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Dance homework packets

On the first day of Shakespeare rehearsal the girls were given homework packets. A lot of you have since lost yours. NO WORRIES! It is now available on the blog. Woo hoo! Khaliji Saidi Debke Good luck my lovely ladies. Remember to practice at least an hour every day.
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The three phases

Teaching drama is an interesting job.  Teaching middle school drama is an adventurous one. There are three phases to coaching a production (at least for me).  First it's all excitement and experimentation.  Actors get to explore their characters, scripts are welcome at rehearsal, and everybody is just happy to be there.  The second phase is the frustrating one; the one where I start to get mean.  I have to point out flaws in the abilities of my teenagers.  Finally, when the production is ready to go up, I'm nothing but a proud mamma with good things to say. I'm in the middle phase right now, and I hate it. We're at the point where I can feel the time crunch.  I see the days ticking away on the calendar and I know that we are pressed for time.  But I feel like I'm the only one playing a hurry-up offense.  I'm pushing these kids and there's just no response... how do other directors do this? Granted, I reach this point in every prod...
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The best part

So, It's no secret that this show is outside of the norm.  Not only is it an unusual script for school productions (most schools stick to musicals), but the audience experience is different, there's food, and the students are doing all the work. I am all for providing real-world experiences to students.  I "hire" high school students to work as student directors.  I ask art students to help paint the set.  I get business-savvy students to handle the budget and house management.  This year I went to the extreme. The set was designed by a 9th grader, built by my middle school drama class, and painted by both my class and the same 9th grader.  The kitchen is managed by an outdoor caterer (in accordance with state Health Department guidelines) but completely run by 7th graders.  All the servers are 8th graders.  My house manager who handles all ticket reservations and ushers is a 7th grader. My tech crew is made up of two 8th graders who had never...
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