Theatre as a Teaching Tool

Happy Birthday Frankenstein!

Drama Teachers: Take back the classics

Putting together a touring high school show

Facilitating a student led production

Page to Stage: What can you learn in 48 hours?

Production Case Study: You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

A Fabulous Theatre Fundraiser

Monologue Competitions: How to compete confidently

Talking Tech Theatre Programs

Brought to you by Theatrefolk, the Drama Teacher Resource Company

I have been an acting teacher for 30 years. For the past 14 years I have been running my own school called Actors Playground in Freehold NJ. I also run a touring social issue theater company out of the school called Playground Theatre Project in which we use a peer to peer philosophy for all grade levels. A friend of mine from Mason Gross, Mike Calderone was recently on the podcast and I’ve been listening ever since. I am always trying to pick up new exercises, new approaches, and fresh opinions. This podcast has provided all of that and much more. It’s very interesting to listen to fellow theater professionals around the country sharing their thoughts on their experiences and ambitions. What an amazing resource this is! I have added much to my curriculum from listening to this podcast. Bravo to all involved. The show has definitely made a difference in my classroom. Keep up the good work guys!

Extremely helpful podcast

No one is going to accuse TFP of being groundbreaking, but it has utility for beginning play writes. Although one has to suffer through the—latently dislikable—host and her frequent self-important rants, overall it&#39;s worth a listen if you&#39;ve got twenty minutes and the topic catches your eye.

Brief but Benign

The Drama Teacher Podcast

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 TeacherEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/episode98" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/episode98</a>. 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,

What do Drama Teachers Do In the Summer? Part One

Episode 39: I Don't KnowWhether 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.Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast	On iTunes.	On Stitcher.Episode TranscriptWelcome 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 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. 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 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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com</a> 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.

I Don’t Know

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.

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.

Lincoln Wrap-Up

Episode 187: How to build a drama programWhen 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 NightEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode187" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode187</a>. 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,

How to build a drama program

Episode 197: Production Case Study: A Midsummer Night’s DreamTracy 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 AcademyEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode197" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode197</a>. 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...

Production Case Study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Theatrefolk Podcast from CETA 2007

Episode 137: Successes and Challenges: FirstsEvery 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 PlaysEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/episode137" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/episode137</a>. 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...

Successes and Challenges in the Drama Classroom: Firsts

Episode 85: Middle School Drama Teacher Alana Gushuliak-SoldanWhat 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 FestivalEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/episode85" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/episode85</a>. 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,

Middle School Drama Teacher Alana Gushuliak-Soldan

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 AcademyEpisode TranscriptUPDATE 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 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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode176" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode176</a>. 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...

Theatre and Autism: How do you present a sensory friendly performance?

Episode 51: Two One Act Play InterviewsThis 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 BaggageSubscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast	On iTunes.	On Stitcher.Episode TranscriptWelcome 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-OneSo, 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 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 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, 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,

Two One Act Play Interviews – A Blast From the Podcast Past

Episode 169: Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First timeIf 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 &amp; Much Ado High School 	Shakespeare in an Hour 	Solo-Speare a collection of Shakespeare Monologues 	Scene-Speare a collection of Shakespeare ScenesEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 &amp; 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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode169" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode169</a>. 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...

Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First Time

Episode 174: Teaching, Performing, Directing, ShakespeareChris 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. ShewmakerEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 	<a href="http://Theatrefolk.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com</a> 	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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode174" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode174</a>. 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.”

Teaching, Performing, Directing, Shakespeare

Janice Harris

Episode 61: Theatre Teacher Janice HarrisJanice 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 WomenSubscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast	On iTunes.	On Stitcher.Episode TranscriptLindsay: 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 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 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. 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,

Theatre Teacher Janice Harris

Episode 163: Engaging the Non-Theatre student in the drama classroomThe 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 AcademyEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/episode163" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/episode163</a>. 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?

Engaging the Non-Theatre Student in the Drama Classroom

Episode 38: The RulesWhat 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!Subscribe to The Theatrefolk Podcast 	On iTunes. 	On Stitcher.Episode TranscriptWelcome 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 RulesI 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 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! 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’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 <a href="http://theatrefolk.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com</a> 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...

The Rules

Episode 73: Using Audio Drama in the ClassroomInterview 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 WorldEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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,

Using Audio Drama in the Classroom

Elaine Stritch

Episode 103: YouTube Fireside Chat - Elaine Stritch EditionJoin 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 NotesYou’re Just in Lovehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7eFQ9O-tcSome Day My Prince Will Comehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbb2bkifwlULadies Who Lunch (2000)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eSoM3s87FMLadies Who Lunch (1973)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=virv-1o2KjEElaine Stritch on Ethel Merman’s tip for performing musical comedyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF32PdXJ4BUGet on our mailing list! theatrefolk.com/signupEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7eFQ9O-tc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7eFQ9O-tc</a> Some Day My Prince Will Come <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbb2bkifwlU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbb2bkifwlU</a> Ladies Who Lunch (2000) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eSoM3s87FM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eSoM3s87FM</a> Ladies Who Lunch (1973) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=virv-1o2KjE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=virv-1o2KjE</a> Elaine Stritch on Ethel Merman’s tip for performing musical comedy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF32PdXJ4BU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF32PdXJ4BU</a> Get on our mailing list! <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/signup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/signup</a> 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 – <a href="http://theatrefolk.com/episode103" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theatrefolk.com/episode103</a>. 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...

YouTube Fireside Chat – Elaine Stritch Edition

Episode 157: Creating An EnvironmentTeacher 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 AcademyEpisode TranscriptWelcome 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 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 <a href="http://Theatrefolk.com/episode157" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theatrefolk.com/episode157</a>. 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...

Creating An Environment: Using Sketchup for Set Design

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