his work. So, let’s get to it! I’m going to see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody! I am here with Mike Calderone!
Hello, Mike!
MICHAEL: Hi there!
LINDSAY: So, I like to start off by asking for you to share where you are in the world right now.
MICHAEL: I am at the campus of Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut.
LINDSAY: Awesome. And what do you do at Hopkins School? What do you do?
MICHAEL: I am one of two drama teachers here. I direct. I teach acting classes, drama classes, and public speaking.
LINDSAY: Very awesome.
Let’s talk about theatre experience first. When did you start really connecting to theatre?
MICHAEL: I did not start connecting to theatre until freshman year of college. I was looking to go to a restaurant school for college, but didn’t have the money to do it, so I went to the local community college, found theatre, and from there I went to Rutgers University and became a Theatre Bachelor of Arts student.
LINDSAY: Aha! So, it was sort of happenstance that you fell into it.
MICHAEL: It really was.
LINDSAY: Why did you stay with it?
MICHAEL: Well, it was the love of the theatre. I guess I was always performing.
I didn’t do anything in high school at all and I think that’s one of the most ironic things about this – about my career. It’s that I never did it in high school. It was in college that I found it and fell in love with it.
Shortly thereafter, when I got into Rutgers, that’s when I fell in with the class that was the Shoestring Players which was an undergraduate performance company that spent a semester developing a show based on international folktales. I went to the audition, I got called back, and then I was not cast. But I went back as the percussionist which is basically the onstage live Foley artist punctuating the performance.
With that job, that’s where I went from we were the first company to go to the Edinburgh Festival way back in 1989 and then performed with them professionally, started teaching with them, started directing with them. From there, when I was looking for a job to pay the bills, I started teaching.
LINDSAY: Wow! You just segued right into our topic for today… brilliantly!
MICHAEL: I listened to your last podcast!
LINDSAY: I like a good segue, man! You know, it’s all about the ebb and flow. It’s all good. It’s all good!
Yes,
Episode 201: Production Case Study: Annie
Where do you start with a play? How do you come up with a vision that spans across character development, light, sound, set, costuming? How do you execute on that vision? And then how do you put all that into an entertaining musical? Listen in to this production case study on the musical Annie.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy The Myths at the Edge of the World The Perils of Modern Education
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 201 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode200.
Today, I am talking to a dear friend here at Theatrefolk Global Headquarters, a man who wears many hats, for us and for others – Matt Webster.
Matt has been in the classroom. He’s taught students to become drama teachers. He’s a playwright. For this podcast, we’re going to talk to him in his role as a director – specifically, what it’s like to direct the musical, Annie. It’s a production case study!
So, let’s find out if the old adage is right that you should never work with animals and children. Let’s find out, shall we?
See you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
Lindsay Price here, and I am talking to Matt Webster.
MATT: Hello everyone!
LINDSAY: Now, usually, I ask where people are in the world, but we happen to be sitting right beside each other.
MATT: Side by side in Cedar City, Utah.
LINDSAY: But where do you usually hail from?
MATT: I hail from Charlotte, North Carolina.
LINDSAY: Very nice.
We are here today. We’re doing a production case study. We’ve done a number of these and I really love being able to talk to folks about the process of putting on a production. We have so many people who listen. I have to put on many, many shows in a year. Some people don’t know where to start, right?
MATT: Absolutely.
LINDSAY: What show are we talking about?
MATT: We are talking about the show “Annie, the Musical.”
LINDSAY: Awesome. You didn’t do any Junior. You did the full-on Annie?
MATT: We did the full-on Annie.
LINDSAY: The first thing is this wasn’t your choice. You were hired to direct Annie.
MATT: Yes, I was hired as a director for a local community theatre company and one of the reasons that they chose me was because I have a background in theatre for youth and working with children. they wanted to have children in the cast as orphans, including small children. That’s why I was offered the job.
LINDSAY: So, what was the age range?
MATT: I ended up casting a 5-year-old as the youngest who turned 6 during rehearsal which was one of my most brilliant things I have to say because she was adorable. But the range was from 6 to 60 is the cast range.
LINDSAY: Awesome, awesome.
Let’s start with your first steps in working on a show. One of the reasons I know that a lot of schools do Annie, but I know too that sometimes the teachers are in a position where they’re putting on shows that they might not necessarily like. I know a lot of teachers who are in the position where they know they have to do musicals, and musicals just aren’t their bag.
As a director, what was your first step in approaching the script and the score?
MATT: With Annie, there’s a really interesting challenge and that is we had to figure out which version we were using. The problem is that we were not allowed to get the script more than two months in advance or we’d have to pay extra.
So, a script was found, but there are multiple versions of Annie. There’s the original version. There’s a rewrite in the 80’s and then a newer version. In addition, online, the choreographer and the music director and some of the actors who were cast looked at some of the music online and some of the scenes online and the...
Episode 200: The 48 Hour Play Project
In this episode we talk to a middle school teacher who takes her students from script to production in 48 hours. How does she do it? How can you do it? Listen in to find out! It’s a mega mix of skills: creative thinking, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 200. Woot! Woot! And you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode200.
200 episodes! Celebrate! Fireworks! I’m trying to say, “Fireworks!”
Okay, 200, that’s a lot. I know it’s not a lot for some podcasts. Some of the podcasts I listen to, I think The Nerdist is closing in on a thousand episodes, but we are just chugging along here, doing our little thing, making our little recordings.
The podcast is one of the things that gets mentioned to me time and time again by folks when I go to conferences. So, I just want to take a second to, again, say thank you. Thank you for listening!
Today, we are talking about putting on a play as part of a speed round. 48 hours from getting the script to performance. That’s what our guest does with her middle schoolers.
Let’s find out the what, the how, and the why, shall we? It is a mega-mix of creative thinking, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication.
I’ll see you on the other side!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I’m here with Angela Watkins.
Hello, Angela!
ANGELA: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Awesome! You sound like chipper, ready to go! Love it!
ANGELA: Always.
LINDSAY: Or you fake it really well, right?
ANGELA: Yes!
LINDSAY: Awesome.
Okay, can you tell everybody where in the world you are right now?
ANGELA: Where in the world I am right now is at the Telluride Middle/High School in Telluride, Colorado. It’s in the southwest mountains. It’s a beautiful little resort town that I’m lucky enough to get to teach at.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Lovely.
How long have you been a teacher?
ANGELA: I’ve taught for about 25 years, but not formally in a school for that long. I’m going into my tenth-year teaching at a regular school and with a theatre curriculum.
LINDSAY: Have you been teaching drama all this time? Or is it new?
ANGELA: Yes, I’ve been teaching drama all this time. I initially founded a little theatre company here quite some time ago and my position was education and outreach. So, the school subcontracted me to do plays within the school. After – I don’t know – 15 years or so, I decided not to be in a theatre company anymore and just teach. That’s where this position came along. And so, I’ve taught, I’ve directed plays – you know, many, many hats.
LINDSAY: Always, always, the drama teacher wears a gazillion hats.
What is it about teaching drama that connects to you?
ANGELA: Well, I guess, when I think about when I was young, what I enjoyed most about school was drama – the fact that so much can be learned in playing and pretending and role-playing and stuff.
Every student, no matter who they are, can get something out of theatre, and some take it very seriously and go very far, but it can go in many directions and it’s so nice to give kids that don’t usually have those options some opportunity to try things or discover things. And I think that can happen in my classroom.
LINDSAY: I think that, the more we get further into the 21st Century, I think drama is becoming – I know lots of people don’t think this but – it’s the most important class for all of those reasons that you just outlined. You know, they’re so worried about their marks and sometimes, they’re just so caught up in what’s happening that that chance to play is really important.
ANGELA: I couldn’t agree more,
Episode 199: Shakespeare in the rough
Have you ever thought about performing outside with your students? What’s it like to rehearse and perform Shakespeare outside? In this episode we talk to Hilo Community Players about their Kids Shakes production. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Show Notes
Mmmbeth Theatrefolk Shakespeare category
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 199 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode199.
So, we are talking about a couple of things today. First, Shakespeare. Two, environment.
Oh, you like how I messed that up? First, two? Ah, I know some of you were probably paying attention. “Why did you say ‘first, two’?” Okay, okay, okay. First, Shakespeare. Second, environment. You got it. I know you got it. We’re all in this together, right? Right.
When I’m talking about environment, I’m talking about, where is it that Shakespeare is performed? Have you ever thought of performing outside with your students? Your first reaction would be, could be, “No!”
But hang on. What happens when you take away four walls and you have to deal with the elements and people who might just wander through? You might say, “Lindsay, you’re not selling it!” However, we’re going to talk today to some folks who love the experience. They love working with students and performing outside. We’re talking to some folks from a community theatre in Hawaii who put a Kids’ Shakespeare production every summer – outside.
Just a note here before we continue on. There is a gaggle of us today – three in Hawaii and me. Things might get a little crowded. But, again, we’re going to deal with it, right? Ah, I knew you would. I knew you would.
So, see you all on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
I am here, and I’ve got a bunch of people we’re talking to on this podcast today which is awesome. So, I want to say hello to Mimi and Cathy and Yvette.
Hello, ladies!
GUESTS: Aloha!
LINDSAY: I always like for you guys to say where you’re from and you guys are in a very special place. Where are you?
GUEST: We’re in Hilo, Hawaii.
LINDSAY: Aloha!
GUEST: On a big Hawaiian island in the beautiful coast of Hawaii.
LINDSAY: Awesome.
Are you guys locals? Or are you transplants?
GUEST: I’m a transplant.
GUEST: I’m a transplant.
GUEST: I’m local.
GUEST: I’ve been living in Hawaii for over twenty years.
GUEST: And I’ve been here sixteen years, so I’m kind of local.
LINDSAY: Kind of local. I think that anybody in a place over ten years, I know sometimes locals don’t feel that way, but I think any time over ten years, you get to claim status, I think. You’re residents.
You guys sent some lovely pictures of a production of Mmmbeth – Allison Williams’ Mmmbeth. I just wanted to get you on a podcast to talk about it – talk about your process. You guys performed outside which I think is a unique experience and I’d like to hear about your successes and your struggles with dealing with some Shakespeare but outside. I think that’s pretty awesome.
Let’s start with the choosing of the script. You did this for your Kids’ Shakespeare program, right?
MIMI: Correct.
Actually, a bit of background is the Hilo Community Players has been putting on Shakespeare in the park since 1978. So, this was our 40th year of putting on Shakespeare in the park. For the past four years, we’ve added to that Shakespeare in the park experience a Kids’ Shakes program. It’s a lighthearted sort of Shakespeare-themed show that gets put on using the same set as the main stage show and using the same space and everything but at a matinee time for a younger audience.
LINDSAY: That leads me to my first question. We’ll get back to the show in a sec,
Episode 198: Going Big with a production in China
Kimberly Mack is an English Teacher in China at an International School. This past year she wanted to go “big” with her first year middle school speech class. And big they went! Listen in to her about her students experience putting on their musical, doing the set, sewing costumes, and singing in their non native language.
Show Notes
FAQ Link
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 198 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode198.
Have you ever heard a teacher say, “My students could never do that”?
It always shocks me a little.
Now, granted, I am not a full-time teacher. I’m not a teacher. I’m not in the classroom. Perhaps, when a teacher says, “My students could never do that,” there is a good reason.
But I have a very vivid memory from about ten years ago when I was at a school and they were working on one of my plays. I was talking to the students and I said, “You guys always seem really confident. You seem so confident onstage. That’s amazing.” One of the students said to me, “Well, our teacher believed in us. She never thought that we couldn’t do it. And so, we thought the same.”
I just love that. When someone believes in you, that’s a very powerful feeling, isn’t it?
Today, we’re talking to a teacher who had that same feeling and she wanted to go big with her group. Big meant putting on a musical with her middle school students at the international school where she worked.
Let’s hear her story, shall we?
See you on the other side.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
I am talking to Kimberly Mack today.
Hello, Kimberly!
KIMBERLY: Hi!
LINDSAY: Now, I know, over the summer, that you are stateside, right?
KIMBERLY: Yes, I am.
LINDSAY: But tell everybody where you usually are during the year?
KIMBERLY: I normally teach over in Lijiang which is in Yunnan province over in China. It’s down southwest.
LINDSAY: That was an awesome pronunciation.
KIMBERLY: I’ve been working on that.
LINDSAY: Well, I’m sure you must have to say it quite a bit.
Are you teaching in an international school? Or do you teach Chinese students?
KIMBERLY: Yes, it’s an international school, but we have Chinese, Indian, Korean, and American students there.
LINDSAY: What is it like? Let’s start with that. What is it like to have such a multicultural student base?
KIMBERLY: It’s been really interesting. I went there right after college. It was my very first experience as a teacher. It was neat because, here we are getting to share the American culture with all of these students, teaching them English. Some of them would come into our school knowing absolutely nothing of English and we’ve got to start from the ground up and see them progress. It’s just been a really amazing opportunity.
LINDSAY: All right. Now, that leads very naturally to my next question.
How long have you been teaching?
KIMBERLY: Two years.
LINDSAY: What about teaching has been a surprise for you?
KIMBERLY: I guess the biggest thing is how much these students are able to pick up so quickly, yet they’re reading these English words, but then they have no idea what the meanings are because they just don’t translate. Here, you’re having to tell not just the word but the meaning and explain these things that would be common words in America.
LINDSAY: Cool. So, that’s the student experience.
Now, what about your experience just being a teacher? What was your expectation of being a teacher and how has that played out?
KIMBERLY: I’ve actually always wanted to be a teacher since my parents were both teachers for twenty-plus years. It’s been like a dream come true in a way.
Episode 197: Production Case Study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tracy Garratt’s students wanted to be challenged and show what they could do. In this Production Case Study we’re talking Shakespeare. More specifically, student driven Shakespeare.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 197 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode197.
Today, we are doing another production case study and we’re talking about Shakespeare – more specifically too, student-driven Shakespeare. Where do you start with Shakespeare? How do you get your students to make the decisions? Well, you should listen in if these are your questions. I think we might have some answers!
Let’s find out together and let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Hello everyone! I am here, talking to Teacher Tracy Garratt today.
Hello, Tracy!
TRACY: Hi! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m wonderful.
Let’s start. I like to let everybody know where in the world our guest is. So, where in the world are you?
TRACY: I am in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
LINDSAY: Which is literally a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. We can’t quite wave to each other but it’s almost.
TRACY: Almost, half an hour drive.
LINDSAY: Half an hour away.
We’re going to talk today about you recently did a production of our adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with some fabulous pictures which are going to be in the show notes. But, first of all, I want to just sort of talk to you.
How long have you been a teacher?
TRACY: This is my sixteenth-year teaching.
LINDSAY: How is it for you sixteen years down the road? Are you still happy teaching?
TRACY: I still love it. I still think that it’s the best choice that I’ve made in my life – other than having my son. Most days, I get up and think, “I can’t believe I get paid to do this,” and I have taken to saying to my kids, “You know, you have to find work where you get up and you wonder, ‘Are you stealing from your boss?’ because I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this.” That’s my attitude. Thus far, I still feel that way. I’m still lucky. Of course, we have days that are not great but, most of the time, I don’t believe that I get paid for this. It’s crazy.
LINDSAY: I sit around sometimes and there are some days where I am in my pajamas at noon and I’m like, “How did this happen that I have a job where this is happening?” It’s just wonderful, you know.
What is it about teaching that that was the thing that you wanted to do?
TRACY: I just love kids. I love being around kids. I love their energy. I love their positive aura, if you could say that. I love the fact that everything is new to them. They’re not afraid of making mistakes. I just think that kids are the best and they keep me young. So, I’m really appreciative of that, especially as I enter my fifties.
LINDSAY: I would never know that. You always struck me as very young – no more than 30.
TRACY: It’s the kids!
LINDSAY: We are talking about A Midsummer Night’s Dream and taking a production from beginning to end. What has been your relationship with Shakespeare? I know students and teachers have a myriad of relationships with Mr. Shakespeare.
TRACY: Well, you know, when I was in high school, I found Shakespeare kind of difficult. I found the language really hard to understand. You know, understanding the story is a bit of a challenge. I feel like there’s a rule, especially in North America, studying Shakespeare. Somebody’s decided in their infinite wisdom that we should be doing that.
And so, in my younger days, I found it hard. But then, when I went to university and I took a course. I thought, “Oh, this is a little bit better now that I know and now that I und...
Episode 196: Fundraising idea: Do your own coffee house
Listen in for the details of an awesome fundraiser event. Low cost, easy to plan, all you need is a space and your students. You too can fundraise for your program without losing your time or your mind!
Show Notes
Google form for Auditions Winter Coffee House Poster Spring Coffee House Poster
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 196 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode196.
Today, we are going to talk about fundraising, specifically fundraising for your program without losing time or your mind because that’s the thing I think where fundraising can get into a real bumpy road. It’s the thing that everybody wants to do. But, if it just eats up your time and makes you go a little crazy, that’s not good for anybody.
Our guest does a particular fundraiser twice a year and it’s very successful for her. It’s an awesome, low-cost, low-key event. I think, instead of me just talking about it, we should get to the conversation.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello, everyone! I am here talking with Ellen Miller.
Hello, Ellen!
ELLEN: Hello! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m awesome! Thank you so much! And you? How are you?
ELLEN: I’m great! I’m fantastic!
LINDSAY: Well, you can’t ask for more than that. That’s the best.
I’d like to start by just asking if you would tell everybody where in the world you are situated right now?
ELLEN: I am in Dallas, Texas. I teach in Plano which is just north of Dallas and I teach at a ninth through tenth grade high school in Plano.
LINDSAY: Oh. So, you only deal with grade nines and tens?
ELLEN: I do, yeah. It’s kind of a different situation in my city.
LINDSAY: Yeah, what is that like? Do your students get drama in middle school?
ELLEN: They do. We have theatre in sixth grade through, well, seventh grade and eighth grade at our middle schools and then the sixth graders can participate in the shows at the middle school level. In ninth and tenth grade, we have a full technical theatre course offering and theatre course offerings.
I teach Technical Theatre I and II and Advanced Technical Theatre class. We have kind of a full range of offerings at our ninth and tenth grade level.
LINDSAY: Yeah, that’s pretty awesome. And then, they go off to eleventh and twelfth.
Do you miss not getting them in eleven and twelve or do you like where you are?
ELLEN: I like where I am. You kind of get the best of both worlds. The sophomores still get to kind of take on a leadership position and you get to really see them grow over two years and then it’s cool because we do a lot with our eleventh and twelfth grade school. We call them senior highs here. It’s cool to see them grow in an even bigger theatre situation in the eleventh and twelfth grade.
LINDSAY: I would imagine in that situation that leadership really is much different than if you’re in a nine through twelve school because, if you’re in grade ten, you are the senior of your school and you have to sort of – I don’t know if “mature” is the right word but you’re it!
ELLEN: Yeah, I have ten officers for my theatre department and they do everything from running warmups during our rehearsals, they plan events for other students, they do the announcements for our school, and they do a lot of building community within our theatre department and things like that.
LINDSAY: Well, I think that’s really awesome.
How long have you been a drama teacher?
ELLEN: This is my eighth-year teaching theatre.
LINDSAY: What connects you to being a drama teacher? Did you like it in high school?
ELLEN: Yeah, I actually started theatre in about fifth grade with a program we used to have called Odyssey of the M...
Episode 195: Drama Teachers! We’re talking rubrics
Drama teacher Lindsay Johnson loves rubrics. And she wants you to love them too! Listen in to learn her process for creating assessments and making them effective for your classroom.
Show Notes
Theatrefolk Facebook Page Shreds and Patches
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 195 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode195.
I’m excited. This is exciting. I know you’re excited because, today, we are talking about everyone’s favorite topic. I can’t even make it sound good.
We’re talking assessment! Oh, an even better topic – rubrics!
We should have a great big fanfare right there. Assessment and rubrics! I know, and you know, assessment is so tricky in the drama classroom when there are activities that are project-based and process-based and group-based. How do we make it all happen?
Well, we’re here for you. we’ve got a guest today, a drama teacher who loves creating rubrics and she wants you to love them, too. So, let’s get to it!
My guest is Lindsay Johnson.
Hello, Lindsay!
JOHNSON: Hello!
PRICE: All right. Tell everybody where in the world you are situated right now.
JOHNSON: I am in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
PRICE: Awesome.
JOHNSON: Teaching at South Minneapolis at a charter school, teaching middle school drama for seventh and eighth grade.
PRICE: Awesome. How long have you been a teacher?
JOHNSON: I’ve been teaching since 2009.
PRICE: Math, everybody! For a while, awesome.
JOHNSON: But I’ve only been teaching theatre for… This is my fourth year teaching theatre.
PRICE: Was the plan to start something else and you ended up in drama? What was your path?
JOHNSON: I started with Teach for America and I was placed in an English reading and writing environment. And so, I did that for the first five years or so. And then, I taught a year of social studies randomly because that’s what they needed at my school. And then, my principal asked what I wanted to teach, and I said drama. So, I’ve been doing that ever since and I’m the founding drama teacher and the only drama teacher in our entire network.
PRICE: Oh, that could probably be a little bit lonely at times, I imagine.
JOHNSON: Yeah, it is, that’s why I love DTA.
PRICE: Ah! That’s awesome! DTA, of course, is the Drama Teacher Academy.
So, what’s your drama background? What was drama like for you in high school and after that?
JOHNSON: I actually really didn’t have a drama program at any school I attended. My drama background is completely in community theatre. I did a ton of community classes and then I was in a bunch of plays at our local community theatre all through school.
In college, I didn’t actually get a degree in theatre, but I took every acting class available at my university for fun. Yeah, I’ve just been really involved in theatre all my life and I did drama club at a school when I was still teaching reading and writing and loved that.
PRICE: So, when the call came, when someone asked you what you wanted to teach, why teach theatre? Why was that the thing that you wanted?
JOHNSON: Yeah, I think drama has always been a huge passion of mine. It’s the first thing I really felt like I got and felt like I could do it really, really well from a young age. I mean, from my own perspective, of course. I really enjoyed it and I love acting and I love theatre. And so, the idea of getting to teach that and do that, I think all of my classes incorporated drama even though I wasn’t teaching drama. Even when I was teaching social studies, we were acting out all the wars and everything. It was just fun to make that the focus of my class.
PRICE: Awesome. I love that.
Episode 194: Production Case Study: The Laramie Project
In 2014 drama teacher Zach Schneider produced The Laramie Project in Casper, Wyoming. Not only is Zach from Casper, he grew up with Matthew Shepard. When he asked his students how many of them had heard of Matthew Shepard, almost none of them raise their hands. Listen in to hear to hear Zach’s experience with this unique and emotional production.
Show Notes
The Laramie Project Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 194 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode194.
Now, this is one of these episodes that really speaks for itself and I want to get to it as quickly as possible.
We’re going to talk about The Laramie Project and our guest today has quite a unique perspective with the piece and with Matthew Shepard. We’re also going to talk about some strategies to producing the play and avoiding some of the common pitfalls.
All right, that’s it. That’s all I got. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: I am here with Zach Schneider.
Hi Zach!
ZACH: Hello!
LINDSAY: We are at the International Thespian Festival so we have a little bit of excited din in the air. It’s impossible to get away from.
ZACH: I don’t think you can go anywhere and get away from some of it.
LINDSAY: But that’s okay. It just gives us a nice background sound for our wonderful sound guy to deal with.
ZACH: Sure.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a teacher?
ZACH: I will be starting my ninth-year teaching in Casper, Wyoming, next schoolyear. My eighth year at Natrona County High School.
LINDSAY: Why did you become a drama teacher?
ZACH: It’s funny. I didn’t set out to become a drama teacher.
I wanted to be a performer in high school and in college. At that point, that was the only track that a lot of people hear about is performing. I had some life stuff happen and had a child very early and decided I would do the next thing that I loved in high school and that was journalism because it pays so much better. And so, I worked at the newspaper in Casper for about eight years before I decided to become a teacher. The drama position opened up at my old high school and the theatre teacher across town said, “You need to take this.” I’d been active in our community theatre and so I just kind of fell into it.
LINDSAY: We’re here to talk about a specific production but that leads me to another question which I know all of our listeners are drama teachers and many of them are walking into classrooms exactly the way that you did – not at the beginning of their career but coming from something else.
ZACH: Sure. Yes.
LINDSAY: What was it like your first year just walking into that classroom? It’s such a different experience.
ZACH: Well, you know, my school is really unique. It was built in 1924. It’s this amazing architectural style called Collegiate Gothic. Our auditorium is beautiful. Well, when I walked in, it was 90 years old and it was showing its age. It has wonderful crown molding and carvings around the proscenium arch and it just has this wonderful feel. When I walked in, it was coming back home because I was a member of the Thespian Troupe there. We were Thespian Troupe Number 1.
LINDSAY: No! Are you, really?
ZACH: Yes, we are.
LINDSAY: Oh, you said that, yes, that’s how you know!
ZACH: So, I was a member of that troupe. And then, to come back and become the director of that troupe was really special.
LINDSAY: Well, yeah. I’m an English major and sometimes words just completely fail me – not the environment of that but I guess the weight of that, the ritual of that.
ZACH: Yes, and there was a lot of tradition there.
LINDSAY: There’s a good word.
Episode 193: Drama Teachers: How do you run an effective Q and A session?
In the 21st century, the world is at our fingertips. That means your students can interact with the playwright of their next play through Skype, do a Google Hangout with a professional actor, or talk to a set designer on Facebook Live. But how do you run a question and answer session that’s valuable for your students and gets the most out of your guest? Listen in for some insight and for a Q and A in action!
Show Notes
Hoodie Humbug High Deck the Stage
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 193 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode193.
Today, we’re talking about Q&A. Ah, I’m a rhymer!
We all know what that means – questions and answers – Q&A.
We are living in an age of communication, an age of technology, and age where your students can actually talk to the playwright of their next play – you know, so long as it’s not Shakespeare or some other dead playwright, you know – although wouldn’t that be awesome? Can you imagine, you can have your time machine and you could talk to Shakespeare? I digress.
But you could talk to the playwright of your next play through Skype. You could do a Google Hangout with a professional actor. You could talk to a set designer on Facebook Live. It is all possible and it’s something that I do quite a lot of. I do a lot of Skype Q&As – virtual Q&As with students who are putting up one of my plays. Sometimes, I talk to student directors; sometimes, I talk to after-school programs; sometimes, it’s classes. I’ve talked to high schools, I’ve talked to middle schools.
On paper, I think that these events are kind of fabulous. I would do them and will do them for anyone doing one of my plays. I love hearing what students think. I love hearing what they think about the characters, about what’s happening.
I have one play called “Look Me in the Eye” and students always want to know how to pronounce the names in the play. It takes place in the future so the names are a little bit off-kilter and they want to know if they’ve got the background right for the names and how they’re pronounced and if they’re on the right track. I can answer those questions. I can help their process.
But, sometimes, what can happen is I talk to a teacher ahead of time and the teacher talks about how excited the students are to talk to me and how they want to talk to me and they have all kinds of questions and they can’t wait and the day comes and the Skype is all set up and I’m there and they’re there and there’s maybe one or two questions and then silence.
I get it. I know, I know, it’s weird. It’s weird to do this online. It’s weird to do it over the computer instead of in person. Sometimes – and this happens to me all the time – you have this amazing question, a series of amazing questions, and then, in the moment, it just completely escapes your head. I get it.
So, the question is – for these Q&A questions – how do you run a Q&A session that is valuable for your students and also gets the most out of your guest.
I did a great Q&A with a group of middle school students in Ireland, no less. It was pretty awesome. I just happened to be there on a trip and I get notices of who’s doing my plays and it was all serendipitous. I’m like, “Hey! This school in Ireland is doing my show! Hey! We’re going to be near their area!” and the teacher was, you know, all onboard. So, I got to go to the school and see scenes from the show and then we did this massive Q&A. They grilled me on everything!
I’m going to put a picture in the show notes of the question map they created before I got there. These guys, they were prepared!
We recorded the Q&A and I’m going to play it af...
Episode 192: Marketing The Arts
You are overwhelmed with production tasks and the last thing you want to do is add marketing to your overloaded plate. But marketing is important, even in a school setting. Marketing allows you to educate your community on the value of your program. Where do you start? Right here! Our guest gives you the four questions you need to answer when marketing your show.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 192. Woot woot! And that wasn’t a very good one. That wasn’t very full-bodied. This is Episode 192! Woop woop! And you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode192.
All right, marketing – that’s what we’re talking about today. How much marketing do you do with your shows, with your productions?
Do you do a press release? Maybe a poster that goes up around the school? How many of you don’t do any marketing at all?
Now, I know, there’s got to be a lot of you who are thinking, “Marketing? You want me to add marketing to the list of things I have to do?” Well, I don’t actually want you to add anything to your list. I want you to take away things from your list which this little conversation might give you some insight into just that very concept.
We’re talking marketing – specifically, for the education context – and that means you, dear friends, and you, dear friend, should grab some pen and paper – or your laptop or your phone, I’m not picky here – because there will be notes. There may be things you will want to write down.
So, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right. So, I am here with James Van Leishout.
How are you doing, James?
JAMES: I’m doing great.
LINDSAY: Yes, and we are at the International Thespian Festival where you are packing the houses with your workshops.
JAMES: I have had a few people come to them. My first session on Monday had 91 people so it’s been good.
LINDSAY: I think that’s pretty awesome. Well, first of all, it says a lot about the stuff that you’re teaching and that you have something to teach.
Where are you from? Where are you located?
JAMES: I’m in Olympia, Washington, which is the state capital just about an hour south of Seattle.
LINDSAY: And what’s your arts background?
JAMES: I have a BA in Acting and an MFA in Directing.
LINDSAY: Ah, okay. Let’s start with that question.
Acting or directing?
JAMES: Well, you know, I started out, I loved acting – that’s why I got into it in the first place. But I discovered that I loved the rehearsal process more than the actual performing process. So, I tend toward the directing side although I force myself to act every once in a while, just to remind myself what it’s all about.
LINDSAY: When I started out, I was an actor/writer and you hit it on the head. I love rehearsal and character analysis. I could do script analysis for days. And then, the performing didn’t have the same feeling. And then, when I started writing, it was like, “Oh, this is really what I want to do.”
JAMES: Yeah, I’m a nervous actor; I enjoy it but the nerves just drive me crazy.
I often say, as a director, I actually get to see the best performances because, often, the actors are more open, feel safer in the rehearsal process than they do in front of the audience. They kind of pull back emotionally in front of the audience so I get to see the best performance.
LINDSAY: That’s really awesome.
Today, we are going to talk about marketing but, also, very specifically, marketing in a high school theatre program context which seems like it might be a little weird because I’m sure there’s not a teacher – well, there’s not a lot of teachers out there – who think about marketing their program.
JAMES: Well,
Episode 191: Production Case Study: Peter and the Starcatcher
Where do you start with a play? How do you come up with a vision that spans across character development, light, sound, set, costuming? How do you execute on that vision? If you’re one of the hundreds of schools putting on Peter and the Starcatcher this year, tune into this great production case study episode.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Peter and the Starcatcher
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 191 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode191.
Okay. Where do you start with a play? How do you come up with a vision? How do you take that vision and turn it into character or light or sound or set or costuming? How do you execute on your vision?
If you are one of the hundreds of schools putting on Peter and the Starcatcher this year, sit back and relax. This podcast is for you.
I’m talking to the amazing Kerry Hishon – a Theatrefolk blogger extraordinaire. She’s going to talk about her experience directing the show from soup to nuts which – if Wikipedia is to be believed – is derived from the description of a full dinner – from the beginning, soup, to after dessert, nuts. Not bad, eh? Learn something new today.
Also, Wikipedia tells me that a similar Latin phrase is “from egg to apple” after a typical Roman meal. See, you didn’t think you were going to listen in and learn something about words. Have I ever mentioned I love words? Uh, enough about me.
Okay, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I am speaking with Kerry Hishon.
Hello, Kerry!
KERRY: Hello!
LINDSAY: Now, if you are a regular Theatrefolk follower – which you are, of course – Kerry is our blogger with the moistest. Our blog queen here at Theatrefolk recently and our blog is – I’m going to say it – it’s pretty awesome these days and it’s all thanks to Kerry. So, there you go, Kerry. I’m publicly giving you props.
KERRY: Amazing! Thank you so much! It’s so much fun! I love doing it and now you can all hear what I sound like, too.
LINDSAY: Oh, now there’s a voice! Now there’s a voice with the words which is really funny because I think that the way that you write is very much how you talk. I can totally hear your voice when I read your stuff.
KERRY: It really is. I very much write in my own voice so it’s a lot of stream of consciousness and I go back and read it and I’m like, “Wow! That’s a lot of run-on sentences!”
LINDSAY: I may cut out one or two exclamation points, too.
KERRY: I do that a lot! I write and I talk in exclamation points. We all have our crosses to bear – that’s mine.
LINDSAY: That’s right. If that’s yours – too many exclamation points – I think that’s a pretty good run.
KERRY: Yeah, I’ll take it.
LINDSAY: So, we are talking, we’re doing sort of a production case study again here today. I really enjoy these where we sort of get in depth with someone who has done a show and this one I know everyone’s going to be interested in and that is Peter and the Starcatcher.
KERRY: Woohoo! Oh, my gosh, it was crazy! Craziness – just craziness.
LINDSAY: All right. Well, let’s get into it!
KERRY: Yes!
LINDSAY: This is something that is the high school show – or going to be – for 2017. I’m really interested to sort of get into your approach and what you did with it. Was it part of your theatre season? Or did you have a hand in choosing it? Did you put your hand up and said, “I would like to direct this”?
KERRY: Yeah, it was the choice of our season. Just to go back for a second, give a bit of context, I work for Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario which is a youth theatre company with a membership of over 300 kids and we produce over 20 shows a year.
Episode 190: I thought I wanted to be a drama teacher
Ashley and Anastasia both graduated with Drama in Education degrees. They both wanted to teach. And then… they didn’t. Listen to their journey and learn how they found a way incorporate drama and education into their lives outside the classroom.
Show Notes
Down the Rabbit Hole Theatre Company
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 190 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode190 – otherwise known as 190.
Oh, my goodness! What was that, eh? 190.
Anyway, I know some of you out there knew you wanted to be a teacher from an early age. And then, you became a teacher and you loved being a teacher, right? And I know some of you didn’t know you wanted to be a teacher but you found a passion for teaching and you can’t think of doing anything else. But I know there were some of you who thought teaching was your dream job until it wasn’t, right?
That’s what happened to our guests today – that’s right, I said “guests” – plural, because we’ve got a two-for-one special. Our guests have had an interesting journey with drama and education and it’s a good one to share.
What do you do when the classroom just isn’t for you but you still know you’re an educator and you still want to find a way to combine drama and education? What a great question! Let’s find out, shall we?
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
We have speciality – specialty? We have specialness – that’s not a word either – on the podcast today because we have two guests. We have two guests for the price of one.
Let me just say hello to who we have. We have Ashley.
Hello, Ashley!
ASHLEY: Hey there!
LINDSAY: And we have Anastasia.
Hello, Anastasia!
ANASTASIA: Hello!
LINDSAY: And so, this one’s really fascinating because this one could have been done in person because we’re in the same area which is why this podcast came about.
One of you is in Fort Erie.
ANASTASIA: Yes, that’s Anastasia.
LINDSAY: Ah, I had a 50 percent chance!
ANASTASIA: Yeah.
LINDSAY: She’s in Fort Erie which is the town – well, not the town, the biggish town – that is close to where I am in Crystal Beach. Can you see Buffalo from your window?
ANASTASIA: I actually can from our bedroom window.
LINDSAY: There we go.
And Ashley is in Saint Catharines which is a biggish city just a little way down the ways.
So, thank you very much for coming on the podcast today!
ANASTASIA: Yeah!
ASHLEY: Absolutely. We’re very excited.
ANASTASIA: Yeah, our pleasure.
LINDSAY: What is really interesting to me – and I think that is going to be interesting to our listeners – is that both of you seem to have had a starting point with your careers in educational theatre which is not where you are now. You sort of have had an interesting journey.
ASHLEY: Yeah, right! It is that way, yeah!
LINDSAY: Both of you have degrees in drama and education.
ANASTASIA: We both do, yes.
LINDSAY: Cool. So, what I’d like to start off with is what made you want to take that path? Why did drama and education speak to both of you?
ANASTASIA: Absolutely. Okay, I will start. I’m Anastasia and, since I was at a young age, I was always introduced to different elements of theatre by my family. My family’s big theatre advocates. I fell in love with musicals early on and I performed in a lot of community theatre productions, local productions, as well as the school. So, I got involved very heavily at an early age.
And then, I went through to university – focusing in the teaching world, actually, and not in drama and education specifically, but in child and new studies – and I did two years at Brock University. And then, I was in the middle of university and I thought,
Episode 189: Theatre is my life line
At 15, Amy Oestreicher believed that she was going to be a performer and go to Broadway. Life threw a curveball at Amy to make Broadway the farthest possible goal imaginable. How did she use theatre as a life line? How was she able to harness her creativity? You don’t need to think you’re an artist to create. This is a story everyone should listen to.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Follow Your Detour Ted Talk Amy Oestreicher, Great Comebacks Recipient Theatre and Empathy Amy’s website
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 189 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode189.
Today, we’re talking about lifelines.
How many of you have ever thought of theatre as a lifeline?
I have, for sure. I meet students every day who tell me that theatre saved their life in one way or another. I remember a particular student telling me, after being through two hurricanes, that being in a play was the only thing getting her through.
Our guest today has a deep connection with theatre as a lifeline for very good reason. So, I don’t think I’ve ever done this before so I don’t know if I’m going to do it right or wrong. I’m just going to do it.
This is really a warning because I don’t think you should be warned away from intense topics but this podcast contains intense topics and mention of sexual assaults. But, at the end of it, we have theatre as a lifeline.
So, let’s get to it, shall we?
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
Today, I am talking to Amy Oestreicher.
Hello, Amy!
AMY: Hello!
LINDSAY: Hello!
Tell everybody where in the world you are located.
AMY: I’m in Connecticut.
LINDSAY: All right, cool.
Amy has a story. It’s something that really… I think it’s really a good story to share. But then, also, the aftermath, I think the aftermath of your story is what’s really interesting. I think it’s what’s going to be really interesting to our listeners. We’re going to get into the bulk of this and we’re going to talk about empathy a little bit and you will see, you will see, dear listener, why empathy is going to be the hallmark of our conversation today.
All right, Amy. What happened to you when you were 17?
AMY: All right. Well, you know, I was born a Theatrefolk.
LINDSAY: You’re one of us, eh?
AMY: Oh, my god, don’t even start but I was definitely born a musical theatre ham and extremely, like, Type A driven. That was what I knew my life was going to be – I was going to go to college and study musical theatre at the University of Michigan and be on Broadway and that was it.
When I was 15, I’d been studying with a really big voice coach in New York who I really, really looked up to. When I was 17, he molested me and that was obviously a complete shock to me and I completely just left my body and don’t remember anything that happened. I really kept that inside for almost a year – until I finally told my mother in the April of my senior year.
We were going to go for therapy and all that. And then, I just had a really bad stomach ache that wasn’t going away. My dad took me…
LINDSAY: Cool. Now, before we get to the stomach ache part which is the part that I knew, I think that you’ve just hit on something which I think is really important to mention about how many of those people who are listening have students who have mentors or teachers – you know, not necessarily in the classroom but just like you had someone that they looked up to who were not good people.
AMY: Yeah. Whenever I talk on podcasts, I’m always like, “You have to say how old he is!” You know, he was 60 and I was 15. And so, you know, I really looked up to him. He actually wrote a letter to my parents,
Episode 188: Drama Teachers: An awesome festival op!
Playwright Wendy-Marie Martin (Breathless) created an amazing 10 play festival that takes place around the world. It’s all about creative thinking and collaboration! Not only will she share how she put together such an event but also how you too can get involved. Student acted, directed, designed, tech fest anyone?
Show Notes
Breathless Billy Houck - A Box of Puppies Red Eye 10s International Play Festival
Music credit: ”Ave” by Alex (feat. Morusque) is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Episode 187: How to build a drama program
When Sylvia Davenport-Veith started teaching drama she did everything by herself. Over the years she was able to build a program that supported three drama teachers. How did she do it? What was her vision for her classroom? What’s her advice? Listen in to learn how one teacher built a drama program.
Show Notes
Prom Night
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 187 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode187.
I’ve got a question for you. Actually, I’ve got a whole bunch of questions for you!
Are you a one-man band in your drama program? Do you feel a little bit like an island where you’re doing everything yourself? Do you dream about being surrounded by other drama teachers in a healthy, thriving, supported program?
Well, that’s what our guest today did and she got it. She went from being alone – a one-man band on an island – to building a program that supported three drama teachers. How did she do it? What was her vision for her classroom? Most importantly, what’s her advice to all of you listening?
Okay, okay, enough with the questions. Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello, everybody!
I am here, talking to Sylvia Davenport-Veith.
Hello, Sylvia!
SYLVIA: Hello, hello!
LINDSAY: Tell everybody where in the world you are.
SYLVIA: I am Sylvia Davenport-Veith. That’s what I write under. I live in Oxford, Georgia. I was born in Florida, raised in Florida, earned a BFA in Theatre at University of Florida and an Med in English Education at the University of Florida, moved to the Atlanta area and taught public high school – English and Theatre – for twenty-five years. The last thirteen years, it was exclusively theatre.
LINDSAY: Awesome. That’s what we’re going to talk about.
The meat of this is going to be all about building a theatre program.
Sylvia, when you started, it was just you, right?
SYLVIA: Yes, it was just me and I had to take over a situation that I think maybe a lot of drama teachers might be able to relate to and that was that the department had no money. In addition to having no money, the previous situation was that a lot of money had been spent in the theatre department without ticket revenues replenishing that money and there was a $6,000 debt.
LINDSAY: Oh, my goodness!
All right. Let’s keep that. There’s your teaser, everybody. We will come back to this and we’re going to put a pin on this. So, there’s your little teaser for listening for the rest of this podcast.
Did Sylvia get out of $6,000 debt? Don’t tell us yet! Don’t tell us!
I also want to make sure I mention that we know Sylvia from her playwriting side. We have her play Prom Night in our catalogue – a lovely little play. I love Prom Night!
Let’s start with you. What was your experience with theatre when you were in school? How did you connect to it?
SYLVIA: I think that’s really, really important to bring up because, when I was in high school, I started doing community theatre plays when I was ten years old, outside of the school setting. And then, of course, I was always the geek that was president of the Drama Club and all of that.
When I hit high school, we had a drama teacher that really wasn’t very interested in us. And so, as students, we had to take on a lot of responsibility without her support – I mean, really, no support. She would have me drive to wherever she was, pick up the keys to the school. I would open the school, I would be in-charge of the rehearsal, I would lock up, I would drive the keys back to her, and then she would not even come to see our little plays.
LINDSAY: That’s awful!
SYLVIA: It was awful and that stuck with me when I decided to become a teacher. It was very,
Episode 186: Production Case Study: Look Me In the Eye
Where do you start with a play? How do you come up with a vision that spans across character development, light, sound, set, costuming? How do you execute on that vision? In this episode we have another production case study for our play Look Me In The Eye. If you’re a director, want to be a director, or want your students to learn about directing, this is the podcast for you.
Show Notes
Look Me In the Eye Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 186 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode186. There we go! 186!
Today, we have another production case study and I really – oh, I really – enjoy recording these and I hope that they’re useful for you as well. That’s kind of the point. I hope they accomplish that point. I think it’s good to hear how directors choose a play, approach a play, make decisions, create a vision, and then execute on that vision.
Creating a vision and executing a vision – that’s such a big part of a director’s job and I think our guest today is a great example of creation and execution.
So, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: So, I am here talking with Kelli Connors.
Hello, Kelli!
KELLI: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Hello!
First off, can you tell everybody where in the world you are?
KELLI: I am located in North Berwick, Maine, which is one of the several places that I teach and run a theatre program.
LINDSAY: Yes, you wear many hats!
I know you and we’ve been in contact because you did a production of one of my plays – Look Me in The Eye – and that’s sort of what we’re talking about today just to do a case study on vision and the visualization of vision.
You don’t work in a traditional – not traditional sense but you work in a lot of different areas in drama and education.
KELLI: I do. I’m a freelance theatre artist and I work in a charter school that the model that they work on hires people from the working artist world to teach their visual arts programs, their performing arts programs, their music programs.
I also work in a gifted and talented program in the Maine school system. Every school in the state of Maine is supposed to have a gifted and talented program. The function that I have in that particular school is called the Theatre Excel Arts Program and I teach theatre grades six through twelve for a certain amount of weeks out of the year.
I’m also employed as an independent contractor at the high school as their theatre director – their artistic director of the theatre program.
LINDSAY: That is a lot! Do you enjoy the multifaceted-ness of that?
KELLI: You know, it’s interesting you should ask me that. I called a friend yesterday – or two days ago – in a meltdown state saying I’ve got twelve jobs and my worlds are all colliding and I’m not sure how to keep all of this straight and sometimes it’s overwhelming.
The upside of doing a lot of different work – and I work in the professional world as well, I’m in the process of costuming a show – the upside of that is I don’t have to go into an office and punch somebody’s timeclock. That is refreshing and wonderful to me and it allows my brain to continually gyrate in the creative areas which is what feeds my soul.
The downside of that is, as I said, sometimes, all of those schedules in my world collide and I just feel like I need to throw the whole thing up in the air and see where all the pieces land and hope to be able to put them in some semblance of order to continue with my schedule.
LINDSAY: You must be in six places at once. Go!
KELLI: Absolutely! My husband asks me things like, “Oh, do you still live here?” That’s kind of my world.
Episode 185: A play from two perspectives: Student-director & Playwright
At Theatrefolk we have a play by a playwright who for many years chose to be anonymous. When a student director (after winning his state festival!) asked to be put in touch with the playwright, it started the ball rolling to this podcast. We have the student director talking about the play Anonymous and what it’s like to be a student director. And the playwright, a teacher, revealing her identity. Listen in for these two different perspectives.
Show Notes
Anonymous
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 185 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode185.
All right. Are you ready for this one? I am so ready to share this one with you.
A little back story – here at Theatrefolk at the Theatrefolk Global Headquarters in the official catalogue of plays – why would we have an unofficial one? I don’t know. But, in our catalogue of plays, we have a play called Anonymous which we’ve had for a number of years. The play is about anonymity.
To that end, the playwright decided that they wanted to be anonymous, too. So, it’s the play Anonymous by Anonymous. That was what the playwright wanted – to kind of go with the theme and just keep it all about that whole concept of a teenager trying to get out of that box of being a face in the crowd and being an individual. There’s a link to Anonymous in the show notes and I’m also going to talk about it a bit after the conversation. Of course, we respected that. There’s no problem with that whatsoever.
Well, this year, a student decided he really wanted to do this play. His teacher didn’t want to do it, though. So, he chose this play and then he had to convince his teacher to let him direct the play. And then, he went on and did some pretty amazing things with it.
I won’t share them all. I can’t tell everything upfront, right? Otherwise, why would you listen to the conversation?
That experience, he contacted us and let us know, and then he said he wanted to speak to the playwright which this person had never done because… anonymous! But that conversation led the ball rolling to this podcast and this very moment and a couple of other things which you will hear about.
Again, I can’t tell you everything! We’ve got to get to the conversation, man! So, we’re going to talk to the playwright first and then we’re going to talk to Kyle, the student director, and you’re going to get a play from two different perspectives – from the playwriting side and the playwright has also directed the piece so from that perspective and then from the student’s side and the student experience approaching a play.
So, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Hello, everybody!
Usually, the first thing I do when I introduce a podcast is, first of all, I say their name and then I say, “Where are you in the world?” and this one’s just going to be a little bit different. We are going to say who the person I’m talking to is but just in a little bit.
First of all, I’m going to just say hi.
ALLISON: Hi! Hi Theatrefolk!
LINDSAY: Hello!
Second of all, tell people where you are in the world.
ALLISON: I am in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
LINDSAY: Yes, Canada rocks. Canada rocks. Do you guys still have a lot of snow? You must have some.
ALLISON: We do have quite a bit of snow but it’s also been a rainy kind of winter so it’s a little bit of ice, a little bit of snow, it’s truly Canadian this time of year.
LINDSAY: Oh, there’s nothing funner than riding on a road that has been rained and now is ice.
ALLISON: Yeah, we’ve had – I think – in the last two weeks, something like three or four snow days. So, a lot of people will probably be jealous of our situation at the moment.
Episode 184: Drama Teachers: Performing at an Out of Country Theatre Festival
Middle school drama teacher Alyson Brown thinks travel is a vital part of her program. She and her students recently represented the USA at the World Festival of Children’s Theatre in Japan.
Listen in to hear about her experience traveling to the other side of the world with 55 people AND a production!
Show Notes
Clarke Drama Website
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 184 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode184.
Today, we’re going on a little trip. You might want to pack a bag. It’s going to be a big trip. We are going to the other side of the world.
With us, we are taking Teacher Alyson Brown because she took her production of The Jungle Book to the World Festival of Children’s Theatre in Japan. That’s right – middle school students in Japan.
Alyson travels regularly with her middle school students and I think that this is going to be an awesome conversation where we find out why and how. Well, we know the where – Japan – and we know who – Alyson and her middle school students – and what – a production. So, let’s get into that. Why does she do it and how does she do it? Great questions! I know! It’s like I wrote them!
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I am here with Alyson Brown.
Hello, Alyson!
ALYSON: Hi!
LINDSAY: First off, can you tell everybody where in the world you are?
ALYSON: Well, I teach in Lexington, Massachusetts. I’m currently in Chelmsford. I live about twenty minutes out of Lexington and I teach at Lexington, Mass. at Clarke Middle School.
LINDSAY: Awesome. How long have you been a teacher?
ALYSON: Ha!
LINDSAY: She says it with a laugh!
ALYSON: I’ve been teaching at Clarke for 23 years.
LINDSAY: Oh, wow! Wow!
ALYSON: And, at middle school, I’m a full-time Drama teacher.
LINDSAY: Wow! We’re just going to segue just a little bit. You’ve been a full-time middle school Drama teacher for 23 years?
ALYSON: Correct.
LINDSAY: First of all, I think that’s pretty awesome that not only was it available 23 years ago but that it maintains to this day. How has it changed for you? Is it still going strong? Have you gone through administrations that don’t quite see eye to eye? How has it been 23 years later?
ALYSON: Well, it’s interesting. I replaced somebody who had been there for many, many years. So, they’ve had a full-time Drama teacher in my school. We have two middle schools in Lexington and both have full-time Drama teachers.
Yes, you’re right, I have gone through administrations that we don’t see eye to eye. But my current administration are incredibly supportive. We are currently in the middle of a big renovation and they are building a Drama room just for me and I’ve been working with the architects and helping to design the space so that it works for my program. They’re very supportive.
LINDSAY: That’s so exciting! What kind of spaces have you been working in to date?
ALYSON: Well, it’s a band/orchestra/drama room. It’s been hard because, you know, drama tends to be messy when we’re building shows, for example. So, then I have to move things out of the way so that band can have their practice. You know, music stands are everywhere and chairs are everywhere so it does make it challenging – the space itself. But the new space, I will have all to myself with storage there, too.
LINDSAY: You must be, like, it’s Christmas!
ALYSON: It’s so exciting. I get to pick out the furniture and I keep thinking, “They’ve got to realize I teach Drama,” you know?
Episode 183: Production Case Study: To Kill A Mockingbird
Drama Teacher Lea Marshall talks about producing To Kill A Mockingbird this year. We talk everything from vision to staging, from fundraising to marketing. How do you visually represent a theme? It’s a production case study and you’re going to want to take notes.
Show Notes
How Do You Visually Represent a Theme Sponsorship Example
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 183 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode183.
All righty now!
Today, we have a production case study. I love these! I love hearing about how a director chooses a show, approaches a show, rehearses a show, and this is a great one! We have Drama teacher, Lea Marshall, who directed To Kill a Mockingbird this year.
We’re going to get into it – soup to nuts, vision to marketing. How do you visually represent a theme? She has some awesome ideas and you are going to want to take notes. So, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
Today, I am so happy; I can’t wait to have this conversation with Lea Marshall.
Hello, Lea!
LEA: Hello!
LINDSAY: Lea, tell everybody where you are in the world.
LEA: I am in my playroom at home. Oh, you meant more exact? I am on the couch in my yoga pants because my show is over. Oh, is it that happy? Do we really need to know more than that? The show is over and I’m on a Saturday. I took a nap. Is there anything else we need to know?
I’m in Tallahassee, Florida. This is my first year as a high school theatre teacher. I was a middle school theatre teacher and then moved to the high school this year. Leon High School is the name of my high school in Tallahassee, Florida.
LINDSAY: As soon as you said, “I closed the show so I’m in my yoga pants,” a chorus of agreement just rocked the internet, you know?
LEA: It’s the only time I would have time to do a podcast is because my show closed last weekend.
LINDSAY: Exactly, and that’s what we’re here to talk about. We are here. You just finished the show, To Kill a Mockingbird.
LEA: Yes, or as several students, “Oh, the killer mockingbird.” I was like, “No, that’s not the name of it. No.”
LINDSAY: That’s a band. That’s not a show.
That’s what we’re here to talk about. We’re doing like a case study, Lea.
Well, all you have to do is pretty easy on your end. All you have to do is just talk about what you did – if your brain is still, you know, if you’ve still got it.
LEA: Maybe. You can have whatever is left of my brain.
LINDSAY: Aww, you’re sweet. You’re the best!
My first question is why this show? Why To Kill a Mockingbird?
LEA: During the summer, I was taking over this high school theatre job. During the summer, I was really thinking about kind of an overarching theme for our year. I’m very thematic. It comes from having taught preschool and having to teach in themes – once, years ago. So, I really thought about what I needed this year as a theme and what I thought the kids needed as a theme and what I thought the world needed as a theme. I’m so bold – “what the world needs from my high school theatre program.”
This summer, when a lot of the news was very fearful, I felt like, last summer – I’m not sure it’ll be different this summer but I felt like a lot of people were reacting in fear versus acting in love. I thought, “That’s what I want to do. Taking over this program, I could react in fear of these kids not liking me or comparing me to their old theatre teacher or I could act in love,” and I wanted to act in love and I wanted that for them to. They could react in fear that the program was changing in a lot of ways and there was a new teacher or they could act in love towards me.
That was our season.
Episode 182: Devising and Moment Work with Barbara Pitts McAdams
Barbara Pitts McAdams is a company member of the Tectonic Theatre Project and was an original cast member/co-creator of The Laramie Project. The Laramie Project is a devised, interview-based play about the beating and death of Matthew Shepard. Since the play was published it’s been in production somewhere in the world, every day for 17 years. Listen in as we talk devising and moment work in The Laramie Project as well as with high school students.
Show Notes
Barbara Pitts McAdams Tectonic Theatre Project Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 182 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode182.
All right, guys.
Today is a very cool conversation which I am excited, I got tingles, I got my goosebumps, I am thrilled to share this with you. It’s a conversation which I could never imagine happening and the fact that it came together, well, that just made my day, my month, and my year.
My guest, Barbara Pitts McAdams, was an original cast member and co-creator of The Laramie Project with Tectonic Theater Project. Yes, as I’m sure you all know, The Laramie Project is a devised interview-based play about the death of gay university of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard.
Barbara is also one of Tectonics’ master teachers of moment work – the devising technique they use to create original work. Barb devices with a lot of high schools and colleges – actually, that’s kind of how she found us. So, of course, we’re going to talk about devising with high school students.
Enough of me! You don’t want to listen to me! Let’s get to the conversation! Let’s do it!
LINDSAY: Hello everyone!
I am speaking to Barbara Pitts McAdams.
Hello, Barb!
BARBARA: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: First of all, tell everybody in the world where you are.
BARBARA: I am in New York City. That’s where I make my home and where my theatre company, Tectonic Theater Project, is based. But I do a lot of teaching at high schools and colleges around the country. So, I get around.
LINDSAY: Yeah, you’re actually going very much around. You’re going to Vietnam soon, too, aren’t you?
BARBARA: You know, as I was getting my computer ready for this and saw that it was less than two weeks away, I got a fat little lump in my stomach. “Oh, boy, I better open my guide book, figure out what I need to know!” I’ll be working with a Pan-Asian high school theatre conference so that’s my favorite way to travel – to be hosted by people who live and work in a place and get to be brought into their culture and see what I can do to add to their conversations.
LINDSAY: Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned this right off the bat so we’ll get into this, too. You are a member of Tectonic Theater Project which I know that many of our listeners will connect to The Laramie Project.
BARBARA: Right.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a member of Tectonic?
BARBARA: I guess since about 1999.
The company had made one trip to Laramie, Wyoming, a month after Matthew was attacked in 1998. Somebody else was scheduled to be in the first sort of workshop of the interview material. Then, she got on a Broadway play and I had been working with company member, Leigh Fondakowski, on her interview-based play which was called I Think I Like Girls.
And so, Moisés and company had seen that. They’re very supportive of each other’s work. Leigh said, “Well, what about Barb? You liked her in my piece.” He said, “Yes, yes, bring her!”
Just for the students who might be out there listening, I mean, I was very well-aware of Tectonic Theater Project and who they were because I had made a show everyone kept comparing to Gross Indecency: The Three...
Episode 181: Putting Together A Drama Class Adaptation Project
Middle school teacher Shelby Steege takes us through step by step of the adaptation project she does with her students. Listen in to catch the details so that you can do it for your own drama classroom. Hint! Casting happens before the script is written.
Show Notes
Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 181 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode181.
Today, we are talking about a specific project for the classroom. That’s right! We’re doing a little case study here on an adaptation project. Our guest is going to take us step-by-step through this project which she does with her students.
So, grab a pen, open up a note app on your phone, listen in to catch the details so that you can use it in your classroom. I’m going to give you a little hint about what’s to come – for this project, casting happens before the script is even written. Isn’t that nice? I like that! It’s very exciting!
Okay, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello, everybody! I am today speaking with Shelby Steege.
Hello, Shelby!
SHELBY: Hello!
LINDSAY: Tell everybody where in the world you are.
SHELBY: Well, I live in Louisville, Kentucky. But the school I teach at is in Taylorsville, Kentucky – about 45 minutes outside of Louisville.
LINDSAY: Awesome. I’m really intrigued about today’s conversation because we’re going to talk about a specific project that you do with your students with adaptation. But, first of all, I want to start with you. How long have you been a teacher?
SHELBY: This is my 16th year teaching here at the school I’m at. I did also a couple of years teaching with children’s theatres in Kentucky.
LINDSAY: What was it that made you want to teach theatre as opposed to perform or anything else? When did you start getting interested in theatre?
SHELBY: I started really getting interested in theatre when I was in middle school. Loved it. Took classes in high school. I didn’t go to a school that did a lot of theatre in school but I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have a great children’s theatre there. I was involved very heavily in their theatre academies and I decided to go into teaching theatre. I kind of think I always knew that’s what I would end up doing with my love of theatre because I always loved working with kids – always loved little kids, older kids. So, that really was the way I could meld the two things I was passionate about into a career and it’s worked out pretty well so far!
LINDSAY: 16 years! What is it that you think makes drama important? Why do students need to take it?
SHELBY: Well, most importantly – and it might sound cheesy – drama changes kids’ lives. I have seen it numerous times. It truly changes who they are. They gain confidence. Whether it’s onstage or backstage, the skills that they learn participating in theatre are skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. I just really think that it also is inclusive of everyone. I tell kids, if they want to get involved in something, I can find a place for them in theatre. They don’t ever have to step foot onstage but we can get them a place where then they feel like they’re part of something bigger than them – feel like they have a community and a family that they connect to.
LINDSAY: I don’t think that’s cheesy at all. It’s interesting that you used the word “community” because that’s the first thing that popped into my head when you were talking about how important that is and I think, in the 21st Century, as we have all these conversations now about devices and our students pouring themselves into their devices and the whole idea about how students seem to be really wor...
Episode 180: Technology in the Theatre Classroom
Have you wanted to find some new ways to enhance your classroom with technology? Have you been told you need to integrate technology in your classroom but don’t know where to start or what would even make sense to use in the drama classroom? Anna Porter was in the same boat. She started by getting an endorsement in educational technology and a whole world opened up. Listen in to find out how you too can incorporate technology into the theatre classroom.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Google classroom Canvas Assessment Quiz Applications
Quizalize Socrative Quizizz Formative Kahoot! Classkick Nearpod Google Forms - quiz
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 180 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode180.
Today, we are talking technology in the theatre classroom. Oh, say that five times fast – “technology in the theatre classroom.”
Hands up, how many of you have expectations put on you to integrate technology? Right? Right? Hands up. Hands up – lots of hands up, I’m sure. How many of you have no idea how to do that?
Our guest today, Anna Porter, was in the same boat. Let’s find out what she did and how technology in the theatre classroom is totally possible and totally doable. Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello, everybody!
I am here with Anna Porter.
Hello, Anna!
ANNA: Hello, everyone!
LINDSAY: Anna, tell everybody where in the world you are.
ANNA: I am currently in Virginia.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Very good.
We’re talking today about technology in the Drama classroom. For some Drama teachers, I think that technology can be – well, I’m not going to say it’s a dirty word but it’s a weird word, isn’t it? Technology and Drama might not seem on first glance to go together.
ANNA: Yeah, definitely. It’s the tool that we want to use but sometimes feels like it gets in the way.
LINDSAY: Oh, I like that! How does it get in the way?
ANNA: Just in the sense that we’re often told we need to be using it but we don’t necessarily know how it works in our specific context.
LINDSAY: Yeah, totally.
And so, the reason I’m talking with Anna is she does a lot of work for Theatrefolk at the Drama Teacher Academy. She’s done a lot of lesson plans for us. She’s going to be doing something on technology in the Drama classroom with some Google tools. We’ll talk about Google tools in a second.
Now, Anna, when we were talking about something else, you let it be known that you have an endorsement in educational technology. What is that?
ANNA: I’m currently finishing that endorsement right now but it’s done through my state office of education where they are working to try and get teachers to use more technology in the classroom but I think they’ve recognized that the more teachers know about how to use it, the more they’re going to do it. And so, a lot of these classes deal with theory and how to better use technology and how to select technology that works well for our students and for our content area as well as helping us know what tools are out there because I think – for me at least – that was the biggest obstacle – knowing how to use it but what can I use and what resources do I have to do that? That’s a big part of what this endorsement has been.
LINDSAY: Why did you decide to take it?
ANNA: Because I have always wanted to know how to use technology. Whenever I had my review for my administrator, there was always that question. “How are you using technology in your classroom?” I would have to say I use my projector.” I knew there was more that I could do.
Also, as I’ve gotten to know more about how technology works,
Episode 179: The Production Classroom
Have you considered putting on a play with an advanced class, during class time? Have you ever tried an in-class production and struggled with the process? In this podcast Karen Loftus highlights the steps she went through to create and implement The Production Classroom.
Show Notes
The Perils of Modern Education Drama Teacher Academy - The Production Classroom
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 179 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode179.
Today, we are talking about a great, great long-term project that you can do with an advanced class. This can take up a whole semester or even a whole year – depending on how long you have your students.
The ultimate goal, I think, with a drama class is to have them move through the entire process of putting on a play – right from audition to performance. I know that this is something many teachers struggle with, right?
How do you encourage accountability? What if students don’t listen to their peers? What do the tech students do during rehearsals?
We are talking about the production classroom and all of these questions – and more – are answered in today’s conversation.
So, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: I am speaking with Karen Loftus.
Hello, Karen!
KAREN: Hello there!
LINDSAY: Karen is a long-time friend to Theatrefolk. I was trying to remember when we first met. I know it was Florida and I know it was a conference and I think it was Jacksonville. Does that right a bell?
KAREN: Yeah, I think it was, too. I do.
LINDSAY: I think so, and I know that you had just done Circus in Olympus and I think that was, was that the first Theatrefolk play you did?
KAREN: No, first Theatrefolk play for us is we did a really great night where we did Emotional Baggage and Tick Tock in the same night. We called it “A Night with Few Words” and it went on really, really well.
LINDSAY: Oh, that’s awesome. I’m not sure I knew that story. I knew that you had done those plays.
Karen, you have had – I’m going to call it amazing – an amazing journey because, when we first met, you were a high school teacher in Florida and, now, you’re in New York and you’ve had a variety of jobs but your job now – well, from the outside, it kind of sounds a little exciting, right?
KAREN: It is! I’m an education production manager for Roundabout Theatre Company now in New York. I actually am managing a program where we’re training technical – we’re training students 18 to 24 in technical theatre. It’s exciting because we’re partnering with IATSE – International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union of theatre technicians – and they’re working with us to help train these students. And so, it is, it’s really exciting.
LINDSAY: Yeah, I love that. I think, to be able to train them but also, like, actually in a theatre, they’re able to – I’m assuming – actually apply the things that they’re learning directly in production.
KAREN: Yeah, they are. We normally will go to downtown spaces because there are union houses so there’s situations there, but nothing beats hands-on. Nothing beats just getting right into it, you know?
LINDSAY: Which is an amazing segue which was not planned but, as you were talking, I’m like, “Hey! Segue time!” to what we’re going to talk about today.
What we’re going to talk about is the production classroom and the ability for you to actually – you, the listening you, I know who you are; I’ve met you, I know who you are – for you to be able to plan and implement and execute doing shows in your classroom – both onstage and off.
Karen, how many of these did you put together in your time?
KAREN: Wow! Well, we would do,
Episode 178: Putting Together A Tech Theatre Unit
Drama Teacher Josh Hatt does not have a background in Tech Theatre. In fact he shied away from teaching it for years. But when it became part of his curriculum, he dove in with both feet. It was a great experience and now he’ll never shy away from tech again! Listen in to learn how he developed his eight week unit exploring lights, sound, costume, make-up and staging. You too can teach tech!
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Blank Scenes Example Mary Poppins as a Horror Movie The Shining as a comedy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 178 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode178.
Today, we are talking tech and putting together a tech theatre unit.
Hands up, how many of you fear tech? How many of you avoid including it in your program? Well, our podcast guest today was in the exact same boat as you. Now, he is a total tech convert.
So, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right, I am speaking with Josh Hatt.
Hello, Josh!
JOSHUA: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: All right, tell everybody in the world where you are right now.
JOSHUA: I am starting my second year at an international school in Shanghai, China.
LINDSAY: I love the internet. Not always! We had a little difficulty connecting but we’re here now and I think it’s amazing. It’s evening where I am and morning where you are.
JOSHUA: Yes, it’s Friday morning. It was funny because I was trying to coordinate what time we were doing this and, now, I’m back and I’m twelve hours ahead of you guys. So, we’re like, “Okay, Thursday night at 8:00.” I’m like, “Wait, what does that actually mean for me? I don’t remember.”
LINDSAY: Twelve is pretty good, though. You know, it’s when I get the most trouble when I’m even dealing with coordinating Mountain time and Pacific time. It’s like, “Okay, you are this time, I am this time. We’re all good.”
So, this is your second year at this school. Just how is that going? What is it like to teach in an international school in China?
JOSHUA: It’s amazing. We work at an American school. And so, it’s not much different, honestly, than any of the international schools as far as curriculum-wise. I’ve done the MYP curriculum before. This school, they do a lot of common core. It’s incredible and, because it’s a private school, we’re really lucky. I luck out. I get to work in this beautiful two-story black box theatre and I get to take little sixth, seventh, and eighth graders through a little dramatic journey through there. It’s magical. We kind of joke all the time. I was like, “I work at Disneyland! This is amazing!”
LINDSAY: You know what, that’s a pretty fun description of teaching theatre. I love that!
JOSHUA: It’s amazing.
LINDSAY: I’m very excited, actually, about what we’re going to talk about today because I know that this is something that teachers are asking us and pleading with us all the time – how do I do tech theatre? How do I teach tech theatre? The fact that you’re doing it with middle school students, I think, is even more exciting and interesting in terms of getting some people some good information.
Why are you doing tech theatre with your middle school students?
JOSHUA: You know, I’ve never done much outside of plugging a sound system into a small performance because I’ve always had the experience of being a middle school teacher. You know, we get forgotten sometimes and it’s like, “Great! We have a room, let’s have a middle school drama program.” Of course, we’re resilient and we persevere and we make it work and beautiful.
I had the opportunity because they had just built this brand-new theatre space at the school. The high school got a brand-new black box theatre. And so,
Episode 177: Drama Teachers: How do you market your shows?
If you want to build the audience that comes to see your shows, that means you have to do some marketing. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some are too busy trying to put the show together. Candice McMath talks about combining new marketing techniques with traditional in this week’s podcast. What worked? What didn’t How much was her budget?
Tune in to find out.
Show Notes
Shuddersome Poster Shuddersome Trailer Little Theatre of Tuscarawas County Shuddersome: Tales of Poe
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 177 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode177.
Today, we are talking marketing. Ah! Marketing!
Is that something you use to promote your shows to the community? Do you like marketing? Is it a dirty word? “Ugh! I hate marketing!” Is it something you never think about because, well, you don’t have time? You’re busy trying to put a show together!
If you want to build the reach of your program and build the audience that comes to your shows, marketing is a must.
We’re in a new age of marketing here in the good old 21st Century. Some of those old techniques, they don’t work as well anymore. But we’re so saturated online. How effective are new techniques?
We’re going to talk with Candice McMath and her marketing strategy when she directed my play, Shuddersome: Tales of Poe.
Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right, hello, everybody!
I am sitting here with Candice McMath.
Hello, Candice!
CANDICE: Hey, Lindsay! How are you doing?
LINDSAY: I am excellent! How are you today?
CANDICE: I’m great!
LINDSAY: Perfect.
So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
CANDICE: I am in New Philadelphia, Ohio, which is kind of in the middle of nowhere. But, if you draw a triangle between Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I’m right in the middle of it.
LINDSAY: That is perfect! I love knowing where everybody is who we talk to, but I’m telling you, at least seven times out of ten, a name of a place is said and I’m like, “Well, I don’t know where that is.” But I’m a plain old visual learner so I am picturing the triangle and it’s given me exactly what I need.
Candice, you wear a lot of hats.
CANDICE: I do.
LINDSAY: I know you as a director. You directed a production of my play Shuddersome – which is half of the reason that Candice is here – but you also do graphic design and posters. What is your true love?
CANDICE: Well, my true love is art. I’ve always said that I am an artist, a teacher, and a maker of things. So, we didn’t have a whole lot of money when I was growing up. And so, I spent a lot of time entertaining myself and just, if there was something laying around that I could duct tape to something else or hot glue feathers on it, then I did it. So, that love of just creating things and being artistic translated into me getting a bachelor of arts in college. I majored in art because I loved it and business so I could eat.
LINDSAY: So, you’re smart and creative.
CANDICE: Well, I try to walk the line between the two.
LINDSAY: Where does theatre fit into this puzzle for you?
CANDICE: Well, theatre fits in for me the way I think it fits in for all of us who love to do theatre. There’s a part of me that just loves to show off and being able to do what I love and sing and dance or perform onstage for 90 minutes to 2 hours and just get to play dress-up and escape and entertain people is one thing I’ve always really loved. It’s just a really fun escapism to be able to partake in.
You know, at the end of the day, you go back to your real life, but there’s a camaraderie and just a really fun exploration of art tha...
Episode 176: Theatre and Autism: How do you present a sensory friendly performance?
How do Theatre and Autism fit together? Do you have students on the spectrum in your classrooms? Have you ever put on a sensory friendly performance? All of these questions and more are answered in this week’s podcast with James Lekatz, program director of the CAST program (Creative, Accepting, Sensory-Friendly, Theatre) at the Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins, MN.
Show Notes
Stages Theatre Company - C.A.S.T Program National Autism Resources Autism Resources Autism Resource Kit School Community Toolkit Jacques Lecoq Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
UPDATE FALL 2018: James Lekatz is now the Artistic Associate at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. The mission of Interact is to create art that challenges the perception of disability.
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I’m Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 176 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode176.
Okay. Everyone, hands up. All of you, put your hands up – no, no, no.
So, I have a question. How many of you have students on the autism spectrum in your classrooms? And, another, how do these students react to theatre? Do you believe it can impact them? Have you ever been to a sensory-friendly performance? Have you ever planned one?
Okay, that was more than one question; that was a lot of questions and I’ll bet that there is a lot more hands up to the answer to that first question than anybody thinks. And, yes, I can see you; I can see all of you.
So, we’re talking theatre and autism today. We are going to get some answers to those questions and more with today’s guest. A very interesting conversation. I learned a lot.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello everybody!
I am speaking with James Lekatz.
Hello, James!
JAMES: Hello!
LINDSAY: Awesome. Tell everybody where in the world you are.
JAMES: Yes, I am coming to you today from Hopkins, Minnesota, which is kind of like a first-ranked suburb of Minneapolis.
LINDSAY: Ah, perfect! Sometimes, I ask where people are and then they say and I’m like, “Well, I don’t know where that is,” but this is good. Excellent!
This is going to be such an interesting conversation on so many levels, I think. Let’s start off, please, tell us what your job is.
JAMES: Sure. I work for a theatre company called the Stages Theatre Company located in Hopkins, Minnesota. My job is twofold; one, I’m an education association, so I’m a theatre teacher and I work at many different schools in the west metro of the twin cities, and I also am in-charge of our access programming. And so, that is working with ASL interpreters, getting audio transcribers to come to our performances to do an open captioning, but also a major portion of what I do in the access is working with our sensory-friendly and autism programming.
I run a program called CAST which is an acting program for students on the autism spectrum. And then, we have a ten-performance sensory-friendly season that we do throughout the entire year.
LINDSAY: Talk about making sure that theatre is getting to everybody, right?
JAMES: Right.
LINDSAY: Also, I have seen it, time and time in the classroom, how those with autism, theatre really helps them.
JAMES: It does, and it’s kind of counterintuitive. You don’t think it would because it’s standing in front of people so it’s nervous and a lot of people on the spectrum have anxiety. It’s being able to use your voice where a lot of our students on the spectrum don’t have that vocal flexibility. But, yet, they can do it. Seeing theatre works that way and doing theatre works that way. It’s incredible!
LINDSAY: Yeah, and this is one of the reasons I definitely wanted to talk to you and h...
Episode 175: The Drama Classroom: There is a seat for everyone at the table
Scott Giessler is a teacher and a playwright. He went into theatre teaching without any training and not only is he still doing it, he has a strong philosophy for how to do it. He’s well aware that what you need as a teacher isn’t necessarily what your students need. And for Scott, he’s adamant that there is a seat for everyone at the table in the theatre classroom. Enjoy this conversation from the trenches of the drama classroom and the importance of what goes on there.
Show Notes
Theatrefolk.com Finishing Sentences
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I am Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 175 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode175.
Okay. Today is a great conversation. It’s about stepping into a Drama classroom, what the Drama classroom means, and what is the purpose of being a Drama teacher. Frankly, I think that’s about as much introduction as this episode needs. It’s lovely. I think it’s just lovely.
I’ll give you something to listen for, though.
Scott, our guest – who is also a teacher and a Theatrefolk playwright – does not believe in the phrase “the show must go on.” Why, you ask? Let’s get started and find out.
LINDSAY: All right, I am talking to Scott Giessler.
Hello, Scott!
SCOTT: Hi there! How are you?
LINDSAY: Excellent! And how are you?
SCOTT: I am doing terrific. Thank you for having me.
LINDSAY: Yeah!
So, tell everyone where in the world you are.
SCOTT: Okay. Well, I am currently located in a lovely little hamlet here in New Hampshire called Tuftonboro which, most people, of course, will never have heard that but, if you know where Lake Winnipesaukee is in New Hampshire, that’s where you’d fine me.
LINDSAY: Well, of course, we all know where that is, Scott. We know where you are!
SCOTT: Okay!
LINDSAY: And so, Scott is not only a teacher – and, actually, it looks like you wear a ton of hats from teaching theatre tech to performance to filmmaking and playwriting. Scott has written a fantastic little piece – not a little piece – a piece, a great piece called “Finishing Sentences” which we have. We’re going to talk about it but we’re going to start with you, Scott.
Tell everybody how long you have been a theatre teacher.
SCOTT: Okay. I’ve been teaching for about sixteen years. Well, it’s been exactly sixteen. I started my career and stayed in my career at Kingswood Regional High School and I teach a theatre class there as well as coach the afterschool theatre program there. It’s been a great run.
LINDSAY: What was it that connected you to teaching? Why teaching theatre?
SCOTT: Well, oddly enough, if you kind of connect it up at the play, I worked as a camp counselor when I was younger and it was really – and this is even now strange to say – it was the only I had ever really connected with for the first – I don’t know – 26 years of my life. But, you know, I was also an avid theatre student in high school, did a little bit more in college.
I took a break from that because I was mostly paying attention to television and radio broadcast. But, when I got out of the working world, you know, I really felt like something was missing. And then, I sort of harkened back to the days of being a camp counselor. I went back, worked at that camp – that I actually still work at now – for a summer. And then, as fate would have it, the local high school in town was looking for a theatre teacher. You know, I let them know – I was an avid theatre person; I was an actor all through high school; I was a writer in college – that sort of thing. But I had not had the formal training, but they needed somebody and they brought me in.
That first year – as I’m sure everybody will kn...
Episode 174: Teaching, Performing, Directing, Shakespeare
Chris Veneris hated Shakespeare in high school. He had a teacher who made it absolutely boring. Now he’s approaching Shakespeare from all angles - he teaches it in the classroom, he’s directed it and he’s performed it many times. In this conversation we look at how to look at Shakespeare from both a teaching and an acting perspective and why Shakespeare fails in the classroom.
Show Notes
Theatrefolk.com Drama Teacher Academy Shakespeare's Language:A Glossary of Unfamiliar Words in His Plays and Poems by Eugene F. Shewmaker
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company.
I am Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 174 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode174.
So, what are we talking about today?
We are talking about Shakespeare.
I know, we’ve done a lot on Shakespeare in the past few months, but it is something that comes up time and time again. Shakespeare can be a vital, exciting learning experience. It can also be the worst, most painful kind of experience that makes you never want to look at a Shakespeare play ever, ever again.
Our guest today, Teacher Chris Veneris, had that kind of experience in high school. But, now, he’s on quite a different footing with his approach when it comes to teaching, performing, and directing Shakespeare.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
LINDSAY: All right, I am here speaking with Chris Veneris.
Hello, Chris!
CHRIS: Hello, Lindsay! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m excellent. How are you?
CHRIS: I’m wonderful.
LINDSAY: Hey! Good, good, good.
All right. So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
CHRIS: I am sitting in my home in Greensboro, North Carolina.
LINDSAY: Hey! Very good, very good!
And how long have you been a Drama teacher?
CHRIS: I just completed my twelfth year with Guilford County Schools. I’m at my third school which has been my longest tenure and I just completed my eighth year at that school which is Southeast Gilford High School in Greensboro. I have also taught at Lincoln Academy which is a middle school and, my very first year, I taught at Western Guilford High School.
LINDSAY: So, what keeps you coming back? What keeps you connected to being a Drama teacher?
CHRIS: I really think it’s kind of a calling.
I’ve looked at leaving the profession with all the negativity that teachers are receiving. I have thought about going and getting an administrative license and becoming a principal. I have thought about going out and getting my MFA.
Every time, right before I’m about to sign paperwork or to really start studying for the GRE and get down to it, I just look at myself in the mirror and go, “I can’t give up teaching. I don’t want to give up teaching.”
It’s really coming back to the students because, even in a really terrible year, there’s always a bright spot. There’s always at least one student – usually, it’s ten or fifteen, even in the worst situation that you can find a bright spot in. it’s just the ability to pass on the knowledge that I’ve received.
I had a really awesome Theatre teacher – a man by the name of Allen Osbourne who went by “Oz” – and I can’t think of doing anything else. Since my sophomore year in high school, it’s been my dream. I want to be a teacher and it was always I wanted to be like Oz. He was kind of like a second father to me. He was my dad’s best friend!
From there, I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. Even on the worst days, I look at myself and I just can’t give it up.
LINDSAY: I think that’s wonderful and it’s really great to hear that because I know that we have so many people listening who struggle and who sometimes are in the same boat. It’s like, “This is the calling that I have.”
Episode 173: Drama Teachers: How do you give student writers feedback?
Nick Pappas wears many hats. He is a playwright, a director, he teaches and he’s a dramaturg. This conversation took place at the International Thespian Festival where for the past five years he’s worked with student playwrights. How do you give student playwrights feedback? Listen in to find out.
Show Notes
Nick Pappas Theatrefolk.com Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk, the Drama teacher resource company.
I am Lindsay Price.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
So, we’ve got a new year – hello, 2017 – and a new shiny intro. Huh, what do you think?
We here at Theatrefolk Global Headquarters are focusing our efforts all on you. Yes, you. I am, I’m talking to you. Yes; no, not them. You.
This is Episode 173 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode173.
Today, we’re talking playwriting, specifically student playwriting.
How many of you – raise your hands, I know – you want to include playwriting but there’s something about it and it’s something specifically that is very trepidatious and worrisome when it gets to feedback, right? How do we give good feedback to student writers that doesn’t cause them to put their play in a drawer and never open that drawer for twenty-five years?
Today, we’re talking to Nick Pappas. He’s a guy who wears many hats. He’s a playwright and a director. He teaches. He’s a dramaturg and he is Theatrefolk’s play submission reader. So, he hits on all sides of the table when it comes to plays. But, as I said, we’re talking specifically about student feedback and giving feedback and how do you give that good feedback. How do you get that good feedback?
Well, let’s get to it and find out.
LINDSAY: All right. I am here with Nick Pappas.
Hello, Nick!
NICK: Hello!
LINDSAY: Nick and I are at the International Thespian Festival right now which will be long over by the time this comes up, but we are going to talk about something which is – universal is not exactly the word I’m looking for – timeless is the word I’m looking for.
NICK: There you go.
LINDSAY: There you go. It doesn’t quite matter but we’re in a really unique situation right now, wouldn’t you say?
NICK: Yes.
LINDSAY: Nick and I are both working as dramaturgs as part of a program called Playworks in which four student playwrights are chosen. Do you know how many plays are sent in to Playworks?
NICK: I think it goes from a process of I heard they get about 70 plays and then the 70 are reduced down to, like, ten or twelve.
LINDSAY: And then, they choose the four.
NICK: Yeah.
LINDSAY: And those four playwrights from – it’s just the States – all of the states, they get brought to Lincoln, Nebraska for the International Thespian Festival and they get a director and a dramaturg and actors and we put up their plays.
NICK: Yeah, in four days of rehearsal?
LINDSAY: We had three this year.
NICK: Oh, that’s true.
LINDSAY: Because auditions on Tuesday, Wednesday – oh, my gosh – we had Tuesday rehearsal, Wednesday rehearsal, Thursday rehearsal, and then…
NICK: Up on Friday.
LINDSAY: There’s a little bit today and then you guys go up tomorrow.
NICK: Correct.
LINDSAY: And so, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to talk to a student playwright because a lot of you, I know, include playwriting units in your program. How to talk to students, how to give them feedback so that they continue writing and they don’t curl up into a ball and never write again which is not what we want.
I wanted to start with you, Nick. That’s my preamble.
NICK: All right.
LINDSAY: You wear a lot of hats.
NICK: Yes.
LINDSAY: The three that I know are playwright and teacher and dramaturg.
NICK: Yes.
LINDSAY: What would you consider your biggest ha...
Episode 172: Critical Thinking: Theatre in Another Language
Have you ever watched a piece of theatre in another language? Theatrefolk partners in Crime Lindsay Price and Craig Mason put on their critical thinking caps and reflect on seeing theatre in Norwegian, Icelandic, and scrap metal (you’ll have to listen in for more on that one). How are stories told physically and visually? When are stories not told well, regardless of the language gap? A great theatrical experiment!
Show Notes
The Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
All right, this is Episode 172 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode172.
Today, we are talking language – specifically foreign languages! Well, foreign to me, anyway. They’re not foreign to the people who live in the countries that we visited but they are not in my home language and we’re talking about seeing theatre. So, we’ve got language, foreign language, theatre. Okay, who’s put it all together? Who’s tying all the knots and a bow? Ah, you guys are so smart, yes!
So, we are talking about seeing theatre in another language. Have you ever done that? Have you ever went to a show where you knew you wouldn’t be able to understand the dialogue? It’s a pretty fascinating experience, actually. It’s something that you could replicate a little bit, show your students YouTube clips of bits of movie bits from another language and see what they comprehend. That’s kind of what we’re talking about here.
And so, my Theatrefolk partner-in-crime, Craig Mason, we did just that. Whenever we travel, we make it a point to go see some theatre. And so, when we were in Iceland and Norway, we saw plays in Icelandic and Norwegian – some with some very clear communicative storytelling and, well, some not. You’ll have to listen to figure those ones out.
That’s our purpose here in this podcast – to talk about what these experiences were like, not just as pieces of theatre or plays but pieces of communication. How do these plays communicate physically and visually? How much of a story did we understand when we didn’t have the language? And how much does acting, relationships, and verbal technique come into the equation.
It’s a whole big critical thinking mosaic – that’s a good word! Everybody’s got to put their critical thinking cap on and I’m going to say “critical thinking” one more time because then we’ve really got some 21st Century skills going on, eh, eh?
We’ve got some communication, we’ve got some critical thinking, oh, it’s all good.
Oh, and then, there’s one bonus section about a piece we saw in Scotland that had no dialogue – just scrap metal and music and lights. So, how did this particular piece communicate? Well, that’s something else you’re going to have to listen to find out. I can’t give it all away in the intro, can I?
So, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hi, Craig.
CRAIG: Hi, Lindsay Price.
Hey, you didn’t call me by my last name.
LINDSAY: I didn’t.
CRAIG: I called you Lindsay Price. You called me just Craig.
LINDSAY: Okay, let’s start again.
CRAIG: Okay.
LINDSAY: Hi, Craig Mason.
CRAIG: Hi, Lindsay.
LINDSAY: Oh, snap!
Actually, what you’ve just done is an interesting play on the place of where we are right now/ Where are we sitting?
CRAIG: We are sitting in Iceland.
LINDSAY: Iceland! Reykjavik, Iceland.
A fun fact is that, in Iceland, they don’t really use last names. Everyone is on first name basis. Even the Prime Minister is on a first name basis because everybody is John’s son or John’s daughter. Fun fact!
We’re actually here to talk about a theatrical experience that we had last night and that was Mama Mia.
Episode 171: Divergent Learning in the classroom
There is no class that is more divergent than the drama classroom. You have the vast number of different students who end up in your classroom, some who want to be there and some who don’t. You also have the ability to look for many different solutions to a problem in the drama classroom. There is often more than one way to play a character, to interpret a scene, to apply creative thinking. Theatre is the perfect place for divergent learning to happen.
Show Notes
The Plays of Steven Stack The Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This would be Episode 171 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode171.
Today, we’re talking with one of our playwrights, one of Theatrefolk’s playwrights, Steven Stack, who also has many other talents and many other hats that he wears – one of them is that he has a background, he actually went to school for this in divergent learning.
So, mostly for my sake, let’s define that word. To be divergent – and I’m going to mention this in the interview, I keep thinking of the book series and the movie but that’s not what we’re talking about – is to move or extend in different directions from a common point.
Let’s say, a script or an idea or a character or being different from the “typical student” – to differ in opinion, to deviate from a plan, practice, or path. I think both you and I know that there is no more class that is more divergent than the drama classroom.
You have a vast number and a variety of different students who end up in your classroom – some who want to be there, some who really don’t – and I know all of you have had students who deviated from “the path” – again, I’ll use those air quotes – you know, “the path” and they’re ending up in your classroom, too. You also have the ability to look for many different solutions to a problem in a drama classroom. There is always more than – well, let’s not say “always” – there are a lot of times when there is more than one way to play a character, to interpret a scene, to apply creative thinking.
Theatre is the perfect place for divergent learning to happen.
That’s my two cents. Let’s hear what Steven has to say on the matter.
LINDSAY: All right. I am talking to Steven Stack.
Hello, Steven!
STEVEN: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: How are you doing?
STEVEN: I am doing great. How about you?
LINDSAY: I’m doing peachy. I’m doing absolutely peachy.
STEVEN: Peachy? Very nice!
LINDSAY: Why not? I’m trying to mix it up a little – not be awesome all the time. Sometimes, I have to be a fruit.
STEVEN: Exactly! So, now I feel like I should have gone with, like, a pineapple. I had a chance there.
LINDSAY: But that was, in a very subtle way, sort of a great example of the thing that we’re going to talk about today which is Divergent Learning. Of course, I also wat to say – which I’ll also talk you up greatly in the introduction as I always do – that Steven is one of our fabulous Theatrefolk playwrights. When we get to the Theatrefolk News at the end of this, I’m going to name them all – Bottom of the Lake; Ashland Falls; She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More; The Dread Playwright/Pirate Sadie.
STEVEN: Oh, even at the beginning, too!
LINDSAY: Oh, I’ll tell ya, I’ll tell ya. We’ll do it all. We’ll do it more than once. But the reason that Steven is here and he is talking to us today is I learned something about Steven.
Now, Steven, you’ve been writing for us quite a number of years.
STEVEN: I have, yes.
LINDSAY: For the first time, we were talking about a course that you’re going to do for us for the Drama Teacher Academy and you mentioned...
Episode 170: Musical Theatre in the Drama Classroom
Have you ever considered including musical theatre in the drama classroom? Does the thought of singing in front of others scare your students to death? Does it scare you to death? If you’re going to offer a full range of theatre subjects in your curriculum, musical theatre is an important piece. Listen to teacher Colin Oliver talk about why he includes musical theatre in his program and why you should too, even if you have students who will never sing a note outside of class.
Show Notes
The Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 170 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode170.
Today, we’re… cool, see? I’m already in the spirit of things. I already got a little song in my heart, a song in my voice, because we are talking musical theatre. More specific to that, musical theatre in the Drama classroom. That’s right; singing, I know, is something that terrifies many people, almost to death. You may be one of those people.
It’s one thing to sing in the car at full volume. How many of you are singing Hamilton on your way to and from work? It’s another thing entirely to do it in front of your peers.
But Teacher Colin Oliver, he includes musical theatre in his program and he thinks you should, too – even if you have students who will never sing a note outside of class.
Let’s hear what he has to say.
LINDSAY: All right! I am here, talking with Colin Oliver.
Hello, Colin!
COLIN: Hi, Lindsay! Thanks for having me.
LINDSAY: Ah, absolutely!
How are you doing today?
COLIN: Very well. Thank you. How are you?
LINDSAY: Fantastic.
So, usually, I ask our guests where in the world you are, but we are actually in the same room. We are in the same location. We’re actually in a dining room which is not always usual but it’s the dining room of my sister and my niece. For those of you who might get our newsletter, we’re always talking about my niece and my two-year-old niece could be banging outside the door so we must get going. We must get going!
So, Colin, how long have you been a Drama teacher?
COLIN: I’ve just finished my seventh year teaching. I’ve been teaching Drama for five of those seven years.
LINDSAY: What did you start out?
COLIN: I was full English. Now, I’m part English, part Drama, part vocal music.
LINDSAY: Did you always have an interest in Drama or did Drama kind of drop in your lap?
COLIN: No, always, ever since I was a child, I was very, very interested in Drama. I did community theatre and plays at school. Then, continuing on through university where I studied theatre, I did shows and started teaching Drama.
LINDSAY: Where did the switch come for you from being a performer to being an educator?
COLIN: Ah, that’s a good question.
When I graduated university, a fellow student of mine and I started a small company called Theatre Recap where we started using these productions we were doing as fundraisers for different charities and not-for-profit organizations.
LINDSAY: Neat!
COLIN: We would produce original comedian work and partner with an organization whose cause kind of matched the thematic concerns of the play. And so, that kind of led into spreading awareness about theatre as a tool for social change and kind of giving talks and workshops about that stuff. And then, that kind of drove the educational impetus for me a little bit.
LINDSAY: Yeah. It’s always interesting to me when I made that switch from being a performer to being a playwright to actually being very involved in the education element of it. Was that something where you went, “Okay,
Episode 169: Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First time
If you’re a drama teacher, at some point Shakespeare should make it on to your stage. But what if you’ve hated him since high school yourself? Shakespeare is a challenge, it’s a great challenge and one that is easier to embrace than sky diving. Maybe. Listen to a couple of teachers talk about their first time battling the bard.
Show Notes
Romeo and Juliet 1 hour cut with annotations Much Ado About Nothing 1 hour cut with annotations Shakespeare adaptations and parodies including Drop Dead Juliet & Much Ado High School Shakespeare in an Hour Solo-Speare a collection of Shakespeare Monologues Scene-Speare a collection of Shakespeare Scenes
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
All right, this is Episode 169.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode169.
Ever since it’s been made aware to me that I saw “drama” weird, that’s all I think about every time I do these podcast intros “Is drama the right way to say it?” You guys will still like me, right? If I say drama the wrong way.
Okay. Today, we are talking Shakespeare and Shakespeare in school – middle school and high school. I know that, just by saying that sentence, either there was a smile on your face – “Shakespeare! Yay!” – or you made a scrunchy face, right? Or your stomach went all squishy. You’re thinking about that experience right now, right?
Your experience with Shakespeare is one of those two things it’s either “Shakespeare!” or it’s “ugh, Shakespeare.” But, if you are a drama teacher, at some point, Shakespeare should make it onto your stage. What if you have hated him since high school?
Shakespeare is a challenge – yup, it’s a great challenge! It’s one that is probably easier to embrace than skydiving but, you know, I could be wrong.
In this podcast, we’ve got two teachers – Heidi Frederic and Hilary Martin – both of whom, in the past year, directed Shakespeare for the first time. It took Heidi fourteen years of teaching before she was able to tackle the bard. In Hilary’s case, not only was she directing Shakespeare for the first time but many of her actors were acting Shakespeare for the first time. They had no previous exposure. That sounds like an adventure! Yeah, I think so. Let’s find out.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: I am talking with Heidi Frederic.
Hello, Heidi!
HEIDI: Hi!
LINDSAY: How are you doing today?
HEIDI: I’m great! How are you?
LINDSAY: I am swell.
So, tell everybody, where in the world are you?
HEIDI: I am in Louisiana. I’m in a small town called St. Amant which is probably about twenty minutes south of Baton Rouge and about forty minutes north of New Orleans.
LINDSAY: Oh, cool. Perfect. I always like it when I can get a good image of where people are.
HEIDI: Yes.
LINDSAY: So, we’re talking today about Shakespeare, but not just that – that the whole idea of tackling a Shakespeare show for the very first time.
How long have you been a teacher?
HEIDI: This is my 14th year.
LINDSAY: This if your 14th year and you just did your Shakespeare show.
HEIDI: I’m actually just about to open it.
LINDSAY: That’s it.
So, are you nervous?
HEIDI: I’m very nervous! My very first Shakespeare show and I’m very nervous.
LINDSAY: Well, I bet you, you did fine.
Let’s go back to the very beginning. What made you decide that you had to tackle Shakespeare?
HEIDI: Well, I’ve always wanted to do Shakespeare but I’ve always been very apprehensive about tackling Shakespeare. The language, of course, has always held me back. I had taught English for many years so I had taught Shakespeare before and I knew the struggles th...
Episode 168: Putting on a play your administration doesn’t like
Sometimes you want to do a show on a tough subject matter. Sometimes your administration doesn’t want you to. In this episode, teacher Chris Evans talks about his experience producing a play on gun violence. How did he communicate with his administration? What was the response? What advice does he have for others?
Show Notes
Clowns with Guns Chicken. Road.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
All right, this is Episode 168.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode168. Surprise, surprise!
Today, we are talking communication – the communication of a play to an audience that’s got some tough subject matter, all about communicating tough subject matter to both a receptive audience and a not receptive audience, and also the communication that has to happen between a teacher and their administration about doing a play with tough subject matter.
The title of this podcast is: “Putting On a Play Your Administration Doesn’t Like – How That Is Not an Impossible Situation.”
We recently published a script by Teacher Chris Evans called Clowns with Guns. It is an unflinching look at gun violence in schools. It’s one that many people were offended by when it was done, including Chris’ administration.
So, what was that experience like for Chris? How did he keep a positive communication going with his administration and with all those involved with the show?
You don’t need to hear that from me! Let’s hear it directly from Chris!
Let’s get to it and find out.
LINDSAY: I am talking to Chris Evans.
Hello, Chris!
CHRIS: Hello, hello, hello!
LINDSAY: Hello, hello, hello!
Tell everybody where in the world you are.
CHRIS: I am smack dab in the middle of the state of Montana – Great Falls, Montana. We’re about 90 miles north of the capital of Helena. We are on the plains. It’s a beautiful 91 degrees and humid.
LINDSAY: All the good things!
CHRIS: Absolutely!
LINDSAY: There are folks who are very attracted to 91 and humid.
CHRIS: I was born and raised in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona in July. My mother never lets me forget that.
LINDSAY: So, there’s no excuses for you – no excuses for you.
CHRIS: This is jacket weather right now, so…
LINDSAY: All right then! All right, everyone, put on your jackets and we’re going to start this. Actually, you know, put on your jackets, strap yourselves in. We’re going to have a very – I think – interesting conversation – I think – a necessary conversation for a lot of folks out there who might be in the same shoes or they’re afraid to get into the issues.
What we’re going to talk about today is doing a play that your administration might not like you to do – or, more strongly, does not want you to do.
Chris, you were in this situation.
CHRIS: Yes, I was.
Basically, the backstory in this is I was looking for a play to do at our state thespian convention which happens every February here and I can’t consistently do a theatre form play. Otherwise, the secret’s going to be out. And so, I decided to write one and I started, this was around the time that mass shootings here in America were just happening almost daily.
I was angry about it so I decided to start writing a play about what seemed to me was acceptance of these shootings happening in America. I wanted to tie it in with a class lesson on absurdity and satire. And so, the play – Clowns with Guns (A Vaudeville) – was born.
Essentially, it takes place in a circus atmosphere, with iconic characters, and a group of audience that I call the Goobers decided to come see the show and they’re happy to see the show.
Episode 167: Drama Teachers: Solving problems within play production
Two drama teachers and co-directors talk about the process of putting on a play, the choices that have to be made and the problems that often have to be solved. Instead of saying “we can’t do this play” because of the issues, these teachers went to the mat to figure out how keep the integrity of the play intact while using what was at their disposal. An excellent directing discussion.
Show Notes
The Gift
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 167.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode167.
So, today, we are talking process – production process – the process of putting on a play and, more specifically, solving the problems that often come up during that process.
How many times have you looked at a play, you read it, you loved it, and the first thing that comes to your mind is, “Oh, we can’t do this play,” right?
We’re going to talk to two teacher and co-directors, Dee Sutter and Traci Duffin. They put on my play, The Gift, last year. Based on some really awesome pictures I saw from the production knew I wanted to have them on the podcast. They came up with so many unique solutions and, instead of saying, “We can’t do this play,” these co-directors went to the mat. This is a great, great discussion on problem-solving, creative problem-solving, and directing.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right, I am speaking with Dee Sutter.
Hello, Dee!
DEE: Hello!
LINDSAY: And Traci Duffin.
Hello, Traci!
TRACI: Hello!
LINDSAY: All right. So, both of these folks are directors. What school are you at?
DEE: We are at Custer County District High School in Miles City, Montana.
LINDSAY: Awesome! Teachers and directors and they co-directed a play of mine called The Gift. They sent such amazing pictures and just talked about to me some of the different choices that they made that I thought this would be a really good conversation about, you know, what is this process that they went through and I know that so many of you go through.
Guys, let’s start from the very beginning. What are you thinking about? What are you looking at when it comes to choosing a play for your school and for your students?
DEE: I suppose, like most high school theatre programs, we are always long on girls, short on men. We run our program as an extracurricular. We have a theatre class but we also do the play as an extracurricular so we run it as we take all comers. We announce an audition. From the amount of people, the numbers that we get auditioning, we try to pick a play that we can handle.
LINDSAY: Oh, so you guys audition first and then figure out your pool and then pick a play?
DEE: Yes.
LINDSAY: Oh!
DEE: It requires a lot of footwork in advance because you have to have read quite a few and have quite a catalogue of plays that you can go to.
LINDSAY: Do you come to your season with like a short list?
DEE: Usually, yes, and we try to mix it up with comedy and drama. And then, something someone’s heard of so, if they wanted to go off and do something with acting, they can say, “I played a certain character. I was in Taming of the Shrew.”
LINDSAY: Yeah, cool. That really says to me that you are student-centered; it’s really about showcasing your students.
DEE: Absolutely, yeah.
LINDSAY: Do you guys always co-direct or is this something that just happened this time?
TRACI: We’ve actually done twenty plays together.
LINDSAY: Oh, my god! Awesome!
TRACI: We have quite a collection of posters upstairs of all of the plays that we’ve done. But I’m retiring this year so Dee is a little confused as to what’s going t...
Episode 166: Theatre Etiquette 101
When teaching students who are brand-new to theatre, it’s important to discuss and apply the expectations of the drama classroom, and the theatrical world. Join drama educator Kerry Hishon as she shares her expertise on how to implement and instil theatre etiquette in your classroom, your rehearsal, backstage and during a strike. A cohesive theatrical community starts with the rules and codes of behaviour both onstage and off.
Show Notes
DTA Course: Theatre Etiquette
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 166.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode166.
Today, we are talking to a theatre person, Kerry Hishon, who is an absolute doll. I love Kerry.
Kerry has been writing blog posts for Theatrefolk all this year and I love her point of view. She’s also a Drama Teacher Academy instructor and, this month, we published her course on Theatre Etiquette which I’ll get into after the interview. The course on Theatre Etiquette, I’ll get into after the interview about Theatre Etiquette.
Ah! See how I did that? Well, we’ve got course, we’ve got interview. It’s all coming together. It’s all melding together. What is that? It’s not synergy. Oh, you know, a meld together kind of word that I can’t think of right now.
Anyway, theatre etiquette, what are the expectations of the drama classroom and the theatrical world? So much to talk about! Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: I am here with Kerry Hishon.
Hello, Kerry!
KERRY: Hello!
LINDSAY: We are in London, Ontario today. We are talking about theatre etiquette. That’s the teaser. That’s the topic.
Kerry, how long have you been working? You’ve been working with youth theatre for a while now.
KERRY: Yeah, I first started working in youth theatre in about 2008 – the London Community Players Palace Theatre – and then, in 2010, I started working at Original Kids Theatre Company and I’ve been there ever since!
LINDSAY: When you talk about theatre etiquette, a lot of what you know just comes from the day to day of working with youth and what they do.
KERRY: Exactly, yeah.
One of my favorite parts of my job at Original Kids is I get to run the TAG program. It stands for The Actor Grows. It’s an introductory program for young actors who are brand new to the program and it teaches them a little bit about everything in the theatre – just little workshops for three months and it culminates with a showcase. But one of the biggest things we talk about is theatre etiquette because these kids have never done it before.
We want to tell them what they need to know, how they can succeed in the theatre, and really what they need to know just to get around and explain the terms and why we do the things we do. Basically, what I wanted to know when I was starting out in theatre, I want to share with my students and help make their lives a little easier.
LINDSAY: Right. Of course, when we’re talking theatre etiquette, we’re being very specific here. We’re talking about theatre etiquette that happens in the drama classroom. We’re talking about theatre etiquette that happens whether it’s a class show or whether it’s a drama club show or a bigger production. The rules are pretty much similar across the board about how we should behave.
Let’s start off with that word. Okay, Kerry, what is your definition of “etiquette”? What does that mean to you?
KERRY: Theatre etiquette – well, etiquette in general – go back, just start with etiquette.
LINDSAY: Okay, we go back.
KERRY: Basically, etiquette is how you behave in a certain setting.
If you are at the dinner table and you want the salt,
Episode 165: Drama Teachers: Theatre is community.
Michael Wehrli thought he was going to be an actor. Then he thought he would be a director. And finally found a love for teaching and educational theatre - Theatre is process. Theatre is collaboration. Theatre is community building. There is nothing better than the ability to give somebody a community and the ability to provide tools for a student to build their own community. As an example Michael talks about creating a show in which students are not along for the ride in putting on a play, they are active participants in the process.
Show Notes
Theater Company - www.newmoonproductions.org Personal – www.michaelwehrli.com We Open Tomorrow Night
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 165.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode165.
All right, my friends. Today, today, we’re going to talk about…
I was going to say favorite buzzword. But then, when I formed the word “buzzword” in my head, I’m like, “Well, that’s not my buzzword,” because I think “buzzword” and I think negative marketing connotation and that’s not what I mean at all because buzzwords are slick. I think we can share with one another that I am not a slick person unless there is an oil spill in which case I would be the one who would slick into it. Of course, right? My world is filled with all that kind of slick.
I’m talking about a word that I like to hang my hat on, that I like to use, that when I think of this word, the images that come to my mind give me all the warm feels. I think it’s just wonderful and I really think it’s important to use in an educational realm – an educational theatre realm – and that word is “community.”
I love the title of this particular podcast. “Theatre is Community.” I love thinking of a production, of a drama club, of a drama class as a community.
Our guest today, Michael Wehrli, also loves the word community. When he creates work with students, that’s his keyword or hat-hanging word or his word of the day.
You know, the brain goes in weird places. Does Sesame Street still do a word of the day or was it a letter of the day? Oh, you know, maybe I’m just too old to remember the structure of Sesame Street. Let’s go with that one. Too old!
Anyway, podcast and community, let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right, I am talking to Michael Wehrli.
Hello, Michael!
MICHAEL: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: How’s it going?
MICHAEL: All is well. All is well.
LINDSAY: Excellent!
Tell everybody where in the world you are.
MICHAEL: Portland, Oregon!
LINDSAY: I love Portland, Oregon. Organ and orligan.
MICHAEL: Or again.
LINDSAY: Or when the tongue just… Don’t you love it when the tongue gets tripped up? My favorite is I’m a real pro at taking two words in my head and then smashing them together to make something.
MICHAEL: Lovely! I do the same thing and they come out.
LINDSAY: Awesome! So, now that we’ve established all the things that we do wrong with our pronunciations, let’s start over again.
So, Michael, you have a lot of hats.
MICHAEL: I do, indeed. My theatre company is twenty years old. What we specialize in is bringing programs to organizations and schools and community centers and that’s what we do.
There are a couple of schools that I’ve been personally working at for a long time but I am very fortunate in my career now that I, as a teacher, get to pick and choose places that I want to work at and then just hire teachers for all the other things that New Moon Productions does.
LINDSAY: Yeah, and we know you because you have written a lovely play – We Open Tomorrow Night?!
MICHAEL: Oh, thank you.
Episode 164: Drama Teachers Directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Four drama teachers talk about their vision, their experience, their successes and their struggles directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The same play with four completely different outcomes. A great peek into how a director interprets a script and how they illuminate the Bard for their students.
Show Notes
Postcards From Shakespeare
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 164.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode164.
Some of my favorite episodes – they’re all my favorite episodes; I love this podcast! I love hearing from you guys when you come up to us at the Theatrefolk table when we’re at a conference and you tell us you listen to the podcast – you listen to it in your cars. Somebody was cleaning out his office or painting his office and listening to the podcast. That is, like, the best!
I’m glad that it’s something that appeals to you guys, that is informative for you guys. I hope that there is something that you guys get out of it. That’s why we’re doing it! We’re doing it for you!
This, I think, was a very interesting one to put together and I hope it’s interesting for you, too.
What we’ve got here is I really love it when we can get more than one voice involved on whatever topic so that we can hear more than one point of view.
Today, we’ve got four. We’ve got four teachers talking about their vision, their experience, their success and struggles with directing not just any play but a Shakespeare play and what they all have experience with is directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So, how do we take this play? How do you interpret it? Ad how do you illuminate the bard both for your audience and for your students?
Here’s a little hint of what’s coming – John Hughes does a Shakespeare. I know, eh? Pretty good!
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Okay. I am talking to Marsha Walner.
Hello, Marsha!
MARSHA: Hello!
LINDSAY: Awesome. We’re talking Dream.
Just before we got started, you identified that Midsummer Night’s Dream, favorite production, favorite play – good place to start.
MARSHA: This is true – very true.
LINDSAY: What makes it your favorite play?
MARSHA: I think because it’s just so fun. I mean, that’s kind of the easy answer but it’s silly and fun and magical and exciting and it’s just silly and I love that.
And then, of course, there’s the deeper meanings that you can extrapolate when you really dig deep into it and I love doing that in terms of working with older actors. This particular production was a group of K through 12 students so I had everything from little tinies that just wanted to be silly up through high school actors who really wanted to get serious. This play really provided that.
LINDSAY: What a wide range of students to work with.
MARSHA: Yes.
LINDSAY: Your sanity was kept?
MARSHA: It was! And that all came from a very meticulously created rehearsal schedule.
LINDSAY: Ah, perfect, perfect.
Let’s step back and let’s look at your vision.
MARSHA: Sure.
LINDSAY: When you’re looking at this play, you love the play, you know you’re working with students. What are some of your first thoughts when you were thinking about how you were going to present it?
MARSHA: Well, my main thought was how to stay true to the material and really work with the language. Obviously, with Shakespeare, that can be a challenge for students, especially working with really young students. So, really thinking of ways that I could make it both deep and intellectual for older students as well as still fun for the younger ones.
We incorporated a lot of movement.
Episode 163: Engaging the Non-Theatre student in the drama classroom
The non-theatre student is a fact of life for every drama teacher. There are those who end up in drama by accident, because they think it’s an easy course, because they’ve nowhere else to go. And the unwritten rule is that drama teachers deal with the students who walk through the door. But how? Listen in as three drama teachers share their experiences.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for drama teachers, drama students and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you’re well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 163. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes, which are at theatrefolk.com/episode163.
Okay, so this is a special episode. What did they usually say? A very special episode, the most dramatic podcast ever. Okay. Shout out to any Bachelor/Bachelorette watchers or none. Maybe I’m the only one. That’s okay. I’m fine. I’m fine with it. I own it. I’m guilty. But I don’t know any of their names. So I think that’s a good thing. So in this episode, this very special episode, we have a conversation about engaging the non-theatre student.
So, you may have heard me go on about the Drama Teacher Academy. Check the links in the show notes if you haven’t. And one thing we do in the DTA is we offer monthly live online PLCs, Professional Learning Communities, for our members. And that’s an event where, you know, we have a panel of theatre educators and there’s a topic and a live chat room for folks where they can talk to each other and ask questions, and it’s really wonderful. It’s been really a great thing to watch over the past year or so that we’ve been doing them. It’s a great way to give people some information and some interaction with other drama teachers.
So, why am I telling you this? Well, we have an upcoming DTA special promotion! Woo-hoo! That’s next week. And for that, we’re opening the doors to the entire Theatrefolk family for a PLC on Tuesday August 16th at 8 PM Eastern, and that PLC is called Planning Your Season. You’ve got kids, you’ve got plays, you’ve got administrators, you’ve got an audience. What you don’t have is a season. So, how do you plan a season that will satisfy everyone? So come on and join us and see what our panel has to say and what your fellow teachers have to say.
And now, see, I’m here, I’m circling back, I’m circling the wagon back as an extra special bonus in this extra special episode, this very special episode. On this podcast, right now, in just a few seconds you’re going to hear an audio from a past PLC – Engaging the Non-Theatre Student. And I know this is something every theatre teacher has to face, right? The student who is dropped into your class, the student who doesn’t want to be there, the student who thought drama would be an easy course, an easy A, hahahaha, fools.
So that is what this podcast is all about. It’s great conversation. You’ll love it. And as a heads-up this is from a live video. There is a chat room going on at the same time. So if you’re here with me, refer to it. No, you can’t ask a question in the chat room, but that’s why. Okay, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY PRICE: Hello everybody! Welcome to our PLC. And we are going to talk tonight about Engaging the Non-Theatre Student. This has been a big topic, lots of conversation. And I think it’s because it’s something that everyone is living with, dealing with, and they want to hear what other people have to say.
So I’m Lindsay Price, co-founder of DTA. And we have an awesome panel ready to go. First of all – hey, she’s waving – we have Lea Marshall from Florida. Hello, Lea.
LEA MARSHALL: Hello!
LINDSAY PRICE: And we also have Matt Banaszynski, also from Florida. Hi, Matt!
MATT BANASZYNSKI: Hi! How are you guys doing tonight?
Episode 162: Drama Teachers: Tips for Travelling with Students
Does the thought of taking 30 or more students to New York or London sound exciting or like a nightmare? At some point in every teacher’s life where they are faced with the daunting task of planning a trip. Where do you start? How do you avoid issues? Lisa Houston is a pro at traveling with students. In this podcast she gives her tips, tricks, fundraising suggestions for making your next travel experience smooth sailing.
Show Notes
WorldStrides Finishing Sentences
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
You have reached Episode 162 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode162.
So, it’s summertime! Everyone is taking it easy! Maybe going to the beach, maybe going camping, doing a little bit of travel. It’s kind of funny because – funny for me, maybe funny for no one else on the planet but – here, at TFolk Global Headquarters, summer is the time when we travel the least. We do it so much for work during the year, and then, if we’re going to choose when we go away for a vacation, it’s going to be in May because May is the month that nobody wants to hear from us or talk to us because everything is winding down. Once June or July, people are starting to get all into their year again. But May? May is dead so it’s perfect for travel.
But enough about me. Let’s get into the podcast and the question of the podcast which is: “How do you successfully – without heartburn and heartache – travel with a group of students?” How do you plan and implement trips to, say, New York or London? You want to take your students to New York, to Broadway, to see the sights, see the shows.
We have a teacher, Lisa Houston, who is a pro at traveling with students and she is here to give you tips, tricks, and she’s even got a post-trip reflection that students can do. I know!
All right, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right, I am here with Lisa Houston.
Hello, Lisa!
LISA: Hi! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m all right.
Tell everybody where you are in the world.
LISA: I am in Pennington, New Jersey, which is a small town outside of Princeton, New Jersey. We are sort of halfway between New York and Philadelphia.
LINDSAY: Ooh! It’s always interesting to me when people say where they are and, in my head, I’m like, “Hmm… I have no idea where that is,” but your visual was perfect.
LISA: Good.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a teacher?
LISA: I have been a teacher… this is my 20th year of being a teacher. I’ve been at Pennington actually all of those years.
LINDSAY: Wow! Okay. So, you’re dug in.
LISA: I am. I’m here to stay.
LINDSAY: Ah, that’s awesome!
LISA: Hopefully.
LINDSAY: So, what is it about being a teacher, being a Drama teacher that connects to you?
LISA: Well, I love creative projects, first of all. You know, doing Drama is always a creative project – whether it’s just something small in class – a small scene or even a page of dialogue. And then, of course, staging shows is a passion of mine. Like, I just love creating worlds and following through with that.
LINDSAY: Cool! I love that notion and it must be a wonderful thing to pass on to your students- that one of the things that we get to do is create a world.
LISA: Yes.
LINDSAY: Very cool.
We’re going to talk about something a little bit different but I know that this is a topic that is of great interest to a lot of our listeners. It’s something that happens with the Drama students but happens outside of the classroom and that is traveling with your students.
I know a lot of teachers who take students to New York and you traveled a little farther afield than that.
Episode 161: Spoken Word
Do you have students who just don’t want to be in your drama class? How many of you are struggling to find a way in? In this podcast teacher Christa Vogt talks about self-preservation, changing expectations (not lowering them), changing plans, and using a spoken word poetry unit to reach her students. She started from scratch and wasn’t afraid to demonstrate the process. Check out her journey!
Show Notes
Sarah Kay Ted Talk Sarah Kay - Hands Daniel Beaty - Knock Knock Joshua Bennett - Tamara’s Opus Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 161.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode161.
Okay, my friends, my listeners, everyone out there in Podcast Land! See? I go off in a direction; sometimes, it works – that one, not so much!
Okay, I have a question for you. I have a question and I know a lot of hands are going to go up, heads are going to nod. Do you have students who just don’t want to be in your Drama class? Have you had students who just didn’t want to be in your class? I know you do.
That’s always a question that kind of floored me because, I’m like, “Who doesn’t love Drama? Who doesn’t?” am I right? And I’m not right because there are tons of students out there who are in Drama classes and they don’t necessarily want to be there. Classes are flooded with those students and it’s a struggle to find a way in. So, let’s talk about that.
We’re going to talk to a teacher, Christa Vogt, who used spoken word. She didn’t know anything about it, never done it, but took the plunge to use it to find a way in.
Let’s hear her story.
LINDSAY: Hello, everybody!
I am speaking to Christa Vogt.
Hello, Christa!
CHRISTA: Hi, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: How are you today?
CHRISTA: I’m great. How are you doing?
LINDSAY: I’m doing all right.
So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
CHRISTA: I am in the southeastern part of Virginia. I teach high school in Virginia Beach and I live in Norfolk which is just a neighboring city.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a Drama teacher?
CHRISTA: This will be my sixteenth year, but not consecutive. I took three years off after ’08-’09. Took a break and came on back.
LINDSAY: Ah! Well, you came back!
CHRISTA: Yeah, I did! I wasn’t sure if I was going to but I did.
LINDSAY: Yeah, some people don’t. Some people go, “That’s been enough!” but that’s all right.
Why Drama and Education? Why was that the bent for you?
CHRISTA: Well, quite honestly, I was a figure skater for fifteen years.
LINDSAY: No way?
CHRISTA: I mean, I did the Disney on Ice, Star Wars on Ice – just performing. When I went to college, you know, when everybody gains that little bit of college weight and I tried to get back on the ice, things had shifted and I realized it wasn’t really the sport that I liked; it was the performing and theatre was that, but not on ice.
LINDSAY: Well, no – well, I was going to make a joke and I’m just like, “No…” I had this visual of Shakespeare on Ice.
CHRISTA: You know what? There probably is something out there.
LINDSAY: To be or – whoa!
CHRISTA: Yeah, woohoo!
LINDSAY: Okay. So, you made the transition from ice to theatre. You were motivated towards performing. Did you think you were going to be a professional actor?
CHRISTA: No, because I knew that I loved the art of it but not the fierce competition of it. I just wanted to be able to do it – not have to fight for every little bit I could get.
LINDSAY: Yeah, Craig was a professional actor for fifteen years and just hung his hat up and went, “I am not meant for that aspect of it.”
CHRISTA: Yeah.
Episode 160: Student Voices: Competition
The topic this week is competition. Lindsay interviews four groups of students who competed with scenes at the Florida State Thespian Festival. How does competition performing differ than being on stage in a regular show? How do you choose a scene? How do you deal with nerves? These students share personal experience, their expertise and their best competition tips.
Show Notes
How to Find Monologue For Auditions and Competitions Taking Students to Competition Celebrate The Competition Preparing for Competition Part One Preparing for Competition Part Two Preparing for Competition Part Three Body Body Blue Sky Lies The Big Lie
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 160.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode160.
Okay. The topic for today is competition.
We go to a lot of conferences and festivals – mostly in the States – where students don’t just compete with one-acts or full-lengths; there are a lot of individual event competitions – monologues, duets, ensembles, musicals, set design, costuming, so much more!
I’ve judged these events at various festivals and the whole process can look quite nerve-racking, you know? You have to get up in front of sometimes three judges who are all sitting at a table, who, as soon as you start acting, they start writing. I think it’s probably really hard to act and be judged at the same time.
One of the bigger festivals for these individual event competitions is the Florida State Thespian Festival. When you walk through the convention center on any given day of the festival, every corner is filled with students practicing, singing, preparing to compete. The energy is just bouncing off the walls with people waiting to perform, waiting to find out their score, crying sometimes when they find out their score – or, you know, the opposite – screaming in elation.
I had the pleasure of seeing a number of my scenes performed this year in competition and I thought it would be interesting to interview some of the students about their experience.
We’re going to listen to four groups who all competed with scenes of mine. First group is Brandon Craft, Cameron Logan, and Jordan Capps. They used my play “Blue Sky.” Hannah Groves and Chapel Darley performed a scene from a play called “Body Body.” Lena Robertson and Natalie Veater competed with Lies. Emily Ravenell and Tyrique Moore competed with “The Big Lie.”
Okay. Let’s hear what they’ve got to say.
LINDSAY: All right, I am talking to…
BRANDON: Brandon Craft.
LINDSAY: And…
CAMERON: Cameron Logan.
LINDSAY: And…
JORDAN: Jordan Capps.
LINDSAY: Okay, and you guys just performed a scene – the scene Blue Sky which is a play of mine. So, you’ve just come out of the competition room. How do you feel?
BRANDON: Emotional.
LINDSAY: Yeah?
BRANDON: Buzzed.
LINDSAY: Buzzed, that’s good.
CAMERON: A little forlorn because that’s the last time we’ll ever be performing that. We put so much time into it.
LINDSAY: Oh, a little touchy about that, cool.
JORDAN: Very flustered.
LINDSAY: Yeah?
JORDAN: Yeah, like, nervous – all that nervousness went into that. So, it’s pretty…
LINDSAY: Yes, you put all your energy and then it’s like, “Where does it go now?”
ALL: Yeah!
LINDSAY: So, competing is really different than performing, isn’t it? How does it play for you? What are the differences?
BRANDON: I think the difference is… like, because we’ve performed this several times, like, at our school, for an audience, just to show them what we’re bringing. When you do that, you have a lot more flexibility with it. For instance,
Episode 159: Interview with Stephen Gregg
Lindsay talks to playwright Stephen Gregg (This is A Test, Crush, Small Actors, The New Margo, Twitch) about his start down the writing path, his writing process as well as his connection to drama education and theatre teachers. Sometimes, the place we think we’re going when we start our careers is not the place we end up.
Show Notes
Stephen's new play, Crush Stephen’s Twitter Scene Spurs Drama Teacher Academy: Top Ten Playwriting Exercises
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and Theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 159.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode159.
All right. I am delighted to say that this podcast is a conversation with playwright Stephen Gregg.
If you’re an educator, you know his play, “This is a Test.” But you may not know about his long, long, long connection to Drama education and Theatre educators.
I’m going to link to this blog, Playwright Now, in the show notes. I encourage you to go over there and read an article on his site that he wrote called “Why I Love Theatre Teachers.”
I am also going to link to Stephen’s Twitter which is filled with awesome tips for playwrights – student or otherwise. He talks about learning to write plays one tweet at a time and it’s something your students can do as well. Have your student writers to go Stephen’s Twitter, pick a tweet, and use that as a reflection prompt.
Here’s an awesome one: “Story is what happens. Plot is how the story is revealed. Lion King and Hamlet have the same story but different plots.”
How would you students respond to that? How does it fit with their notion of story and plot? What are their examples? What examples could they come up with of story and plot?
See? See? Love it!
What else does Stephen have to say? Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right. I am here, talking to Stephen Gregg.
Hello, Stephen.
STEPHEN: Hello! How are you?
LINDSAY: I am wonderful, and how are you?
STEPHEN: I’m doing fine. Thank you!
LINDSAY: That’s good.
Tell everybody where in the world you are.
STEPHEN: I’m in Venice Beach, California – an area that’s been appealingly funky for about thirty or forty years and, suddenly, has become a little bit of a tech hub. It’s an area that’s changing but, still, an interesting place to live and work.
LINDSAY: I like the phrase “appealingly funky” because, you know, funky has a range. You can go from, you know, it’s hipster or a forced hipster funky and smelly funky and all those kinds of things. So, I like “appealingly funky” as a descriptor. I like that.
STEPHEN: Well, twenty years ago – or even ten years ago – there were parts of Venice that were just dangerous.
LINDSAY: Oh, isn’t that funny how places, locations change? Because I live in the same – in a much smaller scale. For our folks, Venice, it’s outside Los Angeles, yes?
STEPHEN: Technically, it is Los Angeles. It’s just one edge of it.
LINDSAY: I live in the same kind in a much, much smaller scale, but the little village that I live in, its main source of income was closed in the 80’s. Our big city literally shipped their homeless and their low-income housing people to this place. So, there was about ten to fifteen years where it was just like desolate and just crime-ridden. You would never know that today. It is a beautiful little haven and it fascinates. I just find it fascinating how we ebb and flow, you know.
STEPHEN: Well, a lot of times, it’s the arts that lead the way, you know? The artists move to the slightly ramshackle neighborhoods and fix them up. That happens all over New York.
LINDSAY: It’s because we can’t afford to live in…
STEPHEN: Exactly!
Episode 158: The Show Must Go On
Everyone has a show must go on story. Sets fall, lines are forgotten, sometimes the light board catches on fire. In this podcast we hear a number of different “show must go on” stories that all emphasize the same point: No matter what happens, you have to keep it together and keep that show going. Except maybe if there’s a bat dive bombing the actors.
Show Notes
Theatrefolk Podcast
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 158.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode158.
Today, we are busy today. We’ve got lots of different pieces to put together. I’m telling stories. Craig’s going to show up later. We have interviews in not one but two different states. It’s busy, man – good busy, though. It’s active, right?
Today, we have an active podcast.
Today, we are talking about The Show Must Go On.
If you are in theatre, if you have ever been onstage, you have a “show must go on” story and we have a bunch for you.
The impetus for this podcast is I was adjudicating a festival a couple of months ago and one of the shows started and everything started fine. And then, an actor came out and she was supposed to say one thing and a completely different thing came out of her mouth. There was a moment of silence. The actor looked strained. And then, she ran offstage. I’ve never seen that before. I’ve never seen someone just be in a moment of such panic that the only thing that they felt they could do is leave.
But what happened onstage was amazing because they just carried on. It was as if this run offstage was in the script and people threw in lines that weren’t there. There was a musician who was supposed to react and he was right there on cue and I had read the script so I knew that there was something awry and it was obvious that there was something a little bit awkward about what was going on but it was a play acknowledging the fact that it was a play so the awkwardness really worked – even to the point when one of the characters said in character, “I don’t know what to do right now!” It worked! They were going to keep going.
Soon after that, the student director for the piece came down the aisle, from the booth, walked onstage and said to the audience, “We’re starting again.” The actors looked at her and went, “Okay.” They just went into action and they got back into their place. They started over and you never would have known that there was an issue – even with the girl who ran offstage. She came on and she did her thing and you never would have known.
I was just so impressed with the ensemble to keep the play going – not only to keep the play going but they were going to keep going. They weren’t going to stop. The show must go on and they didn’t think to stop or break character. That, I think, is remarkable. And that, I think, is something that we all want to give to our students. There’s a better word, I can’t think of it right now, but to emphasize to our students about what “the show must go on” really means.
It’s about that community and helping each other.
I’ll have my own “show must go on” story later. It’s not pretty but it’s great for aural listening. No video.
Now, we’re going to head over to the Southeastern Theatre Conference where I asked teachers about their “show must go on” experiences.
Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right! I am talking to Tricia Oliver.
Hi, Tricia!
TRICIA: Hi!
LINDSAY: Okay, we’re talking “show must go on” stories.
TRICIA: Right. Okay, as I was developing this program, still fairly new, we did “Flowers for Algernon.” I thought I would do something very deep, very thought-provoking for both the audience and th...
Episode 157: Creating An Environment
Teacher Ray Palasz talks about set design and creating an environment. He also discusses a set design project using Sketch Up. You too can include set design in the classroom.
Show Notes
Sketch up You can find a link to a tech challenge (Olympics) handbook on this page Riders to the sea Mind over matt Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. I hope you’re smashing today. I hope you’re awesome. Are you awesome? Please, be awesome. And thanks for listening!
This is Episode 157.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode157.
So, any time that we can add a technical theatre component to anything we do – whether it’s on our blog or here in the podcast – I think it’s really important to jump on it. I want to jump on it – metaphorically, of course! Because, if I jump on the equipment, I break it and I already bought it. So, you know, that doesn’t help me. I can’t say, you know, “Break it, you buy it!” because I bought it and then, if I break it afterwards, it’s just a pit of sadness all around. So, let’s not break it. Excellent!
Let’s get it back on track!
So, technical theatre, it’s an area I certainly can’t talk about with great confidence and I know that many of you out there are sort of in the same boat but you know you want to add that technical component to your classroom and you aren’t sure where to start.
So, Teacher Ray Palasz is going to be your start as we talk about set design.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right, I am speaking today with Ray Palasz.
Hello, Ray!
RAY: Hello!
LINDSAY: Ray, tell everyone where in the world you are.
RAY: I am an English and technical theatre teacher at Lake Central High School in Saint John, Indiana, which is about 30 minutes outside of Chicago.
LINDSAY: Oh, perfect! That gives me a wonderful… sometimes, people say where they are and I’m like, “Yeah, I have no idea where that is,” – and here’s my ignorance showing – 30 minutes outside of Chicago, that’s awesome – unless you’re too busy and you don’t get a chance to get up there.
RAY: No, my wife and I, we have season tickets for the Broadway in Chicago series. So, we get up there probably about every six weeks or so to see a musical. It’s a lot of fun.
LINDSAY: That’s awesome!
Technical theatre – tell me about your background with technical theatre. Where does that come from for you?
RAY: Okay. Well, I didn’t really get involved with technical theatre things until I was in college and I had to take my technical theatre class for my theatre major and it was your basic introduction to stage craft type of course and I really started thinking, “This is really kind of cool – to be able to put stuff together and build sets and, you know, have control over lighting and costuming and things like that.”
At the time, I was working in the career center at Valparaiso University and then I asked the technical director who was the teacher, I said, you know, “Is there a way I could get a job working in the scene shop?” And so, the next semester, he brought me in and I started working there for the last couple of years I was in college. And then, when I started working at Lake Central, there was already a woman there who was teaching the acting courses and doing a lot of the directing so I just naturally stepped in as technical director.
And so, really, ever since I’ve been doing a lot of technical work. I do get to direct shows from time to time. I direct a contest show every year but I also work on the technical end of a couple of shows that we do during our season as well.
LINDSAY: It’s interesting that you say that what was really interesting for you – to have...
Episode 156: Double Les Miz Double Valjean
Host Lindsay Price and Theatrefolk co-owner Craig Mason had a unique theatrical experience. They saw Les Miserables twice in three days. The first show had the closing night performance of Ramin Karimloo as Jean Valjean and the second saw Alfie Boe in his opening night performance. Two actors. Two Valjean’s. How did each performer interpret the role? In a long running piece like Les Miserables is there room for actor interpretation? What were the similarities and the differences? Tune in to find out!
Show Notes
Les Miserables Ramin Karimloo Alfie Boe
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. Woohoo! I had to get excited there!
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 156.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode156.
Today, today is a Lindsay and Craig talk – Lindsay and Craig, Lindsay and Craig. That’s Lindsay Price – me – and Craig Mason – co-owner of Theatrefolk and my co-cohort – co-cohort? Is that a word? Cohort! Cohort in crime.
We had a unique theatrical experience a while back. We saw the same show twice, a couple of days after each other. We saw Les Miz with two different actors in the lead role – two different Jean Valjeans. One on his closing night and one on his opening night.
So, what were the similarities? What were the differences? Did we like one more than the other? Is there room for actor interpretation in a long-running show like Les Miz? So many questions! I bet we have answers! I hope we have answers! We better have something, you know – otherwise, it’d be a pretty short podcast. So, let’s find out.
LINDSAY: All right, let me set the scene.
This is Lindsay. Hello everybody. I am also here with Craig Mason.
CRAIG: Hello everybody.
LINDSAY: Hello everybody.
It is quarter to 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night and we are in New York City. We have just come back to the hotel after seeing Les Miz – Les Misérables – for the second time in two days.
Now, there is a very specific reason why we have seen them twice and I’m going to turn this over to Craig.
Craig, why did we decide to come to New York specifically to see Les Miz basically two times in a row? We saw it Sunday afternoon and then we saw it Tuesday night.
CRAIG: A few months ago, I was looking at the theatre area in Reddit and there was a mention that Alfie Boe was coming in to play Jean Valjean in Les Miz. One of the comments on it was Ramin Karimloo was the existing Jean Valjean and he was leaving the show and Alfie Boe was coming in and one of the comments on the post was, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to go see closing night for Ramin Karimloo and then come back two days later to see Alfie Boe do it?”
LINDSAY: And you said, “Hey, Lindsay!”
CRAIG: This little lightbulb went over my head and I thought, “Wow! That would be kind of cool to see!” And so, we checked our calendar. The trip is very tight against some other plans we have but we were able to squeeze it all in and here we are.
LINDSAY: Yeah, and we were like, “Well, you know, we won’t be able to do this because the tickets will be extraordinary.” No, the tickets were pretty much normal. Okay, is the time going to fit? Yeah, the time fits. And here we are!
Craig, what was the first time you were exposed to Alfie Boe?
CRAIG: Well, I first knew of Alfie Boe from watching the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables which was showing on PBS. I was actually never really a fan of the show but, when it was around, I was in theatre school and I was in that phase where anything that had more than five lights in it was like a mega-musical and was not cool because we were doing these shows with chairs and flashlights and that was cool.
Episode 155: Ensemble Is Core
Teacher Carrie Reiberg has long known about the place that theatre can give a person. The theatre is a community. To that end, she also knows the importance and the value of ensemble. Ensemble is Core. She could not have done the work she did on the physically driven piece Emotional Baggage until she had built a community with her students. Listen in to hear Carrie talk about the experience, how she empowered students to come up with their own blocking, and how Frantic Assembly inspired the process.
Show Notes
Emotional Baggage Frantic Assembly Frantic Assembly Youtube Drama Teacher Academy PLCs Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. Woohoo! I had to get excited there!
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 155.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode155.
Before I get started, I wanted to let you guys know about two upcoming free – that’s right, free just for you – events. Theatrefolk is hosting two live PLCs – professional learning communities. We are holding them through Google Hangouts where a host, moi, and a panel are going to discuss and problem solve on topics that are important to drama teachers and drama educators.
There’s also a very active chatroom where there is more discussion and more problem-solving. It’s an absolutely amazing experience. I love doing these.
You also get a certificate of attendance which I know some of you can use with your administrators.
Our first one is tonight, April 19th at 8 PM Eastern, and we are talking about assessment. I know that is a big topic for lots of you – assessment. But, if you’re not listening today, do not fret! We have a second live PLC – professional learning community – on April 29th at 8 PM Eastern and it’s going to be a Q&A. we’re going to have teachers and topic experts onboard to discuss questions. It could be classroom management, improv, assessment, the ensemble, and more. It’s going to be awesome.
You can find a link for both these events in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode155.
And, now, back to our regularly scheduled program.
So, a lot of these interviews come from chance. Someone emails me with some show pictures that look interesting and that starts a conversation with a teacher I have never met and this is one of those conversations and it’s so lovely. I love it. I love it. I love what Carrie Reiberg not only has to say about her experience but what she has to share with you.
So, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right. I am speaking with Carrie Reiberg.
Hello, Carrie!
CARRIE: Hi!
LINDSAY: So, Carrie had a wonderful way for remembering for me how to say her name which was rye bread on an iceberg and I just think that’s a wonderful image and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Carrie, tell everybody where in the world you are.
CARRIE: I am in Indianapolis, Indiana.
LINDSAY: Awesome.
CARRIE: Yeah.
LINDSAY: So, let’s start off with your background. What connected you to becoming a theatre teacher?
CARRIE: I did ballet, modern dance, and theatre in high school. I was one of those kids that needed a place and theatre was my place. So, I was really drawn to it. I actually majored in performance in college and went and lived in New York for a while and did the whole starving actor thing and taught classes while I was starving. I really liked teaching so I came back home and went back to school – same place I got my undergraduate degree. I got my graduate degree and my teaching license at Indiana University in Bloomington and I’ve been teaching ever since.
LINDSAY: How long have you been a teacher?
CARRIE: This is my 13th year.
LINDSAY: Isn’t it amazing?
Episode 154: Come With Us To Kabuki
If you’re going to teach a Theatre History Unit, one of the areas you may include is Japanese Theatre: Kabuki, Noh or Bunraku. Theatrefolk co-owners Lindsay and Craig got a chance to see a Kabuki performance at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo and share their fascinating experience with this art form on the podcast.
Show Notes
Kabuki Official Website Shakespeare In An Hour
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 154 – one, five, four; one fifty-four; one hundred and fifty-four – all of the above.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode154.
Today, we’re staying in-house. We have a conversation between myself – hello – and my Theatrefolk partner in crime, Craig Mason.
Last year, we had the opportunity to travel to Japan and we knew that one of the things we wanted to do was go to the theatre. I just think it’s so fascinating to experience not only theatre in another country but the theatre of another country, especially if it’s in a language you don’t understand.
I saw King Lear in Czech in Prague. I was there about ten, fifteen years ago. So, it’s Kral Lear in Czech and you really realize how many times the word “king” is said in the play when that is the only word you know and that’s something that you might miss when you see it in English. And seeing a play in another language is a great opportunity to see how a company visually tells their story – visualizes the theme alongside of the verbal, alongside of the words.
A really great adjudicator who I had the opportunity to learn from, Ron Cameron-Lewis, he gave us great percentages that I use all the time in my own adjudications and that is that, when an audience takes in something, it is 60 percent visual, 30 percent oral, and 10 percent text. So, you know, if you’re not thinking about that 60 percent of the visual, you’re missing out on getting some of your audience and that’s a really great percentage too if you’re presenting to people who aren’t speaking your language.
Oh, I know one other thing I was going to say. We’re going to Iceland very shortly and, as I was looking up the theatre that we could possibly go and see, one of the options is going to see Mama Mia in Icelandic which I am fascinated. I am totally, totally fascinated. Here’s a story that I know, music that I know very well, but in a completely foreign language to me. What will that experience be like? I am sure that I will tell you down the road.
Okay, back to Kabuki. Here’s Craig and myself – me and Craig, Craig and I. We’re in Japan, Tokyo – to be more specific, in the Ginza district of Tokyo, reflecting on our very first time at a Kabuki show. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Hello, Craig.
CRAIG: Hello, Lindsay.
LINDSAY: So, when I usually start each podcast, I always say, “So, where are you in the world?” to sort of introduce yourself and I think this counts as the farthest away a podcast has been from, don’t you think?
CRAIG: Certainly for us.
LINDSAY: Certainly for us. Well, it’s even better because we’re actually in the place. I’m not talking to someone from this place. We’re in the place.
CRAIG: We are in Japan.
LINDSAY: We are in Japan. Very cool, don’t you think?
CRAIG: I love it.
LINDSAY: And it’s really funny because you and I often travel for work so people asked, “Are you going to Japan for work?” and it’s just a vacation.
CRAIG: Yeah, that was the funniest question we got when we were going to Japan. I don’t know what work we would be doing in Japan.
LINDSAY: I have no idea.
CRAIG: There aren’t a lot of English high school theatre program conferences in Japan that I’m aware of so I’m not sure why...
Episode 153: Directing Mary Poppins
Artistic Director of the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre Todd Espeland directed the musical Mary Poppins last fall. How did put his own stamp on the musical? How did he handle the flying? Todd talks about having a unique vision with the piece without ignoring the show’s iconic nature. Listen in to this one on one look at directing a specific piece.
Show Notes
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre Edward Gorey - The Gashlycrumb Tinies
Images are courtesy of the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre. All photos by Fred Western.
Click on the large image to scroll through the gallery.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 153.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode153.
All righty. Today’s conversation is an absolute delight. I get to talk to one of my favorite theatre artists who is not only a great teacher, a director, a mask maker, a physical performer – the list goes on and on and on.
Todd Espeland is the artistic director of the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre and recently directed Mary Poppins so we’re going to talk about it. How did he put his own stamp on the musical? How did he handle the flying? Let’s find out in this one-on-one look at directing a specific musical. Wee! I can’t wait!
LINDSAY: Today, I am talking to Todd Espeland.
Hello, Todd!
TODD: Hello!
LINDSAY: Hello, the one, the only!
Todd is currently the artistic director of the…
TODD: Kalamazoo Civic Theatre.
LINDSAY: Awesome. I didn’t quite remember that name. Very good catch! I was like, “I think there’s a ‘civic’ in there somewhere.” Yes.
TODD: Kalamazoo Civic Theatre. It’s 87 years old. It’s the third-biggest community theatre in the country. We do 13 shows a year.
LINDSAY: Which is amazing.
The reason that I am talking to Todd today is that he just completed a very successful run. How many times was the show held over? Twice?
TODD: We held it over twice for a total of 20 performances.
LINDSAY: And they just finished a very successful run on Mary Poppins.
Now, I know that some of our listeners, at your schools you are doing Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is insanely popular in the high school circuit right now.
TODD: It’s insanely popular everywhere right now.
LINDSAY: And there’s lots of reasons for that, right?
TODD: Oh, yeah. I think it’s a really good show. You know, I had some doubts going into it, directing it. Looking over the script, I thought, “Wow! It’s really well done. I think it’s really smartly plotted,” and what’s nice is it’s not an exact copy of the film. Cameron Mackintosh and Julian Fellows who was the writer for Down Abbey, the creator of Down Abbey, they wanted to take stuff from the movie and the books and kind of concoct a whole new experience that was familiar but different – different enough to keep you engaged.
LINDSAY: I think that’s a really good point and the reason that we’re talking today is that what sometimes happens in some community theatres and some high schools is that they see a show, they want to bring it in, they want to do it, and what ends up happening is they copy and they copy the production that has the most acclaim – like, with the Broadway production – and that is not great, right?
TODD: It’s problematic because, well, it’s problematic because you’re trying to copy somebody else’s vision and, more importantly, somebody else’s technical abilities to get something done and, with just a little bit of forethought, I think you can concoct something that’s new and different and very specific to you as a department or a production company.
LINDSAY: Fantastic!
So, let’s start where you started.
Episode 152: Reflecting Forward On Theatre School
Grae Greer is in the middle of her last semester of her theatre program at Marshall University. Why did she choose Marshall? What were her expectations and how were they met, or not met? What are her tips for high school students looking at programs? Where does she want to take her theatre degree next? All this and more in a look forward from theatre school into the real world.
Show Notes
Theatrefolk Conference Calendar
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 152.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode152.
In our last podcast episode – number 151, you can find all you need to know about that episode at theatrefolk.com/episode151, of course – we looked back at theatre school twenty years after the fact – twenty years later.
Today, we’re going in the other direction. Today, we’re talking to Grae Greer who is at the end of her theatre school experience. She is in her last semester. This is it! School is almost out!
So, what’s it been like? What were her expectations and how were they met or not met? Where does she want to take her theatre degree next and what’s her advice for high school students looking at programs?
I’ll give you a hint; if you’re in senior year, it’s kind of too late.
So, all this and more as we reflect forward on theatre school.
Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right. I am so happy today to be talking to Grae Greer.
Hello, Grae!
GRAE: Hi!
LINDSAY: Now, Grae and I sort of know each other because I know Grae’s mom quite well – Carolyn Greer who is a fabulous teacher. But, Grae, you kind of were off to college by the time I started sort of harassing – oh, I mean, spending time with your mom.
GRAE: Yes, I was, I was.
LINDSAY: Awesome. So, what we’re going to talk about today, Grae, you are in the last semester of your theatre degree?
GRAE: Yeah! My undergrad, yeah.
LINDSAY: Yes. And so, we’re going to talk about what that experience has been like for you, what your expectations were before you started your program, and then sort of where you are now and where life is going to lead you because I know that we have a lot of folks who listen to this who have students who are themselves just getting ready to make that choice – to make that college choice – and lots of folks are like, “Yeah, I’m going to go get that theatre degree and I’m going to go take on the world with it.”
GRAE: Yes.
LINDSAY: So, look back to when you were in high school. You did a lot of theatre in high school, yes?
GRAE: Yes, I did.
LINDSAY: What made you decide that you were going to pursue that further beyond high school?
GRAE: It was an easy choice, actually. I had always done theatre. When I was younger, I mean, I wanted to be a chef for a really long time. And then, I think it hit me in middle school when I realized that theatre is what I wanted to do. I mean, I remember telling mom that I wanted to do theatre and she was like, “Are you sure? Are you sure this is what you want to do?” and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
When I was in high school – well, not every year – almost every year, we went to SETC the Southeastern Theatre Conference. As a junior, you can audition for colleges and that’s what I did. I went up there and did a monologue and, if colleges liked me, they would give me a call back and I could go visit their booths and, you know, have more talks with them and more auditions and things of that nature. I think that’s really when I narrowed down where I wanted to go – or at least my top five – because what people don’t realize with theatre is that, you know,
Episode 151: Reflecting Back on Theatre School
Jesse Wilson was born in LA, started acting at an early age and was accepted into Juilliard. He was on track to becoming a traditional professional actor, but twenty years later has found purpose in the education aspect of the arts. In this podcast Jesse reflects back on his time at Juilliard, his expectations of the experience and what really happened, and what do today’s students need to do to prepare for life after school.
Show Notes
Face the City promotional package Face the City Video Theatre Beyond the Stage podcast Theatrefolk Blog
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 151.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode151.
All right. Today, we’re looking back. We’re reflecting. Reflection – the great buzzword of education in the 21st Century. “Everybody walk across the room. Okay, everybody, reflect on the experience.” (You know, I’m kidding. I’m kidding.)
Actually, I use reflection all the time in our educational materials. I think it’s important. It’s really key to comprehension and connection – good C words.
So, we’re going to reflect and we’re going to reflect on theatre school. We’re going to look back on going to theatre school twenty years after the fact with Jesse Wilson. He was accepted into Juilliard and one might think that that alone would be a one-way ticket to a professional theatre life because going to Juilliard is a dream for many theatre students.
When I think of theatre school, you know, that’s the name at the top of my list. But, as we all know, dreams are different than reality – in good and bad ways, right? There’s a little teaser for you. You have to listen for good and bad.
Okay, let’s get to it.
LINSDAY: Hello, everybody!
All right, I am speaking with Jesse Wilson.
Hello, Jesse!
JESSE: What’s up, Lindsay?
LINSDAY: Oh, everything is up! Everything is up, nothing is down. Actually, everything is up and everything is down which means we’re all in a good place.
JESSE: That’s great.
LINSDAY: Or something like that.
JESSE: Isn’t that like a She Silverstein or something? “Everything is up, everything is down”? Something like that? I don’t know.
LINSDAY: Oh, I like that. I think that’s wonderful.
JESSE: It sounds like it. If not, it’s something that should be written. I love it.
LINSDAY: It’s a good point of view and we’ll give the credit to Shel Silverstein.
JESSE: Yeah.
LINSDAY: So, Jesse, you and I talked last year about a wonderful project that you sort of got involved in with theatre in prisons.
JESSE: Yes.
LINSDAY: We also got a little bit into your beginnings and how where you are is probably not where you were expected when you first started out in your theatre career.
JESSE: Not at all.
LINSDAY: That’s kind of what we’re talking about this month on the podcast. We’re talking about, you know, what happens about your expectations of going into a theatre program and what you think your theatre life is going to be and maybe how you can maybe temper some of those expectations or have a strategy, right? Have a sort of strategy for hitting the real world. I think that’s it in a nutshell.
So, let’s go back – way back – and just talk about your beginnings. You grew up in LA.
JESSE: I did.
LINSDAY: What was that like?
JESSE: Born and raised.
LINSDAY: Ah, you’re one of the twenty, right?
JESSE: I think so, yeah! I was born and raised in Hollywood, California – about five minutes away from the Hollywood sign. You could look outside my bedroom window and I saw a very clear view of the Dodgers’ stadium way in the distance and then, to my left,
Episode 150: Using Drama In Other Classes
Today we have two playwrights who also happen to be two teachers: Amanda Murray Cutalo is an English teacher(Nice Girl, Typecast) and Taryn Temple is a Spanish Teacher (The Redemption of Gertie Green) Both Amanda and Taryn use drama in their classrooms and believe in the power of theatre for their students. There is a place for theatre everywhere.
Show Notes
Nice Girl Typecast The Redemption of Gertie Greene
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 150 – one, five, zero – that’s a nice number.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at theatrefolk.com/episode150.
So, today, we have a nice little combo. We have two little interviews here, both of these wonderful ladies are playwrights and they are also teachers. We have Amanda Murray Cutalo who is an English teacher and we have a couple of her plays and Typecast which is one of our newer scripts; and then, we have Taryn Temple who is a Spanish teacher and we have her play, The Redemption of Gertie Greene.
What is great is that both of these lovely ladies are playwrights and teachers – not Drama teachers but they use Drama in their classroom and they believe in the power of theatre for their students. There is a place for theatre everywhere which, I think you know, I totally agree with.
So, let’s get into it.
LINDSAY: All right, I am here talking to Taryn Temple.
Hello, Taryn!
TARYN: Hi!
LINDSAY: How are you?
TARYN: I’m very good, thank you.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Tell everybody in the world where you are.
TARYN: I am in Topeka, Kansas. Woohoo!
LINDSAY: Ah, that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with Topeka. Long live Topeka, right?
TARYN: That’s right, that’s right, we’re the capital city of Kansas so there you go. We’ve got something.
LINDSAY: Stand proud, I like that.
Okay. So, Taryn is one of our playwrights who wrote The Redemption of Gertie Greene and we’re going to talk about a lot of things. We’re going to talk about issues, we’re going to talk about using theatre to explore issues, but the first thing I want to know is what is your background? What led you to be involved with theatre?
TARYN: That’s a great question.
I have done theatre through my whole life, but I went to a very, very tiny high school. We did one play or one musical a year, and I was that thirsty kid that always wanted more theatre. So, I found myself very lucky when I moved to Topeka for my job that I could coach forensics. I was assistant forensics coach at my high school where I work – I’m a teacher there – and then I also was able to work in a theatre camp in the summer and also perform in shows at a local theatre, a local community theatre. And so, I was finally able to satiate that thirst for theatre. I did theatre through college as well but, you know, I was so excited to find out that, in my adult life, I could actually do theatre. So, that is kind of my background for it.
The theatre camp is what led me into directing. I had always been just a performer and then I took a directing class in college and then, once I came to Topeka and started doing forensics and working at the theatre camp, I started exploring directing a little bit more.
And then, directing led naturally into scriptwriting. So, that was kind of a natural progression for me. When you direct shows summer after summer, you start thinking about themes you want your actors to explore and so that’s what led me in that direction as well.
LINDSAY: Right. Why do you think – because it’s one thing maybe to be in school and to go, “Oh, I’m going to be a performer. I’m going to pursue this,” and then it’s another thing to go, “No,
Episode 149: Do-it-All Directors
Are you a do it all director? Today we talk to a number of teachers who have to do it all. We have high school and middle school teachers and teachers who are running both senior and junior programs! Listen to their experience and how they handle their situation. Hint: it’s all about the students.
Show Notes
Emergency Lesson Plans
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 149.
You can find… ooh, I really hit that nine, didn’t I? That was unexpected – 149.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com – I slid into that one – episode149.
So, how are you today? Apparently, I’m a little silly, but maybe you are feeling cool, calm, or overwhelmed, stressed. Are you looking at your day thinking, “How is this all going to get done and I’ve got rehearsal tonight?!” I put three exclamation points – no, not exclamation points – question marks! Both – exclamation points and question marks after that!
Today, you’re in luck because you don’t have to listen to me very much longer. Today, we have some folks who know that feeling very well. Today, we are talking to and about do-it-all directors.
We have high school teachers, middle school teachers, and teachers who do both – they have to run both senior and junior programs. I have to tell you, these are my favorite podcasts – the ones where, again, less of me and more of sharing other people’s thoughts, tips, insights – teachers talking to teachers. Maybe some of these teachers are going through your exact scenario and you will be able to go, “I am not alone.”
Let me tell you, when I put out the call that I was looking for do-it-all directors, there was a tidal wave of response.
So, pull up a chair and listen to what our guests have to say about their experience and how they handle their do-it-all situation. I’m going to give you a hint: It’s all about the students – isn’t it always?
All right, let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Okay, I am talking to Connie Voight.
Hello, Connie!
CONNIE: Hello!
LINDSAY: Where in the world are you?
CONNIE: I am in Huntsville, Alabama – just south of Nashville.
LINDSAY: Awesome. What makes you a do-it-all director?
CONNIE: Well, I’m the only theatre teacher here in the upper school. I teach at a small college prep school so we have about 380 kids in our upper school. We call it upper school instead of high school. I’m the only full-time theatre teacher so I’m directing, I’m teaching classes, I’m conducting students in building the set and designing the set and the lights and the sound and the costumes and the competition plays and everything like that.
LINDSAY: So, what strategies do you have when everything is sort of coming at you all at once in terms of doing it all?
CONNIE: That would be what has just happened in the past few weeks.
LINDSAY: What’s that?
CONNIE: Yeah, it really would have because, on top of everything, I’m chairing a competition that’s happening this weekend and then my son got married.
Over the course of not just shows and stuff, I give a lot of the responsibility to the students, especially in stage craft. The way my stage craft is structured is I have four levels but they all meet at the same time. So, as you continue on into those levels, you learn more and more and you become crew chiefs and tech directors and things like that. When we get ready to move our show onto the stage from the shop, those kids each have a specific task to do and they’ve kind of come up in the ranks so they’ve earned that responsibility and they’re very competent, very hard-working, and very talented. And so, you know, obviously, we have meetings and we converse about the theme and our goals...
Episode 148: Writing Across Genres
Today we talk to Treanor Baring who has written poetry, plays, novels, and scripts for television. What’s her favourite form of writing? What are the important elements when writing for television? How do you write effective poetry? What’s the difference between the first draft and the second draft of a piece?
Show Notes
Almost History: the whole space time continuum thing
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 148.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode148.
Okay. So, today, I am talking to Treanor Baring.
Treanor started out her career working in educational television for PBS and has hit a number of different writing forms along the way. I like this conversation and this is a great conversation about what makes different genres unique and what makes writing as good as it can be.
You know, it’s a really awesome thing to have a playwright in our catalogue who also has dipped their toe into a bunch of different formats. I think that it’s an amazing thing to be multifaceted as a writer and that’s why this conversation, I think we should get right into it, right?
Let’s get into it. Let’s go.
LINDSAY: Today, I get the pleasure of talking to Treanor Wooten Baring. Hello, Treanor!
TREANOR: Hi!
LINDSAY: Treanor is a new to Theatrefolk playwright this year. She wrote a play called Almost History: that whole space time continuum thing and it’s an awesome title because it tells you so much, right? It tells you that we know something – we know something about history is happening but we also know that it is a little perhaps left of centre, a little wonky – but we’re going to get into that.
First, hello! How are you?
TREANOR: I’m good! Hello to everybody!
LINDSAY: Awesome! That’s great!
So, Treanor, the first thing that I want to talk to you about is that you have a fabulous sort of multi-career background and a whole bunch of different parts of the arts and none of it is steeped in theatre. I’m fascinated. It’s so fascinating when we get these plays because we don’t know who the playwrights are and we’re only going on “will this play work for our audiences?” So, when I went back and looked at your bio again, I was like, “Oh, this is going to be fun stuff!” So, that’s my first question to you.
TREANOR: Okay
LINDSAY: Where is your background in theatre? Is there something in the distant past that sort of started you on that path?
TREANOR: Yes. Actually, in high school – well, a little bit before that – I think it was when I was about ten or eleven. I joined a local theatre company just as an actor and to get training in that in our area. I grew up in South Florida and we had great community theatres and they had classes for young people and they had plays that they put on that you could try out for and so I did that from about the age of ten on. That’s where I really found my love for plays and theatre and acting. I was in Summer Stock in Florida. I was actually the maid in Private Lives when I was fifteen – you know, tiny little part, but I got to work with professional actors and work around theatre. That was my youth background.
Then, I knew that I wanted to get into writing and directing somehow and I also am just a very visual person so I went to undergraduate school in broadcasting and film. I ended up graduating and going directly into working with PBS affiliate in my home state of Mississippi. There, I did educational programming. I started out working my way up the ladder from an assistant doing logging and that kind of thing to going and directing children’s programming and scriptwriting for them and script editing especially. Then,
Episode 147: Directing the School Musical
Directing a musical is a daunting feat. Directing a musical with students can be overwhelming! In this podcast listen to three teachers talk about their experience directing musicals at the school level. How do they do it? Why do they do it over and over again?
Show Notes
Shout Theatrefolk Blog
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening!
This is Episode 147.
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode147.
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2016!
Are you ready for a brand new year? Personally, I feel that 2015 sped by really quickly, way too fast. But, you know, the older I get, that would be the general consensus I have of all of the years and all of the days. It’s kind of like a freight train and so we better enjoy every day, right? That’s what we’re doing. We’re enjoying every day that comes and I can tell you – nice segue, Lindsay – I truly enjoyed recording this podcast. Ah, see how I did that, ha? Ah!
So, this episode is about directing musicals and, while we here at Theatrefolk don’t specialize in musicals, we have one, “Shout” – an a cappella musical, check it out – Shout, show notes, Shout in the show notes, Episode 147. Just because we don’t specialize in it doesn’t mean that you don’t specialize in it. And so, in this episode, we have three teachers who put on musicals on a regular basis and they talk about their experiences.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hi Kim! How are you?
KIM: Great, Lindsay.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Okay. So, how long have you been connected to musicals?
KIM: Oh, my goodness! Since I was in fifth grade.
LINDSAY: Yes?
KIM: I’ve been in musicals, loved musicals. And then, in college, of course, I studied Theatre, love it. Worked professionally, love it. Musicals are my very favorite thing.
LINDSAY: So, what led you to become a teacher?
KIM: I always loved sharing what I do and, my whole family, they’re in teaching. And so, of course, I started by being a swimmer and I taught people how to swim and I thought, “Oh, I’m good at this!” and people listen to me so I started choreographing at a young age, working with big musicals, and then I just went into education. Now, I love it.
LINDSAY: So, what was your first musical? Do you remember that?
KIM: That I was in?
LINDSAY: Yeah.
KIM: Yes, I was in Fiddler on the Roof.
LINDSAY: And who were you?
KIM: I was just one of the many children put in this show because children sell tickets and I was put with random adults and we were a family.
LINDSAY: What do you remember? Because I remember, we had lots and lots of records and I remember singing away to musicals. It was the songs that connected me first.
KIM: Well, what connected me was the director.
LINDSAY: Ah.
KIM: I’m from a one-stoplight town and in came this amazing woman.
LINDSAY: Yes.
KIM: And so, I followed her. But, yes, I was always singing and in front of people in my small little town. What connected me was that I got to sing and dance and act and move scenery and I thought that was really cool in one two-hour period.
LINDSAY: Yes! Yes, absolutely! I think there’s something really magical about the way that things are expressed in a musical.
KIM: Yes, and as a small, younger person, my director, of course, she used children all the time because they sell tickets and I got to move scenery and do a cartwheel or, you know, do something crazy like that and it just hooked me to wanting to do everything in a musical.
LINDSAY: What are you doing this year?
KIM: I’m doing Once on This Island.
LINDSAY: Yes, why’d you choose it?
KIM: I chose it because I love the story. t’s kind of Romeo and Juliet meets The Little ...
Episode 146: A Gender conversation….and Pirates
Steven is a long time Theatrefolk playwright, and in his latest play The Dread (Playwright) Pirate Sadie, the majority of characters are girl pirates. And in the world of the play, this is the norm. In this podcast we talk gender and how we can create a safe environment for students to own who they are, embrace who they are and stand up for who they are. Being human is challenging and uncomfortable at times. How do you create a communicative accepting community?
Show Notes
The Dread (Playwright) Pirate Sadie The Bottom of the Lake Ashland Falls She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! Ho ho ho!
This is Episode 146!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode146.
You know, sometimes, I throw those things in and I think I’m probably the only one laughing. I am the one laughing. I amuse myself. What can I say?
All right. Today, we’re talking gender and pirates, of course.
This is a lovely conversation with a lovely human being, Steven Stack.
Steven has a number of plays with us which I will put in the show notes and I’m going to mention them in the interview and I’m going to talk about them in THEATREFOLK NEWS so I’ve got you covered. You are covered talking about Steven.
Steven works at a studio where they do a summer camp and the participants are mostly girls so that’s who he writes for. What I think is just marvelous is that he doesn’t really worry about “these are the girl parts and then these are the guy parts.” It’s “these are the good parts.”
We start with pirates in this conversation and journey into things a lot deeper. So, won’t you join me? Let’s get into it.
LINDSAY: All right. I am thrilled and pleased as punch to be talking to Steven Stack. Hello, Steven!
STEVEN: Hi Lindsay!
LINDSAY: How are you today?
STEVEN: I am fantastic. How about you?
LINDSAY: I am also… I’m… I’m very… Fantastic! Let’s go there! Yes, I’m fantastic! I was pulling back from it and then I’m like, “No, no…”
STEVEN: I’m glad you committed to it.
LINDSAY: I committed.
STEVEN: I had some doubts for a while. I was like, “Wait! She’s going in a different direction.”
LINDSAY: Yeah, she was waffling and then, no, she went. She went for it!
STEVEN: Well done! You made a bold choice! Good stuff!
LINDSAY: I think we can end things now, can’t we? That was it. We’re both fantastic. That’s the end of the podcast. All right.
Steven, of course, is one of our lovely Theatrefolk playwrights. We have a number of plays – The Bottom of the Lake and She Wrote, Died, and Wrote Some More and we have a relatively new play which is lovely – the lovely playwright writing the lovely play – which is the Dread Pirate/Playwright Sadie.
The thing that is the most remarkable thing about this play, and the thing that was the thing that really enticed us about it and really made us excited about it is that it is a pirate play where the majority of the pirates are played by girls, right?
STEVEN: Absolutely!
LINDSAY: Absolutely.
STEVEN: And it was always intended that way, too.
LINDSAY: Let’s talk about that for a second. The thing we’re talking about today, we’re talking about gender and we’re talking about how we can maybe chill out about gender but pirates are something that are so stereotypically boys and I just love that you wrote it for girls. Tell me about that.
STEVEN: Well, first, when I had the idea for it, one of the main reasons they were girls was because the majority of my acting class at that point were all girls so I was like, “Well, it makes complete sense.”
LINDSAY: It makes sense.
STEVEN: But then,
Episode 145: Theatre Beyond the Stage
Jesse Wilson started life as an actor. Born in LA he started acting young and even went to Juilliard. But that traditional “actors” life is not the one he leads now. A one day novelty experience with at-risk teens turned into a two month monologue creation project. He frequently works with correctional facilities through arts rehabilitation programs. How do you create theatre with non actors? What are the steps to creating a life inspired monologue? What was the end result? In this episode, we take Theatre beyond the stage.
Show Notes
Ted Talk Monologue Everything Scene Spurs Emergency Lesson Plans
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 145.
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode145 and I think this is one of those episodes that we should just get right to.
Suffice it to say we’re talking theatre beyond the stag, beyond the entertainment value, beyond working with “actors.” How many of you have to deal with administrators who only see your class as games or fluff? How often have you had to have students or students in your class who are and will always be non-actors? You want them to have the experience; you want to include them and to get them to have a great experience with your classroom – how?
We’re talking about theatre, real people, real life, all together, holding hands – maybe not. But, anyway, Jesse Wilson is my guest. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: Hello, Jesse!
JESSE: Hey, Lindsay! How are you?
LINDSAY: Awesome. Tell everybody where you are in the world.
JESSE: I’m in an amazing little planet called Colorado Springs in Colorado.
LINDSAY: Conveniently enough, Colorado Springs is in Colorado.
JESSE: That’s right! Born and raised in LA, lived in the west coast pretty much, well, until I was eighteen, and then lived in the east coast and I’ve navigated my way back and forth between LA and New York and Philadelphia. Somehow, I ended up here and it’s going great.
LINDSAY: Awesome! So, just start by saying, what’s your connection to theatre?
JESSE: Well, my connection to theatre probably begins the day I was born. I don’t remember ever doing anything that wasn’t theatre-related. I grew up in the industry and began acting at a very early age. And so, that’s just been who I am and what I’ve been doing for forever.
I’d probably say the biggest, most pivotal experience in the theatre is when I went to Juilliard and that was right after high school and that’s what really got the ball rolling.
LINDSAY: Awesome. That’s a whole other podcast for a whole other day because that would be interesting to, well, you know, we have a lot of listeners who have students who go, “Where should I go to school?” or “What’s it like to be…?” you know, that notion of LA has a… stigma is not the right word. Well, it has a preconceived notion of what that’s like.
JESSE: It does, it certainly does.
LINDSAY: That is very interesting that that is your background but we’re going to talk about something a little bit different than that. We’re going to talk about something that’s different than the traditional. When we think about theatre or we think about a life in the theatre, we think about those things – we think about LA and we think about going to a theatre school – but that’s not the only thing that you have in your background.
JESSE: No, yeah. Well, I have a lot of pain in my background so I don’t know if you could put that on a resume but…
LINDSAY: Well, I think some – some you really could!
JESSE: That would be great if you could, yeah.
LINDSAY: “What are your special skills?”
JESSE: “I suffered here in this period in my life and I really s...
Episode 144: Looking At Theatre in a New Light
In this episode we have two interviews that explore theatre in a new light. That’s the wonderful thing about theatre - it is malleable, it’s changeable. You can approach the act of theatre is so many different ways. It can happen in a theatre, it can happen in a parking lot. It can be realistic, absurd, intimate, epic, people can break into song at any moment. You can take a piece of theatre and put it in a different style. You can take something from another genre and apply it to a theatrical form. Clark Taylor took a podcast and turned it into a play with shadow puppetry, actors, and live music. The students at Shelby High School took a script and filmed it in locations around the school. Theatre can happen any time, anywhere.
Show Notes
Dead Men Don’t Do Radio Plays
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 144! 144 and you can find any links for this episode in the show notes. Where are they? Theatrefolk.com/episode144.
All right. Today, in this episode, which would be 144, we’re going to look at theatre in a new light, and I think that’s the amazing, awesome, wonderful, spectacular thing about theatre. It’s not static; it doesn’t have to be. It’s malleable. It’s changeable.
You can approach the act of theatre in so many different ways. It can happen in a theatre. It can happen in a parking lot. It can be realistic, absurd, intimate, epic. You know, people can break into song at any moment and people will go, “Yeah, that’s theatre.”
You can take a piece of theatre and put it in a different style. You can take something from another genre and adapt it to a theatrical form. All of this – all these different explorations and approaches – those are the reasons that I love theatre and why I like writing and being in this form.
That’s what we’re going to do today – look at theatre in a new light.
First, we’re going to talk to Clark Taylor.
Clark is a Drama teacher in Georgia and he took a podcast and adapted it to the stage using shadow puppetry, live actors, and live music. When I got that email from Clark, ogh, I knew I wanted to talk to him about this.
After I talk to Clark, I’m going to talk to a group of students who took one of my plays and adapted it into a film – used their school as the location, as the landscape.
But, first, we talk to Clark. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right, I am here today with Clark Taylor. Hello, Clark!
CLARK: Hey! How’s it going?
LINDSAY: Awesome. How are you?
CLARK: Just fantastic.
LINDSAY: I like to hear that. So, first off, tell everyone in the world where you are situated.
CLARK: Well, right now, I’m direct from my living room in Atlanta, Georgia.
LINDSAY: Awesome. How long have you been a Drama teacher?
CLARK: I’ve been a Drama teacher a long time.
LINDSAY: Is it too long to put numbers?
CLARK: You may as well cut my leg off and count
LINDSAY: Okay, all right.
CLARK: Let’s just say that.
LINDSAY: Let’s say…
CLARK: Really, I didn’t get started… I was out of college and I was pursuing my career here in Atlanta and, I don’t know, I’ve gone through all these other art, artistic stuff in my life starting as a visual artist and then as a musician, composer, actor. I did lots of designing here in Atlanta and teaching just called to me. I just really found a niche there and able to use the gifts I had, artistically, to kind of combine that. That was a reason of finishing my master’s up at the Ashland Center for Theatre Studies in Southern Oregon and it’s just been wonderful.
LINDSAY: Well, that’s awesome. Yeah, I think that’s pretty wonderful to say you’ve been teaching since the dawn of time and yet that your last thought a...
Episode 143: Student Stage Managers
It’s important to remember that theatre is not just an onstage activity. There are many roles that have be fulfilled offstage that are just as vital to a successful show. A student stage management team can be your best production ally. But what if you don’t have a lot of backstage experience? How do you encourage and develop student stage managers? Karen Loftus has spent time in the classroom and as a professional stage manager. She fully believes in the power of the student stage management team and she’ll tell you how.
Show Notes
Episode 142: Theatre Safety
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 143!
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode143.
We’re going backstage for this episode and I have to confess – this is a big old confession – my background in high school theatre and in university with backstage-type things was minimal by choice and negative – I’m going to say it – by choice. I wanted to be onstage and not, you know, hidden in black in a backstage corner and being ignored by the actors.
I had to take backstage roles a couple of times; I wasn’t good at it and I think, most importantly – more importantly than not good at it – I didn’t try to be good at it. I was backstage for one show in high school and I refused to wear blacks. I’m pretty sure I wore red pants for one and nobody cared and nobody commented but it’s not good! You know, twenty-plus years later, I’m not so happy with that Lindsay Price and I think that I had to learn my lesson well and I certainly have because, if you want a successful show, you need a balance of onstage and off-stage roles.
Theatre is not just an onstage activity. If you are a high school teacher do-it-all director with a small support system, growing a student stage management team can be your best production ally. But what if you don’t have a lot of backstage experience? How do you encourage and develop student stage managers?
Today, I’m talking to Karen Loftus. She has spent time in the classroom and also as a professional stage manager. She fully believes in the power of the student stage management team. Let’s hear her tell you the why and the show.
LINDSAY: Hello, Karen!
KAREN: Hello!
LINDSAY: How are you today?
KAREN: I’m good! How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m going to say I’m great. I got a nice day. I’m just going to go with that.
KAREN: Yes.
LINDSAY: Now, Karen and I, you and I have known each other… I was trying to think. I know exactly when we had our first conversation. It was at the FATE Conference in Jacksonville – face-to-face, anyway.
KAREN: Yeah, definitely. We met. You were the superstar to my kids because we performed Emotional Baggage and they fought tooth and nail. They were just like, “This script is different! What is this?” and then they won a slot at state and [00:03:24 unclear] again so they were like, “Oh, it’s great!”
LINDSAY: That’s right, then they totally switched and it went well. Weird is awesome!
KAREN: Weird is awesome! Yeah, and then, you know, we were kind of Disney friends together as well.
LINDSAY: Yes.
KAREN: Then, I’ve been haunting you guys for years.
LINDSAY: Karen wins one of the awards for most interesting background. I knew her as a high school drama teacher in Florida and then, also, working at Disneyworld which means much love – much, much love – but that was not your first career. When you started out, stage management was sort of your wheelhouse – it still is but that’s where you started.
KAREN: Yeah, definitely.
LINDSAY: Why was that? What about stage management clicked for you?
KAREN: Well, I started out,
Episode 142: Theatre Safety
How safe is your theatre? How safety conscious are you? Do you know how to properly use the power tools in your shop? Do you know how to properly secure flats? The theatre can be a world of the imagination with a bare stage, actors and words. But if you want to add lighting, sets, or any special effects, you’re going to have to start thinking about safety. Kristi Ross-Clausen is constantly thinking about your safety and in this podcast she’s going to give you the tips and tools you need.
Show Notes
Sapsis Rigging
Entertainment Technician Certificate Program
Example of Arbor Counterweight Systems
Rosco Flamex paint additive
Saw stop
Example of a steel toe slip on
Theatrefolk Blog
Theatre Shop Safety Poster
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 142!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode142 and, let me warn you, there will be links! Oh, yes, there will be links, and I’m not going to tell you the movie that just flashed through my head because it’s completely inappropriate but let’s move on. Okay! (Okay, There Will Be Blood. I didn’t want to leave you hanging. Anyway.)
So, today, we’re talking, actually, it’s almost appropriate because we’re talking theatre safety today and that’s the one thing we do not want. We have a safe theatre; we want no blood, right? That’s right. We want none of that.
So, it leads to the question: “How safe is your theatre? How safety conscious are you? Do you know how to properly use those power tools in your shop? Do you know how to properly secure flats?”
The theatre can be a world of imagination with just a bare stage, actors, and words. That’s my go-to when I think about what theatre should be. However, if you want to add so many theatrical elements – I mean, if you want to add lighting and sets or special effects, these are all parts of building a theatrical world – you’re going to have to start thinking about safety and our guest today, Kristi Ross-Clausen, is constantly thinking about your safety. She’s got tips and tools that you need to make sure no one loses a limb – which no one’s going to do, right? Or even think about doing because we are all very, very safe, right? Right; no limbs going awry, no blood, and let’s not listen to what I have to say on this matter because, apparently, I don’t know anything which is why I have a guest. I have a guest so let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right! I am here with Kristi Ross-Clausen. Hello, Kristi!
KRISTI: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: So, tell everybody where in the world you are.
KRISTI: Well, right now, I am in my home in Appleton, Wisconsin, and I’ve travelled all over the place as a theatrical stage hand so, if you are anywhere in North America, I can probably empathize with what you’re dealing with.
LINDSAY: I love that! I also love the backstage shout-out because that’s something we are going to get into eventually. We are very excited to be able to talk about a backstage element to theatre and education because we know and I know a lot of you listening will have a lot of experience on the stage. You’re actors or you have directing backgrounds, but a lot of you don’t have offstage experience and, Kristi, I’m sure you come across a lot of those kinds of folks.
KRISTI: I used to be one of those kinds of folks.
LINDSAY: Ah! You were a teacher! How long were you a teacher?
KRISTI: I taught for fifteen years. I taught K through 12 education and I’m certified as a music teacher. I still hold that certification but, in every school that I was in, I also was responsible for the drama program.
LINDSAY: Right. So,
Episode 141: The Arts Don’t Need To Be Isolated
At Northwest Middle School in Flowood, MS, Emily Wright and Genifer Freeman worked on a play to support the school’s summer reading book - A Long Walk To Water. But that was just the beginning. Every class from English, to art to music, to drama, to science and beyond incorporated the book into their lesson plans and they also used the project to raise money to build a well in South Sudan. This is arts integration and cross-curricular education at its finest! Listen in to learn how they accomplished this massive undertaking, and how got the principal on stage too.
Show Notes
The Walking Boys by Robert McDonough A Long Walk to Water Episode 107: Cross-Curricular in the Drama Classroom Writing Your Research Exercise Speeches From History
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 141!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode141.
Okay. So, I feel like I am working on a theme here. It’s totally by accident. No intense planning or strategy. Just the people who I managed to get to talk on the podcast and we seem to have another podcast that will make you think about the question: “What motivates you for your students?”
I won’t lie; I really love this question and I have been… it’s been awesome. I’ve been head over heels with the answers. So, on this podcast, you are going to meet Emily and Genifer – two teachers are Northwest Middle School in Flowood, Mississippi. They participated in a massive cross-curricular project – plays, music, dance – and involved every teacher and every subject at their school. And, add to that, they used this project as a fundraising opportunity. Beyond amazing!
I should stop talking, right? Yes, I think so. Yes, Lindsay. Okay.
I’m going to leave you with this. The arts do not have to be isolated. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right. I am here – as opposed to there. I am talking to Emily Wright. Hello, Emily!
EMILY: Hi, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: And Genifer Freeman. Hello, Genifer!
GENIFER: Hey! How are you?
LINDSAY: Awesome. First off, tell everybody where in the world you are.
EMILY: We are in Flowood, Mississippi. Our school is Northwest Rankin Middle School.
LINDSAY: You guys had quite the year last year with a really interesting and unique project which I can’t wait to sort of share with everybody and get everybody into it. I guess, where it started, it started last summer, didn’t it?
EMILY: It did, yes.
LINDSAY: Yes, because it sounds like… the whole entire school had to read a book?
EMILY: Correct.
LINDSAY: Is that a common thing? Is that common?
EMILY: This was the first year that it was incorporated with the entire school. Our middle school is seventh and eighth grade, and this was the first year that both grades read the same summer reading book. The book was A Long Walk to Water and it was about the Sudanese civil war and the need for clean water in that region. And so, every discipline was tasked with incorporating the book some way into their curriculum and we fortunately found the play that Robert McDonough wrote, The Walking Boys, which was based on the story of Salva Dut from A Long Walk to Water. Our awesome administration just posed the idea of, “Hey, let’s read it, let’s incorporate it into our lessons,” and we then did a fundraiser, all different kinds of fundraisers throughout the year to raise money to build a well in South Sudan.
LINDSAY: There’s two things going on here which was two amazingly huge things that seems to all kind of meld together with your school. The first being a completely cross-curricular project based on a text but then also a fundraising project.
Episode 140: These Kids Are Worth It
Stacey Tirro works in a district with a negative reputation. There are threats of budget cuts all around her. People ask her all the time “do you feel safe teaching there?” (She’s never felt safer by the way) And none of this stopped her from doing one of musical theatre’s most difficult shows - West Side Story. Stacey thinks her kids are worth it. Listen in to hear her story.
Show Notes
American Theatre Article This American Life Episode Typecast
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 140!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode140.
And we’ve got another podcast that makes you think – makes me think – about the question: “What motivates you for your students?” We’ve got Stacy Tirro who works in a district with a very, very negative reputation. There are constant threats of budget cuts around here. People ask her all the time, “Do you feel safe teaching there?” and, for the record, she’s never felt safer so let’s put that out there. None of this basically swirling negativity that is all around her stops her for not only doing her job but doesn’t stop her from being motivated to put on one of musical theatre’s most difficult shows with her students – West Side Story.
Stacy is highly motivated – not only to do the best for her students but she’s motivated to expect the best from her students.
Enough of my blah blah blah-ing. Let’s hear from Stacy.
LINDSAY: I am very excited to be talking right now to Stacy Tirro. Hello, Stacy!
STACY: Hello! How are you?
LINDSAY: I am… I’m excellent. How are you?
STACY: I’m doing great!
LINDSAY: Good! Good, good, good, good! Stacy and I are talking, earlier in the year, I put out a sort of call for success stories and challenges and we put those out about a month ago. But Stacy’s story was so… it was big. I’m sure it felt very big to you, didn’t it? And I wanted to talk to her – to you – in more depth and for a lot of reasons. I think that, so often, when we hear about an area that is dealing with political strife and dealing particularly with arts cut-backs, it can be a story of despair and I just think how wonderful it is to kind of have an uplifting story that kind of comes out of that. I think you see your story as uplifting.
STACY: I do. I do because of the people that are involved – my students who are one of a kind in terms of their individuality and in terms of them as a group of people who come together to make theatre happen. They’re some of the most incredible people that I’ve ever met and I say that collectively. I’ve been doing this since 1996 with this particular group who was established before I even got there and I was fortunate enough to be able to continue it on as I went through the years. This year in particular was really, really magical. I feel like we’re kind of like the little engine that could – you know, constantly going uphill, constantly dealing with problems that don’t have anything directly to do with us – but because of the stuff that goes on above and around us, it potentially does impact us and budget cuts were the first sort of scary thing that happened.
I guess the backstory is International Thespian Troupe 721 were a charter member of the International Thespian Society.
LINDSAY: And I think it’s important to note that this is like a long-time troupe. It was established in 1946?
STACY: Correct, and I think it was May of 1946. And so, I mean, before I was born – long before I was born.
LINDSAY: That was before my mom was born, you know.
STACY: I know! So, this is sixty, seventy years that this troupe has been in existence and it has been passed along from one educator to ...
Episode 139: Talking About Issues Through Theatre
What motivates you when it comes to your students? For Josh Adell, a teacher out of California, it was the time and time connection between teens, violence, and mental illness. Being a drama teacher, he wanted to theatricalize this issue. The result was an experience that sparked incredible conversation about an often silent issue with students, parents, administration and the community. Talking about issues through theatre is powerful.
Show Notes
Educational Theatre Association Blog The Butterfly Queen
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 139!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode139.
And I’m going to start this episode with a question.
What motivates you when it comes to your students?
For today’s podcast guest, Josh Adell, a teacher out of California, it was the time and time connection he was seeing between teens, violence, and mental illness. And, being a drama teacher, he wanted to theatricalize this issue and the result was an experience that sparked incredible conversation about an often silent issue with students, parents, administration, and the community.
I think talking about issues through theatre is such a powerful thing and I also wanted to start off with a quote from a blog Josh wrote about his experience.
“Talking about mental illness through theatre is a life-affirming exercise that can help lead to mental health. For some, the experience can be life-changing.”
Let’s get into some more talking with Josh Adell.
LINDSAY: Today, I am talking to Josh Adell. Hello, Josh!
JOSH: Hi! How are you?
LINDSAY: I am awesome, and you?
JOSH: I’m doing great! Thanks! I’m excited to talk.
LINDSAY: Ah! That’s always a good start, isn’t it?
JOSH: For sure.
LINDSAY: Tell everybody where you are in the world.
JOSH: Well, I am in North Hollywood, California. I teach at a private school called Campbell Hall and we are a K through 12 school and I teach in the high school here. I teach three levels of theatre courses and I direct two main stage plays a year – one in the fall and one in the spring – and I oversee an evening of student-directed performances as well.
LINDSAY: Awesome. That’s a full plate!
JOSH: It is, it’s a full plate, and it keeps me really busy for nine months. And then, for three months, I spend time in my pajamas getting ready for the next nine months.
LINDSAY: And it takes three months, doesn’t it?
JOSH: Oh, totally. It really does, absolutely.
LINDSAY: Talk about how you landed into teaching. What led you to follow the path of drama and education?
JOSH: Well, I loved my high school theatre department. I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I went to high school at J. J. Pearce High School which is actually in Richardson, Texas. I just fell in love with theatre. I was a drama kid and it really saved my life and just gave me a home and it was what I wanted to do. The day after I graduated high school, I started my very first teaching job teaching theatre to five-year-olds and also teaching a marionette puppetry class to kids and I had no clue what I was doing at all but it was very telling of which path I would go down I think that I started at 8:00 in the morning at the Richardson Recreation Center the day after I graduated high school.
LINDSAY: I’ve got to tell you; that’s diving in deep. That is a choice in the making. Right after high school, not acting, but teaching.
JOSH: Yeah.
LINDSAY: I love that.
JOSH: Yeah, it was an incredible experience and I just felt so deeply passionate about those little five-year-olds and I wrote them a little play and they performed it in the park.
Episode 138: Successes and Challenges: Potpourri
We continue talking to teachers in our Successes and Challenges Series. In this episode we hear from a teacher using students as leaders, a successful fundraiser, and everyone’s favourite challenge turned success: Shakespeare. Listen in and learn how your fellow teachers have taken on challenges and dealt with them head on.
Show Notes
Stand Alone: Monologues for Girls Stand Alone: Monologues for Guys
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 138!
You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode138.
Today, we continue talking to teachers in our Successes and Challenges series. I love this! I love doing these interviews! It’s inspiring to me and I hope it’s inspiring to you too as the school year kicks into gear.
In this episode, we hear from a teacher using students as leaders, a successful fundraiser – don’t we all want to know about that? – and everyone’s favorite challenge turned success: Shakespeare. Maybe you too – yes, you, I’m talking to you, you know who you are – hi, how are you? – maybe you too can take on a challenge that everyone is saying you can’t do.
We are going to do it. Let’s do it.
LINDSAY: All right. I am speaking to Kristi Jacobs. Hello Kristi!
KRISTI: Hi!
LINDSAY: How are you tonight?
KRISTI: I’m doing wonderful. How about you?
LINDSAY: I’m doing pretty good, doing pretty good. We are talking about successes and challenges. What has been your challenge this year?
KRISTI: I would say my challenge this year has been getting parents involved in a way that is helpful and productive. I graduated not last year but the year before. I graduated a really group of seniors. I had parents that were taking care of a lot of things and then we didn’t really have the parents coming in underneath them so much to sort of be mentored by them. I had a year of real transition. And then, this year, there are some parents that are slowly starting to step up. It’s kind of overwhelming – you know, when you’re a one-woman show getting everything done – so you really have to rely on those parents and I think the kids too are just involved in so much so then the parents are involved in so much and it’s hard to really get them to dedicate a lot of time.
LINDSAY: You realize how much of a one-man band you are when that parent support sort of disappears, doesn’t it?
KRISTI: Oh, absolutely, absolutely, and I will say I do have some parents that are really wonderful and always asking what they can do. Sometimes, it’s really hard to tell them what they can do and, you know, I had those parents that have been around for five years. Our school’s at eighth grade through twelfth grade and so they could just do everything. You know, I didn’t have to think about telling them what to do. You know, they just did it. And so, it’s finding that way of communicating with them exactly what they can do to help and be helpful and sort of get what needs to be done done.
LINDSAY: Well, sometimes, the worst thing that can be thrown your way is, “Oh, just let know if I can do anything to help.” It’s like, “Yes, but I don’t know what that is,” and you don’t want to lose them.
KRISTI: Exactly. Exactly, and there are definitely some wonderful parents out there that offer all the time, but sometimes you’re just going from thing to thing – got to figure out what this prop is going to be and how you’re going to make it work and you don’t know how to communicate what it needs to be to them to get them to do it, you know?
LINDSAY: Yeah. Do you have any thoughts on how you’re going to handle this next year?
KRISTI: Yeah, I do. I actually think I’m going to, like I said,
Episode 137: Successes and Challenges: Firsts
Every teacher in this podcast experienced a “first” this past year. Their first year in the classroom. The first time their school has had a drama program. The first time back in the classroom after a long break. Join us as we talk about the successes and challenges of dealing with “firsts.”
Show Notes
Vignette Plays
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 137!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode137.
Today, I am talking to teachers and every teacher in this particular podcast has experienced a first – a first year in the classroom, the first time their school has had a drama program, the first time back in the classroom after a long break.
This is part one of two in our “Successes and Challenges” series and I really had a lovely time talking to these teachers. I love hearing what challenges you guys face, how you deal with them, and, more often than not, how those challenges turn into successes. I think that’s really important to share. I think it’s really important to hear if you are, you know, if you’re on your own island in the middle of nowhere and it seems like you’re at a loss that there are other people who are in the same boat as you who have taken on challenges and turned them around.
I recorded these interviews at the end of the year but I purposely wanted to release them now, at the beginning of the school year because, you know, it’s easy to forget where we’ve been after the summer break. Everyone’s been in the sun and, you know, everybody’s just getting back into the swing of things. So, listen and enjoy.
Let’s do it.
LINDSAY: Now, I’d like to say hello to Jena Dipinto.
JENA: Hi Lindsay! How are ya?
LINDSAY: I’m awesome! How are you?
JENA: I’m great! Thanks!
LINDSAY: So, how long have you been a teacher?
JENA: I have been a music teacher, a piano teacher, since high school. Instead of babysitting, that’s what I did. I’ve been formally a teacher for about ten years. I was a middle school choral director for a while and then budget cuts and all that. Then I found myself back in my hometown last year as a sixth grade general music teacher/preschool early intervention special needs music teacher.
LINDSAY: Oh, my gosh.
JENA: Yeah, kind of a different position, but it’s really fun.
LINDSAY: So, you’ve gone into this first year into this new position?
JENA: That was last year. This year, instead of sixth grade, I have fifth grade.
LINDSAY: Yes.
JENA: I still have my pre-K and then we have two middle schools in our district and the drama director at one of them moved away to pursue other opportunities. And so, being that we wanted to have another music teacher in the drama department so that both schools be parallel, they asked me to take over.
LINDSAY: What was that like? To not have any background and just sort of get called up or get called down to the office and go, “Okay, this is going to be yours.” What was your first reaction?
JENA: You know, I actually was thrilled because, in college, my background was…. I’m a musician but my background was literature and theatre. And so, musical theatre and theatre just kind of have always been the backbone of my music, you know what I mean?
LINDSAY: Yeah.
JENA: Not so much of what I did for practice but, you know, I’d do musicals all growing up and I was at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a particularly interesting musical called “Call of the Wild: The Musical” – a little weird experimental piece. So, I was kind of glad to get back to doing some theatre stuff and it’s the town where I grew up so I feel like I’m helping rebuild the legacy and helping enhance the...
Episode 136: Top Ten Tips For Teaching Improv
Improvisation! Every student loves it, but does every teacher? Improv is one of those things that looks so easy but the tide can turn easily. When you have students who do nothing but try to be funny, and others who refuse to join one scene, it can get frustrating quickly. Listen in to hear Second City performer and long time teacher Jennine Profeta shares her top ten tips for teaching Improv.
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy Course: Yes, And... How to Teach Improv
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 136!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode136.
Okay. Today, we are talking improvisation which might be the highlight or the bane of your existence, right? I think that’s where improv lands. Nobody’s like “meh!” on improv. They either love it and they love teaching it and it’s a part of their class or they hate teaching it and they hate that their students are always begging for those improv games – because every student wants to play improv games!
But what if you don’t like it? What if you don’t have experience? You know that you should include it but you’re not sure what path to take? And what if it always goes wrong?
Improv is one of those things that looks so easy and so effortless by those who do it well. And the fact of the matter is that it’s not easy and it’s not effortless and you also have students who try to maneuver situations – they’re always trying to be funny. And then, what about the other students who refuse to even join in because they’re so terrified of improv? I can relate to that a thousand percent.
It all can get frustrating really quickly. Let’s try to solve that here today. Right; we’re going to solve all your improv problems – okay, maybe not! We’ll have a nice… you can listen to a nice chat with a wonderful improv performer and teacher and a long-time friend. I have known Jeanine Profeta… I think we talk about how long we’ve known each other so I’ll leave that for the actual interview but she is a Second City instructor and Jeanine is on the podcast today.
We are talking tips for teaching improv. Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: Hello! I am tickled pink and coming up roses that I get to introduce this podcast guest, Jeanine Profeta. Hello, Jeanine!
JEANINE: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Jeanine, we are sitting here in the posh surroundings known as the Second City Training Centre in Toronto.
JEANINE: Yeah.
LINDSAY: Let me describe the scene for you. We’re in a basement and the walls are plywood. Can you please tell me why the walls are plywood?
JEANINE: Yes, the walls are plywood because many a student has put a fist through the wall, enthusiastically. No, it’s for real! People get all excited and limbs go flailing. At one point, there were so many holes in the wall so, yeah, they just put the plywood to stop them. Now, it’s all just broken knuckles and tears.
LINDSAY: Well, this is the perfect segue into our topic which is we’re going to be talking improv. I did not expect that answer and I love that answer – that people get so excited to do improv that they put holes in the walls.
So, Jeanine, we have known each other…
JEANINE: Ugh, don’t say it! Don’t do the math.
LINDSAY: I’m not going to do the math but it’s been a long time.
JEANINE: Yes. You know what, you’ve known me since I did improv badly. I used to do improv on the Fringe circuit with a troop, a bunch of gals, and it was one of those things – we just loved it – but I could never figure out for the life of me what I was doing. But there was a game – like, a bucket game – where you could put your head in a bucket of water.
Episode 135: Starting from Scratch
Ruth Mirabella was asked to start a middle school drama program three years ago. They had the smallest stage imaginable and no sound equipment. Since she began, Ruth has more than doubled student interest. How did she do it? What did she do? How do you start from scratch?
Show Notes
The Redemption of Gertie Green
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 135!
You can find any links to the episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode135.
Okay. So, today, we are talking about building – not buildings – building.
How do you start from ground zero?
Ruth Mirabella did it and she’s going to tell us how. It’s a tour de force kind of energy that Ruth has and, I have to say, I love hearing stories like this. It makes me feel like drama programs are possible – they’re possible to start up, they’re possible to maintain, and they can thrive. You can start from scratch.
So often, the stories we hear are those about removal of the arts from school systems or from after school programs so let’s listen to a success story.
Take it away, Ruth!
LINDSAY: Today, I am happy to be talking to Ruth Mirabella. Hello, Ruth!
RUTH: Hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Ah! Tell everybody where you are in the world?
RUTH: I am in Butler, New Jersey. Kind of in the northern part, about 40 minutes west of New York City.
LINDSAY: Ah! All right, awesome! How long have you been a teacher?
RUTH: Well, let’s see, I have been helping to run middle school drama programs for the past nine years. We started at one school. I started as helping out doing the choreography and kind of as a vocal coach and a general “hey, that doesn’t work, let’s try this kind of person.”
LINDSAY: So, the guinea pig person?
RUTH: Yeah, kind of – the “hey, the stage is not balanced, that’s not working, wait a minute, you know, we don’t have an entrance for this person” – you know, whatever it kind of was.
LINDSAY: You know what, everybody needs that kind of person who can just go, “All right, let’s try this and let’s hope nobody gets injured.”
RUTH: Ain’t that the truth!
LINDSAY: Okay. So, what we’re going to talk to you today is about you started a program basically from scratch.
RUTH: Yeah. Three years ago, the school that my children attended closed so we moved to a new school that had no drama program whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the school in general has a very little in a way of the arts. Like, they have a music program, they have an art teacher, but they don’t really incorporate the arts much into education which makes me a little crazy. And so, when they asked if I would start a drama program, I was like, “Sure, why not? How bad could it be?”
LINDSAY: Again, again, the guinea pig.
RUTH: Yes, and, you know, it was like, “Here, we’re going to give you some teachers to act as moderators but they have no theatre experience. One of them has a little bit but only, really, as an actor or actress onstage. She’s never ran a program or worked backstage or had any formal training,” which is fine because she was gung-ho to sort of take on stage crew which is great because it’s really hard to direct and do stage crew at the same time.
LINDSAY: Agreed. Were you bugging the school to kind of get into a drama program? Why do you think they said, “Hey, here you go, try this”?
RUTH: Honestly, because when the program we had started at the previous school had such a good reputation, when that school closed and we were looking at other schools, parents were asking if I was going there because they knew that I had done the other drama program and were hoping I would do one at this school.
LINDSAY: The voice of the parent is very strong,
Episode 134: Being a Student Director
Amelia Trimble directed her first play this year. She was thrown into it by her teacher and the experience has been a rewarding one. What’s it like to direct your peers? How do you direct when you’ve never done it before? Listen in to hear Amelia’s story.
Show Notes
Censorbleep
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 134.
You can find any links for this episode at the show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode134.
Today, I am talking to a student director. I was invited and I went to see a run-through, a rehearsal, of a play of mine – Censorbleep – and the group was getting ready to take it to competition the next week. And, even though they were struggling a little, you know, trying to put everything together – the lines and the blocking – and even though things weren’t as put-together as they could be, I was amazed at the student director. She was a force. She was in control. She knew what she wanted and, not only that, she was able to get this group. They didn’t fight about the issues they were having. They collaborated together and I knew, as I was watching, that I really wanted to talk to her and get her on the podcast, and so I did!
Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: I am here and I am talking to Amelia Trimble. How are you, Amelia?
AMELIA: I’m good.
LINDSAY: You’re good. I’m good, too!
AMELIA: That’s good.
LINDSAY: And the reason that we are talking is you directed one of my plays.
AMELIA: Yes.
LINDSAY: Which one did you direct?
AMELIA: Censorbleep.
LINDSAY: Censorbleep.
AMELIA: Yes.
LINDSAY: And this was for a local festival.
AMELIA: Yes, Sears Festival.
LINDSAY: Sears Festival, and this was the first play that you have ever directed.
AMELIA: It’s, yes, the first play.
LINDSAY: Now, your teacher kind of put you put to it.
AMELIA: Yes.
LINDSAY: Sort of – sort of maybe?
AMELIA: Yes.
LINDSAY: Pushed you into it with both hands?
AMELIA: Pretty random how it happened.
LINDSAY: Yeah, how did it come about?
AMELIA: So, I act as well and I wanted to be the lead in this play but certain things are happening with my health that didn’t think I could do the lead. Originally, Fiocca was directing it and I was just going to do a small part. And then, I actually missed one of the rehearsals and I got a text from my friend saying that Fiocca made me full director because he was also making me co-director then I got full director and I was like, “Oh, okay, sure!” and it didn’t really hit me until, like, he wasn’t there and then everyone was looking at me, going, “What do we do?” I was like, “Oh, okay, yeah, I guess I am, like, the leader.”
LINDSAY: Have you done any directing before this?
AMELIA: No, I’ve acted a lot.
LINDSAY: So, what do you think made him see a director in you?
AMELIA: I’m bossy; I have pretty clear images of what I like and what I want; and I have good spatial awareness; and I guess, last year, when I was the lead in the Sears Festival play that we did, I was very, like, wanted things to be a certain way and I always have very, like, big ideas and creative and I’m a leader. It’s pretty clear when I’m in a group, I tend to lead, and he knows that.
LINDSAY: The thing that I noticed when I came and watched your show was that that’s the one thing that you are not afraid of in any way. Like, “This isn’t working, we need to move you, we need to move this,” and I think that’s a good skill for any director to have – you know, student or not.
AMELIA: Yeah.
LINDSAY: So, when that first rehearsal happened and everyone was sort of looking at you, how did you dive in? How did you approach it?
AMELIA: Well, I’d read over the play a couple of times and I...
Episode 133: The Right Environment
When you’re directing a show, it’s important to specify environment. Where does the play take place? How do the characters react to that environment? It’s also important to establish environment in your drama classroom. In this podcast teacher Chris Evans talks about about both worlds - the world of the play and the world of the drama classroom. What environment do you create?
Show Notes
Chicken Road
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 133!
You can find any links for this episode at the show notes – theatrefolk.com/133.
When you’re directing a show, it’s really important – as opposed to only sort of important – to specify environment. Where does the play take place? How do the characters react to their environment? It’s especially important if you’re dealing with a less than realistic play.
If you’ve got a world or a script that doesn’t establish a place, you need to define that not – not only for your audience but for your actors. The more your actors know where they are, even if what they’re saying might not make sense, the more grounded they’re going to be and the more the audience will be able to connect.
It’s also important to establish environment in your classroom. Students are so aware of their surroundings and they will react accordingly. You know this; you’ve seen it time and time again.
So, what environment do you create in the classroom and onstage? We’re going to hear how teacher Chris Evans answers this specific question.
LINDSAY: Okay. So, here I am today and I am talking Teacher Chris Evans. Hello, Chris!
CHRIS: Hello, hello, hello!
LINDSAY: Tell everyone where in the world you are.
CHRIS: We are in Great Falls, Montana. We’re about 90 miles north of the capital of Montana, Helena.
LINDSAY: I have to say, Montana is one of the states I have never been to.
CHRIS: Well, consider this an invite.
LINDSAY: Awesome. Okay! We’re kind of talking about director’s vision today and just how you’ve got to go from taking a piece of paper and turning it into a show. You recently directed my play, Chicken Road, and the reason that I asked Chris to come on today was because I was really taken by the pictures that you sent me about the production. I’ll put a link to Chicken Road down in the show notes, but it’s not a traditional script, right?
CHRIS: Right. Absolutely!
LINDSAY: The characters don’t have names and yet you seem to put a pretty identifiable stamp on it with your production.
CHRIS: One of the things that I first approached Chicken Road with was, “Where am I going to put this play?”
LINDSAY: Right.
CHRIS: And one of the things that I preach in my classes is place is so important – environment is so important. It affects everything we do.
LINDSAY: Yes, particularly with theatre, it’s a visual, isn’t it?
CHRIS: Absolutely. And so, my thought was (1) the play struck such an emotional chord with me that my first thought is, “What if we put this play at the site where, you know, this young man passed away?”
LINDSAY: Right.
CHRIS: What if these students are gathering at a vigil at the side of the road where this young man took his life? My thought was that was (1) it’s a very, very, very specific environment. It’s going to create… the environment itself is going to create emotions and I’ll tell you why in just a sec; (2) visually, it was very striking. Unfortunately, last year, about this time, we had one of our students at C.M. Russell High School passed away in an auto accident and the vigils were just absolutely heartbreaking – the students gathering at vigils, the emotion that was on their faces. What I wanted to do was create this very, very distinct,
Episode 132: Google Drive in the Drama Classroom
Joshua Hatt was a frustrated drama teacher. He put together an extensive curriculum booklet for his students only to have them lose it time and time again. Joshua had a problem which he solved using Google Drive. Listen to him explain his process and how he went from technology hater to a full on convert.
Show Notes
Example of Electronic Process Journal (Google Doc)
To use this file, Make a Copy and adapt to suit your needs! Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome, welcome, welcome! Episode 132! You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode132.
Today, I am talking to a Drama teacher who may be just like you. Maybe you’re frustrated with your students’ organizational abilities. How many times do you have to give them the same handout over and over? Are you frustrated because you’re being told to incorporate 21st Century tools into your Drama classroom and you have no idea how to do it? Or maybe you’re being told you need to further quantify what your students are learning in the Drama classroom and you have no idea how to do that?
Our guest today, Joshua Hatt, was just such a frustrated teacher and he found his solution to all of these issues using Google Drive – Google Drive in the Drama Classroom. Let’s hear how he did it.
LINDSAY: All right, I am here today talking to Joshua Hat. Hello, Joshua!
JOSHUA: Hi, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Please tell everybody where in the world you are.
JOSHUA: I am currently in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
LINDSAY: This is actually our second podcast guest who we’ve recorded who is in Dubai. One of our Theatrefolk playwrights, Allison Williams, is also currently there. So, Dubai is representing.
JOSHUA: Excellent.
LINDSAY: Okay. You are teaching currently in Dubai?
JOSHUA: Yes, I am. I teach grades six, seven, and eight Drama. We use the MYP curriculum through the International Baccalaureate – that’s an international curriculum.
LINDSAY: First of all, how did you end up teaching Drama? Let’s start there.
JOSHUA: Teaching Drama? Actually, this is my fifth year teaching period. I went to school in Ontario, Canada, and studied theatre there and then went on to my Bachelor of Education degree at Trent in Peterborough and then decided that I think teaching Drama is exactly what I want to do and so I actually accepted my first post at an international school in China – Guangzhou – where I was hired to teach English and I ended up starting to help develop a Drama program there with a colleague of mine. And then, it just kind of jumped off from there – jumped to Germany and here I am in Dubai now.
LINDSAY: Awesome. I have a question about that but we’re going to back up just because I am also in Ontario. What was your high school experience like with Drama? Did you do Sears? Did it spark in high school? Where did it spark for you?
JOSHUA: It absolutely sparked in high school but I’m actually from Nova Scotia.
LINDSAY: Oh, okay!
JOSHUA: Yeah, and I just decided that I would jump over to Ontario for fun – I figured, “Why not?” – to do my bachelor of arts there. And so, absolutely, I’ve had a passion for Drama and theatre ever since grade nine, really. I had an opportunity to jump into community theatre at a local playhouse in town and then we had a grade ten, eleven, and twelve Drama program there so it just really kind of cemented my passion for Drama.
LINDSAY: Why do you think that was?
JOSHUA: I had brilliant teachers. My grade ten Drama teacher – I truly believe – transformed my life. It was kind of the first time throughout my high school career, really, that I was in an environment where I didn’t worry about taking ...
Episode 131: Talking with an Adjudicator
What is an adjudicator looking for? How do you handle an adjudication? How does an adjudicator approach their task? Lindsay talks to Matthew MacDermid who has been a high school and middle school adjudicator for 10 years in Florida. He’s seen it all and talks about his process.
Show Notes
Close Encounters of the Undead Kind
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 131. You can find any links for this episode in the show notes which can be found at theatrefolk.com/episode131.
Today, we’re talking adjudication. Adjudication!
There are many school festivals and competitions out there at the school level with a judging component. I’ve got the Sears Drama Festival in my backyard which I’ve adjudicated three times. In the States, there are thespian festivals – the International Thespian Festival and The Southeastern Theatre Conference theatre festivals.
As a playwright, I have each year the good fortune to have a number of plays in various competitions. Some do well and sometimes I hear back from students pretty disheartening stories of what their adjudications were like. It’s really one of my biggest pet peeves when I hear from a teacher or a student, “The adjudicator crushed us,” or, “The adjudicator hated our show,” or, “The adjudicator said we were no good.” The students just… they end up defeated.
Absolutely, there is a place for criticism, but where is crushing? Where does that come into play at the school level, right? What purpose does that have in an educational setting? This is really one of the reasons that I started looking into adjudication and started doing it and the reason I became one and I’ve been one for five years now – because I firmly believe there’s a way to approach a critique without making students feel defeat.
But how does an adjudicator approach their task? If you’ve ever had the thought, “What was that adjudicator thinking?” well, then this podcast is for you.
A couple of months ago, I was down in Florida adjudicating middle school students and I had the opportunity to interview one of my fellow adjudicators, Matthew McDermott.
LINDSAY: Hello! How are you?
MATTHEW: Good. How are you doing?
LINDSAY: Excellent. Matthew, we are here at the Florida Junior State Thespian Festival.
MATTHEW: That sounds right.
LINDSAY: That sounds about right, big sentence. You and I are both here today. We are going to be adjudicating one-acts.
MATTHEW: Yes.
LINDSAY: And that’s our topic of discussion for this podcast – adjudicating and what it’s like to be on this side of the table where we’re going to be looking at and commenting on shows. You were a thespian? You started out as a thespian?
MATTHEW: Yes, I started off as a thespian in the later 90s which feels like an eternity ago.
LINDSAY: Do you remember what it was like to be adjudicated yourself? Do you have memories of what that experience was like?
MATTHEW: You know, I do; I remember every single person and every single piece of paper with every single bit of writing. It’s amazing to me, especially now that I do this very frequently. I do it all over the state. It’s amazing to me how much I do recall and that’s what’s also important to me to remember as I’m writing things and saying things. These kids hinge on every single word we say.
LINDSAY: They do.
MATTHEW: That’s why it’s even more important that we are very careful on how we word things because they’re going to remember it forever.
LINDSAY: Okay. What was the worst thing? What was the worst thing that someone said to you?
MATTHEW: I don’t think anything was particularly nasty.
LINDSAY: That’s good.
MATTHEW: At least in the written way of saying things...
Episode 130: Connecting to a Challenging Script
Heather Meeks is a middle school teacher who did not shy away from a challenging script. What can you do to meet a challenge head on? How do you deal with parents or administrators who feel middle school students should not step outside their comfort zone? Listen in to hear Heather’s fabulous story.
Show Notes
Shuddersome
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 130. You can find any links for this episode at the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode130.
Now, let me tell you, I love a good story and that’s kind of what, well, a lot of these podcasts, they come from somebody telling me a good story, right? They come from somebody simply sending an email and saying, “We did this and it was such a success!” or “Oh, I’m trying this and, boy, is it a challenge!” or “I tried this and it was a challenge and we overcame it!” I love hearing about that and I know that others do, too.
I think and I know that the Drama teachers and Drama educators sometimes feel alone in their journey. Maybe they’re the only teacher in their district, at their school, or they’re in a school where everyone kind of looks at you a little bit strange. I’ve totally been in that position where nobody quite gets what you’re doing and nobody’s quite in the same page. They know you’re doing something good – hopefully – but they’re never quite sure.
Any time that we can share someone’s journey with you guys, with our listeners, that’s what I want to do. I want to let everybody know that they’re not alone and, I have to say, I’m always so pleased to talk to the folks who say yes to my podcast requests because, you know, I just kind of throw them out there. Someone will send me an email and I’ll be like, “Ah! That sounds like an awesome topic! Would you like to come talk about it?” Sometimes people say no and sometimes they’re like, “Okay, but I’ve never done it before.” You know, we’re pretty casual here. We just kind of talk and it’s always a fascinating lovely experience for my end – hopefully on their end, too. (I just realized, oh, that’s only me! I’m the only one having a good time.)
And then, sometimes, I will set it up and find a space to talk. A lot of times, I’m at a conference and I’m like, “Oh, hey, we’re going to be there. Let’s find a corner and just have this conversation.” Sometimes, I think it’s going to go one way and it’s just so much more. I’m completely blown away and, I have to say, this week is one of those talks. We’re talking about connecting to a challenging script with teacher Heather Meeks and I just love this conversation. It made me so happy to write for schools and I got to the end of this and I’m like, “Okay, I’ve got to go write a play. I’ve got to go write a play right now.”
I’ve got to warn you, I was at a conference and quiet space is pretty much a no-go in some of these places and you might hear some weird noises. Just try and focus on the words. Don’t think about the flushing – there might be some, don’t think about it. I know you’re thinking about it; don’t think about it.
LINDSAY: So, I am here at TETA. Do you guys call it TETA or TETA?
HEATHER: No, TETA.
LINDSAY: The Texas Educational Theatre Association Conference in Houston and I’m here with Heather. Hello, Heather, Heather Meeks!
HEATHER: Yes, hello, Lindsay!
LINDSAY: Hi! How are you?
HEATHER: I’m good.
LINDSAY: And what level do you teach?
HEATHER: I teach middle school right now.
LINDSAY: How long have you been teaching middle school?
HEATHER: I’ve been teaching off and on for fifteen years. This is my second year here with middle school theatre again so I have a wide and varied background.
Episode 129A: The Drama Teacher Academy
What is the Drama Teacher Academy? Who is DTA for? Why should you join? Plus! A sneak peek into one of our courses.
Show Notes
The Drama Teacher Academy Steven Stack Play Page
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Okay. We’ve got another bonus podcast for you. “It’s a bonus! It’s a bonus! It’s time to give you a bonus!” So, this is Episode 129A and you can find any links from this podcast in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode129a.
Now, the reason for this bonus podcast is to let you know, the podcast listener, that [trumpet sound] we’ve opened the doors again to the Drama Teacher Academy. What is the Drama Teacher Academy? You might be asking. The DTA is a professional development membership site just for Drama teachers and Drama educators.
It offers workshops on demand, PD when you want, at the pace you want, and what you want. What I mean by that is that you don’t have to search out professional development in your area. You don’t have to fit a workshop into your busy schedule. You don’t have to worry that the workshop leader is going to spend all their time talking about themselves or rush through an exercise or give you no exercises.
The aim of every course in the Drama Teacher Academy is to give you something – not just to learn but something that you can take into your classroom to use or teach. A workshop on mask? That’s fine. A workshop on how to teach mask to forty high school students is awesome! Wouldn’t you love to learn an exercise tonight and teach it tomorrow? Download a lesson plan and be able to use it immediately?
Here at the Theatrefolk Global Headquarters, we’ve been operating the Drama Teacher Academy for nine months now and it’s been amazing. We flung open the doors in August. We weren’t sure what was going to happen but we knew what we wanted to do. We knew we wanted to help and we wanted to provide you, provide Drama teachers with a particular kind of resource, and we love hearing how the resources in DTA have helped teachers, have motivated teachers, inspired teachers. There is nothing that makes me happier when someone comes up to us at a conference and says, “This was my first year. You saved my life.” You know, it just makes me tingle. It’s just great.
We also love hearing from folks who have questions, who want clarification, who want us to explore different avenues because, if there are questions, that means we have areas that we can change and grow. If we change and grow, we can only get better.
So, we’re in a place now where we can leave the doors open to the Drama Teacher Academy. We can leave them open permanently. We’re not closing our doors anymore so you can join at any time. You know, if you’re thinking about the summer months and you want to take some course; if maybe now is not the time but you’re going to bookmark it and do it later, it’s all good. But I’ve got to tell you, now is the time to join DTA. The time to join is neigh. Like, right neigh, and let me tell you why.
So, we have a limited time sign-up offer where you can join the Drama Teacher Academy and your first month is a dollar. Let me say that again. You can join the Drama Teacher Academy and your first month is a dollar.
Now, the Drama Teacher Academy is a membership site so there is a monthly fee of usually $37.00 per month or $444 a year. If you sign up to the Drama Teacher Academy before midnight Pacific on Friday, May 8th, that first month as a member is only a dollar. You can check out courses, check out resources, check out the private Facebook group – I love this group! It is filled with the most lovely Drama teachers who are great at sharing their expertise, asking questions,
Episode 129: Let’s Get Vocal!
How do you incorporate vocal technique into the drama classroom? How do you succeed with choral work? We’ve got two teachers talking about the voice today. Elisabeth Oppelt wants you not only to teach your students how to use your voice, but also how to take care of your own voice. Keith White gives some great tips for getting the most out of students and choral work.
Show Notes
Stupid Is Just 4 2day Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 129.
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode129.
Okay. We’re talking voice! You know, I think about these things about half a second before I’m about to do them. And then, sometimes, I get in the middle of them and I’m like, “No, you shouldn’t have made that choice!”
Anyway, we’re talking voice today, specifically a couple of different avenues. We’re going to be talking to two teachers today. We’re talking about incorporating vocal technique into the drama classroom and then succeeding with choral work.
So, Elisabeth Oppelt wants you not only to teach your students how to use their voice – she’s adamant about that and I love that – she also wants you, the drama teacher, she wants you to take care of your voice and to make sure that you’re not stretching and straining in the same way that we don’t want our students to. That’s Elisabeth.
And then, I’m going to talk to teacher Keith White. He is in Florida right now – although, when I talked to him, I learned that he actually grew up almost metaphorically from where I am right now which is always cool – small world. He did one of my plays, Stupid is Just 4 2day, which has a lot of choral vocal choral work in it and he’s got some great tips for getting the most out of your students when you’re doing choral work.
But, first, let’s talk to Elisabeth.
LINDSAY: All right. I am talking to Lis Oppelt. Hello, Lis!
ELISABETH: Hi!
LINDSAY: Hi! How are you doing today?
ELISABETH: I’m doing all right.
LINDSAY: You’re doing all right. Tell everybody where you are in the world.
ELISABETH: I am in Yuma, Arizona, which is about as far south as you can get before you cross into Mexico.
LINDSAY: Oh, okay. Well, that’s very far from us. So, we’re going to talk about voice and voice in getting your students to use their voices properly, using voice in the drama classroom. But, before we do that, let’s just hear a little bit about you. You are a drama teacher.
ELISABETH: I am.
LINDSAY: How long have you been one?
ELISABETH: This is my second year teaching full-time drama.
LINDSAY: What made you decide to take that on?
ELISABETH: I didn’t intend to. I was going to be a lawyer and then I was going to be a history teacher but I got the theatre bug in high school and I thought I could let it go and I couldn’t. I’m not much of an actor but I love to direct and I love to stage manage. And so, teaching gave me the chance to do all of those things and then I started working with teenagers and figured out I liked it. And so, it worked out well for me.
LINDSAY: Which is very funny because, sometimes, working with teenagers is the thing that is not high on their list, is it?
ELISABETH: Yeah, that’s true.
LINDSAY: I think high school drama teachers are a very, very special breed and I love hearing about how it’s, like, “Nope, this is what I want to do.” I love that you just said that you got the bug in high school and it just never left you. Why do you think that it never left? What was it about drama that sticks with you?
ELISABETH: For me, I think the storytelling of it – the fact that there are so many stories that can be told and told in so many uniq...
Episode 128: Educational Theatre is the Bridge
Craig Branch is a Educational Programs Manager with the Educational Theatre Association. He started out with theatre in high school, pursued a professional career and found his passion with theatre education. Craig talks about his journey and his goal to use educational theatre as a bridge.
Show Notes
Educational Theatre Association Theatrefolk blog
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 128.
You can find any links for this episode at the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode128.
So, today, a little arts education confab. Today, I’m talking to Craig Branch. He works for the Educational Theatre Association and my association with the Educational Theatre Association – ha ha ha! – it goes back a long, oh, a long time. Here I am, here we go, I’m about to put on my old sweater – my old sweater.
I went to the first festival in ’96. Uh, it has to be before that. It might be even in ’95. So, Craig and I were living in North Bay Ontario – about three or four hours north of Toronto, for anyone who likes geography – and, at that time, North Bay happened to be one of the only, if not the only Canadian chapters of EdTA in terms of thespian activity – one-acts and workshops and that kind of thing.
I have this very clear memory of a one-act festival. We were teaching workshops and someone came up to us and said, you know, would we like to teach workshops in Lincoln, Nebraska, which may sound like a scam except, if you’ve been listening, you know that Lincoln is, of course, where EdTA holds a very large international thespian festival. Craig and I have been involved, we went for three years in the 90s just as workshop presenters, and then Theatrefolk has been going since 2004 and it is now 2015 – again, math – a long time, right? It’s a long time.
When I was thinking about doing this intro, I really don’t have any idea who that person was. I have no idea who came up to us and said, “Hey! Would you like to go teach in Lincoln, Nebraska?” It was a guy. He must have come to a workshop or someone came to a workshop and I don’t know what it was. I don’t remember having any other conversation other than, “Would you guys like to teach in Lincoln, Nebraska?” At some point, a proposal form must have come our way. All of that, it’s such a long time ago,
I don’t remember but what I do know is that, without that very first invitation, Theatrefolk wouldn’t be where we are today. It was that twack, I guess, which led us down the educational theatre path – going to festivals, seeing workshops, and really becoming aware, how much aware of what drama teachers do, what drama teachers need, and going to the International Thespian Festival in 1996. That’s what put us on the educational theatre path which I’m really grateful for. It certainly wasn’t the one that I thought of when I was young and in school but it’s certainly one of the most rewarding and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So, let’s hear about someone else’s path towards theatre education and Craig Branch.
LINDSAY: Hello, Craig!
CRAIG: Hello, everyone!
LINDSAY: Awesome, very nice to have you here on the podcast. First of all, tell everyone in the world where you are.
CRAIG: I am at my desk at the Educational Theatre Association which is here in Cincinnati, Ohio.
LINDSAY: Fantastic! That’s kind of what we’re going to be talking about. We’re going to be talking about educational theatre and where you fit in with that. First of all, how did you start? What was your start? Did you do theatre in high school or middle school?
CRAIG: Yeah. Actually, I had my first performance experience as Rudolph in the first-grade Christmas play with that uncomfortable ...
Episode 127: Small Budgets: Doing so Much with so Little
For many drama teachers the dwindling production budget is an ongoing struggle. How do you put up a full production with limited funds? Beth Goodwin has the double whammy she works in a small school with a small budget. And yet her visuals are consistently stunning. Listen in to find out how she does it!
Show Notes
Alice
The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 127.
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode127.
So, today, Beth Goodwin is who we’re going to talk to and she is a guidance secretary with a love of theatre. She’s been putting on plays for 16 years at her school and we’ve been lucky enough that she’s done a lot of ours, and I say “lucky” because her production pictures are stunning. I’m going to include a couple in the show notes. They are filled with color. They are filled with vision. The pictures make the plays come to life and I can only imagine what it’s like to be there in person.
After seeing the latest pictures, I wanted to talk to Beth, and that’s when I learned that what she does is she is in a small school and she has a small budget and I was doubly amazed by what I saw. I know this is something that a lot of you who are listening can relate to – small school, small budget. Even if you are in a big school, you might have a very tiny budget. How do you create visuals on a budget?
So, let’s hear what Beth has to say about that.
LINDSAY: All right! Hello everyone! I am thrilled to be talking to Beth Goodwin today. Hello, Beth!
BETH: Hi.
LINDSAY: How are you?
BETH: I’m fine.
LINDSAY: Good, good, good. Tell everyone where in the world you are.
BETH: Well, we are in Corinth, Maine. This is Central High School and we’re a little northeast of Bangor.
LINDSAY: So, are you a Stephen King fan or not?
BETH: Hmm. I won’t say anything.
LINDSAY: You’ll defer? You’ll defer?
BETH: Yeah, horror stuff is not my cup of tea.
LINDSAY: Now, you have been doing plays for a long time at your school.
BETH: Yeah, since 2000.
LINDSAY: I was looking back; you’ve been a long-time customer of ours. That’s how we know who you are.
BETH: Good!
LINDSAY: We’re stalking you. No, no, no, of course not. Where we have really been blown away is with the pictures that you have sent us from your shows because they’re so colorful and visual. And so, we’re going to talk about, first of all, how you do that and, one thing you shared with me is that you come from a pretty small school.
BETH: Yes.
LINDSAY: What’s your size?
BETH: It’s about 370, I think.
LINDSAY: In total?
BETH: Yes.
LINDSAY: Okay, and how many kids do you usually get involved in your productions?
BETH: Well, for Drama Club itself, I have about 60 kids.
LINDSAY: That’s awesome.
BETH: Yeah. Usually, for plays, I try and do larger casts because I want, you know, as many kids involved as can be. So, it’s usually anywhere from 20 to 30.
LINDSAY: That’s really cool. And then, also, that you have a small school and you also work with a pretty small budget or a small budget.
BETH: Yes.
LINDSAY: So, that’s something I know a lot of people that are listening are going to be interested in. So, now, you’re not a Drama teacher?
BETH: Not a teacher, no. Just the director.
LINDSAY: Well, not “just.”
BETH: I’m guidance secretary.
LINDSAY: And so, how did you get involved with running the Drama Club?
BETH: Well, back in 2000, I was asked if I’d like to do a one-act play and I said, “Sure.”
LINDSAY: Why did they ask you?
BETH: Ah, I don’t know.
Episode 126: Middle School Theatre in a Rural Community
Patrick Derksen works in a school with 200 students. In total. He’s a grade eight classroom teacher and playwright who decided five years ago to make theatre with his students.
Find out how he does it, why he thinks theatre is important in middle school and his advice for other rural teachers wanting to do the same.
Show Notes
A Lighter Shade of Noir
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
You have reached Episode 126 and you can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode126.
Okay. So, Patrick Derksen, he works in a school – a rural school that has 200 total students. So, that’s it; that’s from kindergarten all the way up to Grade 8. He’s a Grade 8 classroom teacher and he’s also a playwright. We have his play, A Lighter Shade of Noir.
Five years ago, he started putting up plays with his students. Just like that, he made a choice to include theatre at the middle school level, and I just think that it’s always a fascinating choice when something didn’t exist before and now it does, and let’s hear why he made that choice and how he has developed it.
LINDSAY: All right. Hello everybody! I am sitting here today with author and teacher, Patrick Derksen. Hello, Patrick!
PATRICK: Hello!
LINDSAY: Hi! So, Patrick is one of our Theatrefolk playwrights. He has a play with us called A Lighter Shade of Noir which I absolutely adore. It makes me laugh. The sign of a good comedy for me – because, when we read these plays, Patrick, there’s so many times we have to read them from the first initial read to going through numerous proofs to seeing it published and the sign of a good comedy for me is I just giggle every time I look at this play.
You are also a middle school teacher.
PATRICK: Yes, primarily.
LINDSAY: Primarily. That’s the main gig.
PATRICK: That’s the main gig.
LINDSAY: And how long have you been a middle school teacher?
PATRICK: This is about ten years now, I guess, yeah. I had the ten-year award.
LINDSAY: You got the pin.
PATRICK: I’m like, “Really? Ten years already?” Time flies!
LINDSAY: Absolutely! And so, why middle school? Why is that where you sort of hang your hat?
PATRICK: Originally, I’d planned to be a high school teacher, I guess. But then, things took me to a middle school and I found out that I loved it. I love the kids and I love the staff. It’s kind of a whole different ballgame. In middle school, you’ve got to think on your feet a little bit more and go with the flow and it’s great.
LINDSAY: It’s really funny because I think you have to have that very specific mentality to relate to middle school students.
PATRICK: Yes.
LINDSAY: What about them is the most fun to teach?
PATRICK: Yeah, like I said, I think just the fact that they’re coming out of the learning ABC’s kind of thing and then you can really start to work with them and take them into territory that is new for them and, yeah, it’s just a fun, fun age to see them coming in that and they’re still eager – unlike maybe some high school students.
LINDSAY: And what do you think is the most frustrating?
PATRICK: Well, when it comes to drama, they’re starting at ground zero, right?
LINDSAY: Ah.
PATRICK: There’s no knowledge at all and how it all works. So, like, probably three-quarters of the kids that I have in my plays are starting with no experience whatsoever, and then the rest start coming with a little bit of stuff from church and community theatre, but it’s learning the very basics. So, those kinds of things like, you know, face the audience, speak louder, all those things I guess would be the frustrating part of it,
Episode 125: Costuming with a Vision
Does the thought of costuming a show fill you with dread? Are you always resorting to colourful t-shirts and jeans because that’s all you have time for? Holly Beardsley will lead you through costuming with a vision. The way you costume your show is an important part of the directing process.
Show Notes
The Pauper Princess Pinterest Theatrefolk Pinterest Page The Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
And we have arrived at Episode 125! I’m a poet and I don’t even know it. Wooh!
You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode125.
Today, we are talking costumes and not just putting clothes on actors but actually costuming with a vision. I will fully admit – full disclosure here – when I directed shows, when I used to direct, costumes were pretty low on my list. If I could use colorful t-shirts, that’s kind of what we went with.
It’s really funny because my mom is this amazing sewer. When I was a kid, we always had homemade Halloween costumes and I don’t remember it ever bothering me all that much because they were really cool costumes. I had this Raggedy Ann costume that I used for years. So, she’s this amazing sewer and knitter and quilter and none of that has passed into my genes. I have none of it!
Costumes were always terrifying, maybe? I don’t know, an afterthought, certainly, and that is something that it should not be. I’m always big about saying that the theatrical experience is a visual one and that means you’ve got to pay attention to your costumes and what characters wear has to have the same kind of importance as to what they say.
Have you ever been to a show where you were totally distracted by out of place costumes? Or a show that was trying to be very period and yet, you know, all the guys are wearing modern shoes? Or a show where it was clear there hadn’t been any thought into the costumes? I think that we need to do that, right? Because the way you costume a show is an important part of the process.
And so, our guest today is going to fill you in on how to costume a show with vision. Holly Beardsley wears a lot of hats. She’s a director; a playwright and we have her play, The Pauper Princess, which she’s going to talk about; and she’s also one of our Drama Teacher Academy instructors. We just opened her course, the Do-It-All Director’s Introduction to Costuming which covers every aspect from vision to color blocking to a step-by-step guide for sewing a dirndl skirt. It is an awesome extravaganza or an extravaganza – that, too.
But, first, vision – take it away, Holly!
LINDSAY: So, Holly does a couple of things for Theatrefolk; not only is she a playwright, she is the author of The Pauper Princess, correct?
HOLLY: Correct!
LINDSAY: Wait a minute. No, no, that’s not it! And Holly is also a Drama Teacher Academy instructor. Her course is – oh, let’s see if we can do it, all right – the Do-It-All Director’s Introduction to Costuming.
HOLLY: Correct!
LINDSAY: Yay!
HOLLY: It’s a long title. Long titles are fun.
LINDSAY: Well, I get a candy cane. Yay! Good for me. I get a treat.
But, Holly, for the Do-It-All Director’s Introduction to Costuming, you really ran the gambit with this course. It sort of goes from, like, costuming a period show to costuming a large show to the most extensive glossary, I think, of every piece.
HOLLY: Yeah. Well, it’s coming from the director’s point of view, you have to know everything in your show. And so, you kind of do the same way with your costuming. You’re going from bolts to nuts.
LINDSAY: You know what, I don’t know how many high school and middle school drama teachers have any backgr...
Episode 124: Using Theatre in China
Nick Cala is a high school teacher in China. He’s putting up a play for the first time with Chinese students who are studying to attend American universities and fully believes in the importance of drama as part of their process.
Show Notes
Alice Drum Taps Shuddersome: Tales of Poe Hamlette Drop Dead Juliet Other 'Classical Adaptations' at Theatrefolk
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 124!
You can find any links for this episode at the show notes at theatrefolk.com/124.
All righty! So, today, I am talking to a high school teacher in China, Nick Cala. He is in China right now and he is putting up a play for the first time – not at an international school but with Chinese students who are studying to attend American universities – and it just so happens that this first play that he’s doing this with is one of ours. He’s putting up my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. When I heard this, I was like, “I have to talk to this guy!”
Nick really believes in the importance of drama as part of creating that well-rounded student. How does that translate in another country? In another language? Especially in a school where students are very focused, as you’ll hear, on academics.
Let’s get to it!
LINDSAY: All right. Hello everybody! I am sitting here with Nick Cala. Hello, Nick!
NICK: Hello!
LINDSAY: Hello! Now, we have the wonders of technology working for us again right now because I am sitting here in my house in the early a.m. in North America. Nick, tell everybody where you are.
NICK: I’m in Jiangsu, China – very close to Shanghai – and it’s in the evening here.
LINDSAY: You’ve had your day already.
NICK: Yes! It’s almost Thursday here.
LINDSAY: It’s amazing to me that, well, not only that we’re able to do this but that we found you because you’re doing some Theatrefolk plays. You’re doing Alice, is that right?
NICK: Yes! We had auditions and now we’re beginning the process of giving the students the script and kind of getting the students to get a sense of their characters.
LINDSAY: And are you at an international school? Are you at a Chinese school? Like, who are your students?
NICK: My students are Chinese kids who are planning to go to university in America. This is a kind of private center in a Chinese school built around preparing students to go to university in America.
LINDSAY: Wow. That’s very specific, isn’t it?
NICK: Yeah, it’s a little different than an international school, and it makes for some unique challenges. I mean, the kids are all coming at things with a very different perspective than American kids.
LINDSAY: Yeah, okay. We’re going to get into that in a second. I just wanted to ask you, how did you end up in China?
NICK: Well, the story is this was actually my first teaching job. This is my third year in China and I had taken Chinese in college but it was more or less not because of any intensive interest. It was more because I wanted to try something slightly different. As I took it, I got more and more into it. But, at the same time, I was taking courses in US History and I didn’t really expect that they would come together – US History teaching and knowing some Chinese. When I saw the job available, I got very excited and I got lucky enough that it worked out.
LINDSAY: Just me being ignorant here – do you have to teach in Chinese or do you teach in English?
NICK: Oh, I teach in English. I don’t think I could teach in Chinese. My Chinese is not that good.
LINDSAY: Okay. And then, here’s the twist. You teach history but you are in-charge of the drama club at your school.
NICK: Right.
LINDSAY: How did that happen?
Episode 123: Teaching Life Skills Through Drama
Has anyone ever said to you “It’s just drama. It’s just theatre. It’s not important.” All drama teachers know the importance of their program. The drama classroom is one of the few places where real world life skills are still taught: communication, self-confidence, self-evaluation, creative thinking. These are skills all teens beyond the classroom, beyond school, and Shandra Gallant, Artistic Director of the Langdon Theatre Association thinks so too.
Show Notes
Rainbows vs Bunnies: Annihilation
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 123!
You can find the links for this episode at the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode123.
Has anyone ever said to you about your program, “It’s just drama – drama. It’s just drama. It’s just theatre. It’s not important.” It happens all the time, right? All the time, it happens to me! And, you know, it’s because the drama classroom looks different and acts different than all the other classes. And so, it must not be like all the other classes and it must not be useful or important or worthy and it must not be worthy of being included in the curriculum which is a big problem because that means drama programs disappear.
Except that all drama teachers know the importance of their program, right?
The drama classroom is one of the few places where real world life skills are taught. You know them. Say them with me, everybody. Communication, self-confidence, self-evaluation, creative thinking – these are the skills everybody – all teenagers – everybody needs beyond the classroom, beyond school, right? A test – testing, one, two, three – testing does not prepare a student for the real world. Life skills, that’s what students need, and my guest today, Shandra Gallant, artistic director of the Landgon Theatre Association, she thinks so, too. So, that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Let’s get to it.
LINDSAY: All right. Hello, everyone! I am happy to be sitting here talking to Shandra Gallant. Hello there! Hello there, Shanny! That’s what your students call you, right?
SHANDRA: It’s true. Hi! How are you doing?
LINDSAY: I’m great. Tell everybody where you are.
SHANDRA: Well, I’m technically in my house right here in Calgary, Alberta.
LINDSAY: Alberta, excellent! And the reason that we’re talking here today is that you have done some of our plays.
SHANDRA: I have, yes. We really, really enjoy your plays and lots we’ve used for our final projects that we do with our group.
LINDSAY: Yeah, and what is your group?
SHANDRA: I work with the Langdon Theatre Association and we’re a little program. We meet once a week for a whole year and we work on life skills through theatre and we put on a final performance.
LINDSAY: And that is something which was very interesting to me – the whole notion of using drama to work on life skills. That’s actually one of my big mantras, I guess, because I think drama is one of the few places where students are getting any backing in life skills. So, I’m really interested to talk to you about that.
But, first, how did you get into this? What is your background in theatre?
SHANDRA: Well, I have my BFA and I kind of dabbled in directing. But, originally, I was a stage manager and loved it, and this group actually hired me many, many years ago to stage manage one of their shows and I was so impressed by how they worked with the kids and I was super impressed by the kids’ performance that I wanted to be involved and they hired me to teach these kids and I’ve been doing it for over ten years and they still amaze me.
LINDSAY: And why do you think you were drawn to a teaching element as opposed to a performing element?
Episode 121: Middle School Play Mania: multiple plays with multiple classes
Middle School Teacher Jessica Stafford isn’t just doing one play. She’s doing a play with multiple classes. And she’s not doing the same play, each class gets their own play. How do you produce multiple plays with multiple classes and not go crazy? Listen in and learn!
Show Notes
Hamlet Zombie Killer of Denmark Hairball Oddball School Daze The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth about Cat Hair
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 121 – one two one! You can find any links for this episode at the show notes at – you guessed it – theatrefolk.com/episode121.
So, today, we are talking Middle School Play Mania, specifically the type of mania that would make a middle school teacher put on not just one play, not two plays, not three plays. How about more than that? How about five plays in a year?
We’re going to be talking to middle school teacher, Jessica Stafford, about what she has to say about putting on multiple plays in a year with her classes – so, you know, two grade six classes put on a play, and her grade sevens, and her grade eights – and what these multiple productions do for her, how she has to organize, what do they do for her students, and even how she assesses them.
So, let’s get to it.
Linsday: All right. I am here with middle school teacher, Jessica Stafford.
Hello Jessica!
Jessica: Hi Lindsay! How are you?
Lindsay: I am awesome. How about you?
Jessica: Doing well. It’s the Thanksgiving break.
Lindsay: Oh, yes! And your kids just literally walked out the door, didn’t they?
Jessica: Four minutes ago.
Lindsay: And now, you’re doing a podcast.
Jessica: Yes!
Lindsay: Thank you so much!
Jessica: Any time.
Lindsay: So, the reason that I wanted to talk to Jessica is that she’s not doing just one of our shows, she’s not doing two of ours shows, she’s not doing three of our shows. How many shows are you doing right now? Or have you done with your classes in total?
Jessica: With you guys this year? Let’s see – one, two, three, and then a fourth one coming up in March.
Lindsay: So, what you’re doing is you are doing a play with which grades? All of them, right? That you’re connected with?
Jessica: No, sorry, five. We’ve done five, and I may be doing six.
Yeah, what I have, I have fifth through eighth grade, and my fifth graders, I do something different with them because they’re only nine weeks and it’s just too difficult to try and get them – that’s really like herding cats in a classroom.
And so, I have two six grade classes, and what I did this year was we used your show School Daze and I casted in both classes. So, one class performed one night and then the other class performed it the next night, and that was a wonderful experience because the kids got to see how another group did it. One class had 31 kids but only 3 boys; and the other one had 27 kids and 8 or 9 boys. So, the casting was very different. And then, one of the nights, we missed three kids and so I was able to just pull kids from their class and put them up on-stage. So, that was a big help.
The other ones are seventh grade which are doing Hairball, and eighth grade which is doing Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark.
Lindsay: And this is all in one semester, right?
Jessica: Correct.
Lindsay: So, how crazy are you?
Jessica: Many days, I wonder that myself. But, you know, with the kids, it’s so easy because the scripts are so accessible and so relevant and the kids really grasp the idea – I mean, except for the Shakespeare thing, the Hamlet thing, they’re still fighting me and we’re in Week 12 or 13,
Episode 89: Make a Mission Statement for Your Drama Classroom
Discover drama teacher Amy Patel’s process for creating a mission statement with her students.
Show Notes
The Golden Circle Ted Talk James Clemens Theatre Mission Statement Drama Teacher Academy Drama Teacher Executive Summary
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
As we look toward ringing in a brand new year in yet a couple of days, I thought it was appropriate to replay Episode 89: make a mission statement for your classroom with teacher Amy Pugh Patel. Start the brand new year off to a great start with this fantastic project. You can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode89.
And if you like what Amy has to say here she has a more in-depth version of the project inside our Drama Teacher Academy. I’ll tell you more at the end of the podcast. Let’s get to it. Lindsay: Hello everybody! Welcome to the podcast. I am so happy today to be talking to teacher Amy Patel. Hello Amy!
Amy: Hi! How are you?
Lindsay: I am awesome. You are on your Spring Break this week, right?
Amy: Yes!
Lindsay: Are you enjoying that?
Amy: Yeah, it’s really nice. You know, sleep in, stay in my pajamas for a little while, and not have a real strict schedule for a change. And the weather’s pretty – for today, anyway.
Lindsay: Okay. So, tell everybody, I’d like to start with asking where people are in the world. So, where are you?
Amy: I’m in Madison, Alabama, which is just outside of Huntsville, North Alabama.
Lindsay: Yes.
Amy: And I teach at James Clemens High School which is a brand new school.
Lindsay: Ah, cool. Okay. We’ll get into that. So, how long have you been a drama teacher?
Amy: This is my 16th year. I taught for 14 years at Butler High School in Huntsville and then I took a year sabbatical and didn’t teach at all. I visited other teachers around the country, some of my friends who taught in Connecticut and Colorado and Florida. And then, I also got back on stage for a change and kind of regrouped and then started at James Clemens last year so that is two years now at that school.
Lindsay: Do you think sabbaticals are important for teachers?
Amy: Oh, my gosh. It saved me. It really did. I needed that break and I needed that time to, you know, do research for myself – kind of explore and to miss it. My husband asked me, “When do you think you’ll go back to the classroom?” and I said, “When I miss it,” and it didn’t take long. It just really revived my passion for teaching. You know, absence makes the heart grow fonder and having a bit of an absence and getting to explore the things that I’d been turning around in my head really helped me and I feel like I’m a better teacher for it.
Lindsay: So, it seems like it was very purposeful that you would go, and I know they were your friends, but were you asking other teachers about things that they do? It was sort of like a research thing, too?
Amy: Yeah, because, you know, I had taught for 14 years at the same school. And so, I felt like kind of my blinders went up and I could only see things the way I had been doing them or, you know, I had only seen a school being run the way my school was run, and I would hear about other friends at other schools and they would talk to me, but I didn’t get to see it for myself.
So, you know, I went in with an agenda. I wanted to see what’s their space like; how do they structure their classes; what are the things that they feel, like, go really well and what are the challenges that they have; and, you know, I saw a lot of myself out there, and I kind of felt like, “Oh, I’m not the only one who faces that,” and, “Oh, I’m not the only one who struggles with that,” and it was just really nice.
Lindsay: Sometimes, the nicest thing is knowing you’re not alone, isn’t it?
Episode 90: The Monologue Everything Program
In this podcast Lindsay talks about her love of monologues and the process of writing The Monologue Everything Program.
Show Notes
The Monologue Everything Program
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. Whoop whoop! I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 90. You can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode90.
So, it’s been a while since I’ve done a “me” only podcast. (Hello, me. How are you? I’m doing awesome! Thanks for asking!) And the reason I’m doing it is because this is a very special week for me. It’s the launch of the Monologue Everything Program that I wrote. It is a two-ebook set that has taken me, I guess, a year and a half – over a year and a half – to go from idea to fruition. It’s been a long process.
So, it’s a step-by-step teacher’s guide to writing monologues and I couldn’t be happier to have: a) completed it, and b) get it out there in the world. I’m very glad it’s done and this will probably be the, you know, the last time I talk about it, but I do want to talk about it in this format where I can talk a little more in-depth. And the first thing I want to do is share a story.
So, I think that not a lot of ours customers, even our long-term customers, know that Theatrefolk started out as a production company before we were a publication company, before we were a publisher. And it was Craig and I, still – way back then and still to this day – and we loved theatre and we wanted to make a go of it and we formed a company. So, we wrote plays and we acted in them and we directed them and we did all the sets and the costumes for them. You know, we’re a two-hand band which I guess we still are, a little bit. And, frankly, we didn’t make very much money doing all this. We didn’t have very much.
And so, you know, you sort of get in a little bit of a spin cycle because we didn’t have money to, you know, hire extra actors or hire set designers, and we didn’t have money to go on big tours, and we didn’t know what to do. And we knew that were other companies out there who were doing this, other small companies, and we thought, “Well, why can’t we do this?” and it was around that time when I met the guy who really changed my life and really is, whether he knows it or not – I don’t think he does – but he’s really responsible to put me on the path to becoming the playwright I am and also the reason that Theatrefolk exists and that’s a director by the name of Dave Cheoros and he was casting for a Fringe Festival tour.
I know at this time I had an idea of what Fringe Festivals were. I’d never been to one but I had heard of them. You know, these week-long festivals where they’re mostly made up of one-act plays. But I didn’t know that you could, you know, put a tour together and that got my spidey senses really tingling and I went out and I auditioned and I got cast which was awesome and I spent four months touring. I toured from Montreal to Vancouver – which is like going from, I guess, Maine to California let’s say – and I took in a lot. I saw a lot of shows, a lot of different kinds of shows. I even volunteered at some festivals so I could see more shows. And I was seeing a lot of one-person monologues and that sort of clicked for me.
And, also, the fact that you could really tour on the cheap. You could tour, you know, as long as you had a car, you could do this, and I wanted to do it so, the next year, I wrote a show for myself, a one-person monologue show, it was called The Happy Positive Rejects Club. Really, it was about relationships and I played seven different characters and I learned two big things: I learned that I love writing monologues, that was the germ of it for me and I still do; but I really hated performing them. That’s a huge problem when you’re the only person on stage,
Episode 96: How to Succeed with a Class Production
Have you tried to put together a class production and it just didn’t work out? Teacher Rassika Risko shares the successes and challenges of getting 28 grade nines in front of 300 middle school students.
Show Notes The Happiness Project Promo Video http://vimeo.com/97140116 The Happiness Project Poster
The Happiness Shop Teacher's Guide Set the Stage for Student-Written Monologues
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for drama teachers, drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is a replay of Episode 96 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode96.
One thing that many classes do in a semester is put together a play and perform it for a feeder school. Some classes devise the play or in this case they have a playwright in the area (me) who comes in and works with them from brainstorming to reading to rehearsal and now performance.
And this was not an senior class or an after-school program or a drama club but a grade nine drama class, and the experience has had its rewards and challenges for me, just as it’s had for their teacher, Rassika Risko.
So, I thought it would be a great podcast to talk to her about those successes and challenges in getting an entire class on the same page, to do a play, and then not only perform it for each other but an invited audience. They had to perform their play in front of 300 middle school students.
So, let’s get to it.
Like this?
Yes!
And put a spring in your step!
Like this?
Yes!
I do all these things, but I still don’t feel completely happy.
I know what you need! You need to become a Roppet!
A Roppet? What’s that?
Lindsay: All right! Here we go.
So, I am here with Rassika Risko. Hello!
Rassika: Hi!
Lindsay: How are you?
Rassika: Fine. Thank you!
Lindsay: So, we just had a rehearsal. You’re in rehearsal right now with a play that I wrote and it’s your grade nine class, right?
Rassika: Yes, it is, and you are rehearsing a show with your class to perform in front of your theatre middle schools.
Lindsay: That’s correct. So, what I wanted to talk to you about was about, I know that there are a lot of our teachers who listen who either do a show with their class or want to do a show with your class and I thought we could talk about the good parts about that, the pitfalls about that.
So, first of all, what’s your work background? How long have you been a drama teacher?
Rassika: I’ve been a drama teacher since 2001 which is – oh, math! – a long time ago! I am a science teacher as well.
Lindsay: Thirteen!
Rassika: Thirteen years ago, and I’ve been teaching drama, if not full-time, at least part-time for that time. I taught at one school for five years and then I’ve been at Governor Simcoe since 2006.
Lindsay: Cool. Oh, and the exciting thing for me is that this is actually happening live in my backyard because, usually, I do these over Skype so I never get to talk to anybody.
Rassika: Oh, that’s exciting!
Lindsay: And why drama? Why did you choose drama?
Rassika: I had an amazing drama teacher in grade ten and I’m not athletic and I was awkward socially and drama was the place for me. It was organized. I felt like I could be part of a family. I had friends from different grades. It was easier for me to get to know people in drama than it was for me to try and get on a team that I just wasn’t going to get on.
Lindsay: And that just sort of stuck with you always?
Rassika: Yeah, we did a show in grade ten, then eleven, then we got a new teacher in grade twelve and I loved her – I loved her, she’s the reason I became a teacher – and then I learned how to stage manage and direct kind of through that avenue there.
Episode 107: Cross-Curricular in the Drama Classroom
Teacher Jeff Pinsky will embark on a new cross-curricular journey with his drama curriculum this year. He’ll be incorporating the holocaust into drama exercises, reflections, projects, and more. How do you include such an intense subject into today’s classroom? How do you get students to connect to cross-curricular? What if the exercises fail?
Show Notes
Jeff’s Theatre Department website Canadian Society for Yad Vashem (Educational Seminar Page) Yad Vashem world center - educational resources Writing Your Research Verbatim Theatre Speeches From History
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So during the month of December we’re looking back on some of our past podcast episodes. Episodes that will get you thinking toward the new year. I know, I know, how can you think about January when the holidays haven’t even happened yet? But I know teachers and teachers always have something percolating in the back of their brains. And at the end of this interview there are some great resources and classroom links.
This is a replay of Episode 107 and you can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/107.
Back in August I talked to teacher Jeff Pinksy about cross-curricular material he was about to take into the drama classroom. So let’s dive into the interview! Lindsay: Okay. So, I am really thrilled for today’s conversation. I am talking to Jeff Pinsky.
Hello, Jeff!
Jeff: Hi, Lindsay!
Lindsay: How’s it going?
Jeff: I am doing very, very well this summer. How are you?
Lindsay: Ah, pretty good, pretty busy. But, you know, it’s better to be busy than not, I think.
Jeff: It is, what with Drama Teacher Academy launching as of Wednesday and everything.
Lindsay: Aww! Nice plug there! I love it. I love it. I didn’t even say that.
Jeff: Happy to shell for you!
Lindsay: Jeff, tell everybody where in the world you are.
Jeff: Right now, I’m in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and I teach at Beaconsfield High School which is about ten minutes from where I live right now.
Lindsay: Ah, nice close commute.
So, how long have you been a Drama teacher?
Jeff: I’ve been teaching Drama exclusively for about eight years now, and this year coming out would be my tenth in the business, but I’ve been involved in Drama teaching – in one way, shape, or form – for the last, I’d say, maybe fifteen years or so. Since Summer Camp, I started up a program at one of my old Summer Camps.
Lindsay: Ah, awesome, and what drives you specifically to teaching Drama? You know, as opposed to performing or backstage or what.
Jeff: Because I get to go to work every single day and it doesn’t even feel like work. I mean, one of the best advice I ever got is that, if you truly have a job that you love, then you never have to work a single day in your life. And so, I loved the fact that I’m surrounded by creativity and my job is to teach kids how to channel that creativity and to turn all these crazy ideas bouncing around their head and funnel it into stories and characters and moments and scenes and plays and the works, and I love it. No two days are alike and that’s probably the best part of my job; I really don’t fall into any kind of routine as far as that goes.
Lindsay: Well, that enthusiasm must help when you have students in your class who maybe aren’t so engaged with Drama. Because we all have those classes, right? Where you’ve got the students who love and then the students who aren’t so excited. How do you deal with those kids?
Jeff: With those kids, it’s just Drama is, you know, very personal and I love getting to know my students and just trying to find in talking to them just that one thing tha...
Episode 93: Directing the Non-Traditional Play
High school director Ray Palasz talks about directing Drum Taps, a theatrical adaptation of Walt Whitman’s poetry. Why is struggle an important tool in his directing process?
Show Notes
Shout - An A Cappella Musical Drum Taps
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP The Theatrefolk podcast, the place to be for drama teachers, drama students and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
We are now heading into the Christmas season! It’s December, so it’s now officially all right to listen to Christmas carols, hang your lights and put up decorations. What that stuff happens in in November, just weirds me out. Worse - when you go into a store before Halloween and there are Christmas decorations out? Why? Why? But I digress.
Everyone gets a little, or maybe a lot busy this time of year and here at Theatrefolk Global headquarters, we do too. So we’re re-visiting some of our previous podcasts during December.
This is a replay of Episode 93, directing the Non-Traditional Play with teacher Ray Palasz.
You can find it in the show notes for the replay of episode 93at theatrefolk.com/episode93.
What’s so great about this episode is how much the students in Ray’s story were not expected to succeed - and that didn’t stop Ray. The number one thing I learn from teachers is how students will rise to the occasion. Students are going to perform to whatever expectations you set. And, if you set a low expectation of your students, that’s what they’re going to give to you.
Let’s hear what Ray has to say with his situation and his students and his very high bar of expectation he has for them. Lindsay: All right! Here we are on the Theatrefolk Podcast and I am overjoyed to talk to Ray Palasz today.
Hello, Ray!
Ray: Hi!
Lindsay: How are you?
Ray: Pretty good! How are you doing?
Lindsay: Awesome.
So, let’s start out. If you could tell everybody where you are in the world?
Ray: Okay. I am one of the theatre directors at Lake Central High School which is in Saint John, Indiana. We are in the northwest corner of the state, about 35 minutes from Downtown Chicago. In fact, when I look out my classroom window because of our elevation and I’m on a third floor, on a clear day I can actually see the skyline of Chicago so it’s kind of cool.
Lindsay: How awesome to have that sort of in your backyard!
Ray: Exactly, yeah.
Lindsay: Are you able to access it? Do you see a lot of theatre?
Ray: Yeah, my girlfriend and I, we probably go see about four or five shows a year up there and I have some friends from college that do shows up there and, every once in a while, I try to get up there when I can to see what they’re doing. So, I definitely take advantage of it and I know some of my students do as well so it’s really nice.
Lindsay: Cool. So, how long have you been a teacher?
Ray: This is my tenth year.
Lindsay: And what got you into it?
Ray: You know, I had some really good inspirational directors as a child growing up. When I was in middle school, I had people who really directed me well – a guy by the name of Tom Witting who got me in my first show when I didn’t make the basketball team in sixth grade and then we did a musical together.
And then, the next year, I had another amazing woman, Gloria Kijewski – she got me through seventh and eighth grade. And then, I had a couple of really great directors – Ann Witting and Henry Hertz – in high school.
And I grew up outside of Chicago so this is all in the same area. These are all people that I know and they got me into theatre and developed me even more as an actor and as a director.
Actually, it’s kind of ironic because the woman, Gloria Kijewski, she directed me in seventh and eighth grade, next year, her daughter will be a freshman in our program here at Lake Central High School...
Episode 120: Writing the Reflective Review
Do you tear your hair out when students write play reviews? “It was good...it was ok….it sucked.” Writing an objective and reflective review is tricky because going to the theatre is a subjective experience. If you hate a play, how can you write about it objectively? Craig and Lindsay discuss a method to do just that - writing the reflective review. Use it in your classroom!
Show Notes
Tempest - La Mama Review Reflection Handout
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 120! You can find any links for this episode at the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode120.
Okay. So, some of my favorite podcasts are the ones where Craig and I get to discuss theatre – we get to talk shop – and sometimes we agree and sometimes we disagree, but it’s fun! It’s fun to talk about the thing that we do and the plays that we’ve seen and it’s good for the brain cells!
So, last month, we were in New York and we got to talk a lot of theatre because we saw a lot of theatre – some of which we didn’t like at all – and that led to this specific podcast. How do you review something that you don’t like? How do you review it reflectively, in an objective manner? How do you teach a student to review something that they don’t know how to articulate, right? It’s so key for student reviewers.
We’ve identified a process that we use with a play and that you can use in your classroom. Let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Okay. So, hello everyone! Today, on the podcast, we are talking about reviewing – the act or reviewing, how you can encourage your students to review in a reflective and an in-depth way so that they’re not just saying, “I liked this play. I didn’t like this play. I thought this play sucked.” We’ve got to get them to go further than that, right? If you’re not doing reviews with your students, I think it’s an excellent exercise, you know? If you have a drama club that’s putting on a play, have your classrooms come to see the play and write a review. I think it’s a great analysis exercises. So, Craig and I… Hello, Craig.
Craig: Hello, Lindsay.
Lindsay: We were in New York last month and we saw a number of plays – one of them that we didn’t like at all, right?
Craig: Yes, and I mean, we can’t just say “I didn’t like it.”
Lindsay: No. Well, I wanted to set that up because now what we’re going to do is we’re going to go through the process of reviewing the show and we’re going to go beyond that. We’re going to go beyond the simple gut reaction that we had to this show and write an effective review. Are you up for it?
Craig: I’m up for it.
Lindsay: Okay. So, there’s a couple of steps that we want to take. The first thing is, what is the show? So, Craig, what was the show that we saw?
Craig: The first show we’re going to talk about is a production of Tempest. The Shakespeare play is called The Tempest and this was called Tempest.
Lindsay: Okay. So, the first thing that you really want to do is you want to start gathering clues, right? “What is the production trying to achieve?” is the question that, as a reviewer, you have to start with. This usually is going to happen before you even see the play.
Craig: Yes. Luckily, in our case, we have their website and their marketing materials that tell us what it is they’re attempting to accomplish in the show. So, for this particular show, it says on their website, “Internationally renowned director Karin Coonrod and Obie-award winning composer Elizabeth Swados bring their significant craft, daring, and imagination to Shakespeare’s The Tempest in a world-premiere music-theatre production at La MaMa.” I’ll stop here. La MaMa is a very well-respected and well-renowned alternative ...
Episode 119: Shakespeare from the Outside In
A talk with teacher, physical performer, director and Drama Teacher Academy instructor Todd Espeland about looking at Shakespeare from the outside in. How can you physicalize Shakespeare? Listen in to get a great punctuation tool!
Show Notes
Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
You have arrived to Episode 119 and you can find any links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode119.
Okay, let’s talk Shakespeare. Let’s talk hate and fearing of Shakespeare. You know it. You’ve seen that look in your students’ eyes. So many students hate and fear Shakespeare. And, let’s be frank, so many teachers hate and fear Shakespeare.
I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that learning Shakespeare in a classroom is so often done sitting down at desks, silently reading, silently struggling, trying to look up words that we no longer use in a form that we no longer speak in. It makes total sense that teachers and students would hate and fear this. It’s boring and it’s not the way that Shakespeare would have wanted it, right?
In Shakespeare’s time, actors did not sit around and analyze the plays. They didn’t even get the whole play. They got their cue line, their line, and the line after. They didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse. They were up, on their feet, and moving. That’s the key to Shakespeare.
So, how can you get your students up on their feet and moving? Let’s find out, shall we?
Here’s my conversation with teacher, actor, physical performer, director, and Drama Teacher Academy instructor, Todd Espeland.
Lindsay: All right. Hello, podcast listeners! I am here in beautiful Kalamazoo, Michigan. Actually, this is a treat because this is a podcast interview that I’m doing face to face and I have, face to face with me, Todd Espeland. Hello, Todd!
Todd: Hello, Lindsay!
Lindsay: I noticed you laughed a little bit when I said “beautiful Kalamazoo, Michigan.”
Todd: It is beautiful. I thought you were making fun.
Lindsay: No, of course I’m not making fun. I’ve spent many times in Kalamazoo because you and I have known each other for many years. I think it’s ’96.
Todd: I was going to say ’96.
Lindsay: Todd and I met at the International Thespian Festival where we were both guest artists and we met – myself and Craig, and Todd and his wife Allison – actually, Allison Williams who you all know as one of our prolific playwrights – and we were both sort of to ourselves mumbling about a show, and then we mumbled together, didn’t we?
Todd: Yeah, we were sitting in the booth and Allison and I were not happy with the show and there was a couple sitting two or three chairs away in the crying baby booth at this theatre. We weren’t, like, in the middle of the theatre saying…grumble, grumble…
Lindsay: Yes, yes, yes. No, no, no, in the overflow booth.
Todd: The overflow booth. And then, we all started talking together.
Lindsay: And it was a beautiful friendship.
So, you’ve been teaching for quite a while.
Todd: Yeah, I was brought to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to be a sabbatical replacement at Western Michigan University in 2000 and I discovered I really liked teaching and, after that, I was a guest artist in residence at Kalamazoo College from 2002 until 2010. I wasn’t working full years; I was spending some time touring shows and directing shows around the country. From 2002 to 2010, I at least taught two or three classes.
Lindsay: What is it about teaching that really appeals to you?
Todd: I mean, I’ve had a really good time being an actor and it’s been fun and I’ve experienced a lot and I’ve experienced a lot of personal growth. What’s really great about being a teacher is helping...
Episode 117: Drama Teacher Struggles and Goals
What are you struggling with this year in your classroom? What are your goals? What do you want for your students? Find out what other drama teachers are striving for, fighting for, and hoping for as they tackle another school year.
Show Notes
Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast, the place to be for drama teachers, drama students and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 117. You can find all the links for this episode at Theatrefolk.com/episode117. This week, we're talking to teachers. We were at the FATE Conference last month, the Florida Association of Theatre Educators Conference, and aside from being some of our favorite, favorite folks we wanted to talk to them. We wanted to get their point of view on two big things, struggles and goals. Oh, you're sitting there right now. I'm sure you're formulating. What’s my struggle? What was my goal? Did I have a goal this year? Hmm.
And I've got to say, we think teachers, and specifically drama teachers, they are, you are some of the hardest-working people around, and their voices, your voices, should be heard. So that’s what we wanted to do, so let's go hear them.
Lindsay: Okay, introduce yourself.
Michelle Terl: Hi, I am Michelle Terl. I am the theatre director at Parkway Middle School of the Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
Lindsay: Awesome. What does teaching drama mean to you?
Michelle Terl: Teaching drama means enabling my students to find out what they are capable of and working together.
Lindsay: Cool. And when you started the year did you have a goal? That sounds like a really good goal.
Michelle Terl: I did have a goal this year. I wanted to incorporate more playwriting.
Lindsay: Oh, okay.
Michelle Terl: And it's like right up your alley. [Laughs]
Lindsay: Oh, I know. I love it. I'm in. I'm in when teachers say that. Why? Why was playwriting something you wanted to strive for?
Michelle Terl: I always like it. I've always been somebody who tries to fit it in. This summer I went up and I did the Young Playwrights Teacher Training…
Lindsay: Yeah.
Michelle Terl: …and I loved it. So I came in and I was like, “That’s it, it's just a big part of our curriculum this year. A couple of days a week we're trying to focus on it and trying to get more students to realize that they are playwrights.
Lindsay: Cool. What about struggles? Are you having any struggles this year?
Michelle Terl: Time management.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Michelle Terl: Always a big thing. I want to do so much that I find I overschedule sometimes, and so allowing myself to slow down, to get back to some of the basics that sometimes get lost I think is a struggle that I work constantly at fixing.
Lindsay: Yeah. What would happen if all your struggles disappeared? What would that be like?
Michelle Terl: [Laughs] If all my struggles disappeared I would find more things that I wanted to do.
Lindsay: No! [Laughs] Yes.
Michelle Terl: That’s just who I am. [Laughs]
Lindsay: You would just…
Michelle Terl: I would just do more! [Laughs]
Lindsay: You would fill in and then struggles would happen.
Michelle Terl: Exactly, and we'd just keep going.
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Michelle Terl: Yeah. [Laughs]
Lindsay: Awesome. Thank you so much.
Michelle Terl: You're welcome.
Laurie Philpot: My name is Laurie Philpot. I am a middle school theatre teacher.
Lindsay: And where do you teach?
Laurie Philpot: In Hillsborough County.
Lindsay: Cool. So what does teaching drama mean to you?
Laurie Philpot: It means confidence, it means passion, and it means courage.
Lindsay: Oh. In what way?
Laurie Philpot: Being able to put yourself out there, allowing students to become something other than themselves and allowing them to express fee...
Episode 116: The Working Actor - Children's Theatre
It’s a little known fact that Theatrefolk’s own Craig Mason spent 15 years as a working actor. He has done it all from comedy, drama, musicals, commercials, TV and children’s theatre. We’re going to talk about his time touring Franklin the Turtle where he played Bear for the pre-school set. We’re also going to talk about why he left acting and has never looked back.
Show Notes
The Tempest Join our email list Theatrefolk Blog
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 116! You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode116.
Today, we continue our Working Actor series on the podcast. What is it like to be a working actor? How did their choice of school help? What is it like to tour? What should you definitely not do?
And I am thrilled as always to welcome Theatrefolk’s own Craig Mason to the podcast. Hello!
Craig: Hello everybody!
Lindsay: So, it is a little known Theatrefolk fact that Craig actually spent fifteen years as a professional actor, a working actor, so that’s why you’re here.
Craig: I think that was a little known fact to the theatre community – not just the Theatrefolk podcast audience.
Lindsay: Okay. Well, that’s an interesting thing. We’ll get into that in a little bit. But, first, let’s talk about how you got started. What school did you go to?
Craig: I went to the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It’s not a place that’s known for its theatre program. I went there for math and computer science because that’s where I thought my calling was and I was in the coop program there. I ended up taking a few electives in the theatre department.
In my very first semester and my very first year, I got cast in one of the theatre department shows and had a blast – I wasn’t having a blast in math and computer science – and gradually, halfway through, I did about two years, I guess? I guess two school years. It took me three years to get through those because, like, I took a year off doing math and computer science stuff and then I transferred into the drama department and that’s where I got my degree.
Lindsay: What kinds of things did you study? Like, in terms of what kind of school was in for drama? Was it a lot of theory? A lot of practical? What was the focus?
Craig: It’s a liberal arts school which means that you’re going to be taking a lot of academic courses, too. So, I had to take electives. I took electives in economics, in history, in French. I took an elective in Cold War relations between the US and Russia.
Lindsay: Oh, boy!
Craig: Yeah. Actually, that one was kind of fun.
Lindsay: Okay. And then, what about your theatre classes stood out to you?
Craig: Well, the cool thing that happened actually in my department while I was there is they were trying to transform the department into something more than what it was. And so, they had brought in an outside director by the name of Joel Greenberg and he was coming from more of a professional background so it was really cool because he taught our acting classes and he would take one thing per semester and really focus on it. So, in terms of acting, I got a semester on Commedia dell’arte, a semester on farce, a semester on auditions. So, it was really valuable theatre training even though that’s not what it set out to be.
Lindsay: So, you left school and you were like, “I’m going to try and be a professional actor.” What was your thought process at the end of your university degree?
Craig: At the end of my university degree, I thought I was kind of set because, before I finished university, I already had my first job lined up for once university was over – an actual acting ...
Episode 115: The Working Actor - Musical Theatre
Heather McGuigan is a musical theatre performer by trade and is just about to start her fifth production of Mary Poppins.
She’s toured the show across North America and talks about how this is one show she never tires of. Heather also talks about what it’s like to play every single role in the musical theatre canon: swing, understudy, ensemble and principle.
She shares the ups and downs of each role and the one thing you should never do as an understudy.
Show Notes
Heather McGuigan Join our email list Theatrefolk Blog
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 115! You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode115.
And we continue on with our Working Actor series. What’s it like to be a working actor? How did a choice of school help? What is it like to tour? What is something you should definitely not do as an understudy in rehearsals?
This week’s focus is musical theatre. Heather McGuigan has done it all from swing to principle and every role in-between. This is a great primer to life as a musical theatre performer.
And I just need to preface that, as I was recording this podcast, I was suffering from a very mild case of consumption – a lovely cold, or a smoker’s cough, one or the other. Ah, but I’m sniffling and coughing and all that fun stuff.
Lindsay: All right. Hello everybody! I am here today with Heather McGuigan.
Hello, Heather!
Heather: Hello!
Lindsay: So, tell everyone, where are you in the world right now? Where are you sitting?
Heather: Currently, I am living in Stratford, in-between gigs throughout the year. My boyfriend is a company member here so I tend to come back here when I’m not working.
Lindsay: So, the Stratford Festival is what we’re talking about?
Heather: Yes, the Stratford Festival. He’s in his third season in the musicals and he is in one musical and swings the other. So, this year, he is in Man of La Mancha and he swings Crazy for You.
Lindsay: That’s a word that we’re going to get into in a little bit. But you yourself are a working actress. You are a musical theatre performer, yes?
Heather: I am.
Lindsay: Yes, and what’s your next job going to be?
Heather: I just finished a production of Mary Poppins and I’m now heading to another production of Mary Poppins. This one is going to be at Theatre Aquarius. I will be playing the role of Winifred Banks and understudying Mary. This is actually my third production this year.
Lindsay: Your third production. Have you done more than three?
Heather: I have done five. I started on the first national tour as an ensemble and a Mary understudy. A year later, I joined the second national tour where I did basically my similar track but on the other foot. And then, I covered Winifred and then a production at Neptune where I played Mary and a production at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope where I played Mary.
Lindsay: Okay. So, there’s a ton of things I want to ask you about this whole thing. The first is, what’s it like to do a show, not once, not twice, but five times? When you’re going into it for this fifth time, what’s going through your mind?
Heather: I think this was a show, actually, it’s one of my favorite stories. This show, well, the books, you know, I have been a fan of basically my whole life. I have the fabric-bound copies that were printed in ’64.
Lindsay: I have one of those myself.
Heather: Yeah, I’ve got all of them. They were passed down. They were gifts from my great grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me. So, it’s been a story that I read for a very long time. The movie is probably the only thing that I would watch – besides Star Wars – as ...
Episode 114: The Working Actor: Back to School
Actor Steve Ross has spent 11 years at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and has performed for many years across Canada. He talks about the first step in his acting career - going to the National Theatre School. What stays with him about that time? Why did he choose that school? Why did he almost leave? Did it prepare him for a career as a working actor? Listen in and find out.
Show Notes
National Theatre School of Canada Steve Ross @ The Stratford Festival Join our email list Among Friends and Clutter
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 114. You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode114.
Today, we continue our Working Actor series on the podcast. What is it like to be a working actor? How did a choice of school help? What is it like to tour? What’s something you should definitely not do?
The focus for this week is “back to school.” How does theatre school help prepare a working actor?
Today, I talk to actor Steve Ross who is just finishing up his eleventh year of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and he started his journey at Canada’s National Theatre School and I just need to preface that, when I was recording this podcast, I was suffering from a mild case of consumption – better known as a cold – I’m sniffling and coughing, all that fun stuff. I apologize greatly.
Lindsay: Hello everyone! I’m here with Steve Ross. Hello Steve!
Steve: Hello! How are you?
Lindsay: I’m wonderful. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Steve: Pleasure.
Lindsay: All right. So, first of all, where in the world are you right now?
Steve: I am in Stratford. I am in my eleventh season at the Stratford Festival.
Lindsay: Is that lovely to have a long-term job? Do you look forward to it every year?
Steve: It’s fantastic.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Steve: Not only is it nice to have an eight-month gig in general but it’s also just a really fantastic place to work. I have loved it since I got here. I didn’t intend to ever get here.
Lindsay: No?
Steve: No, I didn’t ever think I would, actually. It was sort of assumed when I went to the National Theatre School. It’s kind of a pipeline and people just immediately head to Stratford, but I didn’t because I wanted to really look at musicals. When I graduated, it was the time of the big, big musicals and multiple musicals running in Toronto and I wanted to focus on that.
So, I moved to Toronto right away instead of pursuing Stratford and I was there for seven years before they called me to come in to audition and I finally did get my head around, “Yeah, we could do both; we can do musicals and classical stuff here,” and I have since fallen deeply in love with the place.
Lindsay: Isn’t that interesting? I think sometimes actors get into their head that they can only be one kind of actor, do one kind of thing.
Steve: Yeah.
Lindsay: Is that something that you went through when you were a younger actor?
Steve: Well, I think I imposed it on myself, weirdly. There I was at a really wonderful classical school that was giving you wonderful classical training and all I wanted was to do musicals and I guess I was too narrow-minded. That’s all I wanted to do and I actually almost quit NTS.
Lindsay: Wow.
Steve: Because I thought, “You know what? If I’m going to do this, I should focus more on musical theatre,” and, as I was on my way to quit, our singing teacher at NTS walked by me in the hall – and he was a great guy – and he said, “Oh, where are you going?” I said, “I think I’m going to quit and go to Sheraton for musical theatre,” and, completely innocently, he went, “Oh, that’s weird.
Episode 113: The Working Actor - Commercial Acting
What happens in the process of auditioning for and shooting a commercial? Actor Marty Moreau outlines the steps from the first call from your agent right up to the shoot. He shares the reason he got his first commercial (and it wasn’t his talent!) and the things you should never do on set.
Show Notes
Podcast link Join our email list
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 113. You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode113.
Today, we start a Working Actor series on the podcast. What is it like to be a working actor? How did their choice of school help? What is it like to tour? What should you definitely not do on a commercial set? Which leads nicely into this week’s focus – commercial acting.
Marty Moreau is a long-time dear friend of mine and Craig’s here at Theatrefolk and I had a lovely chat with him about the ins and outs of commercials. I just need to preface that, when I was recording this podcast, I was suffering from a mild case of consumption or a really bad cold. You may hear sniffing and coughing – all that fun stuff. I swear it’s not catching.
Lindsay: All right! I am here with a dear old friend, Marty Moreau.
Hello, Marty!
Marty: Hello, Lindsay darling. How are you?
Lindsay: I am fantastic.
For our Theatrefolk listeners out there, Marty and I go quite a ways back. Just to give some context, Marty actually was one of the first actors that I worked with when I was workshopping Theatrefolk scripts.
Marty: That’s right.
Lindsay: You read for The Canterbury Tales when we were workshopping that and also a play called Emotional Baggage which still gets done to this day and I’m not going to say how many years ago we did those. We did those quite a long time ago though, didn’t we?
Marty: Ah! Yes, we did!
Lindsay: And, Marty, you are an actor, yes?
Marty: Yes, indeed.
Lindsay: You actually went to a theatre school, yes?
Marty: Yes, I studied at the University of Windsor, a school of dramatic art, graduated in 1991. That’s where I met my wife, Tina, who, of course, you know.
Lindsay: Very nice.
Marty: And I’ve been a professional actor ever since.
Lindsay: Which is pretty wonderful, isn’t it, that you can say that? Not a lot of people can.
Marty: It is, and I think, for young actors, at least for me when I was starting out, I had a tough time wrapping my mind around calling myself a professional actor.
Lindsay: Oh, yeah? How come?
Marty: Well, initially, as with, I think, any trade or art that you get into, you might not have all the jobs that you want and, as an actor, you will always be looking ahead towards the next project. It felt as though, if I wasn’t working, I didn’t really feel like an actor.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Marty: I didn’t feel like I could say that. But, something that comes I think with age and with wisdom, now, when I speak to younger actors, I say, “Be proud of who you are. You’ve trained. You have a passion for it. You’re an actor. You might not be working at the moment but you can always work at it.”
Lindsay: Yes, of course. When you started out, did you have a vision for the kind of actor that you wanted to be? What were the things that you wanted to excel in or did you think “I’ll take anything”?
Marty: Well, because I studied at theatre school, initially, of course, stage is what I really thought of and the first production I ever saw that made me want to be an actor was A Long Day’s Journey Into Night and it was a professional production with Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Peter Gallagher. I just fell in love with it and I thought, “That’s what I want to do; I want to do something of that power.
Episode 112: Taking Students to Competition
How do you handle competition with your students? How do you circumvent the win, win, win mentality, especially if you don’t win? Teacher Gary Rodgers competes every year in his region and talks about his experiences.
Show Notes
Layers Lose Not Thy Head
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 112. You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode112.
So, aside from playwriting and teaching, I also adjudicate. I’m around a lot of competition and I’ve been adjudicating individual events – monologues and scenes – for about… I think, about eight years. But, in the past four years, I’ve actively sought out adjudicating one-acts and full-lengths, and I do it. I like to sit on that side of the table because I like the analytical part. I like watching and analyzing a production. It’s very interesting to me and I like sharing the thoughts that I have about that. But, too, I got really, really tired of hearing student’s stories about being ripped apart in an adjudication.
It’s one thing to be critical of a student production, and to be critical is fine. You know, if there are things that need to be worked on, that should be addressed. But I’m really not a believer in “tough love” for students because there is a way to provide constructive criticism where it becomes a learning experience. You know, where they can work on things for the next time. And, you know, I know a teacher who, just this year, after an adjudication, said the experience made her students feel defeated, and I don’t get that. I don’t get why that’s good for an adjudicator to make a student feel defeated.
Again, this is not about making everything sunshine and roses – that’s not helpful either. But what are we supposed to be teaching? Are we supposed to be teaching students to not ever want to step on-stage again? Or do we want them to learn and grow? Granted, you know, sometimes I give a comment and you can tell when a student is not going to do anything with it, but that’s
fine. I still have to offer it in a constructive way, and that’s my goal as an adjudicator – to find that line where criticism is a tool to build something and not a hammer to smash it down.
So, that sort of segues into our podcast today. We’re going to talk about competition – what it’s like on the other side of the table, to take students to competition. How do you handle adjudications? How do you handle the competitive atmosphere in a constructive manner? I’m going to talk to one teacher who takes his students to competition on a regular basis and see how he does it.
Lindsay: Hello, everyone! I am here today with Teacher Gary Rodgers.
Hello, Gary!
Gary: Hi! How do you do?
Lindsay: Oh, I’m excellent. How are you?
Gary: I am very good. Thank you.
Lindsay: Tell everybody where in the world you are situated.
Gary: I am in Grand Falls, Newfoundland.
Lindsay: Ah! Newfoundland!
Gary: Center of Newfoundland, yes.
Lindsay: For the majority of our audience who are in the States, they might not know where Newfoundland is. Us Canadians, we better know, but you guys are at the easternmost province of Canada.
Gary: We are. We are the easternmost province or part of North America, really.
Lindsay: When I was in Newfoundland, there were some people who actually referred to Canada as “the mainland.”
Gary: You do hear that. You will hear that a lot here. Oh, we are an island.
Lindsay: Yes. Yes, a lovely island. My other memory of Newfoundland is we arrived in June and it was four degrees.
Gary: Yes.
Lindsay: It was very cold.
Gary: We had an exceptionally hot summer this year but June was four degrees.
Episode 111: Directing the Large Cast Middle School Play
It’s one thing to want to put every middle schooler who auditions on stage. It’s another thing to pull off a successful production. How do you actually direct a large cast middle school play without feeling like a traffic cop?
Show Notes
The Pauper Princess
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 111 – one one one. So, you can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode111. Three ones make a… I don’t know what they make. They make three? Three ones… Three ones make a… Ah, that’s not going anywhere.
So, how are you this week? Are the days flying by? Usually, around this time I am, oh, I am so grateful for the creeping fall. But, this year, our summer hasn’t been that bad. It hasn’t been that humid at all. The sweeping has been gorgeous. You know, when the leaves start to burn orange, yellow, and red. Ah, it’s my favorite time of year. And the air turns just a shade colder. Ah!
I like living in a place that has seasons. I like visiting places that are warm all year round, but I like calling home a place that goes through all of them – yes, even winter, although last winter was not good, but there’s always next winter.
So, middle school, we’re going to talk about directing the large cast middle school play. I’ve talked to two middle school teachers who have both said that directing middle school students is like herding cats which sounds a little bit frustrating to me, you know? I have a lot of appreciation for teachers who can do that – who can take all those students and mold something, and everybody wants to be on-stage and I think that’s the thing about the middle school play is that there’s more of an impetus, I think, to put as many students on-stage as you can.
But it’s one thing to put every middle schooler who auditions on-stage and it’s another thing to pull off a successful production. How do you actually do it without feeling like a traffic cop? So, that’s what we’re talking about today. We’re going to talk to Holly Beardsley who directed the first production of her play, The Pauper Princess, with a large cast of middle school students. Let’s find out how she did it.
Lindsay: All right. So, today, I am talking to Holly Beardsley. Hello, Holly!
Holly: Hello.
Lindsay: Tell everybody where in the world you are.
Holly: Well, right now, I am in Champaign, Illinois, which is about two hours south of Chicago, Illinois, which is what most people know us for.
Lindsay: Right. So, Holly has written a play that we have in our catalogue. It’s called The Pauper Princess and it is – as you might guess – a retelling of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. A pretty amazing, wonderful comedy.
Holly, when you directed the first production of this show, you had – you were telling me – first of all, you did this with middle school.
Holly: Yes.
Lindsay: Secondly, you had over fifty students in the play.
Holly: That is correct. Maybe under eighty, over fifty.
Lindsay: Who knows how many got in there somewhere, right?
Holly: There was quite a bit of them, you know? And they’re very small. They fit into large places.
Lindsay: But that’s what we’re going to talk about first. We’re going to talk about not only directing middle school students but directing a large cast middle school show. it must be sort of a pre-requisite that, when you do a middle school show, everyone gets cast.
Holly: Sometimes, you know, you do have to draw the line occasionally. But my idea was always that there’s going to be enough heartache later on in life. You want them to get that moment of success of getting into the show and finding their place in theatre because that’s su...
Episode 110: Devising and Physical Theatre
Pilar Orti talks about how you can devise (create theatre from an idea) using physical theatre. How do you find stimulus for a piece, explore that stimulus physically, and (most importantly) how to fail when you create. “If you don’t fail you don’t discover.”
Show Notes
devisingandphysicaltheatre.com @devisingTheatre #decourse daniellehindtsdevising.blogspot.co.uk DV8 Frantic Assembly: A guide to devising (excerpt)
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 110! You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode110.
How are you this week? Are you getting back into the school swing? I’ve been out of school for twenty years, twenty-plus years, and, you know, I still get a little knot in the pit of my stomach come September. You know, that back-to-school worry. How about you? Are you knotted? Maybe you’re in a panic about grades? Or are you one of those types who just eases into the school year nice and slow? Because there’s lots of time to get things right, right? Maybe?
You know, getting something wrong in the classroom, especially the Drama classroom, is a tough thing for students to overcome – that it’s not a bad thing, that getting something wrong is exploratory – because, for them, if you get something wrong, if you fail, that means you get a bad grade. But, to fail in Drama when you’re trying something out, maybe if you’re creating a movement piece or creating a new script or doing an improv, if you mess something up, instead of going, “Uh, that was wrong,” and stopping, it’s an opportunity to explore a different path, right?
And I think, particularly if you’re creating a play in your class, it’s important to celebrate failure and to encourage students to, “Okay, try again.” And this is just one of the things I talk about with Pilar Orti in this week’s podcast about devising theatre. It’s a great talk so I think we should get right to it.
Lindsay: All right. Hello, everybody! I am thrilled today to have a guest on the podcast.
I am speaking to Pilar Orti. Hello, Pilar!
Pilar: Hello, Lindsay!
Lindsay: How are you?
Pilar: Great to meet you.
Lindsay: Yeah, great to meet you, too! Well, and it’s a very special sort of across the pond kind of conversation we’re having here. Tell everybody where you are in the world right now.
Pilar: I’m in London.
Lindsay: Are you from there originally? Where do you come from?
Pilar: Well, I was born in Madrid many years ago, but I came to the UK in 1990 and have been here since then so this is my home now.
Lindsay: Awesome. Okay. So, we’re talking today with Pilar. She has a book out, a second edition of a book called Your Handy Companion to Devising and Physical Theatre, and these are two things which I think can go either way in the high school classroom, can’t they?
Pilar: Yeah.
Lindsay: Yeah
Pilar: Yes, unfortunately.
Lindsay: They can go very, very well or they can go pretty wrong. So, we want to focus on how to make these particular two topics, we want to make them go well.
Pilar: Yes.
Lindsay: Let’s just talk a bit about your background. So, where did your interest in devising theatre come from? Do you have a background in it?
Pilar: I think I blame my mother.
Lindsay: “I blame my mother for devising theatre.”
Pilar: Yes, for the good things in my life.
I grew up in Spain, like I said. My mother used to take me to.very theatrical stuff. Instead of taking me to traditional plays, she would take me to some of the more alternative scene and she enrolled me in mime classes, movement classes, which were always cancelled really quickly because my friend and I were the only ones attending.
Episode 109: Dealing with Student Strife
The drama class is one of the only places where students truly examine themselves and their world through reflection and contemplation. Because of that, sudden emotional tides can sweep through your activities. Teacher Christian Kiley talks about the common teen issues that can expectedly and unexpectedly arrive in your classroom and how to deal with them. He also shares his latest play Inanimate whose main character deals with her own emotional issues.
Show Notes
Inanimate by Christian Kiley The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note by Lindsay Price Split by Bradley Hayward
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 109. You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode109.
I’m really thrilled about today’s topic and sharing today’s topic with you because it’s one that most – if not all – Drama teachers have to deal with at some point in their career.
Drama teachers have a very unique relationship with their students, right? The Drama class is like no other class. Those relationships sometimes are less structured, less traditional, and sometimes Drama teachers see students like other teachers don’t see their students and hear things that normal teachers wouldn’t normally hear. Things bubble up – whether they be events or secrets or even just emotions – so, when that swirling emotional tide that comes from a teenager comes your way, how do you handle it?
So, let’s hear how one teacher – a long-time teacher and Theatrefolk playwright – Christian Kiley deals with student strife.
Lindsay: All right. Hello, everybody! I am here talking to Christian Kiley.
Hello, Christian!
Christian: Hello, Lindsay! Hi, Craig!
Lindsay: How are you doing?
Christian: I’m very good. Thank you.
Lindsay: Awesome. So, we’re talking with Christian for a couple of things. He’s one of our long-term, long-standing playwrights. Christian, you just seem to know the kind of material that I think really hits home with students in a very unique way. Like, there’s always something a little sharp. We like the plays that you write!
Christian: Well, I think we’re going for the same thing which is taking things that are fantastical and imaginative and merging them with a kind of reality, and when those two things come together, I think it really does resonate with audiences and with students.
Lindsay: I think it’s important to have those kinds of plays available for students, too, because, you know, in their world right now where we are so intent on television and movies, where everything is sort of replicated and maybe less theatrical, that when a subject matter is explored theatrically, I think that that’s a win-win.
Christian: Absolutely.
Lindsay: Christian has a brand new play with us which does what we’re talking about very effectively. It’s called Inanimate and it takes place in a world where inanimate objects come to life for a teenage girl – a coffee pot, a door, her clothes – and we learn, as we get more and more into this play, that this is not some kind of Disney story, Disney fantasy, where animals talk and they’re very cute. But there’s something deeper going on and we thought that, before we get into the play, that that was a very interesting subject because the whole notion of “what’s going on in the inner life of a teenager?” because, Christian, you are a Drama teacher.
Christian: Yes, I am.
Lindsay: How long have you been one?
Christian: This is my tenth year at my current school, Etiwanda High School. This will be fifteen years total for me.
Lindsay: And what attracts you to being a Drama teacher?
Christian: You know, it’s interesting because a lot of people are adapting and ...
Episode 108: Directing the Middle School Musical
Brian Borowka teaches a grade 8 musical theatre class which culminates in a production. He passes on his tips for directing a middle school musical, the challenges for casting an entire class and, his favourite/least favourite experience.
Show Notes
Roshambo by Brian Borowka
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 108. You can find all the links at theatrefolk.com/episode108.
So, today, all theatre – middle school theatre – we’re talking the middle school musical and a super fun middle school play. Let’s do it!
Lindsay: All right. Hello everybody!
I am thrilled today to be talking to Brian Borowka.
Hello, Brian.
Brian: Hi there,
Lindsay: So, Brian is one of our Theatrefolk playwrights. He has written a wonderful, delicious play called Roshambo and we’re going to get into Roshambo and what on earth Roshambo means because, when I first got the play, I had to look it up and it was one of those moments, Brian, because I’m a word freak and so, when I see a strange word and then it’s actually something that is related to something I already know, well, you just made my day. Little things amuse me, I think.
Brian: It’s a great word! I love the title. I’m glad that it means what it means.
Lindsay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally! All right
So, now that all of you are in suspense. We’re going to ignore that for a little while because what we want to start out with is, where are you in the world, Brian?
Brian: I am in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Lindsay: And you have a very sort of unique story, I think, in that you have taught both middle school and high school. Is it middle school and high school in the same school?
Brian: Yeah, it’s in the same schoool.
Lindsay: Ah!
Brian: It works out really well, you know. It’s actually the school itself goes all the way from elementary all the way up through high school, all on the same campus.
Lindsay: Do you like that? Do you like having all those grades in the same area?
Brian: Yeah, I think it’s great. I think it’s great especially because there are a lot of teachers like me that get to work across disciplines so I work with some of the high school kids, I work with some of the middle school kids, and a lot of other teachers do the same. So, the kids now that I’m teaching in high school, a lot of them I have directed since they were in fifth grade which is kind of nice.
Lindsay: And how is that? That must be really good for creating community and sort of relationships with students?
Brian: Yeah, absolutely, especially since the school – Greenwich Academy – it’s just a fantastic school. Everybody is very supportive. Everybody really works together well. It’s definitely a school that works and that happens a lot. I mean, you really get to develop strong bonds with the kids because you kind of work with them in so many different ways and we’re all kind of together on a relatively small campus so it has a really community feeling to it.
Lindsay: Why did you decide to go into teaching Drama?
Brian: Well, a lot of it is, you know, I did a lot of acting when I was a student. I did a lot of writing when I was a student and, in college, I studied playwriting and I studied theatre and sort of one of my first jobs after college was being an actor in a touring children’s theatre troop and I just loved kind of putting on shows for kids and seeing how excited kids got when you did shows for them and did anything theatrical for them so that kind of first got the bug in my mind about, well, maybe I can actually do something that’s a job that’s related to my love of theatre and playwriting without having to worry about being a working actor ne...
Episode 106: Day One of the drama classroom
For many teachers, the first day of class is the most important day of the whole year. What do you do on “day one?” Listen to five drama teachers talk about what they do with their students to make the most out of that first day.
Show Notes
Join the Drama Teacher Academy
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 106 of TFP. You can find all the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode106.
Now, on the day that this podcast airs, some of you will just be getting in the last throes of summer. Some of you started school two weeks ago which boggles my mind. It has been engrained in me for, I don’t know, almost forty years that school starts the day after Labor Day. School starts the day after Labor Day. You people who start school in August, they’re freaking me out.
And some of you, speaking of which, you’re getting ready to get going right now, and what that means is teachers everywhere across the country, across multiple countries, that first day of school has either just happened or is looming, and for many teachers, the first day of class is the most important day of the year.
What do you do on Day One?
So, let’s find out. We have five teachers who share what they do with their students to make the most out of that first day. Everyone is different; everyone is valuable. Let’s get to it!
Lindsay: Okay! So, now I am talking to Teacher Matt Webster. Hello, Matt!
Matt: Hi there!
Lindsay: And you teach in North Carolina.
Matt: Yes, outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
Lindsay: Awesome. We’re talking about Day One.
How many different classes do you see at the beginning of the year?
Matt: Beginning of the year, I have a lighter load because I’m the department chair for fine arts so I teach typically two classes a day and people are going to pull their hair and roll their eyes at that, but I teach two classes a day and, usually, I have four classes overall that I teach and two of them are often beginning theatre classes. That’s not true; I teach eight classes because we do A Day, B Day. So, I have more classes.
Lindsay: All right, Matt. You teach a lot of classes, right?
Matt: Yes, I have less than most, but it’s all good.
Lindsay: So, let’s talk about those beginning theatre classes. So, you’re walking into this class for the first time, it’s Day One, it’s your beginning students, what’s the first thing you do?
Matt: First thing I do is hand out my syllabus because the syllabus is the contract between the teacher and the students, and it lays out the expectations for everyone. It also gives the rules of the classroom, it lays out the curriculum that we’re going to follow, and basically tells the students what I expect from them, what this class is going to look like, and what I’m looking for out of them as students as the teacher.
Lindsay: Okay. So, you think it’s more important to do that kind of legwork first as opposed to, “Hey, let’s play a game! Hey, let’s do that!” Why do you choose to do it that way?
Matt: There’s always time to play games and setting that tone, Day One, is going to set the tone for the rest of the semester or the rest of the year, and it might not take the whole time to go over all of that material and we’ll still have time to maybe play a game. But, when you start off playing a game, what you’re telling the students is “this class is playtime” and that’s what they’ll take away from it. And, if you want your class to be more than playtime, then you need to set that expectation.
Lindsay: Awesome. Thank you very much!
Now I am talking to Jessica Stafford. Hello, Jessica!
Jessica: Hi, Lindsay! How are you?
Lindsay: I’m all right. Okay.
Episode 104: Why Shakespeare Today - Postcards From Shakespeare
Theatrefolk Playwright Allison Williams talks about her attraction to Shakespeare adaptations, why students should study the bard today, her best tips for acting and directing Shakespeare and her newest play Postcards From Shakespeare.
Show Notes
Postcards From Shakespeare Hamlette Mmmbeth Drop Dead, Juliet! The Drama Teacher Academy
Video: Shakespeare’s British accent is closer to the Southern US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNqY6ftqGq0
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 104 and you can find all the links – and there will be links today – at theatrefolk.com/episode104 and I want to point out a very special link in those show notes, DramaTeacherAcademy.com. What is that you ask? Stay tuned to the end of the podcast and I’ll tell you all about it.
Today, I’m talking to Theatrefolk playwright, Allison Williams. Allison and I go way back. It’s a wonderful rollicking conversation, as all our conversations are, and we’re going to talk about the question, “Why Shakespeare?” So, let’s find out!
Lindsay: All right. Hello, everyone! Thanks for joining me here on the podcast and today I have a very special guest, Allison Williams. Hello!
Allison: Hello!
Lindsay: Now, I do this with most of our podcast guests, but I think this one is pretty interesting. Please, tell everybody where you are sitting right now.
Allison: I am in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East, yeah.
Lindsay: Yeah, that’s pretty unique.
Allison: It’s kind of cool. I’m here as a freelance writer and a journalist and there’s some really interesting things happening right now around here that I’m sure many of you are seeing in the news and that I’m excited to discover more of the human face of which brings us to Shakespeare!
Lindsay: Oh, you’re the best!
Allison: How about that segue?
Lindsay: How about that segue! So, Allison has been a Theatrefolk staple for many, many years. Many of you, I’m sure, have read her work that we love to have in our catalogue, all the way back to – and I’m not saying the year because it’s too frightening to think about.
Allison: We’ve known each other for a beautiful long friendship.
Lindsay: That’s right, but her first play with us was Hamlette which some people affectionately call Hamlettie.
Allison: Hamlette, Hamlette, Princess of Denmark.
Lindsay: That’s right. And then, we also have Mmmbeth because we do not say…
Allison: Don’t say it!
Lindsay: We don’t say the Scottish play’s name. We have Drop Dead, Juliet! where Juliet decides she’s tired of the death – less death, more love.
Allison: Love stories end with weddings, not with funerals.
Lindsay: Exactly! Do you know how hard it is to take blood out of a dress?
And then, her brand new play that we have, and I hold in my hot little hands, it’s still fresh off the press and that is Postcards from Shakespeare. So, we’re going to talk about Postcards from Shakespeare in just a little bit. But the first thing we want to talk about and I want to talk about with you, Allison, is why Shakespeare Why does Shakespeare tickle you so much that you choose to adapt it over and over again?
Allison: Oh, man, I love Shakespeare. It is the greatest material ever and people always say, you know, Shakespeare is eternal and I think about why and it’s like, “Oh, because he writes the same stuff that we all deal with – love, sex, death, fear, power. You know, and his language, it’s elevated for us, but it was common language at the time, and that’s why I love doing the spoofs because it points out how current Shakespeare is.
You know, A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a sporting event. Well,
Episode 103: YouTube Fireside Chat - Elaine Stritch Edition
Join Lindsay Price and Craig Mason in a YouTube Fireside Chat about Elaine Stritch. They discuss little seen performance clips and how Stritch defied the current Broadway style. Also discussed is what it means to “take the stage.”
Show Notes You’re Just in Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7eFQ9O-tc
Some Day My Prince Will Come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbb2bkifwlU
Ladies Who Lunch (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eSoM3s87FM
Ladies Who Lunch (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=virv-1o2KjE
Elaine Stritch on Ethel Merman’s tip for performing musical comedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF32PdXJ4BU
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Okay. Here we are. Episode 103 and you can find all the links and there’s going to be video links today so don’t forget to go to the show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode103.
Lindsay: First off, I’d like to welcome Theatrefolk cohort to the podcast, Craig Mason! Hello!
Craig: Hello, Lindsay Price!
Lindsay: How are you on this fine day?
Craig: I am just enjoying my day. How are you doing today?
Lindsay: That’s a great way to put it. “How are you doing today?” “I am enjoying the day.” That’s it. That is all. I’ll take it! Better than not enjoying the day, right?
Craig: Yeah, I’m kind of tired, to be honest, but nobody ever answers that question honestly, do they? “How are you doing?” They always say, “I’m good.”
Lindsay: You know, that’s pretty true. I think that’s true. Actually, actually, what I think it is is, when someone says they’re fine, nine times out of ten, not fine. It’s almost like someone should write a song about that.
Okay. So, today, what we’re doing here – and why Craig is here with me today – is that we are having a long overdue episode of a YouTube Fireside Chat. Craig, isn’t the middle of summer exactly the time when you want to curl up in front of a fake fire?
Craig: Yes, especially a fake fire, for sure – not a real fire.
Lindsay: No, a fake fire. We could make the fake fire anything we want. We could make it blue, we could make it sparkly. Well, we’re talking Broadway today so I think our fire is neon. What do you think?
Craig: Yes, and with all those chaser lights going around it.
Lindsay: Oh, perfect, perfect! It’s very appropriate that we’re talking Broadway today because we’re going to talk about Elaine Stritch. Elaine, unfortunately, passed away earlier this month and I am not one to think too much about celebrity deaths – and certainly not mention them on Facebook – but this one hit me more than a bit. How about you, Craig?
Craig: Yeah, I think she was such a wonderful performer that, when I saw that she had passed, it really kind of affected me a bit.
Lindsay: And it’s more than that because she was, first of all, she was a singular performer. There is an Elaine Stritch style that she had that made her unique. I think that’s very important. And I think she really was the definition of a Broadway broad.
Craig: Yes, “broad” is the correct term for her. Her style was so unlike what one would see on Broadway today. I mean, for a woman who made a career in musical theatre, she didn’t really have a classically good singing voice – it was deep and growly and earthy, I would say, and fueled by bottles and bottles of Jack Daniel.
Lindsay: At some point. Okay. We’re going to get into that. We’re going to get into that. That’s specifically what we’re going to get into in terms of clips of Miss Elaine. So, I just wanted to do just a very, very brief overview just because – it’s not even an overview but – she just had a really amazing and lo...
Episode 102: Directing Youth with Kerry Hishon
Youth Director Kerry Hishon talks about the process from auditions to rehearsal to performance and shares her hints, tips, and tricks. If you’re auditioning for Oklahoma what type of song should you definitely NOT choose? How do you build ensemble? How do you plan a rehearsal schedule? Bonus: Listen in to find out how Kerry directed Peter Pan without the wires.
Show Notes
Kerry Hishon Original Kids Theatre Student Directing Series: Plays and Publishers Student Directing Series: Directing Your Peers Student Directing Series: Auditions
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 102 and you can find any show notes for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode102.
So, it is a very unique skill to be able to direct youth well. And, as a drama teacher or educator or even if you’re a student director, learning how to direct well is a continual process. So, let’s keep learning.
Today, I’m going to talk to youth director, Kerry Hishon, and bonus! Make sure you pay attention. In the middle of this, she’s going to talk about how she directed Peter Pan without the wires. I love it.
Lindsay: All right. Hello, everybody! Welcome to the podcast!
I am very happy to be talking to Kerry Hishon. Hello, Kerry!
Kerry: Hello!
Lindsay: Hi! Okay. So, first off, where are you in the world?
Kerry: I live in London, Ontario, Canada.
Lindsay: Awesome. You guys are practically just down the road from us, you know, give or take a few hours. So, Kerry, you have a really interesting background. You do a little bit of everything.
Kerry: Yeah, I do, actually. I’m kind of a jack of all trades. I’m primarily a youth theatre director, I’m also an actor, I do a little bit of playwriting, I am a stage combatant, and I also work at Original Kids Theatre Company.
Lindsay: Awesome. All right. Well, we’ll come around to talk about all of that, but let’s talk first about how you got into this. What was the first thing that really drew you to theatre?
Kerry: Oh, gosh. Well, I grew up in Stratford, Ontario, so it’s kind part of the culture there. You learn iambic pentameter before you learn to multiply in school and being around the Stratford Festival, you get to see shows and you don’t really realize that it’s actually a luxury for so many other people and we’d go with our schools every single year and see multiple shows and you’d think it’s no big deal, “Oh, yeah, I’m just going to go to the Stratford Festival today,” and you don’t realize that other schools, like, save up and this is their big end-of-the-year trip, and for me, I was just used to it.
Lindsay: Or that other people don’t live in towns that have this amazing theatre resource, like, right around the corner.
Kerry: Yeah, you don’t even think about it. You just think, “Oh, yes, of course we have a world-renowned theatre here, doesn’t everyone?”
Lindsay: So, it’s kind of like it’s part of your life always. So then, how does that translate into trying to pursue it?
Kerry: Yeah. I’ve always enjoyed it. I loved doing theatre during public school and high school and I then pursued it in university. I went to Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and I majored in Stage and Screen Studies, and I just really enjoyed it. I loved every aspect of it and the wonderful thing about that program is that you get to do all sorts of different disciplines. I took acting classes and directing and playwriting and screenwriting and theatre and film history and even design which was terrifying for me because I am so not an artist. I have mad respect for all those designers out there because I could not do that – that’s why I get people to do that for me.
Episode 100: Writing plays for youths with Lindsay Price
It’s episode 100 of The Theatrefolk Podcast. Today we turn the tables and put Lindsay Price in the hot seat. What’s it like writing exclusively for young performers?
Show Notes
Plays by Lindsay Price Lindsay Price’s Website
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere.
I’m Craig Mason; I’m the publisher here at Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
I’ve always wanted to say that! This is Episode 100 of the Theatrefolk Podcast and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode100.
If you’re a regular listener to the podcast, you’re probably asking yourself, “What happened to Lindsay this week?” Well, maybe you’re not because you probably heard her laughing and being disruptive over the intro but, at any rate, fear not, my friend. She’s sitting right here beside me and she’ll be back with her regular hosting duties next week.
Today, as I said before, it’s the 100th episode of the Theatrefolk Podcast. And so, we thought we’d turn the tables and we’ve put Lindsay Price in the hot seat for once. So, today, I’m going to be the host, Lindsay is the guest. So, let’s just get this show on the road.
Lindsay: You have got a very nice hosting voice, Craig Mason.
Craig: Thank you very much.
Lindsay: That’s lovely.
Craig: Well, hello. Welcome.
Lindsay: Hi. How are you?
Craig: Good. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you do for a living?
Lindsay: Well, I write plays. I have little skits that are out in the world and get produced all over Canada and the US and overseas as well which is the most awesome thing I think you could ever say. We were just in Lincoln, Nebraska, and we met students from Saipan who have done my scripts.
Craig: Yes, and they told you that you were famous in Saipan.
Lindsay: I’m famous in Saipan. I’ll take it, I’ll take it.
Craig: Yes, they first came up to the table and said they were talking about what they were doing and one of the pieces was yours and I said that I was your husband and they were like, they almost wanted to kiss my ring. They were so amazed that anyone who was even remotely close to you was there.
Lindsay: Awesome.
Craig: So, how did you get into playwriting?
Lindsay: Oh, okay. Oh, we’re going to go way back.
Craig: Actually, you know what? Let’s go even further back. What was the first play that you saw? Do you remember?
Lindsay: The first play that I ever saw must have been The Nutcracker. I’m almost certain it was The Nutcracker. I must have been in plays from kindergarten on because the school that I was at before I moved towns, they did that, and I know I have a very, very vivid memory of me being Mary in the Nativity play – must have been grade three though – but I wore a black dress because that’s the dress that I had and I had a green towel – my mom gave me a green towel.
Craig: So, it was a very traditional production, the Virgin Mary in the black dress and green towel.
Lindsay: Yes! Oh, gosh, I’m trying to think because I can see myself; it must have been another Christmas show. We must have done Christmas shows every year. But I think that The Nutcracker at the O’Keefe Centre – which is no longer called the O’Keefe Centre – it’s not the Hummingbird anymore either.
Craig: I don’t even think it’s called the Hummingbird anymore.
Lindsay: Oh, man. But then, I think that the biggest memory I have as opposed to the smallest memory I have is I went and saw Annie and I’m going to call that the very first play that I saw.
Craig: Was it a professional production?
Lindsay: I think it was probably a touring production. It was also at the O’Keefe Centre which is no longer called the O’Keefe Centre. So, I’m going to bet that it was – it had to have been about the exact same ...
Episode 99: What do Drama Teachers Do In the Summer? Part Two.
The biggest misconception is that all teachers head to the pool and relax for two months during the summer. We’ve got more teachers with more stories, tips, tricks and tools. Get great insight into how to plan for the year ahead.
Show Notes
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 99 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode99. That’s, like, one episode away from 100! (Because I can count; math is my forte.)
So, we’re back in this episode with more teachers talking about what they do during summer vacation – more stories, more tips, tricks, and tools. Get great insight into how to plan for the year ahead.
On this episode, we’ve got teachers from Florida, California, Virginia, Ontario, and Texas. Let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Hello, Kea!
Kea: Hello, Lindsay!
Lindsay: Awesome. I am so glad that are able to do this. I’m talking to Kea Fernandez. And where are you in the world?
Kea: I am in sunny Southwest Florida.
Lindsay: Oh, I love Florida – just not right now. I’m a big November, February…
Kea: Yeah. Well, it’s raining outside. It is the time where it’s raining on one side of the street and not on the other side.
Lindsay: Yes, I’ve been there in July and just sort of like those are pretty impressive storms.
Kea: Yeah.
Lindsay: So, how long have you been a teacher?
Kea: I am going on eleven years.
Lindsay: Awesome. And have you been a Drama teacher all this time?
Kea: All this time. All of this time, with mild breaks in-between, but yes.
Lindsay: And what drew you to be a Drama teacher?
Kea: Actually, when I was about five years old, everybody chose what they wanted to be when they grow up – ballerinas, astronauts, and things like that – and, finally, my mother got to me and said, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” and I said, “I don’t want to do anything. I just want to play all day.” And that’s what I do. And that’s what I do. I play all day and I’m very fortunate for that.
Lindsay: Oh, I love that.
Kea: I lived out my dream of being a five-year-old.
Lindsay: Yes, yes! And I love that you think of it that way. I think that’s awesome to think that, first of all, think of teaching as play and that, of course, in Drama, there’s just so much opportunity for that.
Kea: Absolutely.
Lindsay: All right. So, we’re asking the question, what do you do during the summer vacation?
Kea: Well, the first thing I do is I recharge my battery. I definitely relax and I spend some much needed time with my family and friends and that’s my first priority out of the list.
Lindsay: And why? Because I totally agree that it’s so important to recharge. Why, specifically for you, the Drama teacher, do you want to make sure that that’s part of your plan?
Kea: Because, when I’m in the school year, I am going, going, going, going, going, and I am full force – 24/7 – and making sure that my kids get the best of me and all the things that I have to offer. So, that summer time, I take at least a full week that I disconnect, and it’s difficult. It is very difficult, but I completely disconnect – or at least I try really hard.
Lindsay: And, of course, everyone listening is going, “Um, summer vacation is eight weeks, maybe? And you only take a week off?”
Kea: Well, sometimes, I can’t even do that. I went to the store today to go shopping for my daughter and, lo and behold, I turn around and I was met with one of my students who I hadn’t seen in about, oh, two or three years? So, it doesn’t end. I’d like to say I’ll take at least a week off, but it never ends. So, there, my sister is looking at me, like, “Can we go?
Episode 98: What do Drama Teachers Do In the Summer? Part One.
The biggest misconception is that all teachers head to the pool and relax for two months during the summer. What to hear what really goes on? If you’re a beginning drama teacher listen in and take notes!
Show Notes
Roshambo by Brian Borowka Summer Preyear Checklist for New Drama Teacher
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
You are in Episode 98 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode98.
So, the biggest misconception is that all teachers, during their summer vacation, head to the pool, put their shades on, feet up, eat bonbons, right? Well, I recently talked to ten Drama teachers from Korea to California and, let me tell you, there’s not one of them who are sitting by the pool, eating bonbons – not one.
I’ve got to tell you, I mean, I’ve been amazed – always been amazed – at how hard Drama teachers work during the school year and I’m pretty gobsmacked at what they do during their summer vacation – vacation – during their summer vacation.
So, today, we’ve got part one with teachers from Virginia, Ontario, Alabama, North Carolina, and, if you’re a beginning Drama teacher, I think you really want to listen in and take notes. You are going to get some great ideas.
Lindsay: All right. Hello, Allison!
Allison: Hello!
Lindsay: Hi! How are you?
Allison: I’m doing good; really busy but that’s just the norm.
Lindsay: And where are you in the world?
Allison: Yes, I teach at the York County School of the Arts which is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the United States of America.
Lindsay: Awesome. And when does your school year end?
Allison: It does not end until next Friday which is June 13 so I’m still in the throes of school.
Lindsay: You’re counting the days though?
Allison: I’m trying to! Like, last show done.
Lindsay: Oh! Break a leg!
Allison: Oh, thank you!
Lindsay: Awesome. Okay. So, what we’re talking about is summer vacation and what teachers do for summer vacation, and I think it’s the big misconception that teachers are just, you know, sitting around with their feet in the pool, sipping on a fruity drink, and eating bonbons, right?
Allison: Absolutely. It is definitely a misconception.
Lindsay: What do you do?
Allison: Well, I have, in fact, I even created a checklist for myself years ago to make sure that I actually accomplish everything before the first day of school. Some of these things are very common for any kind of teacher.
For example, during the summer, I reflect on last year’s notes and on lessons to make sure that I don’t make the same mistakes moving forward, or I make some adaptions. I also go on Twitter and connect with educators for new ideas. I go on Pinterest too lately to browse for new ideas on classroom management, how I want to set up my classroom because good teaching is just good teaching. I also buy school supplies just like the kids, I get my pens and pencils and my Expo markers, things like that, and try to hit up the sales in August that typically happen in office supplies stores.
For theatre specifically, for my classes, if I need to get certain art supplies that would help out for next year’s lessons. For example, I do a unit every year with my upper class that deals with neutral masks so I make sure that I’ve ordered the materials for that unit and I try to do it in the summer when I have a little more time, especially if something’s happening right at the beginning of the year.
I go in and I clean and organize my classroom because, during the school year, I really don’t have time to set it up and to especially make any changes. I clean my desk, I change out my posters,
Episode 97: The International Teacher: when travel and teaching go hand in hand
Rita Felder teaches in an International School in Korea. What’s it like? How did she prepare to teach students who speak English as a second language? She also shares why the summer is not just a time of rest for a teacher.
Show Notes
Have you created unique interesting, action-packed drama lesson plans for your classes? Theatrefolk is looking for you.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 97 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode97.
Okay. Welcome all! I hope you’re kicking your summer off to a great start.
We are absolutely here at Theatrefolk Global Headquarters. Craig and I live quite near to Lake Erie and we have about a seven-minute walk to the left and to the right of us to hit water. If we’re feeling beachy, we go right. If we’re feeling like sitting on a patio, we go left and we hit our local waterfront watering hole. It’s not fancy but, you know, you can’t beat the view. It is just so relaxing to sit and stare at the water. It’s my favorite thing being close to water.
So, we are starting off in our summer fun with a couple of weeks of teacher interviews. I asked teachers the question, “What do you do for summer vacation?” and I think some of you are going to be shocked, some of you won’t be surprised at all, and some of you, you’re going to get out your pens and paper and write down these – these are great ideas of how to plan out your summer.
So, we’re going to kick it off with an “extendamix” though. Rita Felder, she teaches in Korea, so I got up at 6:00 am to interview her which was my fault, totally, because I screwed up the time difference. And before she fills us in on what she does during the summer, you’re going to hear what it’s like to teach in an international school.
Okay. Let’s find out!
Lindsay: All right. Hello, Rita!
Rita: Hi!
Lindsay: Hi! I’m really happy to talk to you. When I put out this call for teachers to talk about what they do on their summer vacation, you gladly raised your hand. Thank you very much.
Rita: Yeah, you’re welcome.
Lindsay: And I just want to tell everyone I’m talking to teacher Rita Felder.
Rita, tell everybody where you are right now.
Rita: Right now, I’m on very windy Jeju Island in South Korea.
Lindsay: So, we were just talking about how your internet connection in South Korea is very good and it’s fascinating to me that I’m here in teeny tiny town Ontario and then you’re on the other side of the world. I think that’s very, very cool.
Rita: Yes, it is.
Lindsay: So, how long have you been a teacher?
Rita: I’ve been a teacher for about ten years now.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Rita: Yeah. I had two main areas – Drama and Theatre, and also I’m a foreign language teacher so I always taught German and French for a number of years as well.
Lindsay: Cool! Now, is the school that you’re at, is that an international school?
Rita: It is, yes.
Lindsay: And why did you choose there? Where are you from originally?
Rita: It’s a bit of a long story. I’m half Swiss and I’m half Australian. So, I spent half my life in Switzerland and half my life in Australia. And then, I thought this was a nice in-between step, but I’m actually heading back to Switzerland later this year.
Lindsay: To teach?
Rita: To teach at an international school, yes.
Lindsay: And why did you choose Drama? Like, why was that something that you wanted to do? Why Drama and education?
Rita: Good question. When I was in Australia, I guess I should say I did most of my primary school – I did all of my primary schooling in Switzerland – and Drama isn’t one of the subjects offered...
Episode 95: Audio Drama in the Classroom
In this podcast we talk about how to use audio drama for project-based learning, as a play review activity, an interesting exercise for directors and more!
Show Notes
Sonic Society Colonial Radio Theatre Celtx – writing scripts software Decoder Ring Theatre Crazy Dog Audio Theatre Audio Drama Talk We Open Tomorrow Night?!
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for drama teachers, drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So this is Episode 95 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode95. Very convenient, that.
So it’s a best of today. But don’t click away, don’t do it! Stay with me. So we wanted to replay some of these podcasts over the summer because first because they’re a good listen. And second, if you’re looking toward next year and what you’re going to do in the classroom all our replay podcasts that are going to be helpful in that regard. This is the summer of Resources for you, yes you, the drama teacher.
Today is a perfect example. It’s gonna be all about using audio drama in the classroom. Here’s my interview with Jack Ward.
Lindsay: Okay. So, I have got a very interesting guest today. His name is Jack Ward. Hello, Jack!
Jack: Hi!
Lindsay: Awesome. And so, the first thing I want to ask you is where are you in the world?
Jack: I’m in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Lindsay: Ah, Halifax! I love the east coast and I wish that I could go out there more. Have you always lived out in the east coast?
Jack: No, I’m actually from Ontario, originally. I grew up just north of Guelph, just around Fergus-Elora.
Lindsay: Oh, okay! Awesome! How long have you been in Halifax?
Jack: Oh, a long time now. I think I figured it to be thirteen years.
Lindsay: Awesome. And tell us about your day job.
Jack: I am a high school teacher in the Halifax Regional School Board. I teach English but I am an English Drama teacher by training.
Lindsay: Okay. And what is your specific, what is the thing that we’re going to talk about today?
Jack: Oh, the thing that is my juice is audio drama, radio drama. Yeah, bringing back the art form of the spoken word, but mostly in radio dramatic form, not just speaking theatre or reading theatre, yes.
Lindsay: And why do you love it?
Jack: Oh, it’s fantastic! I mean, I grew up, as many people did, in teaching I think listening to CBC and listening to some of the CBC radio dramas and listening to some old-time radio. My parents bought me records of old-time radio plays like Superman and Buck Rogers and all those kinds of things and, as I went up through university, I started getting more involved in radio and doing some shows there – always in the back of my head, wanting to create my own radio plays. And, with the new technology that’s out there, it’s so easy to record, to edit, and to put together new shows. In fact, I’m so excited because today, actually, I am releasing the 350th episode of my now nine-year running podcast series called The Sonic Society where we showcase radio drama from around the world, and the 350th episode will showcase two of my own original shows so I’m very excited.
Lindsay: Awesome. Okay. So, it seems like you have a history with this and I have to tell you that my very first car came with only AM radio and I neighed many across Canada trip listening to CBC which was lovely except the news got very monotonous because the hour after hour’s the same. But that’s neither here nor there. So, tell us, what do you think is the best piece of radio drama that you have heard?
Jack: Oh, my goodness. You’re really putting me on the spot.
Lindsay: I am.
Jack: As somebody who is a lover of radio drama, I have over 150 different groups and companies in the last ni...
Episode 94: Set Design: How to cut a big musical down to size
Set Designer Sean Martin talks about how high schools can put on a big musical without breaking the bank with set design.
Show Notes
Contact Sean at: sean@joey-aristophanes.com Practical Technical Theatre DVD Series
“Set design for Fiddler on the Roof”
“Set design for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Costume sketch for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Costume sketch for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Costume sketch for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Costume sketch for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Costume sketch for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for drama teachers, drama students, theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 94 and you can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode94. Very convenient, I think.
So, today, we’re talking sets which I know nothing about! It’s a big joke here at Theatrefolk that you can do most of our shows with two cubes and, if you took one of the cubes away, no one would really notice – no falling chandeliers, no flies, no mega-sets.
However, set design is really important. You know, there are shows that – well, any shows benefit from a visualization of the theme of a play, right? And I really appreciate set design when it’s done well because it illuminates what you’re watching. It brings the theme to life, right? And bad set design is just so distracting.
So, I saw this play at a very big theatre here in Canada and it was thematically about art and the designer had put – their way of visualizing this was – a huge paintbrush and then just hung it in the air. And, I swear, I spent more time just sort of staring at the paintbrush and wondering about the paintbrush and, “What was the point of the paintbrush, really?” I did more of that than actually focusing on the play.
And I know there are many teachers out there who shy away from big shows, particularly big musicals – it’s big musicals that usually are the ones that have the really mammoth sets – and they shy away from them because of those set demands. And, if you’re one of those, listen in; you’re going to love this podcast.
So, let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Hello, everybody! Welcome to The Theatrefolk Podcast – and I am very excited today to welcome Sean Martin to the podcast.
Hello, Sean!
Sean: Hello!
Lindsay: Tell everybody where in the world you are.
Sean: I am in Mebane, North Carolina; but Montreal, Canada, is home.
Lindsay: Oh! No kidding? A fellow Canadian! Awesome!
Sean: Oh, yeah.
Lindsay: Awesome, awesome, awesome! Oh, I love to hear that! And no one else cares but I think it’s very exciting.
So, this is going to be a really interesting talk. This is something that I know very, very little about. I know that a lot of our listeners, if you’re teachers out there, if you struggle with set design for your musicals, set design in general, you’re going to want to sit right up and get your notepad out and have a talk.
So, first off, let’s talk about what’s your background?
Sean: I actually started in the great big wonderful world of advertising. But I always wanted to be a set designer from about the age of ten when my Aunt Lorraine took me to a touring production of Hello Dolly and we were sitting in the next to last row of the orchestra section and, when the train came on-stage for Put On Your Sunday Clothes, everybody stood up and applauded, and I thought, “Okay. I can do this.”
Lindsay: Isn’t it funny what strikes us? Because, like, for me, when I go, I’m like, I’m so script-focused. And my husband who has also acted,
Episode 92: Directing: Visualizing the Big Idea
Teacher Christine Thornton works in a tiny rural school but that doesn’t stop her from having big ideas for her shows. How does she work with students to visualize a production?
Show Notes
The Drama Teachers’ Resource Room Hairball by Lindsay Price Pictures from Hairball The Monologue Everything Program blockposters.com - Resource for making large posters.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
This is Episode 92 and you can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode92.
I had a great conversation with high school director, Christine Thornton, and there is so much in this episode. The big thing is that it’s all about the “big idea” and how do we visualize the big idea. There is also a wonderful tangent on stage management interns.
All right. Let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Hello! I am here on the podcast today, on a lovely spring day, and I am thrilled to be talking with Christine Thornton.
Hello, Christine!
Christine: Hi!
Lindsay: How are you?
Christine: I am well. Thank you.
Lindsay: Awesome!
So, the first thing that I always do is I sort of ask people where they are in the world to give people a bit of context. So, where are you?
Christine: I am in the southeast of Saskatchewan, about twenty minutes from the US border to North Dakota.
Lindsay: Awesome. That’s a good place marker – we like that. And how long have you been a teacher?
Christine: I’ve been teaching for seventeen years now.
Lindsay: When I went and looked at your school, your school is very small, isn’t it?
Christine: Yeah, it is.
Lindsay: And it’s a K to 12 school, right?
Christine: That’s right.
Lindsay: Ah. What is it like? So, what do you do? What is your specific field?
Christine: Well, I have a BFA in Theatre and Design and Direction Performance, and then I have an Education degree in Arts Education, and I teach pretty much English from Grade 7 to 10, and then I am lucky enough to teach all the fine arts, including a theatre program which is quite unusual in a small rural school, but we’ve had a very active theatre program here. Well, actually, this is our tenth anniversary this year.
Lindsay: I think that’s awesome and I think that’s something that’s sort of we’ve got lots of folks who are sort of one-man bands in rural areas, you know. It’s kind of good to be able to say, “Look, it can be done,” right?
Christine: Yeah, absolutely, and I know when I first started, the first teaching job I had was actually on a reservation school here, not far from where I am now, and it was extremely isolated. And, at that time, I started something called the Drama Teachers’ Resource Room Online when the Internet was all brand new and it was like an e-group, and that group now, I think, is the biggest group in the world of drama educators and, mostly, it is people who fit that exact description that you just did – they’re one-man shows, they’re in a small school, the only one sometimes in their district – and that has been a really great resource, not only just for me to be able to provide it but also the collective resource that comes from that number of people. I think there’s over 700 drama teachers on that.
Lindsay: Christine, say the name of the site again.
Christine: It’s called the Drama Teachers’ Resource Room.
Lindsay: Awesome.
Christine: Yeah, and, actually, I think it’s called Drama Teachers – I’d have to check it for sure, but I think it’s just called Drama Teachers. It’s something that I just kind of started. I was very active on and then kind of got busy and had kids and kind of didn’t manage it anymore and it just kind of grew and I was running behind the train.
Lindsay: Amazing thing is that it still exists. The thing that I have found in talking with teachers i...
Episode 91: The 25 Hour Play Project
Playwright and educator Corey-Jan Albert talks about working with student playwrights and how to get students from idea to finished product in 25 hours, including a staged reading!
Show Notes
By Wheel and By Wing A Lighter Shade of Noir by Patrick Derksen
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Okay. Here we are at Episode 91. You can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode91.
So, this week, I’m travelling and, so far, I’ve done a couple of things I have always wanted to do. Wanted to see the California Redwoods, big, and two, the Pacific Ocean – see the Pacific Ocean, also big.
You know, it’s really funny. I am a huge lover of looking at nature – looking, not being in nature but being beside nature. I don’t like to hike. I do not like to camp. I am very terrified of bugs and creepy crawlers. I hate going without a shower. I am a girl who likes indoor plumbing yet I love looking out at a view. I love looking at water. I love looking at the ocean – you know, the way it moves and the way it sounds, it’s so beautiful and powerful.
And I love, like, looking out a window over an expansive of green and trees. I just think trees are, you know, the most amazing pieces of construction. You know, nature is incredibly inspiring for me. When I write, windows are important! I want to have something to look at. You know, when I look up, I want to have a view and nature is such a wonderful view to have – looking at it, not being. I like to look at nature.
So, I don’t know, does that make me shallow? I don’t know what that makes me. I know it makes me happy. I’m going to go with that. Indoor plumbing, happy girl.
So, in today’s episode, I’m talking to someone who I’ve known online for years and have never met and yet still have never met but this is the first time we’ve had a person-person conversation. I wrote a newsletter about a 24-hour playwriting project years ago for Theatrefolk and Corey-Jan took that newsletter and ran with it.
So, let’s hear from Corey-Jan Albert.
Lindsay: Hello everyone! Welcome to the podcast and I am so happy to welcome Corey-Jan Albert. Hello, Corey-Jan!
Corey-Jan: Hey!
Lindsay: How are you?
Corey-Jan: I am doing great! How are you?
Lindsay: I’m doing pretty awesome. Our weather is just starting to get a little bit of Spring in, like, a fraction, a fragment of my corner of the world. And tell everybody where you are.
Corey-Jan: I am here in glorious Atlanta, Georgia.
Lindsay: Oh, so glorious. So, you have some better weather.
Corey-Jan: I’m afraid we do, 80 degrees and sunny today. But we do have five seasons which is Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, and Yellow which is the pollen season so everybody is coughing and sneezing, but it’s gorgeous out.
Lindsay: So, they’re miserable but they’re warm.
Corey-Jan: Yes, they’re miserable but they’re enjoying the décor.
Lindsay: That’s awesome. And, Corey-Jan, we were talking about how we’ve sort of known each other for a pretty long time via the Internet, but this is the first time we’ve actually talked.
Corey-Jan: I know! I’m so excited!
Lindsay: And we’re sort of we know each other via playwriting which we’re going to get into in a second, but why don’t you tell everyone, so what’s your relationship with theatre? Where did that start?
Corey-Jan: Oh, my goodness. Well, I mean, it started as a small child getting completely bit by the theatre bug.
Lindsay: How so?
Corey-Jan: Well, I grew up in New York and I got to see a lot of shows growing up. I can’t remember not seeing them and I was probably about nine years old when someone pointed out that you could actually be one of those people up on stage and I loved it and got to do a lot of performing.
And then, when I was in college,
Episode 88: Tips and Tricks for Directing Youth and Steven Stack Playwright Steven Stack is a long time director. He shares his tips and tricks for directing youth. Bonus! Steven also shares some writing tips when you can’t wait for inspiration.
Show Notes
Ashland Falls Focus at Will
Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Welcome to Episode 88! Woohoo! Yeehaw! Oh ho! You can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode88. Today, I’m talking to playwright Steven Stack whose new play, Ashland Falls, has found a lovely home in our catalog. But he’s also a long-time director so we’re going to get him to share his tips and his tricks for directing youth and student actors. How do you do it? He’s also going to share some bonus tips for how to write when you can’t wait to be inspired. Now, that is a trick. Let’s find out how he does it. Lindsay: Hello everybody! Welcome to the Theatrefolk Podcast. I am very happy and thrilled today. I’m looking out my window. There’s snow on the ground but I can see green. I can see green and the sun is warm so that’s good. And I’m very happy to welcome Steven Stack to the podcast. Hello, Steven! Steven: Hi, Lindsay! Lindsay: How are you? Steven: I’m doing great. Been sitting at my computer since 4:00 this morning. Lindsay: Why? Steven: Well, because, at the studio I work for, we have an end of the year show, and I need to write seven scenes and I’ve only had six days to do it because of planning issues and stuff. So, I’m in the final, like, stretch now. Lindsay: So, Steven is one of our playwrights but he also directs youth and we’re going to talk all about that – some tips and tricks about working with youth. But you’ve just said a very interesting thing which I think also would be good for others. So, you need to write, you can’t wait for inspiration, you have a deadline, you have to get this stuff done. How do you do it? How do you propel yourself to write those seven scenes? Steven: Well, basically, it’s just make myself. I sit in front of the computer and then I start writing regardless because one of my writer friends, Alex Bledsoe, once when I was talking about writer’s block, he basically just said, “You know that’s a myth, right? If you want to write or need to write, then you write,” and, at that point, it was pretty much done. So, I need to write so I do and, basically, you get a semblance of an idea and then you just run with it and get that first draft out of the way and don’t go back. When you write a terrible line, don’t go, “Oh, that’s awful, I need to fix it.” Just keep going until you finish it and see what happens. Lindsay: I’m a firm believer in ugly writing and ugly first drafts and that’s the only way to write. So, do you create on computer? Steven: Yes. Lindsay: Yeah? Why does that work for you? Steven: Because, usually, I listen with my headphones with music, too – which, there’s no one here, I don’t know why I put on my headphones but I do – and it’s just easier for me because I like the bright screens, I like my comfortable chair. But, I mean, I also use, sometimes, when I have more time, I use my memo pad, too. I don’t like writing just on notebook paper but I’m a huge fan of, like, the flip notebook. I have tons of them and I get more and more for, like, birthdays and Christmas even though I have a lot already. Lindsay: I use to, in my temping days, I temped a lot at lawyers’ offices and government offices and I have a very fond affection for yellow legal pads. Steven: Oh, nice, yeah! Lindsay: You know? So, it’s a little bit longer and it’s just, you know… Steven: Well, I like the white better just because I’m mesmerized by the yellow. And then, when I write with different colors, I get kind of carried away and distracted because I get distracted very easy with those things and I just like,
Episode 87: Character Interpretation - The Student’s Point of View
Lindsay talks with two sets of students who prepared the same characters, in the same show, but in two different productions. How did they prepare? How did seeing their character played by another actor affect their work?
Show Notes
Cobweb Dreams (Two Act Version) Cobweb Dreams (One Act Version) Postcards from Shakespeare Hamlette Drop Dead Juliet Mmmbeth The Scarlet Heart
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Episode 87! Yes, dork central, that would be me. So, you can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode87.
Last week, we talked about character interpretation from the director’s perspective and how two directors from my play, Cobweb Dreams, saw their particular productions. You know, same script, same set, same costumes, same blocking, and then completely different productions.
So, this week, we are going to talk to the students from that production. I have two sets of students, each who prepared the same character – one for the high school production of Cobweb Dreams and then one for the middle school production – and I really wanted to get their point of view on character interpretation, especially since they were able to see, you know, basically, right in front of them, another actor preparing the exact same role. So, how does that affect their preparation and were they intimidated or exhilarated, right?
So, let’s talk to our first set.
Excerpt:
Oh! Do you smell that? Ugh!
What?
It’s the worst thing I have ever smelled! Quick! Plug your ears! Hold your breath!
Why is everybody yelling?
Bottom... you have changed!
Cha-cha-changed!
What is on your head?
Can we get up yet?
Not yet! Still stinky!
Hee haw!
You’re all just making asses of yourself.
Lindsay: Hi! All right. So, I am here and I am in Owensboro and this is actually a very cool situation because we’re sitting in a theatre and it’s empty and it’s quiet. The stage is empty and I’m sitting here with two actors. I’m sitting here first with Tucker. Hello!
Tucker: Hello!
Lindsay: And with Cory. Hello!
Cory: Hello!
Lindsay: And, Tucker, what are we here to talk about?
Tucker: Cobweb Dreams.
Lindsay: Cobweb Dreams! That’s right. It’s tonight, right? It’s this afternoon. We have the middle school production doing their first performance and then tonight with Cory we have the high school performance, right?
Cory: Yes, we do.
Lindsay: Are you guys excited?
Cory: Oh, yes.
Tucker: Very.
Lindsay: Very? You guys can finally get to get it in front of an audience. Are you ready, Tucker?
Tucker: Yeah! As ready as I’ll ever be!
Lindsay: Yeah? That’s good. How about you, Cory?
Cory: Yes, very much ready.
Lindsay: Good. So, what’s really interesting is that, so, Tucker is in the middle school production of Cobweb Dreams and Cory is in the high school production and they’re playing the exact same roles. Cory, what role do you play?
Cory: Bottom.
Lindsay: Yes. So, Cobweb Dreams is a sort of a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and some of the same characters are the same. Just like that. So, did you want this part, Cory?
Cory: Oh, yes, very. It’s a comedic role. Love to make people laugh. When I read the script, wanted Bottom.
Lindsay: How about you, Tucker?
Tucker: Same.
Lindsay: Yeah? You really wanted this part?
Tucker: Yeah, I did.
Lindsay: Tell me why.
Tucker: I like making people laugh and being laughed at. So, that’s pretty much it.
Lindsay: Now, is this part easy for you or difficult?
Tucker: Well, it’s something that I know how to do, but there’s different difficulties because it’s a different character.
Lindsay: What’s something that’s difficult?
Tucker: The lines confuse me sometimes.
Episode 86:Character Interpretation - The Director’s Point of View Two directors, high school teacher Carolyn Greer, and middle school teacher Jessica Stafford, share their experience working on the same show and seeing students come up with completely different character interpretations.
Show Notes
Cobweb Dreams (Two Act Version) Cobweb Dreams (One Act Version) Live Drama Teacher Hangout Information
Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Welcome to Episode 86! You can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode86. So, today, we have two directors on the podcast. Two teacher directors – a high school teacher, Carolyn Greer, and a middle school teacher, Jessica Stafford – and they both put out productions of my play, Cobweb Dreams, at exactly the same time and we’re going to talk about how so many of the elements in both shows were similar -- some identical, you know, the same set, for example. Of course, the same script, and yet the two shows that came out of their rehearsal process were so completely different. Character interpretation, okay? Where does it come from? How can you encourage your students to develop their own characters? Lots of great stuff, plus a little, you know, a looming tornado – that always adds some action. Let’s get to it. Lindsay: Hello, everybody! Welcome to the podcast. Well, I have to tell you, I’m in a very unique situation right now. I don’t usually – well, actually, that’s a lie, too – that’s the one thing you’re not supposed to talk about in, like, podcasts is the weather because nobody cares about the weather where you are… except that we, I am currently in Owensboro, Kentucky, and I have Carolyn Greer here. Hello, Carolyn. Carolyn: Hi! Lindsay: And I have Jessica Stafford here. Jessica: Hi! Lindsay: And we are in Jessica’s house because it has a basement because there is a tornado! There’s a tornado warning which is the better? Which is the worst one? Respondent: We have a watch. Lindsay: We have a watch. Respondent: With a very good possibility of a warning. Lindsay: Awesome. So, like… Respondent: Week after snow’s melted. Lindsay: We have the weather channel on as the red area is flashing and I’m here because Carolyn and Jessica – Carolyn at the high school and Jessica at the middle school – are premiering a play of mine, Cobweb Dreams. We have a high school version and a middle school version which I think is very exciting. Respondent: It is. Lindsay: And, when we first started this, you guys were going to combine and it was going to be a combined show. And what happened? Why do we get two shows? Carolyn: We started out with the idea that I was going to direct, the high school teacher, me – Carolyn – so whatever. I was going to direct and Jessica was going to assistant direct and we were going to partner and she was going to do a lot of the tech. But, when we went into the audition process, there was a lot of talent. Lindsay: When you emailed me about this, you said over a hundred kids had tried out. Respondents: Yes. Jessica: Probably 120? Carolyn: In the beginning, yeah. And there was just a lot of talent on both sides and we knew that meant everybody was talking about it and saying, “We don’t want to understudy. We don’t want to do that sort of thing, but that’s turning away a lot of, really turning away a lot of middle school talent that deserve to be seen on that stage in those roles.” Jessica: Because we talked about doing two ensembles, we talked about having a live forest using the kids as the forest, also that the forest really had those ears, but we realized there was no way to really showcase my kids that could also handle the roles and I looked at Carolyn and I just kind of took a deep breath and I said, “Okay. Well, here’s my deal. If you will handle the directing,
Episode 85: Middle School Drama Teacher Alana Gushuliak-Soldan
What is it like to teach Middle School drama? Alana Gushuliak-Soldan became a middle school drama teacher because that was the job available. But now five years later she’s still at it and love it. She’s come along way in those five years, listen to her story.
Show Notes
Vignette Plays Florida State Thespian Festival
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Okay. Here we are at Episode 85. You can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode85.
So, what is it like to teach middle school drama? Right. Alana Gushuliak-Soldan – kids call her “Miss G” – became a middle school drama teacher because, well, that was the job that was available.
I’ve got to tell you, the more I talk to middle school teachers, the more common this situation is. And, if you’re one of those folks out there sort of in the wilderness, not quite sure where to turn, you know, this podcast is for you because, five years later, Alana is still at it and she loves it and she’s come a long way in those five years – like, mistakes and triumphs galore. So, okay.
So, let’s listen to her story! Okay. I’m going to talk in the story because, you know, it wouldn’t be much of a conversation with just one person speaking. That would be a podcast monologue. You can listen. I’m going to talk, okay? That’s… Now I’m digressing. But, okay, here’s our conversation with two people. Stop digressing!
Lindsay: Hello, everybody! Thank you for joining us on the Theatrefolk Podcast today. I am really happy to talk to Alana Gushuliak-Soldan. How are you?
Alana: I’m well. Thank you very much.
Lindsay: Awesome. Thank you for joining me today. And, first off, tell everybody where you are in the world.
Alana: I am at a school called Dr. Donald Massey in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Lindsay: Awesome. Canadians represent. We love that. And what level do you teach?
Alana: I teach grade seven, eight, and nine.
Lindsay: Oh! So, that’s a neat junior high, middle school level. It actually includes grade nine, huh?
Alana: That’s right, yeah. The school is K through nine – kindergarten through grade nine – but we have probably about a quarter of our students are junior high aged.
Lindsay: Yeah, cool! And how long have you been a teacher?
Alana: Five years.
Lindsay: Ahh! And what made you choose to be teacher? Why did you decide to do this?
Alana: My father was a teacher and I grew up overseas in a country called Papua New Guinea. So, schooling was quite different. I went to an international school but had fantastic teachers. And then, we traveled around the world for a year, backpacking with my family, and did correspondence at that time, and got to really appreciate my dad’s teaching style.
And then, moved back to Canada in sort of our junior high years, and I have just wanted to share the world, I guess. I wanted to… I’m excited about the world and how it works and how big it is, and teaching seemed to be a great place to share that.
Lindsay: Well, how wonderful that you actually got to see the world. Did you realize how wonderful and lucky that was when you were experiencing it?
Alana: I think my parents took me at a really good age. I moved first when I was five and the culture in Papua New Guinea is so completely different. I mean, you’re living in the rainforest on a house that is on stilts and, you know, school is cancelled because the weather is too hot as opposed to too cold.
Lindsay: The complete difference from where you are now, right?
Alana: Exactly! Exactly. So, I think that I understood how different it was. And then, the country went into a civil war and that’s when we left and I think that helped me realize how safe most of our lives are in most countries and that, you know,
Episode 84: Playwright and Drama Teacher Matt Webster Matt Webster talks about what it’s like to teach drama teachers, the biggest mistake he sees new drama teachers make, classroom management, and his play The Myths At the Edge of the World.
Show Notes
The Myths at the Edge of the World Growing Your Drama Program Through Outreach
Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. This is Episode 84. You can catch the links for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode84. So, today is a great mix of teaching talk about play talk. Drama teacher Matt Webster spent many years teaching folks how to become drama teachers before heading back to high school where he now teaches in North Carolina. He has lots to share, it’s a great interview, so let’s get to it. Lindsay: Hello everybody! Thank you for tuning in. I am pleased to introduce you all to Matt Webster. Hello, Matt! Matt: Hello! Lindsay: Matt is one of our new playwrights. He has with us The Myths at the Edge of the World which we will get into, but he is also… You’ve had a couple of different theatre education careers. Matt: Yes, I have, yes. Lindsay: Where are you in the world? Matt: Currently, I’m outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. I teach at a school that’s in Mint Hill which is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, and I’m the chair of the fine arts department and theatre teacher at Rocky River High School. Lindsay: Awesome, and I also saw that you used to teach theatre teachers. Matt: Yes, I am a former – I like to say “recovering” – I’m a recovering theatre education associate professor. I was professor for fourteen years at the University of North Carolina and taught teachers how to teach theatre. Lindsay: Now, why do you say recovering? Matt: Let’s just say I am happy to be out of that particular situation and very happy to be where I am now. Lindsay: But I did want to start to just sort of get you to talk a bit about what it was like to teach theatre teachers. What was the thing that surprised you most about these newbies coming in who wanted to teach theatre? Matt: Well, every person who came into my office, the first question that I’ve asked them is, “Why do you want to be a theatre teacher?” and, if they didn’t say that they were dying to be a theatre teacher, I said, “Don’t. It’s too much work. It’s not enough respect. It has to be a passion,” and there were people who’d come in and say, “Well, you know, I want to teach until something better comes along.” “Well, you know, I want to be an actor but my parents want me to get a job so I want to teach.” What I tell them is, “Ultimately, my responsibility isn’t to you and my responsibility isn’t to this university or even to your future school you might get hired by. My responsibility is to your future students and, if you go into a classroom unprepared or without passion, and you bail out in six weeks because it’s too hard or you didn’t like it or whatever the case may be, you’ve left this group of students high and dry and they’re going to have a bad taste in their mouth about theatre and you’re doing a disservice to all these kids and to the profession itself.” So, I really push to make sure that people who taught theatre and who became teachers understood what that meant and understood the importance and the impact of that. Lindsay: I love that. I love that the focus is on the students as it always should be! Matt: Absolutely. Lindsay: Sometimes, they get caught up in some of the red tape and stuff which is why I’m not in the classroom. I like to parachute in and just do my little song, my little dog and pony show, and then get out very quickly. But that’s another story for another day. So, did you often come across, particularly I think it happens with theatre, my theatre teacher in high school was an actor who tried to make it happen and then it just didn’...
Episode 82: Playwright Dara Murphy
Dara Murphy wrote her first play in high school for a class project and her teacher submitted it to us. At the time Dara was the youngest playwright in our catalogue but now she’s got three plays with Theatrefolk and is gearing up to embark on a teaching career. Dara gets the distinction of penning the “weirdest” plays in our catalogue, listen in to learn why.
Show Notes
The Plucky Pie Murder Camel Dung and Cloves Magic Fairy in the Microwave Ashland Falls She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More The Bottom of the Lake
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. This week, I’m talking to playwright Dara Murphy. So, Dara wrote her first play in high school for a class project and her teacher submitted it to us. That was The Plucky Pie Murder for anyone who keeps close tabs on what’s in our catalogue. And, at the time, Dara was the youngest playwright in our catalogue, but now she’s got three plays with Theatrefolk and she is gearing up to embark on a teaching career. So, I think Dara gets the distinction of penning the weirdest plays in our catalogue. There’s death, blood, voodoo rituals – she covers it all. So, let’s go find out more about her! Lindsay: Hello everybody! Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am very happy to talk to another one of our playwrights, a playwright who has been with us for a very, very long time but, Dara, we have never had a conversation, have we? Dara: No. Lindsay: No, I don’t think so. We have Dara Murphy. Hello, Dara! Dara: Email conversations. Lindsay: Many email conversations. And I think that you are our only playwright because you submitted The Plucky Pie Murder when you were in high school. So, you are – I do believe – the only playwright – we do plays for schools and student performers and you were a student. You started with us as a student. Dara: Yeah. It was really exciting. Lindsay: Yeah. Just so everyone knows, you have three plays with us – The Plucky Pie Murder, Camel Dung and Cloves, and Magic Fairy in the Microwave – and we will get to the wheres of all of these. But let’s go back to Plucky Pie. So, you wrote that in school, for what? Dara: Yeah, I think it was in grade twelve. It was actually an assignment so we all had to write a one-act play for our teacher and I like writing so I was excited about the assignment and went all out, and our teacher really liked it so she sent it to you guys and then I got the call that you were interested in publishing it so that was pretty exciting. Lindsay: Was it unexpected? Dara: No, I didn’t even realize she had sent it. Lindsay: Right. Dara: So, yeah, it was quite unexpected. Lindsay: So unexpected you didn’t even know what was happening. Dara: No, exactly. So, you wanted a few changes. I can’t remember what they were now but I made a few changes and then, yeah, you put it on. And it was exciting also when you would send us the emails about who was buying it and who was performing it. And I remember when the first email that somebody had bought it to perform it, we went and we went to the show and it was in Freedom, California. So, we flew there. It was, like, last-minute. My mom was like, “Let’s go!” so we all flew to California and saw it and that was really neat. Lindsay: What did you think of you just showing up? Dara: They were very nervous. But I was nervous, too! And it was very strange to hear the things that you hear in your head to hear it actually said out loud, so that was very weird. Lindsay: I find it to be the most fantastical part of the whole experience. Sometimes, it’s exactly like you picture in your head, and then, sometimes it’s like, “Wow! Oh, that’s really different.” Dara: Exactly. Or sometimes it’s better. You’re like, “Oh, I didn’t even think that line was funny and they made it work.” Sometimes,
Episode 80: Stage Manager Tiffany Lyn Meadows
Tiffany Lyn Meadows started stage managing as a senior in high school having no idea how to put together a prompt book or call a show. Now she’s a professional stage manager. What’s it like? How does the professional world differ from school? What’s the one thing she would like actors to know about stage managers? Tune in and find out.
Show Notes
Tech Week Bingo Theatrefolk Facebook
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So, the number one thing that we’re not supposed to talk about on podcasts is the weather because nobody cares about the weather where I am, where you are, right? Excellent point… except this winter has been, oh, I cannot think of the vast amount of expletives I would like to use to describe this winter. And, keeping on topic, this winter has really wreaked some havoc on a lot of teachers who are trying to get shows ready for production. Stay tuned after the interview to hear what some teachers are dealing with.
This week, we are talking to stage manager Tiffany Lyn Meadows who is down in Florida who is not dealing with this horrific winter. Tiffany is fresh out of college and she started stage managing as a senior in high school, having no idea how to put together prompt book or call a show. Now she’s a professional and we wanted to ask her what’s it like? You know, how does the professional world differ from school? And what’s the one thing she would like actors to know about stage managers. Okay? Let’s go find that out.
Lindsay: Hello everybody! Thank you for joining me today.
Welcome to The Theatrefolk Podcast, TFP, and I’m really pleased with the interview that we’re going to be doing today – a little bit different but very, very important in the theatre word – and we have a stage manager with us, Tiffany Lyn Meadows.
Hello, Tiffany!
Tiffany Lyn: Hi Lindsay!
Lindsay: Hi! How are you?
Tiffany Lyn: I’m doing well. How are you?
Lindsay: I’m pretty awesome.
Now, the first thing that I always like to do is just tell people where you are in the world.
Tiffany Lyn: I am in Orlando, Florida.
Lindsay: In Orlando, Florida, which I’m assuming is much, much warmer than Canada right now.
Tiffany Lyn: It is. It’s Florida cold though. I think our high today was, like, 55. So, it’s pretty frigid for Florida.
Lindsay: You poor, poor people. Ugh. It’s so horrible.
Tiffany Lyn: I know, everybody hates us right now.
Lindsay: That’s okay. You’re a professional stage manager, yeah? And how long have you been one?
Tiffany Lyn: I’ve been stage managing since high school. I graduated from UCF in 2012. So, if you want to count from graduating college on, it’s been just over a year.
Lindsay: How awesome is it that you were able to make that transition from school to the professional world.
Tiffany Lyn: Yeah, it was super awesome. I did an internship with the Orlando Repertory Theatre in 2011 so it was the summer between my second and third year of college and they kept me around. I’m still there today.
Lindsay: Do you find any difference between being a stage manager in a school setting to being a stage manager in the professional world?
Tiffany Lyn: Yes and no. I think the biggest thing is the way that people will go about helping you. It gets a little harder to be a student stage manager because people will go kind of like, “Go figure it out. Go learn. Go do it.”
Lindsay: “This would be a teaching moment.”
Tiffany Lyn: Yes, whereas, like in a professional theatre setting, you’re not on your own but you figure it out or you can go to somebody who’s going to help you right off the bat than kind of let you flounder a little bit to see what you do. Sometimes, people will do that, but it’s not any fun.
Lindsay: By and large, it’s for the good – and by and large,
Episode 79: Playwright Jeffrey Harr
Jeffrey Harr is a English Teacher with a sparse theatre background. He was handed the student one act play festival with no guide or instruction. How did he turn the festival into a mostly student-written venture? We also talk about the universal and relevant high school themes explored in his play Stereotype High.
Show Notes
Stereotype High by Jeffrey Harr Using Arts Statistics (article with printable infographic!)
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we’re talking plays, talking playwrights. I’ve got Jeffrey Harr who is the author of Stereotype High – a new play in the Theatrefolk catalogue – and we are really happy to have this script in our catalogue. Not only that, it is a big full-length play, and then some of the vignettes from that play have been pulled out and they are on their own as ten-minute plays. We’ve never done this before for a script and it’s really great to be able to offer this.
And the script deals with one of the most universal and relevant themes of what it means to be in high school, and to be a teenager, and that’s being labelled, right? Once you’re put in a box in school, it’s really hard to climb out, and this is particularly true of students who do things that some folks and – I’m putting it right out there – adults who don’t want to admit that teens do certain things, right? You know, take drugs, have sex, or – you know, God forbid! – swear. But the point is that teens do this because teens are human beings, and teens want to experience things, and they falter and they fail just like adults do. They do human things.
What I like about Stereotype High is that the characters are trying to fight their way out of the box that life, or society, or environment has put them in. So, you can find out more about Stereotype High in the show notes which you can find at theatrefolk.com/episode79. Okay.
So, Jeffrey, Jeffrey is an English teacher with a sparse theatre background who was handed the Student One-Act Play Festival at his school with no guide or instruction and you’ve really got to listen in to learn how he turned the festival into a mostly student-written venture and how he encouraged his students to write by starting to write himself. Love that.
Okay. Here we go.
Lindsay: All right! Hello everybody! I am here today and we have a playwright that I’m going to you today on the podcast – one of Theatrefolk’s new authors – we have Jeffrey Harr. Hello, Jeffrey!
Jeffrey: Hi there!
Lindsay: And Jeffrey has a full-length that he has published with us called Stereotype High – which we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of that in a little bit – and then a whole bunch of very short ten-minute plays with some awesome titles such as You’re Cosplaying My Song and Master of Puppets and we’ll get into those as well.
How are you, Jeffrey?
Jeffrey: I’m doing really well. Thanks.
Lindsay: Awesome! And tell everybody in the world where you are.
Jeffrey: I am in beautiful Kent, Ohio – home of the black squirrels.
Lindsay: Okay. Now, who are the black squirrels?
Jeffrey: We have, like, one of the largest black squirrel populations on the planet.
Lindsay: Oh.
Jeffrey: I know.
Lindsay: Really?
Jeffrey: Pretty cool.
Lindsay: Is it cool though?
Jeffrey: They really are. They’re quite nice and friendly. I know, some people are probably freaked out by that but they’re pretty cool.
Lindsay: You know, we have squirrels, and the thing that always amazes me about them is that the noise that they make – which always seems very nervous – and this nervous shriek that comes out of a squirrel which I always, when I see them in a tree and there’s this nervous twitching little animal making these noises, ah, it just makes me want to write a twitchy, nervous character.
Episode 78: Develop Your Critical Thinking Skills
Craig and Lindsay get specific about why they didn’t like the shows they saw in New York and how you can develop your own critical thinking skills.
What are the questions you need to ask? How can you avoid being swayed by others? How do you form your own artistic opinion?
We also ponder the reason Broadway shows fail and tell you about the ONE show you should see if you’re contemplating a career in the arts.
Show Notes
No Man’s Land A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder The Season by William Goldman Seth’s Broadway Chatterbox The Theatrefolk Podcast
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So, today we’ve got New York, New York! It’s – oh, crap! – a marvelous, fabulous, wonderful – I think it’s a wonderful town. The Bronx is up and the battery’s down!
So, last month, Craig and I went to New York for an artistic retreat where we saw a lot of shows and we didn’t like much of what we saw which is rare but, making lemonade, it allowed us to talk about a really important topic, especially as seeing theatre relates to the high school drama classroom. (Ha ha! We can always bring it back around!)
And what I’m talking about is developing your critical thinking skills. How do you form an artistic opinion on something and not be swayed by the opinion of others? Or what do you do when you disagree with a show or the opinion of a show that’s been really well-reviewed? And what is the one question you should ask yourself when you are forming an opinion, particularly of a theatrical show? We also get into a great side chat about the one show every student who’s thinking about a career in the arts should see, or if you’re taking students to New York, it’s a winner every time. So, listen in to find that out.
Before I go, I just want to make sure you know that anything we mention in our chat that you might want to link to or check out for yourself is in the show notes and you can find them at theatrefolk.com/episode78. On to us and New York.
Lindsay: All right. All right! All right.
Hello everybody! Lindsay Price here and Craig Mason. Hello, Craig!
Craig: Hello, Lindsay Price!
Lindsay: And Craig and I are uber fortunate that we are in New York City right now. Are we not having, like, an amazing time?
Craig: Well, that’s a closed-ended question so, yes, we are!
Lindsay: It’s true! I sort of backed you into a corner. Okay. So, are you having an amazing time?
Craig: Yes, I am. Thanks!
Lindsay: Excellent. We love visiting New York. We would never want to live here but we love coming and we love seeing all different types of shows. It’s a wonderful walking city. I find it very inspirational as a writer. I just think it’s kind of like an artistic recharge, don’t you think?
Craig: And there’s a lot of good food
Lindsay: Oh, my God. There’s so much good, interesting, unique… A couple of days ago we had dosas from a street cart outside New York University.
Craig: They were delicious.
Lindsay: They were delicious.
So, today, actually, what we’re going to talk about on this particular podcast is something that happens in every Drama class – and, actually, in a lot of classes – and that’s developing your critical thinking skills. And what I’m speaking specifically because we’ve been seeing shows and that is how you form your own opinion of what you see. When you’re doing some kind of a review, maybe for a class and you have to review a show, or just when someone asks you the question, “What did you think?” and it’s really easy to get swayed by people, particularly here in New York – all the shows are reviewed and it’s easy to hear somebody’s review and think that’s how you’re supposed to think, or going to see a show by a very well-known playwright and because of their past work,
Episode 77: Teen Tour Theatre with Aviva Wolman-Wener
Lindsay talks with Aviva Wolman-Wener of Teen Tour Theatre. Aviva has been using Theatrefolk plays for close to ten years.
If you tour shows (or are thinking about taking your show on tour) listen in to learn why it’s important for students to perform for strangers and to learn the skills of taking a show on the road. Aviva also talks about the necessary skills students need to perform in a touring show, and the top three things a teacher needs to do when planning a tour.
Show Notes
http://teentourtheatre.com/
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, I’m talking with Aviva Wolman-Wener of Teen Tour Theatre. Now, Aviva is one of our oldest customers. She’s been using Theatrefolk plays for close to ten years and she started Teen Tour Theatre because she wanted to think of a way to really push and challenge her acting students, and one of those ways was providing an opportunity to get her kids to perform for audiences other than loved ones, which I think is a pretty unique thing for teens and pre-teens to do.
So, if you are a teacher and you’re doing a touring show currently with your students, or you’re thinking about touring a show, take a seat, have a listen, there’s lots a great information here, including the top three things a teacher needs to think about when doing a tour. So, let’s get to the interview.
Lindsay: Hello everybody! I am here today, I’m very happy to be talking to a long-time Theatrefolk customer, Aviva Wolman-Wener. Hello, Aviva!
Aviva: Hi!
Lindsay: How are you?
Aviva: I’m okay. How are you?
Lindsay: I’m awesome. I’m looking out my window at some more snow. I’m sure you have lots of snow where you are in Montreal. Aviva, you run Teen Tour Theatre, yeah? So, we know you because you’re generous. How many years have you been using Theatrefolk plays? It’s been a while.
Aviva: Maybe, like, eight or nine. Maybe more?
Lindsay: Yeah, no, I don’t know. It’s just been one of those things that every year we see that order come through for you and for Teen Tours. So, let’s start off with what that is. What is Teen Tour Theatre?
Aviva: Teen Tour Theatre is a theatre school slash tour group that I started eleven years ago. I began it because I was teaching at another local school here. I had been teaching for ten years at another school in Montreal and was trying to think of a way to challenge some of my students who had been with me forever. I had kids who were in their late teens and had started with me when they were nine and ten and even younger. And I wanted to think of a way to push them further, especially the ones who wanted to take acting much further.
And so, I created two concepts at this other theatre school. One was touring so that they were performing for people other than their loved ones which was a very different experience and trying to create a workshop program for kids who wanted to take it further than just doing theatre for the obvious reasons that we think theatre is phenomenal – like, self-confidence and learning how to handle yourself in any kind of interview situation and learning how to speak in front of people and all of those other things. This was for the kids who were really, really focused on taking theatre to the next level in their life.
And so, I did that for a year there. I was really happy with how it went and then decided to launch it as a program that was unique to everything else, and that’s how it became Teen Tours. So, basically, the concept of the school is that the older students – and, when I first began, we had only teenagers and I only had two classes and basically those groups, we had our junior tour group and our senior tour group which are the ones you’ve heard of because those are the ones mostly that I’ve used the plays f...
Episode 76: Drama Teacher Guru Gai Jones
Gai Jones decided in the 5th grade that she wanted to be a theatre educator and she has been impacting teachers and students for over 40 years.
She may be retired but she hasn’t slowed down. Gai travels on average to 20 states each year adjudicating, teaching workshops and fundraising for student theatre scholarships.
In this podcast she talks about her drama in education journey, how she dealt with being a one man teaching band, how she empowered her students, how you can be an arts advocate, and her top tips for theatre teachers.
Show Notes
http://www.gaijones.com/ http://schooltheatre.org/advocacy http://schooltheatre.org/events/makingmagic Textbook RAISING THE CURTAIN available at www.perfectionlearning.com
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, I am talking to theatre educator extraordinaire, Gai Jones. Gai decided in the fifth grade that she wanted to be a theatre educator and she has been impacting teachers and students for over forty years. She may be retired but she is not slowing down. Gai is on the board for the Educational Theatre Association. She travels on average to twenty states a year adjudicating, teaching workshops, fundraising for student scholarships. Let’s get right to this interview.
So, just a bit of a heads up, there’s a little bit of a hum and a couple of phone rings, but we can handle all that, right? And make sure you keep listening because Gai is going to reveal her top tips for theatre teachers and they’re really valuable and I think they’re ones you won’t expect. And she also has some specific tips on how you can be an advocate for your arts program.
Okay. Here’s Gai.
Lindsay: Hello everybody! Well, I am tickled pink today. I am really jazzed for the conversation that I am about to have. I have here on the podcast, I think, a theatre educator extraordinaire, Gai Jones. I’ve only been doing workshops in festivals for a relatively short time but I have always known about the impact that Gai has on both teachers and students.
Hello Gai!
Gai: Thank you! I love it! Hello everyone! I so grateful for this opportunity.
Lindsay: Yeah, it’s awesome! Now, you’ve been extremely busy recently. You’ve been doing some fundraising actually. What has that all been about
Gai: You know, with Thespians, Jason Daunter who is the stage manager on the first production, national production tour of Wicked, and Matt Conover who is vice president of Disney is in charge of casting on both coast and crew ships, et cetera. We came up with an idea that said, “How about we do a little benefit while we’re all in California at the same time?” which is like a year and a half ago, “and raise money for thespian scholarship.”
Lindsay: And this is just for some folks who might not know but Thespians is an educational theatre organization. The umbrella company is the Educational Theatre Association and Thespians are high school and middle school theatre troops, basically, yes?
Gai: Yes, they are, and it’s an honor society so the kids have to accumulate a certain amount of hours to be initiated and then there’s also academic thespians so, after they become that and if they got really good grades, then they’ve got other benefits. So, Educational Theatre Association is the umbrella organization over Thespians. We have something like 47,000 thespians, there’s over 8,000 adult members who belong to EDTA – Education Theatre Association. Jason, Matt, and I happen to serve on the board and we’re very lucky to do that. We have a three-year term, each one of us overlapping. They were all in California at the same time and I said, “Come on to Ojai,” because I live in Ojai, California, and then said, “We’ll put on a benefit,” and I said, “I happen to have some girls that I work with in musical theatre,
Episode 75: Create a Theatrical Vision: Teacher Annie Loffredo
Teacher Annie Loffredo equates being a drama teacher with being an artist. She loves being able to put on shows year after year and inspiring her students because she was so inspired when she was in high school. She talks about how she creates a vision for a play, conveys that vision to students and executes a vision through production.
Show Notes
Power Play
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we have an interview I recorded with teacher Annie Loffredo last month. I connected with Annie after getting some gorgeous and so theatrical pictures from her production of my play, Power Play. So, I got in touch and we’re going to talk about her vision for the play, her advice for creating a specific production vision, and then executing that vision. Awesome stuff, let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Hello everybody! I am so thrilled to be talking to teacher Annie Loffredo today. Hello!
Annie: Hi!
Lindsay: Awesome. And so, the first thing I want you to do is set up. So, where are you in the world?
Annie: Okay. I am in Miami, Florida.
Lindsay: Miami, Florida. Is it nice in Miami, Florida, right now?
Annie: Today, I actually posted it on my Facebook and Instagram that it felt like a summer day with 86 degrees but it felt like it was 93.
Lindsay: Oh.
Annie: So, I was outside and it feels like the summer here. I can’t even believe it’s December.
Lindsay: Aww. I can because it’s snowing like a thing that snows a lot up here.
Annie: Yes, I saw your Instagram post today with your running shoes with snow on and I’m like, “Wow! How does she run in that weather?”
Lindsay: We’re Canadians. We’re built for it.
Annie: I know, I know.
Lindsay: What are you going to do?
And, you’re a Drama teacher, yes?
Annie: Yes, I am.
Lindsay: How long have you been a teacher?
Annie: I have been a teacher in Dade County Public School for four years but I’ve been teaching Drama probably since I was fifteen because my mother was also a Drama teacher so she was at the middle school level, so when I was in high school, she would be like, “Oh, come teach my kids, come teach my kids,” and I just did it, like, on the side from that point on and eventually I just fell into being a Drama teacher in the school system.
Lindsay: What did you think about teaching Drama when you were yourself a teenager?
Annie: I never wanted… I mean, I always loved Drama. So, when I say I never wanted to be a teacher, it’s just that I never wanted to deal with all the things that teachers have to deal with. But I always loved the idea of teaching Drama. And now, I think it’s the best career I could ever have gone into because, even though there is all of that paperwork and all the things that teachers have to do, I find it to be an absolute blessing that I get paid to be an artist because there are so many artists out there that are starving and being able to make a living because they want to do what they’re passionate about, and I make a decent living and all I do is create art, and I’m very grateful for that.
Lindsay: I think that’s really awesome that you think of teaching as being an artist.
Annie: Well, it is. I mean, every time I go to put on a show, I get to do what so many artists always want to do – get paid to put on a show. And, not only that, I get to inspire students to do the same thing because I know when I was in high school, the only thing that kept me going to the school was Drama, and to give that to kids every day, I just feel grateful that I have that option to do that, that I am able to do that because it meant so much to me when I was a kid.
Lindsay: So, when was that moment when the switch sort of flicked for you when you went from “I’m never going to teach” to “Okay, here,
Episode 74: Teacher/Playwright Robert Wing
Robert Wing is not a drama teacher (although he played one for a bit when the drama teacher broke his back) nor does he have any drama training, or even any writing training. He's an English teacher who doesn't even do all that much creative writing in his class. So why is he so good at capturing the teen voice through drama? Listen and find out.
Show Notes
Robert Wing's Plays World Theatre Video
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So, it’s really important to us here at Theatrefolk global headquarters that we put plays into the world that capture the teen voice, that the teen voice is out there, and not only that, we want plays that provide an expression of the teen voice – an artistic expression, a theatrical experience. That is key. That is key. That is necessary. That’s what we do, that’s what we are, and just find when you have this combination in a play – that teen voice, that expression, that theatrical experience – it can be quite magical.
And that’s one of the reasons I love writing for teens because it’s the one place – I’m sure I’ve shared this before; it’s my favorite thing, so, you know, bear with me – but it’s the one place that students, where a group of people can be affected by theatre these days. I fully believe. They hear their voice expressed. They realize they’re not alone. They can and they do. They make changes in their life because of something they see on stage. That is an amazing thing to play a very small part in. And I think this is the reason why the arts are so important in school because the arts are a method of expression that doesn’t happen on a daily basis in the classroom and, oh, there is no other group of people who has so much bottled up inside of them that needs to get out, that doesn’t necessarily have a proper channel to get out – if that makes sense.
I just think that’s so necessary, and this leads so nicely into my interview today. So, today, I’m going to talk to one of our playwrights, Robert Wing. He has two plays with us – Just Girls Talking and Scarlet Expectations of a Drowned Maiden and Two Greek Queens – and Robert is not a Drama teacher. He did play one for a little bit when the Drama teacher broke his back, but he doesn’t have any Drama training, and he doesn’t even have any writing training. He’s an English teacher who doesn’t even do all that much creative writing in his class which is stunning when you read his work and you realize he is so good at capturing the teen voice through a theatrical experience.
So, how is he able to do that? Well, all right, listen and find out.
Lindsay: So, I am here with Robert Wing. Hello, Robert!
Robert: Hello!
Lindsay: Hi! And so, Robert is a playwright and also a teacher. He has two plays with us. One is called Scarlet Expectations of a Drowned Maiden and Two Greek Queens.
Robert: It’s a mouthful.
Lindsay: It is a mouthful but it’s a very explanatory mouthful. I love that it gets all the nooks and crannies of what’s going on in that play. And then, also, Just Girls Talking. But, first of all, we sort of want to start off with you and who you are because your day job, you are not a Drama teacher.
Robert: No, I am not. I’m an English teacher who, in his second year of teaching, I was walking down the hallway and the principal approached me and said, “You’re the Drama teacher!” and I said, “Why?” and he said, “Because the Drama teacher broke her back in a motorcycling accident.” So, I became the Drama teacher for a year and I had no experience with anything, and I had zero budget. And I said, “I have to put on a play?” and he said, “Yes!” and I said, “Okay. Well, I can do this. What resources do we have?” and I found that we had a closet filled with prom dresses from the 1980s that had been donated to the program.
Episode 73: Using Audio Drama in the Classroom Interview with Jack Ward.
Audio Drama can be used for a project-based learning unit, as a play review activity if you can't get your students to live theatre, as an interesting exercise for directors, as cross-curricular or advocacy work (e.g. to reach out to your English department). Interested? This podcast is for you. Show Notes
Sonic Society Colonial Radio Theatre celtx – writing scripts software Decoder Ring Theatre Crazy Dog Audio Theatre Audio Drama Talk The Myths at the Edge of the World
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Happy New Year! That was all right. It was a little bit weird, sort of screaming in my office, but it is very true! I do wish you a Happy New Year because it is the new year. It is 2014. Can you believe that? I cannot. It’s a little bit freaky, but what are you going to do?
So, are you a resolution type? Are you the type of person who sits down at the beginning of every year and decides something you’re going to do? Or are you a staunch Anti-Resolution type? You don’t believe in them, you don’t think they work, you think they, you know, make you feel bad, which they do when they fail.
We don’t really make any resolutions around here at the Theatrefolk global headquarters. But we do make plans and we have a lot of plans for 2014. So, we’ve got to go, “Boo, resolutions! Yay plans1” Yeah, we have projects that we’re really excited about. We spent a lot of December sort of building a 2014 strategy which sounds a little weird. It’s awesome, but weird, and exciting, and is it going to all succeed? We have no idea except we do know that we have steps in place, right? I know what I’m going to be doing this year which is weird and exciting and I feel like there’s like a staircase, there’s a place to go, there’s a path to take. This feels very Tony Robbins-esque, right? You know, “Make a plan. You can do it! Boo, resolutions! Success! Rah!”
So, what you're going to hear today is a really great interview with a teacher named Jack Ward. So, Jack is based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax – Nova Scotia, Canada – and his passion is audio drama. So, teachers, listen to this interview. If you are looking for some project-based learning to include in your program, or a different theatre review activity, particularly if you can't get your students to regular performances, Jack has a great audio drama assessment exercise that he uses. If you're a director and you're dying for an interesting new type of play to try out, if you're looking for a way to pursue some cross-curricular or advocacy work – almost got that word right, advocacy work – reaching out to your English department, for example, this is the podcast has it all. I’m just saying that and I’m like, “Holy cow! This has got a ton of stuff – great, wonderful information in it.” So, let’s get to it.
Lindsay: Okay. So, I have got a very interesting guest today. His name is Jack Ward. Hello, Jack!
Jack: Hi!
Lindsay: Awesome. And so, the first thing I want to ask you is where are you in the world?
Jack: I’m in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Lindsay: Ah, Halifax! I love the east coast and I wish that I could go out there more. Have you always lived out in the east coast?
Jack: No, I’m actually from Ontario, originally. I grew up just north of Guelph, just around Fergus-Elora.
Lindsay: Oh, okay! Awesome! How long have you been in Halifax?
Jack: Oh, a long time now. I think I figured it to be thirteen years.
Lindsay: Awesome. And tell us about your day job.
Jack: I am a high school teacher in the Halifax Regional School Board. I teach English but I am an English Drama teacher by training.
Lindsay: Okay. And what is your specific, what is the thing that we’re going to talk about today?
Jack: Oh,
Episode 72: The World Theatre Video Project
Teacher Nick Cusumano shares The World Theatre Video Project on the podcast, a excellent example of project-based learning perfect for the drama classroom. We also talk about Drama Teacher Advocacy and what teachers can do to become more comfortable using technology.
Show Notes
Ed Tech 4 Theatre (Nick Cusumano) The World Theatre Video Project Edmodo.com canva.com Lucid Press Google Docs The British Museum The National Theatre Google Open Gallery Google Cultural Institute
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... I love Christmas songs and Christmas carols. I just think they're filled with a lot of joy, right?
Although I cannot imagine having to work in a mall or in a store that starts playing carols at the end of November, it would be sort of like an assault I think if you had to listen to them day after day after day. It's like, “No please don't make me go to work, please don't make me and listen to 'Joy to the World' again!” Ahhhh.
When you only have to listen to it at your leisure I think it's lovely. I think it's a lovely sentiment and I think it's a lovely song – I mean who doesn't want joy to the world? I want joy. I think joy is an awesome word. I love words that sort of sound like they are. Like joy. I think holiday is another word that's like that. It sounds like it is. Because who does not love a holiday? I love a holiday.
Ok I'm all giddy now. I gotta go find me some eggnog and you're going to listen to my conversation with Teacher Nick Cusamano – we're talking about an awesome project for your drama class, that's right your drama class, that is happening right now. The World Theatre Video Project. Go Nick!
Lindsay: Okay. Hello everybody! So, today on the podcast, we are talking about a specific project and the reason that I want to talk about this project is because it is something that every Drama class can do, it is something that every Drama club can do. Teachers, you know, grab your students and pull them together and get them involved with the World Theatre Video project at WorldTheatreVideo.com.
I have teacher Nick Cusomano on the podcast. He is the, you created this, right? This is your deal.
Nick: Yes, it’s something that I was inspired by a tweet. One of my first Twitter followers was Karla O. She is the creator of the Drama Teachers Network. It’s a WordPress blog. And, she was one of my first Twitter followers and we got to know each other on Twitter and then there, other friends of mine – Courtney, Elrond, and then Mohamed El-Ashiri – the four of us kind of, I think Karla posted out, “March 27’s going to be World Theatre Day,” and I’m like, “We should do a video with two weeks,” and another two weeks wasn't enough time.
Lindsay: Hey, you know what? When you’ve got two weeks, that’s what you use, right?
Nick: Yeah. So, I thought, “Well, let’s record students doing All The World’s A Stage from As You Like It.”
Lindsay: Yeah.
Nick: And so, we were able to get the footage together so we had two schools from the states along with another school, Mel Agar who teaches in Illinois, she sent in her video and then Courtney’s students and then Mohamed’s students and then Karla's students. And then, I edited that in together, all together as a video, and then we posted it. I world premiered it at the Google in Education Summit in Chicago on the 27th because that’s where I was on that day and that was my Google demo slam and just had a great time connecting those students together. And, from there, right about that time I found out I was accepted to the Google Teacher Academy.
Lindsay: Now, what is that exactly?
Nick: About two to three times a year, it’s kind of a competition.
Episode 71: Krista Boehnert
Krista Boehnert is the author of two distinct plays in our catalogue – Have You Heard? and Puzzle Pieces. Both plays are completely written in monologue form. Listen to Krista talk about her writing process and how her sister was a big help in the development of her plays!
Show Notes
Krista Boehnert Have You Heard? Puzzle Pieces
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Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening.
So, we have full-on winter here in our neck of the woods. We’ve got icy roads, we’ve got a blanket of, oh, that white stuff everywhere. Although, because I live in a very small community, it really is the prettiest sight of winter – the sun is starting to set and it’s just making, well, it’s making all the snow sparkle. That’s how we describe it, it’s all very sparkling and clean and Norman Rockwell-like. Not like the dirty, slushy winter I remember from living in Toronto.
So, that’s very nice to look at. It’s not that nice when you’re trying to negotiate the roads. It’s kind of an interesting game of who’s going to get their streets plowed first and, when I’m trying to go for a run, looking for dry pavement, you know? But those are really the very tiny, miniscule problems I’m dealing with right now so I think I can handle it. I know I’m pretty sure I can handle it.
So, today we have another Theatrefolk author interview, this time with Krista Boehnert who has two plays with us – Have You Heard and Puzzle Pieces – and both plays are unique because they are written entirely in the monologue format. I love that and I love having that available to you guys and we’re going to get into that.
But, frankly, I was just so tickled to be able to sit down with Krista and have a talk. She’s been with us for a number of years. Her plays have been in our catalog for a while but, you know, she lives way over on the other side of the country and we have never seen each other, we’ve never sat down face to face, and before this, never even spoken. You know, it’s through the wonder of technology and the internet that we are able to do business but also to do this interview, and I’ve been loving doing these interviews. I love getting to know the Theatrefolk playwrights on a personal level through this podcast, and I hope that you are too. I just did another one with an author that’s going to be posted in January and it was downright fascinating. I just love it.
So, here we go. Let’s get going with this one.
Lindsay: Hello there! I am super-thrilled to be able to talk to one of our playwrights today, and we have on the podcast Krista…Krist… [laughs] Krista Boehnert!
Krista: [Laughs]
Lindsay: I was so focused on your last name I [laughs] went and goofed up your first name.
Krista: No worries.
Lindsay: Krista Boehnert, how are you?
Krista: Good, thank you. Thanks for having me.
Lindsay: Awesome. Now, where are you located in the world?
Krista: I am on Vancouver Island. I live in Victoria.
Lindsay: Oh. Do you like Victoria?
Krista: I do actually, except I find the winters a little bit hard because they're very overcast for months on end.
Lindsay: Mm-hmm.
Krista: Mm-hmm.
Lindsay: You get lots of rain, I imagine.
Krista: Absolutely, yes.
Lindsay: And what I want to start with is just sort of what brought you to Theatrefolk. What made you stick your place and send them across the waves and…the waves – the Internet, and just sort of send your stuff to us? How'd you find out about us?
Krista: I was researching companies that specifically focused on young adult material, so basically high school plays was what I was looking for for publishing companies. So that was sort of my initial reasoning for contacting you guys. Looking at your catalogue already, it seemed like my pieces might be a good fit for what you guys...
Episode 70: Talking to a Playwright on Skype
What's it like to talk to a playwright? In this episode Lindsay shares three different Skype sessions with three different groups. What do students want to know when they have a playwright in front of them? Listen to find out.
Show Notes
Floating on a Don't Care Cloud The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note Alice Humbug High
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Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we’ve got something a little different and a little interesting, I think. I do indeed think so. And so, one of the things that I have been doing on a regular basis lately is talking to classes and also to casts those who are working on my shows, via Skype. It’s just been a great way for students to talk to me, to actually see me, see that the name on their script is actually a live person, and they can ask questions directly, you know, of their playwright. And, because it’s all through, you know, the tubes and the wires of the internets, it really is so easy. It’s such an easy way to communicate. I sit in front of my computer, and they sit in front of theirs, and, you know, poof! Away we go!
So, today, I have a collection here, a selection of Skype recordings from three different groups – two productions and one class who were testing a lesson plan for an upcoming monologue book that I’m working on. So, the first group you’ll hear is from – and this is really the best example of how technology basically can bring the world together – they are from a Northern Canadian community in Inuvik, so far north that there are no roads. It’s a fly-in only community, and I did this Skype at the beginning of November, and they had enough snow to snowmobile on, and they were also telling me about their in-town polar bear problem. I can’t even visualize that but that’s what’s happening where they live, and this is the Drama club at the high school, and they were preparing to put on one of my issue plays, Floating On A Don’t Care Cloud. They did another issue play of mine last year, The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note and they prepared them and they performed them for their school, and also, their community.
So, Floating On A Don’t Care Cloud is a play about pot use in a high school, the stereotype of a drug user, and, sometimes, how the person abusing drugs just does not fit the stereotype. Sometimes, they’re like the yearbook editor.
So, these guys had great questions about the play, but also, broader questions about writers’ block or just how do you learn lines? And, have a listen. I really enjoyed getting to know these kids. And, in this recording, you will hear my biggest theatrical pet peeve of all time. Lindsay: Okay. So, how long have you guys been rehearsing?
Respondent: A week?
Respondent: No, no, two months. More like two months, probably.
Lindsay: And when’s your first show? It’s tomorrow, isn’t it? No, Tuesday, Tuesday.
Respondent: Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lindsay: And who will you perform for?
Respondent: Everyone.
Respondent: First, the school, then public.
Respondent: Yes, two public schools and two school shows.
Respondent: Two public shows and two school shows.
Lindsay: So, will your whole community show up for the show, you think? Maybe?
Respondent: Maybe, yeah.
Respondent: Hopefully.
Respondent: They’ve got two or three questions ready for you whenever you want to feel.
Lindsay: I’m ready, lay ‘em on me.
Respondent: Okay. You want to ask your question there, Kevin?
Kevin: Why did you write this play?
Lindsay: I wrote this play for a couple of reasons. Writing issue plays is one of the things that we do. We like to cover a lot of issues with Theatrefolk, and I was asking some teachers and some students what is a problem,
Episode 69: Christian Kiley
Teacher Christian Kiley is also a published author and a cancer survivor. He talks about writing for youth, and how he used cancer as motivation to write a play.
Show Notes
Plays by Christian Kiley Playwright Interview Self-Reflection Worksheet
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Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So, today we have an interview with teacher, playwright, and cancer survivor, Christian Kiley. We have a number of Christian’s plays in our catalog and all of which will include links for in the show notes. We have The Art of Rejection, Chaired, two one-act plays in one book which are so awesomely absurd and also grounded in reality, if that can be, Virtual Family, Discovering Rogue, and his latest, Chemo Girl which is a collection of plays which explore the teen perspective of dealing with cancer. It is such an excellent collection for the variety of plays and the theatricality of them. It’s not just, you know, play after play of “I have cancer.” It’s so much more. It’s got humor and fantasy and humanity – I think that’s a real great little package of emotions for such a difficult subject matter. So, check them all out, theatrefolk.com, and especially check out Chemo Girl.
So, Christian teaches out in California which I am very keenly aware of as I sit in the office of the Theatrefolk global headquarters, and we are preparing for the first big winter storm of the year, and I like living in a place that has four seasons – I like them all – and I know that, if I want to enjoy fall which is my absolute favorite season, that means winter comes next. But there’s something a little bit deflating in sitting here, looking out the window, and I see bare dry pavement and green grass and knowing that it’s all about to be history, and I’m going to sit here unquietly, sigh to myself, and you are going to move right on to the interview.
Oh, but, just before we do that. Okay, one thing I wanted to say about these podcasts, and also about how you can use them in the classroom, particularly our playwright interview podcasts, have your students listen to the interviews, all of which, you know, there are a good variety in our interview podcast because we have writers of varying histories, varying experiences, but all of them talking about doing something similar – what it’s like to write a play – and then, have students reflect afterwards.
Does listening to a playwright talk make the act of writing more tangible for them? You know, what were they surprised at what the playwright had to say about writing? What was the most memorable part of the interview? And, how did the interview sort of inform their beliefs about what it was like to write a play? Did it dissuade any beliefs? So, I will include a download self-reflection handout on the Theatrefolk blog post page for this podcast. Whew!
Okay, now onto Christian Kiley. Lindsay: Alright, so hello there, welcome to the podcast and I am thrilled to be able to say hello to Christian Kiley. Hello! Christian: Hello, Lindsay! Lindsay: How are you? Christian: I'm very good, thank you. Lindsay: And you are all the way across on the other side of the North America in California. Christian: Yes, Southern California, Rancho Cucamonga. Lindsay: Now where is that? Give me a city that I would know. [Laughs] Christian: Well, [laughs] Ontario has an airport that you guys have probably flown into… Lindsay: Oh, yes. Christian: …I would say. Lindsay: Yes. Christian: You know, the US Ontario. Lindsay: Fabulous. Well, we have a little in connection then – you're in the US Ontario and we're in the Canadian Ontario. Christian: Yes, we're sister cities. Lindsay: [Laughs] Awesome. Okay, so now Christian, you have a number of plays with us. We first got to know you with Art of Rejection and Chaire...
Episode 68: A Student Director Shares
Emma is in the middle of directing my play Tuna Fish Eulogy. She shares her vision, her struggles and what she's hoping for with her production. Every teacher who has student directors will want their students to hear this!
Show Notes
Tuna Fish Eulogy A Deep, Poetic Journey Into Something
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Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
I’ve been so excited to sort of get into a groove of interviewing some folks, some teachers. Wherever I go in my travels, I try and nab someone and say, “Hey! Tell me about your experience about a specific thing in the classroom, or working on a specific play,” and, this is just as a side note, if you see me in a conference and you want to share something, nine times out of ten, I have my camera and microphone with me, and I would love to talk to you because I think these are the best kinds of podcasts to have. I mean, instead of just listening to me drone on, you can listen to someone in your field who has something to share, and this one’s great because it’s a student director.
We have an interview with Emma who is a high school student in British Columbia, and she is in the middle of directing my play Tuna Fish Eulogy. So, it was great to listen to her talk about her process, and what it’s like to direct her peers, and her vision for the show. And, if you have student directors, sit them down and listen to what Emma has to say.
All right, let’s take it away!
Lindsay: The first thing I want to know is why you chose the play.
Emma: That’s a tricky one. I think the reason I chose it was because it was such a, it looked like it was going to be so challenging, like, I couldn’t even read all the way through it because of the way it’s written. And so, I had this kind of brief outline of the story and I tried to get through the bits at the beginning, the bits at the end, and I pieced together the middle and I worked that way, and I just thought it’d be a really great challenge because our class is grade ten, eleven, twelve, and I know a lot of them. So, I thought they were kind of up for a challenge and I’ve never done anything direct-y in my life. So, I jumped, two feet in.
Lindsay: Well, why not, eh? So, is this for a mark?
Emma: Yeah, we’re doing four one-act plays. I thought, like, everyone’s going to be pick a comedy, it’s going to be ridiculous like that, and I wanted to do something different. And so, I chose this one, for that reason as well. But then, when we all brought our chosen pieces to the table, everybody had different, we’ve got an absurdist play, we’ve got a really abstract, really kind of lilting, beautiful play, and we’ve got this clever high school kind of drama going. So, we’ve got a really big variety of plays and I thought that’d be really fun.
Lindsay: That’s going to be a good evening. And, how long do you guys get to rehearse?
Emma: We started rehearsing two weeks ago. We started casting and figuring out sets for the past couple of months. I think our show’s the third week, second week of January.
Lindsay: So, you still have a good amount of time to do it. How big is your class if you have three grades in it?
Emma: It’s big. I think we’ve got thirty, thirty-two, thirty-five – something like that.
Lindsay: That’s huge. For Drama, that’s huge.
Emma: It is, and we’ve only got the one Drama teacher so all the classes are really big, but yeah, everyone’s really dedicated. Like, we’ve all signed contracts to say we’re available after school to do extra rehearsals and such.
Lindsay: That’s cool.
Emma: Yeah, it’s really fun. This was our second year trying this. Last year, because of the job action, we started having to do all of our shows in school and we just continued.
Lindsay: This is the way to do it.
Episode 67: Teachers Talk: Interview with High School Drama Teacher Jana Beck
Shout! is Theatrefolk's a cappella musical. It's both a challenge and a reward. This week Lindsay talks with Jana Beck about her experience directing this musical and her tips for other school productions.
Show Notes
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead Shout! An A Cappella Musical Photos from her production
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening.
So in this conversation with teacher Jana Beck, I pretty much cry not once but twice. Jana recently directed my musical SHOUT but this conversation is so much more than that. Jana does not have a theatre at her school, she in fact has nothing she can use as theatre space. This does not deter her. I'm not sure anything does. And her story of how she is able to find space, the community spirit she lives by and encourages her students to live by, and how she works with students the class room is inspiring for any teacher to hear.
And there's more than that here, a lot more. Let's get to the interview.
Jana Beck
Lindsay: So hello podcast listeners, hello my friends. I hope that you are well. And today we have a very special treat – I am going to talk to a high school teacher from Texas, Jana Beck. And she recently had great success with our a cappella musical Shout!, so I asked her if she would come on the podcast and talk about it and her process, since I think you would agree, Jana, that Shout! is not your normal musical.
Jana: I would definitely agree.
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Jana: [Laughs]
Lindsay: So how are you?
Jana: I am great, and I'm going to try really hard not to say y’all too much while I'm talking to you so that everyone will understand me. [Laughs]
Lindsay: That's okay. I’ll try not to say eh too much.
Jana: Okay. [Laughs]
Lindsay: We're both in the same boat. I never realize how much I say eh until I come to the States and everyone points and laughs and goes…and then I go, “Well, I guess I am Canadian.” [Laughs]
Jana: Well, I like that you sign off your emails with cheers.
Lindsay: Yeah, little British.
Jana: Yeah. [Laughs]
Lindsay: I own it well. I’ll own it well.
Jana: Good, good.
Lindsay: So the first thing I want to know is I want you to just sort of talk about what’s your theatre background. Did you always love theatre?
Jana: My background is, um, I was an incredibly shy kid that wasn’t sure where I fit in in the world because I found more things I wasn’t good at than that I was good at. But I had a seventh grade literature teacher who would let us read aloud in class when we were setting poetry, and she called me aside one day and said, “Do you know that you are really great at oral reading?” And I said, “What’s that?” And she said, “Reading out loud.” And I said, “No.” And she convinced me to try participating in some competitions with prose and poetry, and there I met other kids and saw duet acting and one-act plays, and I discovered it that way and haven't ever looked back.
Lindsay: Isn't it amazing when someone just says the words, “You know, you're really good at something?” [Laughs]
Jana: Yes, it is amazing. It is. It's very powerful.
Lindsay: Oh, I imagine. I imagine. So did you ever want to be a professional? Did you always know you wanted to be a teacher?
Jana: You know, I was intrigued by the idea of having a career in theatre but I never felt myself wanting to run off to Broadway and try and make a go of it, but I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to teach. I don’t mean any disrespect by this that my mother was a high school English teacher and I saw her working so hard I was like, “I am never…”
Lindsay: Ah.
Jana: “I'm getting a real job where I go to it and I c...
Episode 66: John Donald O'Shea, Playwright Don O'Shea has had quite the life leading up to his current role as playwright. Learn about his journey from law to playwriting. It is never too late to start writing!
Show Notes
The One Technique you Need to be a 21st Century Drama Teacher Don O'Shea's website Don O'Shea's Theatrefolk plays The First Herald Angel The Revolting Cheerleaders Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure
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On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Before we get going I have to mention the FREE, that's right FREE drama teacher training we're offering this week Saturday November 9th at 12 noon EST called The One Technique you need to be a 21st century Drama Teacher. OK. That's a mouthful but the title says it all – 21st century skills are becoming necessary for today's teacher but what if you don't have time to become a technology expert? And how could you ever keep up with students who eat, sleep and breathe technology? And what do drama and technology have in common anyway? Are we all gonna sit in front of our computers and do improv games? So this training is just for you. I'm going to show you what you need to be tech-savvy in the classroom with specific exercises for drama teachers and I promise this workshop is 100% technobabble free. All you need is access to the internet.
Go to 21drama.com. That's the number 21. 21drama.com and registar for this free training now. You do not want to miss out.
So today we have an interview with another one of our authors. John Donald O'Shea who goes by Don. And Don has three plays with us, a classic melodrama with a modern twist called Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure, a full out modern melodrama called The Revolting Cheerleaders and a lovely gem of a Christmas play called The First Herald Angel. Don has had such an interesting journey along his playwriting path of which the takeaway is it's never too late to start writing, and everyone can find that doorway into their creative side. OK. So take it away Don!
Lindsay: Hello everybody, I am here with one of our playwrights. I have Donald O'Shea. Now, you go by Don, is that right?
Don: Yes I do, and I think I was one of your first playwrights.
Lindsay: I think you were, too. We've got three of your plays. We have Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure; The Revolting Cheerleaders, which is one of my favorite titles; and The First Herald Angel.
Don: I think you're correct.
Lindsay: Oh, good. It always embarrasses me when I get names of titles [laughs] of other people’s works wrong. [Laughs]
Don: [Laughs] Because you were my first publisher, I always sent my plays to you first. Whether you use them or not is up to you, but I've always respected the fact that you were the first guy to put me on the map and I like to send my stuff to you first. So that's kind of how I operate.
Lindsay: That's awesome. Okay, well, that's the first thing I want to talk to you about, is before you started writing plays, you had a pretty different life.
Don: I had a very different life.
Lindsay: Tell everybody what was your job. What did you do…?
Don: Well, I started out as a young assistant state’s attorney. I graduated from that – I became the city attorney of Moline, Illinois, and about four years later in 1974 I was elected a circuit judge, and I did that for 26 years. In Illinois, you don’t run for reelection on a partisan ballot – you run on a retention ballot, and I was retained four times. You have to run every six years.
Lindsay: Right.
Don: So that's what I did.
Lindsay: So where does playwriting fit into this?
Don: It all came about when I was a member of the Board of Directors of the Quad City Music Guild. They in those days produced three musicals each...
Episode 65: Theatrefolk Q & A: You ask, We answer Lindsay and Craig sit down to answer questions and address comments that came up from our recent customer survey.
Topics include: Can students directly contact us? What social issues do we cover? And do we sell plays?
Show Notes
Free Resources from Theatrefolk NCTAE North Carolina Theatre Arts Educators Magic Fairy in the Microwave Camel Dung and Cloves Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark Tuna Fish Eulogy Royalty Exemptions for Competitions The Drama Notebook Practical Technical Theater DVD Series Theatrefolk on Facebook
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So today is an extra-special edition of TFP, but as I say that, I mean I shouldn't say that since I think every episode is special, but what I really mean is that today I'm not alone, I have my partner in crime sitting beside me, Craig Mason.
Craig: Hello, Lindsay.
Lindsay: Hello. And I guess what I mean is that Craig and I were going to do something a little special today, aren't we?
Craig: Yeah. We did this little survey where we asked two guys just four questions. What were the four questions, Lindsay?
Lindsay: They are…
Craig: How did you hear about Theatrefolk? Why do you buy our plays, and if you don’t, why not? What do you like about us? And what else would you like us to offer? Now, that was just intended to be like an internal thing for us to get like a measurement of who’s out there and what they want from us, because we've just been soaring with people on Facebook.
Lindsay: Yeah, and we've never done that before, first of all, because it's kind of hard for us. We're sensitive folk, a little bit…
Craig: Yeah.
Lindsay: …and it's hard for us to ask that question, “If you don’t buy from us, why not?” except that it's really, really helpful and useful. Like how can we get better if we don’t get feedback?
Craig: And the good news is we've got a couple of hundred responses and they were just fantastic. I'm not saying it was all positive, but I thought that the stuff that was negative was stuff that we really could embrace and do things with.
Lindsay: And learn from.
Craig: Yeah. I was so concerned…
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Craig: …and those concerns were completely unfounded.
Lindsay: You know what? We're always concerned. Craig and I have I would say…well, I can only speak for myself, but I have an imagination which helps me write a lot of plays. People ask me all the time how is it that I write so much and my inner answer is because my brain is whacked out. [Laughs] It goes places. But then the other side of that is that I always think something hugely negative is going to happen every time we put ourselves out there…
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Lindsay: …but that doesn’t happen, and let's get down to it. Let's go, let's go, let's really go!
Craig: Okay, so what I did—now, you have not read any of these responses yet, right?
Lindsay: No…
Craig: Okay.
Lindsay: …so that I can give a very honest and…
Craig: Okay, cool. And I only really just look at them…
Lindsay: …fresh answer.
Craig: I look at them quickly at the beginning just to make sure that the form was working, and then I haven't really touched it since then. But what I did just before we started recording is I went through, I just grabbed—and oh, I should say this too: The survey was just completely anonymous. The only data we have are the four answers that people gave. We don’t have any other…
Lindsay: Where they're from or who they're from, so…
Craig: A couple of people left their names, but they're people that we know. [Laughs]
Lindsay: Oh, that's nice.
Craig: It was very sweet. One person said, “There's no need for anonymity here, I love you guys,
Episode 64: Drama is Transformative Lindsay chats with Janae Dahl, owner and creator of The Drama Notebook – the World's Largest Collection of drama activities for kids. We talk about the transformative nature of drama and why we desire to make drama teachers' lives easier.
In this podcast we cover:
Why drama is transformative. A voice projection game. Encouraging teachers to devise theatre – don't be scared! Why it's important to make drama teachers' lives easier. Where is drama in education going?
Show Notes
The Drama Notebook The Theatrefolk Survey
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening. Today I talk to Janea Dahl, owner and creator of The Drama Notebook website – dramanotebook.com. We're part of a mutual admiration society Janea and I are as we both believe so strongly in the importance of drama in the classroom. This was a really lovely talk with a few drama games thrown in there and ending with a very important question – Where is drama in education going? Here's Janea! Lindsay: Alright, so hello out there, our podcast listeners. I have the great opportunity to speak with lots of people in our field of drama and education, and it's always awesome when one of them is willing to come on the podcast and talk to me. So today I have Janea Dahl, and she is from the Drama Notebook. Hi, Janea. Janea: Hi, good morning. Lindsay: Hi. Oh yes, you're morning, we're afternoon, because you guys are out of Portland, Oregon, right? Janea: Yup. Lindsay: Awesome. Has that always been out there? Have you been in West Coast through all your life? Janea: I was actually born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Lindsay: [Laughs] So you've never left. [Laughs] Janea: I never left. Lindsay: [Laughs] That's okay. I'm an Ontario girl—Ontario, Canada—and I've never left here either, so. Some places you just never leave, right? Janea: Well, it's so beautiful here and, you know, it's actually a really inspiring state in which to write because in any…if you go an hour and a half in any direction you can hit the ocean, the mountains, rivers, the desert. So we've got like everything within driving distance. And the state is just…I'm always in awe of how spectacular it is, you know, just in a short distance. Lindsay: It's totally on my list, my to-do list of places to go, so… Janea: Come visit me. [Laughs] Lindsay: …now you've made it even more interesting. I love that lots of different…textures is really the wrong word, but like nature textures. I think that's really cool. Janea: Yeah, different landscapes. Lindsay: That'll do. That's a good word. Okay, so you are the creator, yes, of the Drama Notebook. Janea: Yes. Lindsay: Which is an online site, dramanotebook.com. And you bill it as “the world’s largest collection of drama activities,” which is by far I think the most excellent subtitle. Janea: [Laughs] Well, I can't find anything bigger or better, so I'm just going to put that out there. [Laughs] Lindsay: Well, why not? Absolutely. But the first thing I want to do is kind of start with you and what’s your theatre background, like let's build up to where you are now, but where did you come from? Janea: Yeah, well, I discovered theatre when I was a youngster and I actually went to college and got a theatre degree. I felt like that was just a really beautiful way to reach mankind, you know, in terms of telling a story onstage. I fell in love with the artistry of it. So I got my degree in theatre, and then I spent 12 years in professional theatre both as an actor/director. I really wanted to focus more on the playwriting and directing side of it, so I spent 12 years in that. And then I got married and had a son and kind of fell away from it for a period of time, but then when my child,
Episode 63: Theatrical Copyright Cha Cha Cha: Copyright for Beginners Today Lindsay goes through the twists and turns of copyright that every beginning drama teacher and more importantly every drama student should know. Comes with a Copyright Quiz!
Show Notes
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg Canada Copyright Flowchart
Download the free Copyright Quiz mentioned in the podcast. Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So, it was just Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and, even though Craig and I don't eat meat or dairy, that did not mean that we did not have a stomach-stretching feast! Oh, it was so good! And, even though it's something we should do every day, Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on what we're thankful for. We're very thankful to have a roof over our heads and good health – not just for ourselves but within our family. We're happy to be able to continue working at what we love and with each other. A lot of people ask Craig and I how on earth are we not only able to work together but spend all day together – everyday together. I hate to be all mushy but we get very cranky when we're apart.
And, lastly, we're thankful for all of you out there, and I don't hate to be mushy when I say that we love our customers. Stay tuned. At the end of the podcast, you hear about something we're so thrilled and grateful to have received from a group of customers. You guys are the best folks and, well, we're really proud to be part of your community – except for those of you who ignore copyright laws, or purposefully fail to educate yourself on copyright law. I couldn’t figure out a way to do that! That was by far the weirdest and awkwardest segue ever – “We love you! We’re so happy to be part of your community! Bad teachers who violate copyright law! Bad teacher!”
As you may have guessed, so, copyright is the topic of the podcast today and, you know, it’s a topic in the theatrical world – whether you’re a professional or an amateur, you’re doing a community production or a school production. It’s something where everybody falls under the same rules. Plays are protected by copyright but there’s a lot of people out there who have no idea what that means.
We get calls from people, all the time, who have sort of been flung into the role of director and don't know what it means to get permission to perform a play or copy a play and why would they have no idea that you need a royalty to perform them? I have adults who have no idea that, when you go to see a play, that that production had to, you know, basically rent the play.
And, you know, same thing with changes. Teachers contact me and tell me about the changes they've made to one of my scripts because they were sure that I wouldn't mind. Well, you know, you can’t do that. And, I have to tell you, just on a purely personal level, when someone changes one of my plays because they think I wouldn’t mind, that kills a little piece of my soul inside. Yup, if you change my script without asking because you think it doesn't matter because I wouldn’t care, a piece of my soul dies – that’s what you’re responsible for, just so you know.
But, you know, it's not even just people putting on plays or people going to see plays, it’s playwrights too! There are playwrights who have no idea or are confused about copyright. “How do I copyright my play?” “What does that mean?” “Do I have to register my play?” “If I’m signing a publishing contract, does that sign my copy right away?”
Okay. So, today I’m going to go in this podcast over copyright on both sides of the fence. And, let’s be frank, this is a podcast for the beginners, if you don’t know. You know, if you’re a beginning playwright: what do you have to do to copyright your work?
Episode 61: Theatre Teacher Janice Harris
Janice Harris has been a theatre teacher for 30 years and only became one because her middle school students begged for a class. If you're a teacher who's been thrust into drama, if you're just starting out and need a little motivation this podcast is for you. AND Janice is publishing her first play with Theatrefolk!
Show Notes
Malled: Two One Act Plays for Young Women
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
I am thrilled to death over this interview with theatre teacher Janice Harris. She has been a theatre teacher for over 30 years in North Carolina and she had very little background in it, did not pursue it out of school, and only became one because her middle school students were begging for a class. And that wasn’t enough. Janice was the epitome of perseverance. She had to pursue her administration for three years before they let her put together a drama class.
I love that. I would say that everything about Janice is the epitome of perseverance. We'll be publishing her first play Mythologues, which is a collection of Greek mythology monologues, and I have to say I think that is an awesome title. It says exactly what it is. It is one of those titles that I wish I had come up with myself.
And it took her about three years to write. She'd only work in the summers, bring it into work with her students, and she never gave up. So if you're new to teaching, if you're feeling maybe a bit at sea, maybe you're alone in the middle of nowhere trying to teach drama with no life preserver, you need a little motivation, this podcast is especially for you. So let's get to it.
So we are here, we are standing outside. Just heard birds, oh there's one right up there—at the North Carolina Teacher Theatre Educators…
Janice: Arts Educators Association.
Lindsay: Yes. How long have you been a member?
Janice: Since the start.
Lindsay: Which is how long is that?
Janice: I don't know, 17 years, something like that.
Lindsay: Seventeen years.
Janice: Yeah.
Lindsay: And how long have you been—and you're a teacher.
Janice: I am a teacher.
Lindsay: What do you teach?
Janice: I teach theatre arts. Right now I'm teaching creative writing.
Lindsay: Ah, okay. And how long have you been doing that?
Janice: Theatre arts I've been teaching about…hmm…30 years.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Janice: Yeah.
Lindsay: What got you into teaching theatre?
Janice: The kids.
Lindsay: Yeah? How come?
Janice: The kids going, “Can we have a drama class? Can we have a drama class? Can we have a drama class?”
Lindsay: Do you have a background in theatre?
Janice: I did not originally.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Janice: I did not originally. I started out as an English teacher.
Lindsay: I have an English degree as well, so. [Laughs]
Janice: Mm-hmm. And then the kids, “Can we have a drama class?” And finally we got one and I liked it so much I decided that's what I wanted to do.
Lindsay: What is it about drama that you like?
Janice: The creativity.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Janice: The relationship with the students. I just love everything about it.
Lindsay: Yeah? What is it? Because it really seems that it is the students for you.
Janice: Mm-hmm.
Lindsay: For me, drama is a way that they can express themselves in a way like no other, I think.
Janice: Mm-hmm.
Lindsay: What is it about when the kids come to life…
Janice: Well, I always tell—you said it. Well, I always tell the kids, “You could do things onstage and you would never do it in real life.”
Lindsay: Yeah.
Janice: You can do exciting things that you would like to but you don’t have the courage to.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Janice: Because onstage it's not you doing it,
Episode 57: Acting Up: Interview with Playwright Steven Stack Lindsay talks with playwright Steven Stack. He's got a fantastic new one act melodrama coming out called She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More.
Show Notes
Plays by Steven Stack
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Espero que estés bien. Gracias por escucharme.
Alright. So today we are acting up with another Theatrefolk playwright interview. Today I am so pleased to talk to Steven Stack. We have one of Steven’s plays already in our catalogue, The Bottom of the Lake, and upcoming, the fantastic melodrama mystery, She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More. But more on that in a moment. So first I have to say, hello Steven. Hi.
Steven: Hi, Lindsay.
Lindsay: How are you?
Steven: I'm doing great. I just got back from a carnival, and the family’s all asleep now at this point. [Laughs]
Lindsay: So basically you've worn them out…
Steven: Exactly.
Lindsay: …and so you can have a couple of minutes to talk to us.
Steven: Absolutely.
Lindsay: So first off, where are you right now? Where are you?
Steven: I am in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, which is the land of the trolls.
Lindsay: Oh, like really? Like what kind of trolls?
Steven: Well, they're wooden trolls. They have been carved. I don’t know the actual history but there are a lot of them, and there was a recent article that said that we needed more, so now they're recruiting like a bunch of wood carvers and they're all working on giving us more trolls, so it's going to be awesome.
Lindsay: So does that happen often, that life is so good in Wisconsin that…
Steven: [Laughs]
Lindsay: …[laughs] the needing of more trolls is an issue?
Steven: I suppose. It was a front page in our Mount Horeb newspaper…
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Steven: …so it's big time.
Lindsay: See, I love that. See, that's the kind of place that I want to live in. [Laughs]
Steven: It's pretty festive. It's a highly enjoyable place to live.
Lindsay: So that's my next question. So have you always lived in Wisconsin?
Steven: Oh no, I am actually from South Carolina, and I was teaching there full-time. I had just started a drummer program for sixth, seventh and eighth grade, and then I auditioned for a play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Lindsay: Yup.
Steven: And there I met my stage manager Maggie. Turned out that we were meant to be together, I suppose. We got married, and she was going to get her master’s degree at UW-Madison and...
Lindsay: And you just followed along and the rest is history.
Steven: Oh yeah, I thought it was pretty awesome. I was like, “Okay, I'm all set up here in South Carolina, and let's just leave everything and see how it turns out,” so.
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Steven: [Laughs]
Lindsay: That's okay. Craig and I, my Theatrefolk partner, we met in a play as well, only I was playing Lizzie Borden.
Steven: Oh, nice!
Lindsay: And he was dad, so at the end of every night, basically ended up with me with a huge meat cleaver over his head.
Steven: [Laughs]
Lindsay: So, you know, theatre romance is…
Steven: It's a beautiful thing. [Laughs]
Lindsay: So since you are there, what is it like being a playwright in an area that is sort of nontraditional, I would say, for theatre?
Steven: Well, I'm fortunate that there's a studio that I happened to work at in Mount Horeb called Forte Studios, and there's dancing, acting and voice there. So I get to do a lot of my stuff there because I'm the writer for them, and we have a lot of talented kids there, and then we're only about 20 minutes away from Madison…
Lindsay: Oh, okay.
Steven: …which is huge for the arts. So it works out really nicely.
Lindsay: I love that. I love hearing about places that—you know,
Episode 56: The Ensemble in High School and Middle School Plays Lindsay's favourite group in a play is often the ensemble. But at the high school and middle school level, being in the ensemble can often feel second class. What can you do to make the ensemble first rate?
Show Notes Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk please do not lower the safety bar, I will do it for you. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening.
Episode Fifty-Six: The Ensemble
What I'm going to talk about today is taking back reposing the original meaning of the word Ensemble, wrenching it from the dirty word it's become especially within high school and middle school plays. And what are some exercises that can make a cast divided work together as a whole, as a community, as an ensemble.
So the word ensemble has more than one meaning these days. In the theatre the word has come to represent a division – here are your leads, here are your less than leads. If you're in the ensemble, sometimes that means, you're not good enough. And that is such a damaging stigma. It's one that has a lot of implications in the high school and middle school production. If you're fifteen years old and you get the ensemble, that can heavy weight for some teens to bear. It can feel like you're not good enough as a human being, let alone as an actor.
And I get that feeling. And I get that you want to be the star. I get that many find their way into the theatre because there's a desire to be front and centre. You know, they want to be the one chewing the scenery, in the spotlight, getting the applause. They want the accolades, to be the one who says “you love me, you really love me!” At the school level, I've seen actors get a script and start counting their lines. I've seen them get into a one-up man ship, I'm better than you because I have more lines than you. I've seen young actors puff up at being “the lead” and deflate at “only being in the ensemble.” There's a stigma. There's a difference. A division.
But the origin of the word ensemble comes from the exact opposite place. If you look in the dictionary, if you're one of those folks. I am one of those folks, I have dictionary.com on speed dial. In a bizarre way. But the origin of ensemble comes from Latin and then through French (for all you spelling bee junkies out there) to mean at the same time, no division but something together. And because now it's in my head because I said it, so side tangent, I used to love, I love words and I used to love watching the National Spelling Bee. But I really miss the old days when they just used to put the spelling bee up in the afternoon on a Sunday on PBS or something, very small and low key, just the kids and the words. Instead of the way they have it now trying to present these story packages and making this event all flashy. It's not flashy, it's a spelling bee. It is theatre though, there is so much character and subtext, to see these kids some of whom who have never seen the light of day struggle with a word and then there's that bell and you can see the crushing defeat of generations in their eyes or when they get the word and the smell of victory. It's an amazing thing to watch as an observer of human kind... It was so wonderful when it was just the kids and the words. And I don't like 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. There I said it. I don't like the songs, I don't like the characters. I think the songs are unmemorable. I said that too. Huh.
Back on tangent! The word ensemble originates with the concept of all at the same time. And adding on to that it has evolved into meaning that takes individual parts and puts them toward one whole. For example:
A unit or group of complementary parts that contribute to a single effect,
Episode 55: Pop Star Broadway: YouTube Fireside Chat In this edition of the YouTube Fireside Chat Lindsay and Craig look at pop singers who take on Broadway. Do they work the same theatre magic or do they leave us cold? Should pop singers stay off the stage?
Show Notes Have You Heard? by Krista Boehnert
Nick Jonas in Les Miserables
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lQlyMw3JfI
Mel C in Jesus Christ Superstar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3wQd9vuGnA
Ricky Martin in Evita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSMuaZXe-44
Reba McEntire in Annie Get Your Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEJxh3fZ_rQ
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk, developing all our podcasts at the World Domination Global Headquarters. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Episode 55, YouTube Fireside Chat. I am tickled to death to welcome Craig Mason. Hello, Craig.
Craig: The World Domination Global Headquarters?
Lindsay: Yeah, I'm trying it out. I'm trying it out.
Craig: Okay. Alright.
Lindsay: [Laughs] Back to the podcast for another Fireside Chat. Today we've got pop singers taking on the musical theatre. All of the singers we’re going to listen to today actually performed the songs as part of their respective shows, not necessarily on Broadway but of similar ilk, professionally. And the first chap we're going to listen to is Nick Jonas, who played Marius in Les Miz. Yes, he did. I'm not kidding. He performed the part in London and was part of the 25th anniversary humongous concert performance, which Craig, you and I have seen a couple of times.
Craig: And we've discussed on this podcast before.
Lindsay: Yes, of course we have. So the first thing I have to say about Nick Jonas is, oh Nick. [Laughs]
Craig: Okay.
Lindsay: Yes?
Craig: You know, I've seen that concert like a lot.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: And I have this theory about Nick Jonas.
Lindsay: Please.
Craig: Let's just get all the stuff out of the way that you think I'm going to say. He's outclassed in every way in this show.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: He has no ability to phrase a line. If you watch, he can't go beyond three words without taking a breath.
Lindsay: No…
Craig: So there's no overarching phrasing to what it is that he's singing. He has a lot of trouble. I noticed him struggling with the accents, struggling with breath, struggling with phrasing, struggling with intention. But I will say this: This is a great one to start with, because what I feel about Nick Jonas is that for that role, I think he's quite well-suited.
Lindsay: How come?
Craig: Well, because he kind of looks like the young lover.
Lindsay: Mm-hmm.
Craig: This is kind of a sappy character.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: And this is kind of a sappy character who grows into his own throughout the course of the show, so I think he kind of physically looks like it. And I also think, just from watching him—now, he makes no sense in this show because everyone else in the show surrounding him are legit, not just Broadway, but opera singers for the most part. And so he comes in with his pop voice and it just makes no sense, and that's why you think he's really bad. But I do think that he illuminates the show in a way that I feel like that you could have a production of this show, if everyone was singing in a…
Lindsay: On his level.
Craig: Not on his level, but singing in a pop style…
Lindsay: Hmm.
Craig: I think that the show could have a successful performance in the whole pop vein…
Lindsay: Hmm.
Craig: …rather than the more operaey vein that I think it's written in and is normally performed. But I think that he shows that that can…
Lindsay: The pop voice.
Craig: …that that's possible.
Lindsay: The pop voice…
Craig: Yeah.
Episode 53: Acting Up: Interview with Playwright Clint Snyder
Lindsay talks with new-to-Theatrefolk playwright Clint Synder, author of Lord of the Pies. We talk about the writing process, writing plays for teenagers, and how does Clint feel about technology?
Show Notes
Lord of the Pies by Clint Snyder
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
So this is just you and me, right? I can confide in you, right? So I've been trying to figure out something new for the intro, something that says what I'm doing and the scale, and while I am actually sitting in front of a little foam box, the words “foam box” irk me tremendously. They just don't sound right. They look right, but you're not reading along are you? I love “Let's do this,” but it's taken by much bigger fish than me. [Sighs] Anyway, blerg. I'll keep working on it.
Episode 53. We are acting up in an interview with playwright Clint Snyder. So today, I am going to talk to a new-to-Theatrefolk playwright, Clint Snyder. Clint recently joined us with the delicious one-act parody Lord of the Pies, which is a spin on the classic—can you guess it—Lord of the Flies. Pies, flies?
What makes this parody great is that you don't actually need to know the original to enjoy and get something out of the play. It works on two levels, and when Craig and I were considering the play, that is what really sold him. He loved it out of context. He didn't know the original work. Whereas I did know Lord of the Flies and I loved it in context. So we knew it was a winner.
You can find Lord of the Pies on our website, Theatrefolk.com. Go there now, read the sample pages for Lord of the Pies, pick it up. It is an especially unique competition piece, I think. Now, on to the interview.
So, I am here with Clint Snyder. Hello, Clint.
Clint: Hi.
Lindsay: [Laughs]
Clint: [Laughs]
Lindsay: And Clint is one of our writers, and he has written a lovely, lovely piece called Lord of the Pies.
Clint: Yes.
Lindsay: And so what we're going to do today, Clint, is we're going to spend a couple of minutes just basically talking about writing, if that's okay with you.
Clint: Yeah, that sounds great.
Lindsay: Awesome. So where are you?
Clint: I'm in Portland, Maine.
Lindsay: Ah. Oh, I love Portland. Have you always been there or where you there for school or…?
Clint: I moved up to Maine for college, and then I moved down to Portland right after college. So I've been here about five years.
Lindsay: What’s your arts community like?
Clint: It's small, but it's nice. It's very vibrant. There are a couple of different community theatres around here, and it's a great place.
Lindsay: Do you find that you can sort of…there's enough for you as an artist?
Clint: Oh yeah.
Lindsay: Yeah?
Clint: There are definitely a lot of different outlets especially for how small of a city it is, but it's really nice here.
Lindsay: That's really cool.
Clint: Yeah.
Lindsay: So my first question in terms of writing is, why do you write? Why did you choose to do that?
Clint: I guess it's kind of a cliché, but I’d have to say I write because that's the only thing that I know how to do. [Laughs] I don't know what else I would be doing if I wasn’t writing, you know?
Lindsay: There was a point when I was starting out as a playwright and it was going pretty much horrifically wrong, and you know, when you get to that point you're like, “Okay, do I go get a job or do I do this?” And I'm like, “I don't know how to do anything else, so I might as well just keep stumbling through.”
Clint: Exactly. Like I don't know honestly what else I would…I mean, I'm a photographer right now, but really that's just to tide me over until I can do this as a full-time thin...
Episode 52: Best Of
This week we look back at an episode from the past year. "How do I get published" is the question that every writer asks and yet it's the wrong question. It's also the worst question a beginning writer can ask an established writer. If you have a play script burning in a drawer, listen to learn what questions to ask.
Show Notes
Nice Girl by Amanda Murray Cutalo
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. A microphone. A foam box. And you. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening.
Today we've got one more look back before we head into the “new year” as it were with new podcasts. This podcast is from October and deals with a question I get all the time. It's also the wrong question a young playwright with a playscript sitting in a drawer can ask. Let's get to it.
Episode Eleven: How do I get published is a stupid question.
So, let’s set a few things straight before I get rolling. Yes, I’m aware that the title of this episode is inflammatory. Of course, it is! Are you really going to listen to a podcast where the title is, “How do I get published is an easy and nice question?” or, “How do I get published and all the fluffy bunnies and unicorns?” Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you’d listen. I think I’d listen. I’m partial to a fluffy bunny. Nonetheless, it’s a statement. “How do I get published is a stupid question.” It’s also something that I believe. I’m not just throwing it out there to be inflammatory. It’s something I stand behind because of the vast number of situations I have been in where this question has been asked of me, and in the vast majority of those times, it’s the absolute wrong question.
Second, obviously, I am only speaking of playwrights. I am a playwright. That is what I write. That is what I know. I don’t really know a darn thing about being a novelist, a short story writer, or a poet. So when I say, “How do I get published is a stupid question,” I’m talking about playwrights. So, don’t get your knickers in a knot if you’re a novelist, a short story writer, or a poet and being published is your endgame. Go find a novelist podcast and get your knickers in a knot over what they have to say.
So, here’s the scenario. I’m at a conference. I’m presenting a workshop. I’m at the Theatrefolk table and I’m talking with a student, a young writer just starting out, and the question comes up. “How do I get published?” And they look at me like I have that basket, that basket full of fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and they’re expecting me to hand over the basket, “Here you go! All the answers you require plus a big basket of cute! What better thing is there?” Here’s the thing, they ask one question — “How do I get published?” — and they expect there is only one answer. And that it’s an easy answer — easy for me to provide, easy for them to understand. They expect that there is a brochure that I can pull out of my purse at a whim, at a moment’s notice, and that I carry a bounty of such brochures that has all the steps laid out in color, in three dimensions. Now that’s a brochure, huh?
I don’t think people who ask the question are stupid. There is a distinction. It’s not the people, it’s the question because I know why they ask. I was not beyond asking such a question when I was a young writer. When I was young, oh! When I started out I believed with all my heart that there was an easy step-by-step process to succeeding as a playwright. We see the example of those who come before us and it makes sense to copy that example, to pick what someone else has done as the thing we are supposed to strive for. We see the potential endgame because others have done it and succeeded at it so it’s natural to go, “Well, I can do that. I can do that, too.” And when we want to write, the thing that seems to make you a writer,
Episode 51: Two One Act Play Interviews
This week we look back at two podcast interviews before TFP ever existed. It's two one act play interviews: Ruth Wareham shares her production experience with Emotional Baggage and Billy Houck talks with his students about performing two plays from A Box of Puppies.
Show Notes
A Box of Puppies Emotional Baggage
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk, coming at you from in front of a little foam box.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it’s a blast from the past. Theatrefolk podcasting before there ever was a TFP.
Episode Fifty-One
So, for the next two weeks, we’re going to be opening the vault as it were to the Theatrefolk podcasting past and this week is from the way, way past – way back, man! I’d like you to know that I just made double V-signs of the microphone. So, both these interviews are over five-years-old. And why would we post interviews that are over five-years-old? Well, they both involve one-act plays of ours and they both share interesting production experiences. They both talk about what it was like to perform these plays – one from a director’s experience and one from a cast actor’s experience. And I know that, for our customers, they – you – when you’re looking at a play, you want to know just what it’s like to read a play or see a play, but also, you want to know the experiences of others that can help in how you visualize and how you take in the play.
And so, the first interview is with Ruth Wareham who directed a production of Emotional Baggage and had quite the interesting – and I use that word with fully gritted – adjudication experience. Lindsay: Hello there, podcast listeners. This is Lindsay Price at the International Thespians Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. And I am with…
Ruth: Ruth Wareham.
Lindsay: Ruth Wareham. And Ruth came up to our table the other day and introduced herself as the director of Emotional Baggage which I’m always glad to meet directors who do this play because it has varying reactions.
Tell us about why you chose it?
Ruth: I definitely wanted something different. I wanted something that would challenge my students, especially with being required to go to District One at competitions, who are always looking for something that’s a little unique, that would, you know, take people by surprise. It definitely did that and I’m very focused on the process of doing a play, not just the final outcome, and I thought that this would be something that would be a very fun, creative process to be a part of with my students.
Lindsay: It’s a very different play. Tell people why.
Ruth: Well, first of all, there’s no dialogue which makes it unique. The story is done through pantomime with the suggestion of use of music.
Lindsay: When you saw the script for the first time, did it freak you out?
Ruth: Well, I had read a summary about it so I knew what I was getting into. I definitely had to read it a few times. It’s not something that’s obvious, that’s self-explanatory. And, you know, when you have the dialogue there, things just kind of pop into your head, obviously. So, I could tell it was something different. I wouldn’t say I was, like, scared. I was really, actually, it intrigued me.
Lindsay: That’s good. That’s a good way to be.
Ruth: Yeah, and I come from a dance background so I thought this would be a neat opportunity to do some creative movement.
Lindsay: And what did the students think?
Ruth: They were so excited about it. Even when I tried to give a synopsis of what our show’s going to be for the next season at the previous into the school year and I could even just see the interest on their face when I said we were going to do that show. So, they were very excited about it,
Episode 49: Own It!
Sometimes the first step to being an artist is saying you're an artist. Saying it out loud. Telling people. Putting it on business cards. Spray painting it on walls. OK maybe not that last one.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk, coming at you from in front of a little foam box. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, you must own it. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
Well, it's summer time and the living is indeed, as they say, easy. That is one pretty wonderful thing about having a job that follows the school market. You always know when the work is going to slow down. So, July is a kick back, relax kind of month for us expect that we're mental and we never exactly relax and we’re sort of working.
I'm in the corner with my laptop. Craig has a laptop going and and the desktop. He’s making website improvements that I totally do not understand. He'll tell me and I'll nod and smile ‘cause I know what he’s doing is a good thing. I just don’t know why it’s a good thing or what exactly is the composite of the good thing. It’s like another language, right? But we’re working.
July is all about taking breaks. You know, go outside, see the world. See it’s really hot outside in the world. Come back inside. Enjoy the air conditioning. I think it's really important to take breaks. If your life is all go, go, go, go, go, there's no space to recharge. There's no space in your brain to regenerate, right? And there's nothing more frustrating than an exhausted brain and there’s nothing more fulfilling than those new ideas that come from a really fresh brain. Oh, I’ve got to love that! “Fresh brains! Fresh brains!”
Okay, so where would the news be in this intro? Well, what’s the news? The news is we’re working but we’re taking breaks. We've got new plays in the pipeline. I’m in the process of working on some new e-books that will be coming out this year – a new write-your-own, a monologue writing book, and a couple of others. And, well, we've got plans. We love this dumb little company and we love our wonderfully smart customers. Don’t you love how it works out? We’re little and dumb and our customers are wonderful and very, very smart. And we know that, well, we can do more and offer more and get out there more and I'll sum it up by saying more is coming. That's the news. There's going to be more. Not exactly CNN but, you know, what is?
And lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? Well, well, we do indeed post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com – how did I pronounce that? theatrefolk.com, please and thank you. Know how to pronounce the name of your own company. And on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Forty-Nine: Own It.
So, hello! Hi. How you doing? I’m good! Are you well? Everything’s grand. It has been a while since I have been sitting here, talking to you, staring at the mic, all on my lonesome. I have to say, I’ve enjoyed the brain break from coming up with these but I also really enjoyed all the conversations that Craig and I recorded on all the shows that we saw on our trip and I hope that you enjoyed them, too. You know, the five of you who are out there listening, hello. I think I probably know all your names.
It was a pretty unique experience and it is my, well, I can’t say it’s my dream because dreams are intangible. I want to make it my vision, my motivation, my goal with steps that I recreate that experience, repeat that experience, not recreate – I don’t want the same one but I want to go back! I want to go back to England. There, I’ve said it.
“So, what are we talking about today” she says as she flexes her metaphorical podcasti...
Episode 48: Is it the Show or the Performance?
This podcast continues a series of talks between Lindsay and Craig on the plays they saw during their trip to England. This week they talk about two shows currently on in London: One Man, Two Guvnors and Merrily We Roll Along. The question they had about both shows is the question of the podcast: Is it the Show or the Performance?
Show Notes
New Release: Scarlet Expectations of a Drowned Maiden and Two Greek Queens New Release: Monster Problems New Release: neeT Teen New Release: The Gift Merrily We Roll Along One Man, Two Guvnors
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk, talking on mic into a little foam box.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, Craig and I have our last conversation about the shows we saw across the pond. Finally, we make it to the West End! But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
New plays! We’ve got new plays in the Theatrefolk news section! How appropriate is that? I’m going to stop singing now. See? I start these things, I dive into them, and I think, “Oh, that’s not going to sound too goofy or awkward,” then I, in the middle, “Wow! This is goofy and awkward.” Welcome to my world!
Okay. So, I want to send a big shout-out for one of our newest plays Scarlet Expectations of a Drowned Maiden and Two Greek Queens by Robert Wing. It is so new! It’s got that new play smell and it is just a wonderful gem of a comedy.
So, in this play, legendary TV talk show host Dee Dee Dane welcomes women who just can’t seem to get it right when it comes to men. But, Dee Dee’s guests aren’t just any women. These relationship-challenged women are none other than some of literature’s most memorable characters.
We’ve got Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter, Ophelia from Hamlet, Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, Penelope from The Odyssey, and Medea from, well, Medea. Ah! It’s funny, it's got great characters. You have to check it out just to see how Medea acts in this talk show world. It's a fantastic competition piece, minimal staging. Go to our website, read the sample pages now. Do it. Or, you know, wait till the end of the podcast – that would work, too.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast – this awkward, goofy podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Forty-Eight: Is It The Show, Or The Performance?
This is a pretty big question to ponder when it comes to seeing theatre. A less than stellar show can be saved by an awesome performance, and a good show can be completely sunk by something subpar. And, as a theatre artist, when you’re going to see shows, I think it’s part of the job of being a theatre artist to distinguish, to make that distinction with what you’re seeing and where the success lies, or where the fault lies.
You cannot tar everything with the same brush. “I like this. I don’t like this.” You have to figure out what it is – specifically – that you don't like or you do like about what you're seeing. And, when we were in London, we went to see two shows in the West End for which we were seriously contemplating this question before we went – One Man, Two Guvnors, a modern version of the comedia play One Servant, Two Masters, and the Sondheim musical, Merrily We Roll Along.
And, we also have a special treat. It’s not just Craig and I talking into the little foam box. We'e joined by an old university friend who – fun fact – was actually in the play – as opposed to figuratively, or metaphorically. Julie was in the play where Craig and I first met and fell in love over 20 years ago. Everybody say, “Awwwwww,” or, “Ewwwwww,
Episode 47: Is it Worth it to See the Understudy?
This podcast continues a series of talks between Lindsay and Craig on the plays they saw during their trip to England. This week, they talk about their mistake buying tickets for Hamlet at the RSC, not realizing that it was for the understudy performance. At first it was a disappointment but then after seeing the show, a completely unique theatre experience.
Show Notes
Royal Shakespeare Company The International Thespian Festival Our Facebook Page
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast! I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you are well, thanks for listening. Today, Craig and I continue our jaunt through England, and we have finally made it to the RSC the Royal Shakespeare Company. Oh, that was the most horrible accent ever! First, lets do some Theatrefolk news! So, this podcast goes out on a Wednesday, and this particular Wednesday is June 26th, so we are in the thick of our week at the International Thespian Festival. If you're standing in Lincoln, listening to your iPod, listening to me talking to you on your iPod and you haven't made it over to the vendor area yet, get over here! We've got free electronic catalogs with free resources, we have free monologue CDs for students, 20 guys and 20 girl monologues, all free. We're giving away free scripts to those who come up to the table with the daily secret password, which is posted each day on the Theatrefolk Facebook page. If you're not in Lincoln, I'm done talking about it, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. Phew. Lastly, where oh where can you get this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word, what is it, ah yes, Theatrefolk.
Episode 47, is it worth it to see the understudy? So, when Craig and I talked about what theatre we wanted to see when we took our trip to England, going to Stratford on Avon, and seeing something at the Royal Shakespeare Company was certainly on the list, and then, we found out that Hamlet was playing, and we had to see it. It just sort of in our minds went, this is the quintessential sort of England theatre experience, right? Then, when we bought our tickets, they were so remarkably cheap, we couldn't believe it. Then, we found out why. It was the understudy performance, where all the understudies play leads, and leads play the minor roles. So, let's head off to Stratford to hear our thoughts on this most interesting question. Ta ta!
Craig: So, we're seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet in Stratford, up on Avon, and what we didn't know when we booked the tickets, and we should have known I suppose, because the tickets were only five pounds a piece, was that what we were seeing was an understudy rehearsal. When we first discovered that, I was a little bit disappointed, but then I quickly realized that we didn't know anybody who was in the cast anyways. So, it wasn't very important, we wouldn't be missing anyone in particular.
Lindsay: And, how cool is it, because what other theatre company does a public understudy show?
Craig: So, there was a curtain speech before the show, and they explained that this was the one and only time that they do a rehearsal like this. The show is about two months into the run, and everyone in the cast that has a lower role understudies obviously, other roles in the shows, some understudies more than one role in the show. This is the one time that they put the whole show together with just the understudies.
Lindsay: But that's not all. The people who play the larger parts, like Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius...
Craig: They had to fill in the lower parts so those roles would be covered as people's rank...
Episode 46: Is Community Theatre Viable?
This podcast continues a series of talks between Lindsay and Craig on the plays they saw during their trip to England. This week they talk about a true community project between young and old, music, dance and theatre, all on the Cornish legend of the Giant Bolster.
Show Notes
About the Giant Bolster The International Thespian Festival Our Facebook Page
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, Craig and I continue our conversation on the shows we saw in England and a totally unique theatrical experience. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
So, next week, from June 25th to the 29th, Craig and I are going to be at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. We've been going to this festival with Theatrefolk since 2004 which means, what nine years? Ten years? Oh, isn't that a long time? And that's not actually counting the three years in the 90s that Craig and I were workshop leaders at the festival before Theatrefolk even existed!
The International Thespian Festival is a pretty amazing experience for any high school student. Your days are jam-packed with huge shows that had to be adjudicated to make it to the main stage. I once saw a production of Jesus Christ Superstar with eight follow spots and the very, very first year that Craig and I went, we saw a production of The Pirates of Penzance that had a life-sized pirate ship with pirates, with singing, with cannons going. It was just amazing.
And then, on top of that, you can fill your afternoons with one-acts, there are three hours of workshops every afternoon in every possible theatrical field you can imagine. I teach playwrighting there and I love it because the students who come to my class want to be there – they love theatre, they want to write, and it's fun to teach people who want to be there, and who love theatre, and who have a passion for theatre.
And also, it’s like a one-stop shop. You can talk to people from different universities, you can buy plays. It’s a total immersion into theatre world. It's a really wonderful week. And the real reason I'm going on about it is that we here at Theatrefolk headquarters, we have a little secret that we are going to be doing next week. We’re going to have a secret daily password while we're at the festival and, if you come up to our table and you tell us the daily password, you get a free play. I know! Isn’t that exciting? And the plays we're giving away, they’re all brand new, they're all fresh off the presses – none of them are in our catalogue yet. And so, how do you find out about this password you’re asking? How can I get myself a free new play? Well, it's going to be posted daily on the Theatrefolk Facebook page. So, if you haven't become a fan or liked Theatrefolk on Facebook and you're going to be in Lincoln, now would be a great time to check us out. And joining us up on Facebook is a good thing to do anyway because we do lots of free stuff over there. We’re coming up to the end of the month which is Free Play Sunday which is also posted on our Facebook page.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com, on that Facebook page and on Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Forty-Six: Is Community Theatre Viable?
And I'm not really talking here about what we know as community theatre which has been sort of been co-opted to mean amateur. I'm talking about what I think the true sense of the word is which is to bring a group of people together, to bring a community together to make art. And that's the show we’re talking about today.
Episode 44: Is a Moment of Brilliance Worth It?
This podcast starts a series of talks between Lindsay and Craig on the plays they saw during their trip to England. The first show was "Being Tommy Cooper" and the question of the podcast is this: Is a moment of brilliance worth an otherwise mediocre show?
Show Notes
Are you going to be meeting with other theatre teachers? Having a conference? A weekend sharing session? A Professional Development day? We’d like to send you some catalogues, resource handouts, bookmarks, and maybe even a door prize or two! Click here to give us the details.
Trailer for the show we saw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtc-9SGaENM
The glass/bottle routine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D6KBqgNGDw Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today is the first in a series of the podcasts Craig and I recorded while in England. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
Do you ever get together with other drama teachers in your district or your area? Hold a mini-conference? Do a professional development day? Would you love to have some materials to distribute to your other teachers for your meeting? Well, we would love to send you some materials! We have catalogues, electronic catalogues on CD-ROMs that have a slew of free teacher resources on them, we have sample plays we can send out, interactive educational demo DVDs – all you have to do is go to our website, click on the Free Stuff banner, and you'll find the contact page. Tell us when your meeting is, how many people are attending, whether it's high school, middle school, or both and we'll send you out something lovely.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Forty-Four: Is A Moment Of Brilliance Worth It?
So, Craig and I recently had an amazing vacation in England, and a little bit of Paris, and because it's the thing we love – it’s our life, our job, our everything – we took in a lot of theatre and our theatrical experiences ranged from awestruck amazing to sneaking out at intermission. These shows resulted in a number of great conversations and a number of questions and we just happened to, you know, record them. So, of course, one of our questions is the one for today's podcast. Does a moment of brilliance – you know, where you get the goosebumps going and you’re, like, just awestruck, you’re enthralled – in a play that is, for the most part, pretty mediocre, is that worth it? When you have one moment of brilliance and the rest, really, not so much. Well, let’s find out. Lindsay: Hello. So, Craig and I are currently sitting at a lovely little kitchen table in our holiday letting in the United Kingdom in England. We are taking a vacation, isn’t that right?
Craig: Yes.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: And you’re happy and you’re not writing.
Lindsay: I’m happy. I’m not writing.
Craig: I’ve seen you happy.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: And I’ve seen you writing. But I’ve never seen you happy and not writing.
Lindsay: Hmm. Well, that’s because, in England, they do tea properly. So, we went to a coffee shop yesterday and I got a pot of tea and, in our little place that we have here, there is a kettle, and see? You can tell in my voice. I just started smiling. But that is not what we’re here to talk about – whether or not I can be happy and not write. We’re here to talk about theatre. So, one of the things that we’re doing on our holiday is we’re going to see a lot of theatre and I guess it’s not a true vacation since we’re actually trying to do a podcast about the sho...
Episode 43: What is a Playwright?
What is a playwright? Lindsay talks about what that question means to her and what happens when she assumes everyone is aware of that meaning. Guess what? Everyone is not aware.
Show Notes
Playwrights! Send us your plays! Our submission guidelines are posted here.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today we'll be talking a question that I know the answer to but why should anyone else? But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS: how do you submit a play to Theatrefolk? Sometimes I get asked if I’m the only playwright at Theatrefolk, and I am not. No, no! We feature the plays of 24 other writers at present and we’re always looking for more. Some of our writers are professional playwrights. Some are teachers who also write which amazes me because that's like two full time jobs right there. We have an open submission policy which means anyone can submit a play to us, so long as it fits the guidelines. The first being the play has to work for schools and student performers. That's a big one, we can tell pretty quickly if a writer has submitted something they know will work for us and our customers or whether they're just sending stuff out blind. Hey, if I throw this into the wind maybe someone will take it.
And frankly if you don’t care where the home for your play is, why should we? And for heaven's sake, please do a proper cover letter even in an email. Tell us who you are, why are you sending this play to us. Again, take care about that little baby play of yours to make sure it is going to find a good home that is going to actually get out to an audience and be produced, right? That’s our final goal. We want this stuff to be produced. So, having a good resting place for it is important.
For modern plays, we are looking for a majority of teen aged characters and most definitely a teen protagonist. I get writers who argue with me all the time that “Oh, that’s not good for high schools. Teens can play all ages and we shouldn’t be narrowing their prospects” and sure, fair enough, that’s… You’re absolutely right that teens can play a variety of characters. It’s just not our mission or our mandate that we’re looking for. That’s not our focus. We want teen stories, teen perspective. Large cast is good, more girls than guys is good. Simple set is good. We love adaptations. But before sending one, look at our catalogue and see what we've got. We are a small and mighty and we don't want to double book with something similar than what we already have.
Here's an important guideline. We are not so worried about whether or not the play has had a professional production because our plays, our customer, our schools and students. They don’t often get produced by professional companies. What we care about is that it works in a school. We love it when we get plays that have been produced to the Thespian festival or a series festival. Or that they’ve just been put on at the school because that means that whoever wrote them, most often it’s a teacher, they have thought about what’s going to work for them. And what’s going to work for them more often than not it’s going to work for us and it’s going to work for others.
And finally, email your play to us. Don't spend your precious time and your precious money putting something in the mail. That is old school; we are interested in getting it by email. And you can email it to us at tfolk@theatrefolk.com. Put it to my attention, Lindsay Price. I am the first reader on all submissions that come in. Put my name on it, it makes me feel good.
Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the stitcher app,
Episode 42: Miracles Happen in This Classroom
Lindsay talks to drama teacher Tracy Garratt about the difference between drama and theatre in the classroom.
Show Notes
What should we do when we hit 10,000 likes on Facebook? Tell us here!
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay Price: Welcome to T.F.P., the Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today we're going to talk about the difference between theater and drama in the classroom. But first let's do some Theatrefolk news. I have to say I am pretty jazzed at what's happening over on our Facebook page. I think there's like cool stuff going on. First of all we have hit over 7,800 followers, fans, likes. Whoever you are, we adore you because that is a lot of people who don't personally know us, hanging around, reading our posts, putting up their own posts. I just think that's pretty cool. It also means that we're closer to 10,000 than farther away. We'd like to hear what you think we should when we hit that pretty cool number. Right? I remember when Craig and I started with the page, our goal was 1,000 followers or likes or fans or whatever. We were excited about the idea that we could hit 1,000. An now, we've come again so much closer to 10 than not, so go over to our Facebook page. Make sure you're following along. That's where we post pictures, we celebrate productions. We post drama and education articles. It's where free play Sunday happens, last Sunday of every month, free scripts. It's where you can find our blog posts and podcasts. Everything in one tidy little place. It's a lovely hub of high school theater. I just think it really does represent who we are as theater folk, who we want to be, how we want to reach out, how we want to be in our little community, our little drama geek community. I love it. Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page. Facebook. And Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on that word. What's the magic word? Theater Folk.
Episode 42. We've got a teacher interview. Today, I'm talking to a drama teacher, Tracy Garratt. I have been visiting Tracy's classroom for three years now. Oh my gosh. I have taught play writing, I've work-shopped some plays, and we've had many conversations about what's it like to teach high school drama, what the difference between drama and theater is when it comes to the classroom. What does it mean exactly, what does it mean when we look at drama and we look at theater as it is specifically applied to education, to what happens between a drama teachers and drama students. From my perspective, what Tracy and I are talking about comes down to skill sets and outcomes. In the theater classroom, students learn a skill set that will improve their performance on stage; projection, articulation, character analysis, physicalization, all of which are driving towards production. That's the outcome, to produce a play. In the drama classroom, students learn a skill set that will improve their performance in life: improvisation to develop self-confidence, articulation that relates to being able to speak clearly in a job interview. The outcome here is more process driven. There may be a production, there may not. Tracy has her students moving towards some kind of public performance but it's never really the driving focus of her classroom. Between the two skill sets, it's the same tools and the same classroom but with pretty decidedly different outcomes. Of course in the theater classroom, the skillset can also apply to the stage and to life, it's just a matter of the direction of the class. Performance or process. Let's get to the interview. So, I am sitting here on the floor of the drama classroom of Tracy G...
Episode 39: I Don't Know
Whether it's the answer to an adjudicator's question, or it's what an actor says about certain aspects of their character, the words "I don't know" are not good.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today I am talking about a completely un-useful sentence “I don't know.” But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS: Okay. This podcast is coming out May 1st. Today, the day I am speaking to you, is not May 1st. Did I tell you I am going away? And so I am and frankly, gosh darn it, it’s so difficult to accumulate news for the future. Waa! First world problems, I can't do my podcast properly because I'm going on vacation. Waa! So what I wanted to do was I’m going to tell about some of the news plays that I've got bubbling in the Theatrefolk test kitchen. It’s a lovely kitchen. It has a gas stove.
So I am working with a school this month to develop a play called Monster Problems that they’re going to perform for their feeder schools. And I am so happy when I can put another middle school out there into the world that has nothing to do with fairy tales. Although I’ll have to say that this one does have a Zombie, Medusa and an Irish Vampire who is little boy crazy and files her nails. Next, I am work-shopping a vignette play, a new vignette play called Neet Teen which is all about, which makes sound, teen life backwards and forwards and inside out. I’m very much attached this to you. I think it’s rather swell. So it would be interesting to see if other people think it’s rather swell.
Sometimes they don’t. You never know; you have to… It’s very difficult to. You get into a trap if you start to go “Oh I’m doing this because it will be popular. I’m doing this because it will sell well. I’m doing this because it’s going to do X, Y and Z.” And really, the only thing you can do is, “I’m putting this out there because I’m proud of it. I’m putting this out there because I like it. I’m putting it out there because I can see that there’s a need and this how I am trying to fill that need with something that I like and that I’m proud of.” It’s the only way you can do it because if you start to guess or you start to try to tell the future. But what’s going to happen with the play, well it just won’t happen and you will get sad, lonely and live with cats. So I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to do that. Excellent English, alright!
The really cool thing for me about Neet Teen is that it really works to extend my comfort zone in terms of writing within a different format, scenes with movement, absurd scenes, and scenes without dialogue at all, monologue, poetry, choral work. So I can't wait to see how that comes to life, right? And how do the schools respond to working in these formats and do they work onstage the same way that I imagined that they work in my head? Which is not always the case, that’s why getting a script on its fetish it is so, so vital.
And then when I get back from my vacation, BFV back from vacation, I'll be working on a play called The Gift which is inspired by the short story, the Gift of the Magi. This new holiday full length which isn’t necessarily, specifically Christmas related but it’s very much in the theme of the spirit. The spirit of giving, you know the spirit of the holidays. And it is so close to being done, I can smell it. I can smell this play being so close already. So keep your fingers-crossed on that one and you better cross your toes too. You know if you would, please?
Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the stitcher app, AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk.
Episode 38: The Rules
What are the rules an artist needs to follow to get the job done? What are the rules that must be consistently and fiercely broken? Lindsay talks about some of the rules that other writers have shared with the world and what she considers to be her own personal rules for writing.
Show Notes
Send us your photos!
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today we’re talking rules. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS. Photo call! We want your pictures. If you've done one of our plays, we want to see what you've done and how you've done it. First, I never get to see all of the productions of my plays because they're flung far and wide and seeing my show in a series of pictures just brings me right into the world of the production. I love it. Also, we want to show you off. We want to showcase your pictures on our blog and on our website. I love seeing how different productions interpret the same play. Further to that, pictures are such a great tool for those who are looking at a script and trying to visualize a certain point if they can read the scene and see that moment in a picture, well that's like cake and candy all at the same time. So please, please send us your production photos. You can email them to tfolk@theatrefolk.com. Tell us what we're looking at and let us know that we can use them online.
Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can also find us on the stitcher app, AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk.
Episode Thirty-Eight: The Rules
I did a blog post recently. I’m doing a lot of blog posts recently because I am stock piling them because I'm going to England and there are no blogging elves that live in my computer and take care of these things. I'm going away. Okay, blogging elves keep things going. See you in two weeks! That would be really lovely. Something I often say and it’s the only thing that I, dislike is not the right word, unsettles me, that gives me tension. It’s the other thing about being self-employed and wishing I had a 9 to 5 job is that if I had one of those, I could leave the job on Friday and not think about it ‘til Monday. And then if I had one of those and I went away, somebody else, that mind of work would cover things. They would be a temp or a substitute or something.
But when you're self-employed, the only time that work happens is when you do it. And you can really fall into a trap of working all the time. Poor dipole! It’s Sunday and what am I doing? I’m recording a podcast. There really isn't such a thing as a weekend. But then again, this is not coal mining. It’s not really work, it’s love. And at the heart of it, I know how to get things done so that I'm not falling into the hamster wheel traps of always, always, always working. You just, you don't think about the big picture about the vast number of things that need to be done. I think about the small picture: one blog post at a time plodding along, one day at a time; one podcast at a time, yes that’s what we're doing here, right?
So this podcast came out of a blog post that I wrote for the stock pile for England. And it was a post about writer's rules. Not the golden rule, not the Ten Commandments kind of rule, but a collection of so called guidelines that are good to live by to make writing happen. And that's really the only reason to have rules, if they’re going to help, if they’re going to guide you forward and make writing happen. Rules that hem you in, that trap you to keep that going, it’s meaningless. So in that particular blog post, stock pile England, I talked about the writing rules for that Kurt Vonneg...
Episode Thirty-Seven: Welcome the Bad Bits.
The path to success, whatever that success may be, is not by looking for the soft and easy road. Success comes when you accept the bad bits of your job, of your art. Nobody gets just the good bits.
Show Notes
Royalty Exemptions for Scenes and Monologues for Competitions Competition Monologues: Book One Competition Monologues: Book Two Middle School Monologues: Guys Middle School Monologues: Girls Seth Godin on Just the Good Parts
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today it's all about the bad bits and I’m having such a fun time saying bad bits, bad bits, bad bits. Alliteration, love it. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS: A question that we often get is “I love such and such a monologue is it from a published play? I have to audition with a monologue from a published play does such and such count?” So I just want a lay off here all the monologues in our monologue collections which comprise of Competition Monologues, Competition Monologues Book 2, and Middle School Monologues for Girls and Middle School Monologues for Guys. Each of these books, and every monologue within each of these books, does indeed come from a published play. They come from our plays, imagine the surprise. And so each of these plays from which each of the monologues comes from can be found in the Theatrefolk catalogue or at our website www.theatrefolk.com. So worry no more monologue hunters, use ours in good health.
Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the stitcher app, AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk.
Episode Thirty-Seven: Welcome the Bad Bits
Bas bits, bad bits, and bad bits – I’m so easily entertained. So this particular podcast was inspired from a blog post written by Seth Godin. Do you know who Seth Godin is? Let me share.
So Seth is known for being a marketer. Some call him a marketing guru. I'll let you be the judge of that if you choose to search him out. He is also known for being an author and for selling those books in non-traditional ways. He's big on the notion of failure as a path to success; talks about how ideas spread and that if you want your idea to spread, which is not through the dreaded viral concept. And let me say this if anyone announces “we want this to go viral,” they have no idea what that means because you can't force viral and that idea will decidedly not go viral. If you want your idea to spread about how it has to be remarkable, such very big on the notion of shipping. Meaning, get your work out there.
Your work does you no good in your head. Writers, you writers, I’m talking to you. You need to not only get your work out of your head; you need to get it into the world. Ship your product. So I'm pretty big on a lot of what he does and what he says and I read his blog very regularly and I'm often struck by his posts. If you plunk Seth Godin (G-O-D-I-N) into Google, actually if you type in Seth's Blog, his is the first that comes up.
So this particular post of his called: Just the Good Parts. I think you'll see pretty clearly why it struck me and why it's relevant to our particular world.
Just the Good Parts: "I want to be an actress, but I don't want to go on auditions." "I want to play varsity sports, but I need to be sure I'm going to make the team." "It's important to sell this great new service, but I'm not willing to deal with rejection." You don't get to just do the good parts. Of course, In fact, you probably wouldn't have chosen this path if it was guaranteed to work every time. The implication of this might surprise you,
Episode 35: Getting and Giving Feedback
It's necessary. It's evil. It's a necessary evil. Oh no not really, but there certainly is an art and a skill to giving and getting constructive feedback in the arts. Just so you know, telling Lindsay you don't like her work is like having a piece of her soul ripped away. Oh no not really. Ok, yes really.
Show Notes Lindsay's three rules of getting feedback
One: Write it all down. Two: Never address the feedback in the moment. Three: Always wait a week before re-visiting what you wrote down.
Time and time again I have written down someone's feedback and in my head said, "This is the stupidest thing I ever heard." And a week later I look at it again and go, “Crap. They're right.” Happens all the time. Distance is important in accepting help. These steps work for me, maybe they'll work for you. Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we're going to talk about getting and giving feedback. But first let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
The catalogue is coming! The catalogue is coming! It's Spring and that means we have sprung a new catalogue. Like that? Like that? Pretty snazzy, huh? Check out our theatre teacher resources. Check out our free resources. Check out our new plays! Check out plays that are new to you. It's all in one tidy, sweet-smelling – if you like the smell of paper and I do – package. You can also download our new catalogue on our website, or if you want to hold the actual thing, drop us a line and we'll send you one for free. We want you to have whatever access to our products and/or services that works the best for you.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Thirty-Five: Getting and Giving Feedback
It's necessary. It's evil. It's a necessary evil. There is an art and a skill to giving constructive feedback and getting that feedback, and I think that’s especially true in the arts. It's more personal in the arts, mostly because for many the expression “of the arts” is personal. And we’d like to say, you know, we’d all like to say there is a separation between artist and the art, but I don’t know. I think it's kind of bogus. It's kind of a lie, right? My art, it comes from me. It comes from inside of me. It comes from my brain, is written by my fingers. It is an expression of me. It's my voice, you know? My art is me! And I don't think in a creepy way. I hope not.
Okay, so, because the instant I say something like that, I get a very creepy vision of that eccentric writer with long, flowing scarf and tuberculosis, sitting in a garret, smoking, looking into the distance and saying, “My art is me....” That’s not me and I think it’s because I'm too practical – I've said this before. I'm too practical to be creepy. I hope I’m too practical to be creepy. But I'm very much okay with saying my art comes from me and therefore it is very personal. I have to be okay about that because it's true.
Okay, back on track. What are we talking about? Feedback, yes! Okay. I take feedback personally because to me art is personal. And I actually feel a little sad for artists who don't view their art as personal. That feels really cold to me, doing art like a desk job, like an accountant which now means I'm being unfair to accountants. You know, maybe they take numbers very, very personally. Maybe they see numbers the same way that I see words. Why not? You know?
Or maybe I’m the sad one. Maybe I should be able to make that separation between art and artist.
Episode 34: Once Upon a Midnight Dreary In this episode Lindsay talks with high school actors as they prepare to present her adaptation of Poe stories and poems. Based on this production, Lindsay is changing the title of the play and removing a character. And yes, those are good things. Show Notes
Shuddersome: Tales of Poe
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we're going to hear a cast talk about their rehearsal journey and how their work that they did had a direct influence on mine. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK News.
Okay. So, since we're going to be talking about Poe and my adaptation of Poe which is now called Shuddersome: Tales of Poe, which I feel like I've been talking about on and off for, oh, two years now, but now, now, finally! It! Is! Time! My adaptation of a selection of Edgar Allen Poe's stories and poems, Shuddersome: Tales of Poe, is going to be published! It's going in the catalogue! The publishing proof is being worked on as I speak. Hooray! Finally! Hooray!
After multiple, multiple, multiple workshops, two productions and the killing of many, many trees, we're ready to go. And, frankly, though I sometimes felt like chucking the whole thing off the tallest building after another teacher stopped talking to me about the play, you know what? I think it really did need this time.
Taking a piece of literature from one medium and transforming it into another is not easy. I think, if you're doing it right, it shouldn't be easy because, at the heart of it, the key word is transform. You can't just take a story and dump it into a play format. Well, you can, and I have seen it done. I’ve seen it done a couple of times with Poe and it just doesn’t work fully. A full transformation into a play – a piece of theatre, that’s key, too, right? So, I'm so thankful for St. Roch for tackling this piece in the fall which really gave me the confidence I needed to say, “Yes! This is a play!” And then, I’m so thankful for Listowel Secondary who had to face a lot of adversity getting their production on its feet and they gave me the confidence with their performance to say, “Yes, this is a good play. This is a piece of theatre.” Okay, I'm going to go on but let's get the rest of this intro out of the way so I can continue to babble.
All right. So, lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app, AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Thirty-Four: Once Upon a Midnight Dreary....
....as I pondered weak and weary. So, the bulk of this podcast is going to be a talk that I had with Listowel Secondary School students last week. They were performing my Poe play, Shuddersome: Tales of Poe, as part of the Sears Drama Festival and I caught them after their tech and before their performance.
What really, really stuck me about this cast is how calm they seemed and how much of a community they seemed. They knew they had worked hard together. Due to some issues, the cast worked mostly with a student director for their rehearsal period and they just really gave the impression that they were ready to go, they were ready to perform. It was a very difficult piece but they had put in the time and they were confident in a positive way. And, to me, that is the embodiment of ensemble. You work together and reach a final goal. You work hard on it even if you are totally unsure of what you’re working on and, as you’ll hear, there were times when they did not know if what they were doing was going to work and yet they kept at it. I love that. So, let’s get to it. Lindsay: So,
Episode 33: Celebrate the Competition
Lindsay chats with herself on what it means to celebrate the competition, why it's important in the arts, and why she thinks finishing is more important than winning. And not in a "let's all get a participation ribbon" kind of way. Show Notes
Our Facebook Page Spotlight on Dynamic Dialogue A Free Shakespeare Analysis Class with Sir Ian McKellen! one big umbrella: Umbrella Talk with playwright Lindsay Price Ten-Minute Play Contest - Lewis Center for the Arts Elementary Lesson Plans 25 Ways to Celebrate Theatre In Our Schools Month Game of Thrones as a High School dramedy Tick Talk
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, I'm going to talk about being nice to your rivals. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK News.
So, Craig has been wading through the archives of our blog and finding all kinds of wonderful past posts. We've been doing this blog since 2005 and it's easy to forget what has been posted in years gone by. I can barely remember what was posted last week! But we can forget no longer. We are posting past jems on our Facebook page. Are you one of our Facebook fans? Or have you liked our page or whatever it is that Facebook is doing now?
Just this week, we posted a past newsletter filled with playwriting exercises, a free Shakespeare Analysis class, and an interview I did some years ago about the amazingness of high school drama students.
And, add to that, some things ONLY posted on our Facebook page this week: a link to a Princeton playwriting contest for students in grade 11, free lesson plans for elementary students, another to a list of 25 ways to celebrate Theatre in our Schools month, and a link to a Game of Thrones high school drama parody. Fun stuff, check it out.
Speaking of amazing drama students, I wanted to share this. I got an email this week from a twelve-year-old – uh-uh, twelve – thanking me for my play, Tick Talk. He was in a production and it did very well at his District One Act Festival and he went on to talk about how the play made him realize how other human beings go through a lot pain and being aware of that – being aware of what others go through. And then, he was also very aware that his performance – and he got a lot of compliments on it – he won an award for his performance – but his performance was inherently linked and connected to the words on the page. That he couldn't succeed as an actor if there was no play. I was pretty blown away. I’m keeping in mind that, when I was twelve, I would never have looked an adult in the eye, let alone written such an articulate thought out treaty on the connection between actor and play and the connection between theatre and the world! And I have to say, this is at the core of what being a playwright is to me. That is success to me! A letter like this, that can really make a thousand crappy comments about how my little skits are going, it makes it all worthwhile. Okay, maybe not a thousand, but this one’s going to keep me going for a long time. It means something.
And I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re doing a production and your playwright is alive, find a way to reach out to them and tell, talk to them about your experience. We want to know. We want to know what it was like to be in our plays. You know? I like that.
And lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page – remember that Facebook page – and Twitter. You can also find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Thirty-Three: Celebrate The Competition
I don’t know why I made that a two-syllable word. Compe-tition,
Episode 32: Romeo and Juliet YouTube Fireside Chat
Since our February and March... and April newsletters revolve around Romeo and Juliet, we thought it appropriate to do a YouTube Fireside Chat on the play. Lindsay and Craig discuss a variety of clips from different versions of Romeo and Juliet.
Clips discussed this podcast: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whitting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZLVlajiihI Romeo and Juliet first meet – Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes Sadly, this clip has since been removed from YouTube. Balcony Scene - Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes Sadly, this clip has since been removed from YouTube. Royal Shakespeare Company - Sam Troughton and Mariah Gale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHoaPLO6Zd8 Alessandra Ferri and Angel Corella in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS10pzxE4eQ Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
THIRTY -TWO
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it's a YouTube Fireside Chat all about those crazy cats, Romeo and Juliet. But first, some THEATREFOLK News.
R and J! R and J! It's R and J, all the way! See? This is what happens when I make stuff up on the fly. It sounds as ridiculous and dorky as it just did coming out of my mouth. All right! So, not only is Romeo and Juliet the focus of this podcast, it's also the focus of our March newsletter. And yes, Romeo and Juliet was the focus of our February Newsletter. And yes, it's going to be the focus of our April newsletter. This is not a three-hour tour I am on. This is a three-month extravaganza. Will I ever be done with this play? And it's my fault. It’s totally my fault. It’s my fault because I love this – I love diving into a script, and just doing the analysis, and coming up with exercises and, before I know it, it’s the beast and the beast is 15 pages long and that's too long and I haven't even started on the language. I have not even started!
So, in February, we looked at the story of Romeo and Juliet. In March, it's the characters and the relationships between the characters. And April will all be about the language – the language of Shakespeare, the language in Romeo and Juliet. And that's it. It has to be. I cannot spend a quarter of the year on this one play. Well, I could, but I won't. Anyway, it's a good newsletter. It’s a great newsletter! I think that's a totally backwards compliment that I really wanted to say here was that it’s fantastic. I love it. I love the exercises. It’s large because it's a fascinating play, and there's lots to talk about, getting knee-deep in with the characters and figuring out what they’re all about, I think it’s worthwhile. So, don't fear the behemoth. Embrace it, or something like that.
And lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search for the word Theatrefolk.
Episode Thirty-Two: YouTube Fireside Chat
Lindsay: Hello! Here we are, all snuggled up in front of our computer fire for our YouTube Fireside Chat.
Craig: Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle.
Lindsay: I don’t need to introduce Craig.
Craig: Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle.
Lindsay: He’s making fire noises!
Craig: Did you want another log on there or are we good?
Lindsay: You know what? I’m feeling a little bit chilly. Can you put another log on our fake computer fire?
Craig: I will do that.
Lindsay: Awesome, perfect, perfect!
So, for this episode, since I’m in the middle of my three-month behemoth extravaganza of Romeo and Juliet, we thought, well, why not include everybody into my little hell? Which it’s not – I’m really enjoying it. It’s just long, Craig.
Episode 31: The Weight You Give Them
Lindsay talks about the weight we've given to offensive words and why people are often more offended by words than actions.
Show Notes
Censorbleep by Lindsay Price
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, I'm going to pontificate on the being offensive, being offended, all round enraged by words. But first, some THEATREFOLK News.
Hey, hey, hey! It's practical news today. It was very exciting! Craig came up to me while I was preparing this podcast and said, “I have some news for your news segment.” Oh, squee! And the news is all about our PDF downloads. Did you know that you can get all of our plays as a PDF download? Well, you can. You can order the physical book that comes in the mail, or you can use the internets to order and receive your copy as a PDF. Say you’re running behind – how dare you, Lindsay, to suggest that human beings run behind! – say that you are and you don't have time, you’re doing a show and you don’t have time to get scripts in the mail. You can go to our website, bang! Choose a script, bang! Order the PDF, bang! Order the photocopy license, you are good to go. You’re golden.
But that is not the news. That is not what I’m here to talk about. It’s neither new nor news, unless you’ve never visited our website, or ordered anything from us. Theatrefolk, you know, the T in TFP. Hi. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. But the news is that our PDFs are now available to print in a tree-saving mode. You can now print them two up. I know that doesn’t sound like news, but it is! This is brand new, just got worked into our system. Save paper. Save a tree. Do it.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Thirty-One: The Weight You Give Them
And what are we talking about giving weight? Words, words, words.
In general, in my practice of playwriting – that is the playwriting I do for schools and student performers – the tightrope of dealing with offensive language is wire-thin and a mile high. And when you walk it, there's no net and a gale force wind. How's that for an image? Good luck getting across! I'll be eating a cheese sandwich in a bomb shelter somewhere.
And that's the thing. Some artists think, particularly those of us who present their work to the public in some fashion, we think we can avoid that tightrope, we can avoid offending people. I know, you know, some artists are all about being offensive. “Roar! I want to offend people and make them walk out and fling feces and blood and make them sit up and take notice! I will run across that wire-thin mile-high tightrope with seething confidence! Roar!” Yes, that’s my offensive artist voice. Okay.
But, for the non-offending types, it all comes down to, a lot of times, wanting everyone to like us – our work and us. Me, you know? It all stems from wanting universal love. I admit it. And then I start to think, “Well, if I don't offend anybody then everyone will automatically love me. That'll work! That’s exactly what I have to do!”
Uhuh, except that that doesn't work – it's a slippery slope because there is no one list of words that are offensive to everybody. And, sometimes, it's not the words. It's the concept behind the words. And what offends person A will be totally laughed off by person B. So, let's get into all that fun stuff.
Because I write for schools and student performers, one of the general rules when it comes to offensive language is that I can't often swear in the dialogue. Yes, I have, and yes, there are many,
Episode 30: New York Part Two
In part two of Craig and Lindsay's New York adventure they talk about their favourite theatrical experience – Too Much Light Makes the Baby go Blind.
Show Notes
Playwriting Exercise Series Seth's Broadway Chatter Box Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we have part two as Craig and I dish on our favourite New York experience. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK News.
Lots a great stuff going on over on our blog over on theatrefolk.com/blog. We've already talked about Movie Monologue Monday and we also have an on-going series of playwriting exercises on Saturday. It has been so much fun to work on this series. I think that it just really sits in an interesting part of my brain. I love coming up with exercises. I love trying to find new ways to help encourage, inspire writers. This week, it's going to be a “picture prompt as writing inspiration” post.
Every time we're in New York the visual stimulation is just mind-blowing. There is always something awesome to look at, interesting, exciting. Everywhere you look there is a story. Now, often it is a story that I am completely fabricating, I'm making up as we go, but, you know, that's what writers do, right? Make it all up! I have to put my crazy mind to work. I have to make it do something useful, you know?
So, last time in NYC, I was really taken by textures – murals, mosaics, ceilings, floors. So, that's going to be the application of this week's picture prompt. Write a scene that takes place in or incorporates aspects of the photograph.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Imagine that! All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Thirty: New York Part Two
Thirty? We're already up to thirty episodes? Isn't that wonderful? That’s amazing. All right, let’s keep going.
So, today we're back in New York City where Craig and I talk about our favourite theatrical experience in New York and actually anywhere. We also talk about a live interview we saw with Seth Rudetsky. He has a show called Seth's Chatterbox in the back of a tiny basement cabaret bar where he interviews Broadway performers and these two that he interviewed the time that we went share some very interesting points on the path to Broadway, on succeeding on Broadway and failing on Broadway. So, keep listening to find that out.
Lindsay: Hello, Craig. How are you?
Craig: Me?
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: I’m good. I’m tired.
Lindsay: Yes! We’re nearing the end of our time here in New York, right? And I think that last night we did what is, I think, it’s my top theatrical experience. How does it rate for you?
Craig: Last night’s show?
Lindsay: Just going to see this show in general?
Craig: Oh, I think it’s something that I, sometimes, it’s only on two nights a week and, sometimes, we come here and it’s not on the nights we’re here and I feel lesser for not having seen it.
Lindsay: The show that we’re talking about, it’s a very unique experience. It only plays in New York and Chicago and it’s been running for years and years and years and years. We figured out that we started going in 2004.
Craig: Which is impossible because we’re not that old.
Lindsay: That means we’re old!
Craig: Weren’t we in high school in 2004?
Lindsay: Yes, of course, we were. And this is a show called Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind put on by the New York Neo-Futurists and it’s a very simple concept. It is 30 plays in 60 minutes.
Craig: They attempt to perform the 30 plays in 60 minutes.
Episode 28: Movie Monologues
Craig and Lindsay talk about a new series on the Theatrefolk Blog – Movie Monologue Monday. What can an actor learn from a movie monologue and why is it a bad thing for actors to audition with a movie monologue?
Show Notes Movie Monologue Monday Blog Posts Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, Craig and I are going to talk movie monologues. What can you learn as an actor from a movie monologue? But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news.
Okay, so really, the news part is the fact that we have this great new series on our blog, Movie Monologue Monday, which, guess what? I'm going to talk about it in two seconds with Craig, so let's get to it. Let's get right to the heart of the matter.
But before I forget, where, oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and on Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
So, on our blog, Craig has recently started a series called Movie Monologue Monday, where he talks about a specific movie monologue and provides a YouTube clip of said monologue. We don’t often think of the movie monologue because movies are so often go, go, go, go action, but there are actually a lot of really amazing moments.
I think of the Alec Baldwin monologue from the movie version of Glengarry Glenn Ross. In fact, I always quote his big line, is, “Always be closing,” and in my head I say that at least once a—okay. I was going to say once a month, but then I'm like, no, I say it more than that. And then my favorite movie monologue isn't even in its movie. It's from Waiting for Guffman, and it's only found in the DVD extras.
So I started to ask Craig about this series and why he started it, and we got to talking, and I thought, “We should be recording this. This is actually something that we could do do for a podcast.” So, hi Craig.
Craig: Hi Lindsay.
Lindsay: Okay. So, my first question to you is, why did you start a series called Movie Monologue Monday?
Craig: Well, I follow a podcast called The Film Vault. I'm actually not even much of a film buff. I just like listening to the two guys that are on the podcast. And they talk about movies and each week there's a theme, and a few weeks ago their episode was on the topic of movie monologues.
So I thought, “Oh, this is a good one.” I thought I was just going to link to it for our blog, but I thought, “Well, maybe if I can find some of the YouTube clips of those monologues, I’ll post them.” And then I thought, “Well, why don’t I just look at one and write about it and just post that?” And then I thought, “Oh, there must be a million movie monologues out there,” and I knew a few off the top of my head that were really important to me, and so I put it out there on our Facebook page just asking people for some input on what their favorite movie monologues were.
And so I just started doing one, and then I thought, “Well, why not make a little series of this?” So that's what I do every Monday. I analyze one movie monologue.
Lindsay: I've been finding it pretty fascinating. What are some of the ones you’ve done so far?
Craig: I started with my all-time favorite, which is Robert Shaw’s speech in Jaws about the USS Indianapolis, the shark attack.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: I've done Charlie Chaplin’s speech from The Great Dictator.
Lindsay: And then this one, this past…not this past week, but right after the Super Bowl you did one I’d never heard of, mostly because I'm assuming I don’t watch football movies, but it was Al Pacino from Any Given Sunday.
Craig: Yeah, and actually I have never seen that movie.
Episode 27: Workshop Q&A
This past fall Lindsay spent a week working on a new play with students. On the last day she lead a Q & A with them about the process and the play. The students asked some amazing and insightful questions and kept Lindsay on her toes!
Show Notes Sample pages from Backspace.
Backspace by Lindsay Price
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today we have a Workshop Q and A, Question and Answer. But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news.
So the Q and A is all about my latest play, Backspace, which is a brand new play, can be found in the Theatrefolk catalogue, and so that's make it news, ta-da! You can find it on Theatrefolk.com, where you can read sample pages and get a sense of this weird little thing. Backspace takes place in a world where the writing process is like going to war, and the play is unique, I guess unique for the 21st century anyway, because I wrote the first draft on a manual typewriter, and the act of writing on a manual typewriter is what brought the play into being.
I love it. I wrestled with it for a long time. I had triumphs in figuring out how to theatricalize this concept. I had defeats, crashing defeats where the play almost got chucked out a window. But you know, that's the way it is with the writing process, and if you give up, then you're not writing. And writing isn't always pleasant, and I don’t give up, which I think [laughs] is probably my best attribute and my worst attribute as a human being.
Lastly, where, oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app, and of course, you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode 27, Workshop Q and A, Question and Answer. So I did an extensive workshop for Backspace at a high school in Northern Ontario this past fall, and at the time the play had a different name and was actually a full-length, and it was because of the work that these particular students did that I was able to, well, if you want to get artsy-fartsy about it, that I was able to find the true nature of the play. And now, it's something I'm really proud of. It was a difficult—in a good way—play to write, and it just is very satisfying that at the end of the process there is a product out there in the world that I can feel proud of. Yay! [Laughs] There's some English for you.
These students are the bomb. I loved working with them. I worked with a grade 9, a grade 10, and a grade 12 class, and they were so quick and they dove into the world of the play, and the world of the play was not normal, and you know, after a couple of cursory what-are-we-doing glances they just went, “Okay,” and they did it all full throttle.
And so here at this Q and A, we have the grade 12 class, and it's at the end of the week and after we’d been through everything, and we just sort of sat around and talked about the play and the writing process. And one of the questions really put me on the spot, you know, “What do I want the audience to take away from this play?” And it was awesome that it was asked of me because it's something I ask of writers all the time, “What do you want? What is the end purpose of this play when the audience is sitting there and then eventually leaving?” And it's a really important question to know the answer to, and it was this question that really made me hone in and focus on what is the final version of the script.
So the sound is a wee bit wonky because we were in a cavern of a room, but I still think it's an interesting lesson. And I'm loud anyway, because I'm always loud. Okay, here we go.
[00:04:30]
Lindsay: Questions.
Episode 26: Youtube Fireside Chat. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Craig and Lindsay are off to New York this week! And one of the plays that has just opened on Broadway is Cat On A Hot Tin Roof staring Scarlet Johansson. Lindsay and Craig discuss the play, and look at YouTube clips from various productions.
Show Notes Wikipedia on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof From the original Broadway Production http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQexr1f2TsE Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OchpaSIYrDY&NR=1 Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qms4jiC3oh0 Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imGf6o-HIO0 Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it's the first YouTube Fireside Chat of 2013, woop, woop! But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news.
Okay, so last week in the Theatrefolk news, I talked about going to the Arkansas Thespian Festival, only I didn't call it the Arkansas Thespian Festival. I called it the Ar-kan-sas Thespian Festival, and I'm sure that if you're from Arkansas, hearing something called Ar-kan-sas is unsatisfying. So I just wanted to say that, yes, I do know it's Arkansas, and I just get things flipped and turned around sometimes, and I apologize. So that's news number one.
News number two is that we've got new plays, two new plays, so fresh from the printers they’ve still got new play smell to them. The first is a lovely sendup of Lord of the Flies by playwright Clint Snyder, who is a new-to-Theatrefolk playwright—love that—and it's called Lord of the Pies. When Franny cannot open the door out of the pie shop, anarchy, the apocalypse, Scotch tape, and a talking lemon pie all converge in one great piece of pie, of course.
And then we have one of my plays, yay! I'm doing jazz hands for those of you who don’t have the visual part of a podcast, [laughs] which is everybody. And this is a new play of mine, it's called Backspace. And in this play, for the characters, to write is to go to war, and ideas resist with every fiber of their being. It's imagistic. It explores personification in a vivid theatrical manner – where else can you bring a typewriter to life? And it's been through a really long journey to get to this point. And I have to say I'm pretty thrilled with its theatricality, and I know and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, it will be an awesome competition piece…of pie? Of course.
Lastly, where, oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and on our Twitter page, and you can find us on the Stitcher app, and you can subscribe TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Hello, here we are. It is Craig. Craig, hello.
Craig: And Lindsay.
Lindsay: And me! And the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is oh so delightful. [Laughs]
Craig: For the YouTube Fireside Chat!
Lindsay: Woo-hoo! We're cozied up in front of the computer with mugs of hot coco and a thick computer-generated fire. It's the first YouTube Fireside Chat of 2013. This week, actually today, the day that this podcast is going to be posted, where are we going, Craig?
Craig: New York.
Lindsay: Yay! That's right. So when we go see shows in the Big Apple, Craig, you can verify this, unless we're…it's something dead set on seeing, like Follies, we don’t have a plan. We don’t buy tickets in advance. We just go to the TKTS booth and see what’s playing, and wing it from there, right?
Craig: Yeah, that's the fun of it, I think, because there's so much to do and so much going on that it's just fun to go and just pick something on a whim and go. It's very spontaneous.
Lindsay: Uh-huh. So for this chat,
Episode 25: What You See is What You Get Believe it or not, today's podcast is inspired by the difference between Disney World and Darien Lake. How does their atmosphere and customer experience differ? Which one offers more bang for your buck? And how does this all tie into theatre?
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today it's all about what you see is what you get. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS: Wow. I think I’m, seeming very bouncy today. It’s bouncy day at Theatrefolk. So this week, I'm going to be at the Arkansas State Thespian Festival teaching three different playwriting workshops. All of which focus on the beginning stages of writing, that’s kind of my specialty, that’s what I like to teach, how do we get started? Sometimes, that is the toughest part of all and it’s the part that makes us think we can’t be writers, or artists, or creators of any kind because the start is so daunting. So I like to focus on that, the idea, where does inspiration come from, and if indeed inspiration exists at all, and how to make sure that particularly with play righting that your work has a defined characters and it define conflict. Time and time again, when I worked with writers and when writers say to me my idea fizzled out and I don’t know why. It’s quite often because I’ve not defined the conflict. I haven't been to this festival in a number of years and it's lovely to be going back, really lovely students. I’m looking forward to it.
Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the stitcher app, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk.
Episode Twenty-Five: What you see is what you get.
So, Craig and I like to spend time at Disney World. You may not know that, you may, I owned it, and I said it. Walt Disney World – that’s where we like to go. For those of you who have no interest in all things Mickey Mouse, that's the one in Florida; Disney Land, California, Disney World – Florida. We don't have children, we have been with children. Did you know there are a lot of things to do with children on Disney world? You know, I didn’t know that. Two adults running around, riding rides, people watching, sugary snacks, the whole shebang; we've been going to Disney World for over ten years now. First time, we got free one day tickets. I think it was in 1997 and we really were hooked.
It was a number of years after that before we were able to scrape together the dough for a real vacation. And I still remember the day, I was temping, I was sitting in a doctor’s office and it was… I remember very clearly the doctor because I have to do a lot of dicta, which means the guy speaks into a little tape recorder and then the secretary takes the tape recorder. Sorry, the administrative assistant takes the tape recorder and then types up what he said. Whatever doctor he was, he had to use words. The length of which I have never seen and was a mumbler and a fast-talker and you just play over and over again just going, what on earth is he saying? Anyway I’m the doctor’s office and then on the phone to Craig and I remember clearly, I said “You know, well, I think you better go book that trip”. I remember that day.
Disney means a lot to us. So I just outlined above, it was the place we went to for our very first vacation and it was a long time. When we were in a relationship before, we could afford anything close to a vacation. And actually afterwards, it was the place that made us put a savings plan in place so that we were always saving for a vacation. That has stood us in good stead even today. We’re currently saving for up an English vacation.
Episode 23:Brock Talk
Lindsay speaks to first year students at Brock University about her path from a love of the arts to a career in the arts, and how embracing failure, and being open to a non-traditional path are key.
Podcast Notes View the video from this podcast on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzh3MVramvM Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we've got a recording of a speech I gave to students at Brock University. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
Happy New Year! We are back and we are raring to go, so much so that I get right on the road this week. I am off to the Missouri State Thespian Festival where I’m teaching some playwriting workshops and doing something a little interesting. They're trying out a different workshop scenario with workshops of different lengths throughout the day, throughout the festival, and I'll be doing a couple of quick-fire ones – half an hour – which are appropriately called PLAYWRITING NOW. Now, you must playwright. Now, sit down, right now, now.
So, they come in, they sit down, we’re writing for the whole time. It should be interesting to see how much we get done in a half an hour. I’m hoping for a warm-up monologue and a scene. And then, the other thing that I'm doing which I'm very excited about is that, over the course of two days, I am going to rehearse and then put up, as an advanced staged reading, my latest play which is called BACKSPACE.
Students from two schools are participating and we literally have three hours to rehearse on Thursday and then there will be two performances on Friday. This particular process is something that I'm pretty comfortable with actually. I've done it before – taking a play and putting it up in a kamikaze fashion and in a short time period. It’s intense but it’s totally doable. And, you know, sometimes it does depend on the students you get. I've never met them. I don't know what their skills are. We're just going to jump in the pod together and see what happens. And regardless of what happens, it's going to be a great experience for the students who are involved, who get to be basically parachuted into a play. And also, it’s going to be pretty interesting for those who come to watch because, as a part of the experience, I'm going to share the writing process – where this idea came, how scenes have changed from the idea stage to the first draft. I actually have a sort of a handout that shows the same scene in three different drafts and how it’s evolved. Everyone always wants to know: how do you write a play? And I think – I hope, fingers crossed – that this will give them a picture of what it's like, for my anyway. It’s so individual, the writing process, for, oh, from A writer to Z writer. So, that's the goal. That's what I'm going to set out to do.
And lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and on Twitter. You can also find us on the Stitcher app, AND, of course, you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Twenty-Three: Brock Talk
I have a yearly standing gig. 2012 was my fourth year and I've already been invited back for 2013. And I give a talk to first-year university students at Brock University. It's a theatre in education course which is attended by students across the board – students destined for theatre performance, students who want to be drama teachers, students who actually want to be science teachers – it's a required course for them. And the point of my talk is to speak about my particular path. How I took a love for the arts and started myself from a place of performance and moved through many failures and mistakes and missteps to...
Episode 22: Les Miserables YouTube Fireside Chat
The movie for Les Miz is coming out in a couple of days. In this last episode of the year, Lindsay and Craig talk about the musical, their favourite songs and the emotional impact of them when sung in another language.
I Dreamed a Dream - Lea Salonga http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=356YjN91Oe8 I Dreamed a Dream - Ruthie Henshall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBg2-oZClS0 I Dreamed a Dream - Anne Hathaway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk5UStefYmE Patti Lupone I Dreamed a Dream http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNNPWvUqB-U Un Dia Mas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKrqo6at_X8 Sal el Sol http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=6o5JeLsvkPs&NR=1 Alfie Boe - Prologue http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G1RuIYMFpgM#t=544s Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it's a YouTube Fireside Chat with myself and Craig Mason, and we're talking Les Miz. But first, some Theatrefolk news.
Okay, we're still on December, so there's not a lot of news except there is something very, very exciting that's coming up at the end of the month. Just because it's December, that should not mean that we stop Free Play Sunday. So even though it is before Christmas, we're going to give you a little present after Christmas. Last Sunday in December, tune in to our Facebook page and our Twitter page, and we will be giving away PDFs of some of our plays. We don't know what they are yet, but they're going to be, of course, exciting, wonderful, a good read.
And lastly, where, oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday on our blog, Theatrefolk.com. You can also find us through the Stitcher app on our Facebook page, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Okay, so it is just before Christmas and there is something very, very exciting for some people that is coming out just before Christmas, and that is the movie version of Les Miz. Craig, can you feel the excitement in the air?
Craig: I can hear the people sing.
Lindsay: Can you…? [Laughs] Are they singing the songs of angry men?
Craig: They might be.
Lindsay: [Laughs] And so we thought a perfect way to end our podcasts for the year before we take a little break would be to do a YouTube Fireside Chat on Les Miz, because there are a million squillion jillion different versions out there and concerts. There was lots to find on YouTube, wasn’t there?
Craig: It's all on YouTube. You can find just about anything on there. You could just sit there all day watching different Les Miz clips. So we kind of had to organize this a little bit.
Lindsay: Yes. So what we thought would be a really good thing to do, to take a look at one song and look at different versions of it. And I think there are…you know, I say this is the most iconic song that I… No, I think there are a couple of... Oh, you know, there's a lot of… It's a very iconic large Greek theatre kind of musical anyway, so it's really hard to pinpoint one iconic song. But I really like this one, and that's I Dreamed a Dream. And of course, it is sung by Fantine right after she gets kicked out of her job. And I like this song because I've read the book, and it's literally like 10 chapters like [makes slurping sound] all into one song, and I just think that’s good writing. And it's got a nice beat, you can dance to it.
Craig: Well, it is a fantastic song. I mean, it's a great song for a singer. It follows this Sondheim thing about every song should be a one-act play. And I mean, this is actually a five-act play, this song…
Lindsay: Yeah.
Craig: …which covers the whole journey of her life and everything that like led to the lowness that it ha...
Episode 21: The Name Game
Lindsay talks about her process when it comes to naming characters. It's much more involved (read obsessive) than one might think...
Show Notes
babynames.com thesaurus.com Google translate
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we're talking names and taking no prisoners or something like that. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
Okay, it’s the second week, there's no news. It's December! But, what I will say is that you should stay tuned for next week's podcast where Craig and I curl up by the YouTube fire and talk about Les Miz. I have had a long, long history with this musical. I wore out the tape – yes, that’s how old I am – the tape that I had when I was seventeen. And Craig is kind of new convert. There was a great big concert, a huge concert where Alfie Boe is playing Jean Valjean and one of the Jonas brothers was Marius, and he’s been playing that quite a bit on his iPod.
So, and of course, unless you've been under a rock – or you don't care about Les Miz which is, of course, quite possible – you know that THE MOVIE (in all caps) is coming out on Christmas Day and there has been a lot of talk about THE MOVIE and who is starring in THE MOVIE and I still can’t quite wrap my head around Anne Hathaway as Fantine – it’s not doing it for me. But, you know, who knows? Could be, could be great. In any case, Craig and I are going to talk next week about THE MUSICAL. So, join us for that.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app AND you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Twenty-One: We’re Playing The Name Game
I, I have a confession to make. I, Lindsay Price, am very obsessed about the names of the characters in my play. I am very obsessed. I am obsessed to the extreme. Naming is a big part of the writing process for me. It is a huge part, especially at the beginning when I’m just starting to write, when I’m just starting to form this shapeless amoeba into something with a beginning, middle, and end.
One of the first things I do which makes me feel like I’m on the right path as I start writing a play and I start thinking about who the people are in this play is giving them names.
Giving a character a name is like, in a very artsy fartsy kind of way, but it’s kind of like bringing them to life. It makes them seem like a human being, you know. Names are pretty important to us, you know. Whether we like our names, or we hate our names, or our names mean something, or we go by a nickname, or a name can just say so much about a character and about us. And when I’m writing, I want to be able to see and hear that character, and if they're nameless, it just doesn't quite work for me – this is my little problem to bear and I just find it’s that much harder to move forward with my writing when my characters are just swimming around in a nameless void, or worse, if they end up with the wrong name. And sometimes, I’ll counter this. I’ll go in the complete opposite direction. I just wrote a play last year called Chicken Road in which, very purposefully, the characters were numbers so then none of them had names and it was very interesting to me how that worked in the writing process. I had to really, really work to visualize these characters and make them individuals even though I was purposefully not making them individuals in the final text if that makes sense.
And sometimes, when I’m writing, it’s really clear when I’ve given a character a wrong name, you know. It comes to light that, as I’m writing it, it's not a good fit. It’s not a good match.
Episode 20: Bradley Walton Interview
Craig spoke with playwright Bradley Walton at the Virginia Theatre Association Conference. Bradley talks about how he started out as cartoonist and transformed into a writer.
Show Notes
Bradley Walton The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair The Baloney, the Pickle, the Zombies, and Other Things I Hide From My Mother Storied
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast
On iTunes. On Stitcher.
Episode Transcript
Lindsay Price: Welcome to TFP. The Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price. Resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. We've got another playwright interview today. This time with Bradley Walton. But first lets do some Theatrefolk news. Okay. There is no news, it's December. But what I will say, as I do every podcast, is where can you can find us. We post new episodes of TFP every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app, and of course you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk. Episode 20. Bradley Walton. Bradley Walton has three plays in the Theatrefolk catalog. And two of them, may well indeed, win the longest and catchiest title award. We have the "Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair" and we have "The Baloney, The Pickle, The Zombie and Other Things I Hide From My Mother." And, then the third play, which while has a short title, is I believe a play of epic proportions. A wonderful exploration on the nature of story and creativity. And frankly, a catchy title is all well and good. And a catchy title is sometimes what gets people in the door. But as far as we're concerned, a catchy title has to be backed up by a play of good quality. A play that's got something interesting going on behind it. The catchy title is really only the tablecloth over the really good play. And Bradley Walton really has that in spades with the plays that he's got with us. So he's from Virginia and Craig had a chance to speak with Bradley when we were at the Virgina Theatre association conference. So lets get right to it.
Craig: Hello, Craig here. I just wanted to put this in front of my interview with Bradley Walton. Normally, when we do interviews they're 20-25 minutes long and this one went a little long. It went 35 minutes long. And when we're on the road, we record things with our camera. And what I didn't know until today was that our camera stops recording after 30 minutes. So here are the first 30 minutes of my conversation with Bradley Walton.
Craig: I know you started writing comic books. How did that start?
Bradley: Well, I read comic books for as long as I can remember. I got into them very very heavily around about seventh grade when I was about 12-13 years old.
Craig: Uh-huh
Bradley: I had gotten into Dungeons and Dragons at that time.
Craig: Oh yeah, I did too. In high school.
Bradley: And TSR, the company that made Dungeons and Dragons had another role playing game that was based on the Marvel comics superheros.
Craig: Okay.
Bradley: And they had a module for the X-Men, which I had heard of the X-Men but had never read the X-Men comic books. So I got this X-Men module for the Marvel game and started reading all these character descriptions and histories and backgrounds. It was really interesting. So I got really really heavily into the X-Men. And that, I guess, really propelled me into wanting to write comic books. And my dad, who was a banker, got into comic books as well. He could appreciate the investment value in old comic books.
Craig: Oh, Okay.
Bradley: And he was on a business trip...
Craig: It's great when you can sell an angle to your parents, you know, I can make money off of this.
Bradley: Well, he would go on business trips and would bring home X-Men comic books for me.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Episode 19: Playworks Interview
Lindsay talks with student playwright Aaron Cargile who participated in the Arizona Thespians Playworks program. His short play was one of three chosen to be developed over the course of the festival and put up as a staged reading. A great listen for any student playwrights out there!
Show Notes
Arizona Thespians Playworks
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay Price: Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Today we're talking to a student playwright about his participation in the Playworks Program. But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news. This podcast is going up the last week of November, which means that December is right around the corner. December is one of our quietest months. It makes sense. Schools are winding down, fall productions are over. What usually happens in December is that Craig and I, we take a little break. We don't do a daily blog. Sometimes we go on vacation. It's really lovely to always know that December is going to quiet so we can make plans if we want. Now having said all that, and this is the reason that this is Theatrefolk News, is that, yes, usually things are quiet here at global headquarters, except when it comes to our podcast. That's right. TFP is rolling right along and there will be podcast episodes into December. We won't take a break until it's closer to Christmas. There are still three, I said three, upcoming podcasts in December. One of which is going to be a YouTube fireside chat on Les Miserables. Can't wait to that. Lastly, where, oh where, can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the stitcher app and you can also subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word theatrefolk.
Episode 19, Playworks Program. I was recently at the Arizona Thespian Festival where I participated in the Playworks Program as a director and a playwright mentor. Playworks is a fabulous, fabulous opportunity for student playwrights. Students, they submit a short play and then a couple are chosen. In Arizona, it was three. Those three plays get one-on-one feedback. They get some development with a professional playwright and then they get to see their play go up in a heightened staged reading. It's on its feet. We had a whole day to rehearse. It's not just a cold reading. It's a very, very warm reading with action. For my playwright, Aaron, this was going to be the first time he would have seen his play, this play, his first play, in front of an audience. So let's hear what Aaron has to say about participating in Playworks. Hello. I'm here at Arizona Thespians, and I'm here with...
Aaron Cargile: Aaron Cargile.
Lindsay: Aaron Cargile. Awesome, Aaron. You are a participant in the Playworks Program.
Aaron: Yes, I am.
Lindsay: Playworks is a pretty interesting program.
Aaron: It's very interesting.
Lindsay: What it is student playwrights from all over your state in Arizona can submit a... How long does the play have to be?
Aaron: Six pages.
Lindsay: Six-page play. They choose three to go up at festival. Basically it's you get feedback and then we gather on the Friday, had auditions, you got some more feedback, you did a pretty substantial re-write, you met with a director playwright mentor which happens to be me for your play, and then in just over an hour, the three plays are going up.
Aaron: Yes, it's really exciting. It's very similar, from what I've seen, to a 48-hour film contest in the way it's just really rapid fire.
Lindsay: It's very intense, isn't it?
Aaron: It is very intense, and there's no room for stopping. Thankfully, my play is very straight forward, not a lot of...
Lindsay: Let's talk about your play.
Episode 18: Ken Preuss Interview
Ken Preuss is new to Theatrefolk with his play Epic Adventures in a Rinky Dink Art Museum. He talks about his writing process and a fascinating creative trick he uses to get into a play.
Show Notes
Spotlight on The Two Person Scene
Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, the resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. We've got another interview today, this time with playwright Ken Preuss, rhymes with Seuss; but first, let's do some Theatrefolk News.
Did you catch the latest addition of our Spotlight Newsletter? It's all about the duet. The two-hander scene, which might be a Canadian thing. I've referred to duets as two-handers in the past before and sometimes have received blank stares, like they've never heard of it before. It's a very foreign thing. I don't know, it could be because I something in my teeth. I digress. It's one person talking to another person. We look at in the newsletter from an improve perspective, an acting perspective and a writing perspective. We also got some teachers to say what their favorite two-person scenes were to use in the classroom. If you're sitting there, and you're listening, and you don't know what I'm talking about, we offer a free theatrical newsletter. Ten issues a year. Our aim is to make the newsletter as practical as possible, with play analysis, exercises, resources, questions, everything that you can use in the classroom. All you have to do to sign up is visit our website, scroll to the bottom and enter your email. Do it. Lastly, where oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook and on Twitter. You can also find us on the Stitcher app. And you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Why not? All you have to do is search on the word 'Theatrefolk'.
Lindsay: Hi Ken, how do you say your last name?
Ken: Preuss.
Lindsay: Ken Preuss. I am here with Ken Preuss.
Ken: Rhymes with Dr. Seuss.
Lindsay: Dr. Seuss. That's a good way to remember it. You are new to the Theatrefolk global empire.
Ken: Family.
Lindsay: Family. The Theatrefolk family. We like to think of it as a very small, but a family nonetheless.
Ken: Global empire sounds cool too, though.
Lindsay: It's so funny because we jokingly call it the Theatrefolk global empire because it's literally Craig and I...
Ken: Two people.
Lindsay: In our pajamas in our house.
Ken: My global empire is just me, so you're twice the size of what I've got going.
Lindsay: Well, there you go. You have joined us with your play "Epic Adventures in a Rinky-Dink Art Museum".
Ken: Very nice.
Lindsay: That's pretty good, because I don't have it in front of me.
Ken: I went to auditions and the students were complaining that the title was too long.
Lindsay: Yes. Well, that's a good complaint. If that's the only complaint they have.
Ken: It was actually longer when I started. There was a 'routine field trip' wedged in there. It was "Epic Adventures on a Routine Field Trip to a"... See, I even get confused there, that's why I cut it short.
Lindsay: If you get lost in the middle of your title, then...
Ken: Then something needs to be revised.
Lindsay: There's something that needs to be revised. So, what number of plays, "Epic Adventures", have you written?
Ken: I have written 11 plays. Ten have been published, and one keeps bouncing from publisher to publishers. It's my, you know...
Lindsay: It's the lost love that doesn't find a home.
Ken: It is. It was the 11 one that I've written. The tenth one I've published. Unfortunately, it's the last one that I've written thus far because I'm in a writing slump.
Lindsay: Oh no.
Ken: I will get out of it.
Lindsay: Of course. Everybody always...
Ken: Before my global empire crumbles.
Episode 17: Stepping out of Your Comfort Zone
This week Lindsay talks with teacher Cindy Cabral about stepping outside her directing comfort zone when she took on Lindsay's new Edgar Allan Poe adaptation The Tell Tale Heart and Other Strangeness.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, we're talking about stepping outside your comfort zone, your theatre comfort zone, with teacher Cindy Cabral. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
This week, Theatrefolk is going to be at the Arizona State Thespian festival. Not only will we have a table with free goodies such as our Play Tastings CD-ROM which has sample pages from every play we have – that’s right, every single play – I'll be teaching my All My Ideas Suck workshop which teaches students that, in fact, their ideas do not suck and how to find a step-by-step process to get from topic to sustainable play idea which means how do I come up with an idea that will actually turn into a play. AND, AND I'll also be participating in the Arizona Playworks program. This is an awesome program for student playwrights. Students submit short plays and four are selected. Then, over the course of the weekend, we get together with the playwrights, talk about the plays, they do re-writes and then we audition actors to be in the plays and then we rehearse and put them up as a staged reading all in two days. It's intense. It's a great experience for the students and it's a great experience for me! I always learn something on how to communicate constructive feedback.
Lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and on Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.” Episode Seventeen: Step Outside The Zone
Okay, that was a bit dramatic but it’s true! We all have a comfort zone as artists. It’s a place where we know we do good work because it's an area we're familiar with. For example, for me, writing sarcastic teenage girl dialogue – very familiar for me. So, you know, it's a type of play that comes easy, it’s a dance we've done a million times, an acting role that’s similar to our personality. It’s a nice snuggly blanket of an area and teacher Cindy Cabral went outside that fuzzy blanket zone. She directed the premiere production of my new play The Tell Tale Heart and Other Strangeness – an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe stories. It's been a difficult process for me, not just getting the stories from the page to the stage, but even just getting a school to perform the play and I was really excited last month to finally see the play on its feet so we talk about that and we talk about what it’s like to do a play you’ve never done before. It’s a genre you’ve never done before and your students have never been exposed to before and what it’s like to jump off that cliff.
You'll hear some noise in the background of the interview. It was a couple of hours before the performance and students were not wasting any time. They were still running scenes on their own, they were trying to get in that one last rehearsal and I love that so I didn’t tell them to be quiet. I think it’s really great. Let's get to the interview.
Lindsay: Hello, Cindy Cabral.
Cindy: Hello.
Lindsay: Is it Cabral?
Cindy: Cabral.
Lindsay: Okay. So, I’m sitting here with Cindy Cabral of Saint Roch.
Cindy: Rock.
Lindsay: Saint Rock? Really? Okay.
Cindy: Yeah, it’s Saint Rocho. I don’t know why they didn’t just keep it Saint Rocho.
Lindsay: Cool. Secondary school in Brampton, Ontario. And we are here, it’s a very exciting night because it is the premier of my adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe,
Episode 16: Control
There is a reason that Lindsay writes for her own company and has never had any desire to go to Hollywood and become a screenwriter. It's all about control.
Show Notes
Blog series on Preparing for Competition: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.
Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it’s all about control and I can’t be held responsible if I start singing some Janet Jackson which, you know, just betrayed exactly how very old I am. But first, let’s do some Theatrefolk News.
I am pretty happy with some blog posts I did last week. I recently adjudicated a one-act festival which had 44 plays in competition. Yes, that was right, four four. And while I didn’t have to judge 44 plays, I did have to sit through half, 22 in a row over two days. Yes, that is a lot of plays. But what was most interesting and most frustrating is that there were so many schools who competed and made the same mistakes, missteps, over and over and over again. So, I did a three-part blog series last week. Part one was on choosing a competition piece – for example: don’t turn a small-cast play into an ensemble extravaganza; solving performance problems in rehearsal, meaning get those problems out of the way even before you step on your stage, and part three was all about what to do and what not to do on performance day. For example, know the size of the door your set has to go through, especially when you only have two minutes to get your entire set in place.
And lastly, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on the Stitcher app and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.” Episode Sixteen: Control
That was horrible. See, now that I've mentioned Janet Jackson, all I've got running through my head is the fact that her first name ain’t Baby. Oh, I’m such a dork. Okay, so before I sat down to do this, I had to look this up because all I’ve been doing is singing Janet Jackson and her album, Control, came out when they actually made albums, 1986. I have these very vivid memories of Janet Jackson and her videos and they all occurred 26 years ago. I have 26-year-old memories. Ugh!
So, okay, the podcast today – the topic of which is not Janet Jackson – surprise! But it is about being in control, and specifically being in control as an artist. And I think it's one of the most important things to have control over your art but it's also one of the most slippery-est things. Is that a word? Most slippery, something that can slip through your fingers with such ease. It's easy to lose control and it's easy to fear losing control so much that you can take your work, lock it in the basement, hide it in a cave so no light or air can get to your work and it becomes pale and anemic until someone has come to rescue your work – maybe Janet Jackson – and your work staggers into the light, blinking against the glare of the sun. See? This is what the topic of control can do to you. Turn you into a blathering idiot, Lindsay? Why, yes, yes, who said that? Why, I did! Are you talking to yourself? Why yes, yes, I am!
Okay. When it comes to my work, I’m actually both a control freak and the opposite of a control freak. I don’t know what that is, I am the anti-freak. Now I’m going to start singing Rick James. All right, no, I’ m not going to do that.
Yes, two things in one, ugh! Two things in one which is also like a commercial which I think is older than Janet Jackson. What is it? Two, two, two things in one! Two shampoos in one? Oh, oh, never mind. Okay, I am so old. Ugh!
First, control. There is a reason that I write for myself and I have my own company.
Episode 15: Allison Williams Interview
Theatrefolk playwright Allison Williams recently participated in a nearly year-long writing competition and won! She gives us all the gory details.
Show Notes
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Lindsay Price The Bottom of the Lake by Steven Stack Hamlette by Allison Williams Mmmbeth by Allison Williams Drop Dead, Juliet! by Allison Williams LiveJournal Idol Allison Williams on LiveJournal
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Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you are well. Thanks for listening. Today it's an interview with Theatrefolk playwright Allison Williams. But first let's do some Theatrefolk news. Happy Halloween everyone. Oh that was the worst. That was the worst evil laugh ever. Sorry. Who knows when the next calendar event will actually land on a podcast publication day so I'm going to take what I can get. October is always a fabulous month when you're in the theater. When we used to be a production company rather than a publishing house, you could get any costume piece you needed for any kind of play leading up to Halloween.
This past year Craig and I were in Disneyworld for Halloween, so we went to the Character Connection, which is a Disney outlet store, and we were initially going to go as Tacky Tourists but shockingly we just couldn't find anything ugly enough, but then we stumbled upon the high school musical section so we went as adult high school musical fans. Apparently I love Troy. If you're looking for an extra spooky play to read today, and why not, have a look at my adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, complete with instructions on how to build your very own headless horseman. And one of our newest additions to the catalog, The Bottom of the Lake, by Steven Sack, I love this play because it is both incredibly creepy and wonderfully funny, a great combination because it provides that sought after roller coaster effect between tension and release.
When you are building up a story, it's the best, and as I often tell writers, you always want to make your audience laugh right before you punch them in the guts, metaphorically of course. It would take a long time to punch every audience member in the guts. It would slow down the story and by the third guy, they'd guess what's coming. Lastly, where oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Face Book page and Twitter, and you can find us on the stitcher app and you can also subscribe to TFP on i-tunes. All you have to do is search on the word theatrefolk. Hello, so we have a guest on TFP. It is Allison Williams. Hello Allison Williams.
Allison: Hello Lindsay Price. I am so glad to be here at the Theatrefolk World Global Headquarters.
Lindsay: Well that's exactly where we are, deep underground in the bunker.
Allison: Just down the hall from the fax machine.
Lindsay: That's right. That's what we tell people. It's our secret. And so Allison Williams, for those of you who are Theatrefolk regulars will know Allison from her plays in our catalog, Drop Dead Jullliette and Beth and Hamlett, and the Scarlett Heart.
Allison: Yes.
Lindsay: That's a nice collection.
Allison: Yeah. I should write something new. It's been a while.
Lindsay: And we were just talking about how we've known each other for a very long time.
Allison: We've known each other an incredibly long time.
Lindsay: And I don't remember when it was. I know where.
Allison: We met at the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska and what happened was my partner Todd and I were teaching workshops and you and your partner, Craig, were teaching workshops.
Lindsay: Yes.
Allison: And Todd and I and you and Craig were sitting in the crying baby booth in back of the Lied Center and we were all four watching...
Episode 14 - YouTube Fireside Chat - Choreography for Guys
Today we're talking choreo for guys on the YouTube Fireside Chat. The key is that it has to be character-driven. We've chosen a couple of specific numbers to talk about.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69WpCBLrdSQ Catch Me If You Can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zayv01x1QLs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLDyrun_Cc Grand Hotel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDc9ul70kyY Show Notes
Virginia Theatre Association
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today, it's another YouTube Fireside Chat with the one, the only, Craig Mason. But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news.
Theatrefolk is going to have an information table at the Virginia Theatre Association Festival this weekend, Friday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 24th in Reston, Virginia. Catalogues, free resource information, and we’ll be handing out our play-tasting CD-ROM, which has sample pages from every one of our plays on it. That's right, every single one of our plays at your fingertips. How exciting!
And what’s even more exciting is that there's going to be a guest at the Tfolk table, playwright Bradley Walton, who hails from the area, is going to be at the booth on Saturday the 24th with samples from his plays, The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair, and two new ones, The Baloney, the Pickle, the Zombies, and Other Things I Hide From My Mother, and Storied. Drop by, say hi.
Lastly, where, oh where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us also on the Stitcher app, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Welcome to our YouTube Fireside Chat, where Craig and I snuggle up to the microphone and talk about musical numbers that you can find on YouTube. And today—very excited about today—today we are looking at choreo for guys. From a school perspective, it's usually harder to get guys to dance, and our three videos today are really great examples of character dancing. It's not about ballet or the box step. It's about, really, all you have to do is move in character. Wouldn't you say so?
Craig: Yeah. Yeah. And these are three really great examples of men dancing, and…
Lindsay: And looking really manly. [Laughs] You know?
Craig: [Laughs] And being masculine and being true to their characters. There's nothing worse than when you come to a dance number and all of a sudden everyone’s running around moving like dancers rather than their characters.
Lindsay: Well, I think we said this the last time we did this. There was Newsies, which is new on Broadway, and they showed that clip from the Tonys, and all of a sudden everyone looks like they had been to 12 years of dance training.
Craig: Yeah, I mean, I find that stuff really… [Laughs] We're going to go off on a tangent here so early in podcast…
Lindsay: Oh, my goodness.
Craig: But I find that so bothersome. You're right. When everyone all of a sudden is like an amazing dancer—some characters can be slow. Some characters can be confused. Some characters can be more dominant. But in shows like that, when all of a sudden everyone is this amazing perfect dancer, it just doesn’t work for me because it doesn’t make any sense.
Lindsay: Well, it takes me out of the world, and I think that's what some people think, is that, “Oh, everything has to be perfect.” And it's like, not really. It all has to be character-driven.
Craig: Not if I'm in the audience.
Lindsay: That’s exactly right. And of course, you're in the audience for every show all the time.
Craig: [Laughs] No,
Episode 13: Teacher Interview
Lindsay sits down with teacher and director Ina Szekely moments after finishing a new play workshop at Havergal College. Ina will be directing the premiere of Lindsay's play Cobweb Dreams in the spring. They talk process and what it's like to direct a premiere as her first play.
Show Notes
FATE (The Florida Association of Theatre Educators) CODE - Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators ABCDE - Association of British Columbia Drama Educators Our Conference Schedule (on the right-hand side of the page) Havergal College A Midsummer Night's Dream
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript
Lindsay: Welcome TFP The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello. I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Today I get to talk to a teacher who is going to direct the upcoming premiere of one of my plays. But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news. Craig and I are in the thick of conference season. It's always busy in the fall. It's an important part of having a company like Theatrefolk, to go and meet face-to-face with our customers and with people who we would like to be our customers. It's important to us that people see us as humans. See those two people behind that table? They're the ones the write some of the plays, and work on the web site, and write the blog posts, and do the newsletters, record the podcasts, answer the phones, respond to your emails. We are Theatrefolk, and we want people to know that we do all those above things because we care about being Theatrefolk So, last weekend we were at the Florida Association of Theater Educators conference, a longstanding teacher conference for us. It's one we have a great fondness for because Florida really was the first place where teachers connected to us as a company and as people. The first place that saw us as human beings. For a long time I would travel to Florida to do workshops and premiere plays, because that was the only area that was interested in having anything to do with me. Although, I can't say that I ever really complained about going to Florida in December or in February, just saying.
Then, upcoming, this weekend, Craig and I are split in two. I head to the Code conference, Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators conference, which is on our home turf, yo. Oh, goodness. Anyway, that's always nice to be able to meet teachers who live and who work near us. And for the first time, Craig is going to the ABCDE conference, in British Columbia. Very excited about that one, as we connect to BC teachers a lot online, but this will be the first time in person. And as much as I love our online presence, sometimes, you need to things face-to-face. Lastly, where oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at Theatrefolk.com, and on our Facebook page, and Twitter, and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search on the word Theatrefolk. Oh, this is the first in what I hop is many, many, many interviews with teachers. Schools and student performers, that's what we do, that's what we focus on. And I really want it to be an ongoing thing, where we talk to those who are in works and directing our works, and having those kinds of discussions.
So this first one, I had the opportunity to sit down with the upcoming director of a new play of mine, Cob Web Dreams, which is an adaption of sorts of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It focuses on one of the minor fairies, Cob Web, and it's going to premiere at an all girl's school, Havergal College in Toronto in May of 2013. And I went into the school at the end of September to do a introductory workshop of sorts with the students, and this chat takes place right after the third day, so as you'll see, both the teacher and I were a little spacey. I'm sure you'll forgive us. Okay. So we'll just sort of ease into this.
Ina: Okay.
Episode 11: How do I get published?
It's the question that every writer asks and yet it's the wrong question for a playwright to ask. It's also the worst question a beginning writer can ask an established. Learn what questions a young playwright should be asking.
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well, thanks for listening.
Today we're talking about the most asked question of young writers, and for some writers, specifically playwrights, it's the wrong question. But first, let's do some THEATREFOLK NEWS. This is something brand spanking new. Like, so shiny new, it still has that new piece of new smell to it. Did you know that we now take American Express? I know! Aren't you glad you were sitting down for that one? For years, it's been MasterCard, Visa, MasterCard, Visa, but now, now, the Theatrefolk world is opening up. Now, it is a whole new world. Wait, I’ll do it. A whole new world! Now, we can go one more step. We can do one more piece of the puzzle, one more log on the fire, one more day, one day… Oh my God, that was the completely wrong tune. All right, I’ll stop. Amex. American Express. You’ve got it, we can take it. God bless us, everyone.
And lastly, please always remember and don't ever forget the places in which you can find this podcast. We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook and on Twitter and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
Episode Eleven: How do I get published is a stupid question.
So, let's set a few things straight before I get rolling. Yes, I'm aware that the title of this episode is inflammatory. Of course, it is! Are you really going to listen to a podcast where the title is, “How do I get published is an easy and nice question?” or, “How do I get published and all the fluffy bunnies and unicorns?” Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you'd listen. I think I'd listen. I'm partial to a fluffy bunny. Nonetheless, it's a statement. “How do I get published is a stupid question.” It’s also something that I believe. I'm not just throwing it out there to be inflammatory. It's something I stand behind because of the vast number of situations I have been in where this question has been asked of me, and in the vast majority of those times, it’s the absolute wrong question.
Second, obviously, I am only speaking of playwrights. I am a playwright. That is what I write. That is what I know. I don't really know a darn thing about being a novelist, a short story writer, or a poet. So when I say, “How do I get published is a stupid question,” I'm talking about playwrights. So, don't get your knickers in a knot if you're a novelist, a short story writer, or a poet and being published is your endgame. Go find a novelist podcast and get your knickers in a knot over what they have to say.
So, here's the scenario. I'm at a conference. I'm presenting a workshop. I'm at the Theatrefolk table and I'm talking with a student, a young writer just starting out, and the question comes up. “How do I get published?” And they look at me like I have that basket, that basket full of fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and they're expecting me to hand over the basket, “Here you go! All the answers you require plus a big basket of cute! What better thing is there?” Here's the thing, they ask one question — “How do I get published?” — and they expect there is only one answer. And that it's an easy answer — easy for me to provide, easy for them to understand. They expect that there is a brochure that I can pull out of my purse at a whim, at a moment’s notice, and that I carry a bounty of such brochures that has all the steps laid out in color, in three dimensions. Now that’s a brochure, huh?
I don't think people who ask the question are stupid. There is a distinction. It's not the people,
Episode 10: Kristin Gauthier
Tfolkers will know Kristin Gauthier as the composer for our a cappella musical Shout! But she's had a long career as an actress and musical theatre performer. We talk to her pre-performance for her latest gig and also about her time touring in Les Misérables.
Show Notes:
Theatrefolk Theatre Trivia @theatretrivia ...and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree Shout! An A Cappella Musical Last of the Red Hot Lovers Les Misérables
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript Lindsay: Welcome to TFP the Theatrefolk Podcast. I'm Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Today we have an interview with another Theatrefolk author and composer, Kristin Gauthier, who wrote the music for both Shout! and ...and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree. But first, let's do some Theatrefolk news. There's a new freebie in town for Theatrefolk. It's kind of hidden. It's not out there yet with sparkly lights and choreographed numbers, but it is out there. And it's free and it's for you. It's another great resource for teachers and it's called Theatrefolk Theatre Trivia!
What's that you say? Well, the foundation is an online database of over 1,000 theatre trivia questions and answers in 14 categories. Yes, I'm going to say it again, over 1,000 theatre trivia questions and answers. Everything from Greek theatre, to commedia, to modern, to play quotes, to playwrights, to true and false questions. And we're going to be rolling out a variety of ways that you can use this online database. Right now, you can go to Twitter and follow @theatretrivia. That's @theatretrivia and when you do that you get a random theatre trivia question in the morning with the answer for that question showing up in the afternoon. New question everyday. And then you can also go to trivia.theatrefolk.com - look for this in the show notes - and there you can print your own Q&A sheet with a random set of theatre trivia questions perfect for a class activity. And with each answer there's a link to further source material perfect for follow-up discussion. I know, it's awesome.
Now, as I said, this is a rolling project. That means we're going to be rolling out more ways to use this database so keep trivia.theatrefolk.com in your bookmarks. There's more to come. And please always remember and don't ever forget the places in which you can find this podcast. We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Search for us on Theatrefolk. This is very theatre-y. I am backstage [and we're] precisely in the basement of the Showboat Festival Theatre with Kristin Gauthier. Hello, Kristin.
Kristin: Hello.
Lindsay: And Kristin has very kindly agreed to talk before she goes on this afternoon in today's performance of Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon, which she happens to be performing with well-known Theatrefolkean Craig Mason. So we know you for your composing that you've done for us for ...and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree and Shout! But we're going to talk today about not your composing hat but your acting hat.
Kristin: Okay.
Lindsay: Sound good?
Kristin: Good.
Lindsay: Yes. All right?
Kristin: Okay.
Lindsay: Well, the first thing I want to talk about is like we're in pre-show so do you have any pre-show rituals? Is there anything that you do before a show?
Kristin: I don't think anything really specific or really important. I like to be at the theatre an hour beforehand. I like to have that time to sort of leave the world behind and sort of get into the world of the theatre and be with the people that I'm going to be performing with. But I don't really use that first half hour for too much if it's not a musical. I would use that to warm up my voice if I was singing, but I like that time to sort of relax and then I stretch a little bit when...
Episode 8: Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat
Pull up a chair and join Theatrefolk partners Lindsay Price and Craig Mason in a YouTube Fireside chat. This week we compare three interpretations of "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" from Guys and Dolls - the movie plus two Tony Award Show performances.
Video One - From the 1955 Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7kzsZreG0o Video Two - From the 1992 Tony Award Telecast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqkAHEGSzAU Video Two - From the 2009 Tony Award Telecast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Pw4OT1oHo
Show Notes:
Practical Technical Theater DVD Series
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, the resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today there is a guest on the podcast, fellow Theatrefolkian Craig Mason for our YouTube Fireside Chat. But first, let's do THEATREFOLK NEWS. We not only publish plays but we also distribute DVDs from Interactive Educational Video. A fantastic series called Practical Technical Theatre, the complete solution for technical theatre classrooms perfect for teachers who feel more at home with a prompt book than a hammer. Each DVD is essentially, it’s a visual textbook and it comes with Lesson Plans, resource sheets, written assignments, performance rubrics. The series covers everything from set design to lighting to audio to stage management and we are pleased as punch to announce TWO new programs: Careers in Theatre and Costuming for Theatre. Head on over to theatrefolk.com/ptt for more info and learn how you can get a free demo DVD.
Lastly, please always remember and don't ever forget the places in which you can find this podcast. We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and our Facebook page and Twitter and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Search for us through Theatrefolk.
Now before we get to the podcast, both Craig and I had an epic fail when we were recording, when we couldn’t recall who had written the music for Guys and Dolls. I just want to rectify that Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics.
Episode Eight: YouTube Fireside Chat
Come on in, sit down, and pull up a chair. The fire’s nice and cozy for our YouTube Fireside Chat. This is the TFP episode where myself, Lindsay Price and Craig Mason. We look at, dissect, and talk about some musical theatre clip that we have seen on YouTube. It is one of our favorite activities; Craig plays DJ “Waka! Waka!” and pulls up musical theatre clips for us to enjoy. So Craig, what is the topic of today’s YouTube fireside Chat?
Craig: Sit down, you’re rocking the boat from Guys and Dolls and we really get three different versions.
Lindsay: Yes.
Craig: I’m really excited. We just watched them and took notes, each on our own and I’m so curious to see what you’re going to say and if we agree or if we’re going to have a big fight over this.
Lindsay: Right. So the whole notion of this is the same song and how it gets interpreted. So we have, first of all, we’re going to talk about the movie from 1955 and then we are going to look at the 1992 Tony performance from that year’s Guys and Dolls. And then lastly, the latest production which was in 2009 and I think that we can start off by saying that it’s three pretty different interpretations.
Craig: Yeah. Three, quite widely; two are a little close to each other but three quite wildly different interpretations.
Lindsay: Well and not only that, three different body like just guys, three completely different guys, three different approaches and mostly, funny which I find is really interesting, if there’s a point when he laughs, the guy, the Nicely-Nicely laughs. And we have three completely different laughs so each one chose a different approach.
Craig: Oh, I’m going to pick up on that.
Lindsay: Okay, so Guys and Dolls,
Episode 6: Ten Questions
This week Lindsay answers ten questions about her process as a writer. She didn't write down any of the answers beforehand. Ten questions. No net.
Show Notes:
Sample pages from our plays. Theatrefolk on Facebook. Theatrefolk on Twitter. The Theatrefolk Podcast on iTunes. Dramatists Guild of America. Alexander Graham Bell, I Want To Have Your Love Child. Among Friends and Clutter.
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE. Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today it's me off the grid, off the crutch, off the notes, answering some questions. But first let's do THEATREFOLK NEWS. And yes, we will eventually have like actual news, new news, like what conferences you can find us at upcoming plays, but it’s August still and since we basically run on the school year, things are just now gearing up; although it's really freaky to me that there are some places that start school in August and not the first Tuesday after Labor Day. What is that? School in August seems very, very wrong. Where's the tradition in an August start? Where's the feeling of sinking dread on that Labor Day, holiday, Monday or you know was that just me? It took about 10 years for it to fully sink in for me that I don't have to go to school anymore in September. And I still have nightmares about exams. Ugh. But I digress. Okay, so let's talk about sample pages today. You can find sample pages for every one of our plays over on our website www.theatrefolk.com. Why are sample pages important? Well, we don't want you to buy a play that you can't use and sometimes descriptions, they’re not enough. They’re not enough to know if the place is going to be suitable for you. They’re not enough to know if the set is going to work in your school. They’re not enough to know about what happens on page 22. You know we have a lot of folks who like our stuff and will grab new material or they'll be grabbed by the title or maybe they like the red cover and that’s the reason they pick a play. But directors and especially high school directors often have built in factors than need to be met in order to choose a play. And if we could do something to make that decision process easier, we're going to do it. Like that you read a chunk of the play before you buy. You test drive a car, test drive a play.
And lastly, please always remember and don't ever forget the places in which you can find this podcast. We are of course at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter and you can subscribe to this podcast. You can just subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Search for us through Theatrefolk.
Episode Six: Ten Questions.
So I do want to push myself in this format, this speaking. Hello? Talking to you, how you doing? Good? I want to push myself to talk without having notes or having everything written down, the actual act of speaking off the top of my head. And I came across a Ten Questions article in the most recent edition of The Dramatist, the magazine put out by the Dramatists Guild of America. You know the deal. They do them in every type of magazine for every type of topic. Ten questions for actors, ten questions for a chef, they probably even do ten questions for a scientist in a science journal. They are questions that in a capitalized form are supposed to help you, the reader, learn something interesting about the person answering the questions. So I thought, why don't I do the ten questions from The Dramatist, but not think about or prepare beforehand. I have… I wrote down these questions about a month ago and haven’t looked at them since. Ha, ha! One point I thought about changing in couple of the questions or cutting them because I thought they're dumb at that time and I thought no, no, no. I should just do them as is, off the top of my head. But I mean,
Episode 4: Don't Talk BLEEP
This week we're talking about something that everyone does, doesn't matter if you're a writer, an actor, or dancer. And that's talking bleep about your work. Accountants don't talk crap about their work, why do artists? And why do we think that calling our work crap is a sign of humility?
TASK OF THE DAY: So many times I'll be in a workshop and have writers read aloud and the first thing out of their mouths is "this isn't very good." They want to beat me to the punch. If you're in that situation, if you're writing, or dancing, or acting and you have to share your work, think before you instinctually want to say those words. Swallow your tongue for once. Don't throw out that disclaimer and see what happens. Let the work stand on its own Show Notes:
Check out our plays for middle schools. New Release - Funhouse by Lindsay Price - a middle school play about Bullying. New Release - Hoodie by Lindsay Price - a play about self-image. New Release - Rebootilization by Alan Haehnel - a terrifically fun play with a cast of thousands.
Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast in iTunes by CLICKING HERE.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, the Theatrefolk podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Today we're going to talk about talking “bleep”. Okay that was your warning. That is the one bleep of a swear word, which I will now continue to use in its full and unadorned glory. If it offends you, no hormonal follow, you know your way out. Fair warning, but first let's do Theatrefolk News.
We are really, really pleased with what we've put out for middle schools this year. It's been our mandate to look for, or in my case to write, middle school plays that steer away from the Aesop's Fable genre type of story. You know we have a lot of… It’s such a tough time to find the right material for students. You know there, it’s the tight rope of you can’t be too kiddy but it can’t be too high school either. So we’ve got some new ones, there is a bully play called Funhouse which I wrote. There’s Hoodie which explores the middle school world about appearance and self-image. And we have a brand new is the full length Rebootilization Alan Haehnel with a huge, huge, huge cast. There are parts in this play for your whole entire school. If you are looking for something different for your middle school group, check these out. Check us out, as always. Go to our website theatrefolk.com and you can search on our place and just start looking for middle school stuff. See what you find, read the samples and hope you find something interesting.
Episode Four: Don't talk shit. Today we're going to talk about you. Yes, you. We're going to talk about something that you do. Yes, yes I’m talking about you, I’m taking to you. It's something you do if you're a young writer, a young artist. Or actually an older artist, say that five times fast. An older artist, just starting out or even if you've been banging the drum for years and years. It's something that you do and it's something that I do. It’s something every single one of us have done. And that's put our self down. Specifically put our work down. Talk shit about it.
So don't. Don’t talks shit about your own work. It’s a seemingly simple rule, and yet not so much. Something I’ve been reminded of recently in an article and it really resonated because talking shit about one’s work is a really easy thing to do. “Oh my work, oh it’s not that good. Oh I wrote something but it’s really bad. Oh you know it’s crap. Oh you know I could do better. Oh that’s not my best, you know blah, blah, blah”. We want to beat someone else, anyone else to the punch. If we talk shit about our work, before anybody else does then they can't. Hah, I've already done it. Ah ha! You can’t hurt me. I'm ahead of the game. You can't say anything bad about my work before me.
Look at this, a special post during our vacation!
Well, truth be told we're not really on vacation, just taking a break from the blog. We're working on lots of new projects for the upcoming year. One of which is a weekly podcast that will be available through iTunes. In order to submit a podcast to iTunes, we have to have one all ready to go and post it on our blog. Hence, the special post during our vacation.
The podcast will be a weekly thing, once we get accepted by iTunes... which we don't know when that will be. Could take a day, could take a month. So, enjoy a sneak peak at TFP - The Theatrefolk Podcast where we look at playwrights, performances and the world of theatre from a human (and slightly dorky) perspective. Episode 1: First Podcast In the first episode of TFP Lindsay shares the aim of the podcast and how talking on the mic is going to take her way out of her comfort zone because speaking is not her best feature. She reveals why writing rather than speaking is a much preferred journey; the path from the brain to the pen is something long and luxurious while the path from the brain to the mouth is short and often ends in a flood of stupidity.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your best method of communication with the outside world? Show Notes:
Emergency Lesson Plans for Theatre Teachers
Podcast Transcript
Welcome to TFP, that stands for the Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, the resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.
Episode One: First Podcast This is the very first podcast of TFP. The aim of which is for me to sit in front of a mike and share what's new here at Theatrefolk Global Headquarters as well as thoughts on playwriting, on performance, on theatre, on the writing process. I have a hard time when it comes to a lot of “theatre” blogs or “theatre” podcasts. And I listen to a number of them and they really seem to approach theatre in a very dry way – very analytical, pedagogical. Nothing makes my eyes roll back faster into my head that the word pedagogical, angry blogs that talk about the death of theatre and I just don't connect to theatre in that way at all. For me theatre is human. It’s a little bit, scruffy is the wrong word, a little bit dog-eared. It's not shiny. I think that’s what I'm trying to say. It's not perfect. It's dorky. It's stuttery. It’s immediate and intimate. I like the human connection in theatre more than splashy spectacle. Maybe that's why I'm pretty small scale in the theatre world because that's my experience in theatre. It's very life changing in the small. So stuttery and dorky suit me just fine. So the goal here is to share the stuttery, the dorky and the human world of theatre.
But first, let's do some Theatrefolk News. So today's feature is our brand new Emergency Lesson Plan eBook. I have seen teachers go wide at the eyes at the idea of an Emergency Lesson Plan book and we've got one specifically for drama teachers and drama classes. It's great for rainy day, for a substitute when you need to throw something in at the last minute. Every lesson plan has an instruction sheet and covers everything from acting exercises, playwriting, theatre history, reader’s theatre. But wait, there's more. The ELP is an eBook. So that means it comes to you as a PDF. The ELP is PDF, say that five times faster. So you can print one off, throw it up on the smart board. We love it. It's very pretty and very useful for the drama classroom. You can find all the info on the Theatrefolk website at www.theatrefolk.com. Look under the resources tab.
This podcast is a very new venture for me. I’m pretty nervous at the idea of sitting and talking. I like doing new things creatively so it's important to do new things, to approach your work from a new perspective, turn things around. I wish I had a different word than thing; turn things upside down. But the idea of sitting down and talking into a mike about what I do and how I...
Lindsay speaks with students from Boulder Creek High School about Stroke Static.
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A Box of Puppies
Pictured (left to right): Danielle Ames, Kelsi Kesler, Lanelle Chavez, Lindsay Price, and Billy Houck.
Bill Houck and the cast of A Box of Puppies talk to Lindsay about their performance at the 2008 International Thespians Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Podcasting from FATE 2007 - it's Theatrefolk!
Roxane Caravan
Karen Loftus
Sheri Hancock
Lindsay in a Workshop
Jonette De Marsico
Plays referenced in this Podcast:
Shout Emotional Baggage School Daze The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note
We wrap-up our visit to Lincoln. Thanks to all who visited our table! See you next year.
Music credit: Mi Vida Tiene Significado by Alex Barham.
Today's topic: Ruth Wareham's production of Emotional Baggage.
Music credit: Mi Vida Tiene Significado by Alex Barham.
Today's topic: Live from the International Thespians Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Music credit: Mi Vida Tiene Significado by Alex Barham.