Maeser Drama

I have a hard time believing that we are less than a month away from Shakespeare. No, we're not ready, but I am confident that we will be. Our monologues are almost ready. They are so solid that I find myself in awe at the talent of these kids. The scenes are a different story. While I am confident in the abilities of the actors, there is a lot of work left to be done. When it comes to the ensemble scene I am so excited. I realize that the judges might hate what we do, but I don't care. The girls are learning their dances. The boys are starting to understand what is happening. Caleb is brilliant. I LOVE my Lear. He has so much confidence on stage. This kid, from the time he arrived in 7th grade has had his eye on a lead role. Now that he has earned it, he is really living up to the expectation. This risk will stretch these kids more than they ever anticipated.

Here are the links to the instructions Debke:  http://youtu.be/nytHNC1WrNg Khaliji:  http://youtu.be/CWjiR29Im2Q Changes to Khaliji:  http://youtu.be/UOZ97aBdJ6E Saidi- There is a lot to this one so get ready: http://youtu.be/_ipEvqItA1o Saidi Choreography explanation (4 parts): 1)  http://youtu.be/vGZKoY_22XE 2)  http://youtu.be/frgrYh8NQ_Y 3)  http://youtu.be/zSGCeZx60Es 4)  http://youtu.be/si6j1OMeVdo Saidi choreography with music: Regan:  http://youtu.be/RuSTJdnFCkg Girls in 'front' with Regan: http://youtu.be/ BDphMBsFlZI Girls in 'back': http://youtu.be/ jEAZHpqqAF0 The girls need to practice and work on memorizing the choreography - so the last 3 and 4 Saidi ones will be the most important for the girls in the Saidi group to use.

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.

It's crazy to think that I've already started working on the Shakespeare competition.  It's not until October, but it always feels like we're pressed for time, so we've started working earlier every year.  I'm really excited to see some chicken grow up (this is Caleb's third year) and to invite some new friends into the Shakespeare family. I never really clarified that anyone who wants to be on the team is on it.  Everyone is in the ensemble scene.  The parts posted on the cast list are all the speaking parts.  We have plenty of work to do. I'm also really excited to be working with the new high school teacher.  McKenzie Pedersen is incredibly talented and extremely knowledgeable.  I'll miss Cam, but I am excited to see what happens in the next chapter.

Shakespeare 2014 casting Ensemble scene King Lear- Caleb Petersen Kent- Hayden Webb Gloucester- Elijah Clark Edmund- Jacob Carr Goneril- Katja Lane Regan- Cathy Gadd Cordelia- Megan Larsen Trio Scenes Macbeth MacDuff- Chase Hernandez Ross- Hannah Brown Malcom- Sasha Baxter Tempest Trinculo- Chris Hernandez Stephano- Nathan Cannon Caliban- Daxton See Monologues Ashlyn Coyle Spencer Webb Andrew Kennington Understudies Ensemble scene Understudy- Ashlyn Coyle Macbeth Understudy- Tara Woodbury Tempest understudy- Slade Sevy Monologues Understudy- Megan Larsen

It's been a rough week for the drama department.  With the announcement of Mr. Cahoon's departure, many of my freshmen are worried about their future in Maeser Drama.  My week has been spent reeling from the announcement that my friend and colleague is moving on in his life, and consoling my freshmen that next year will still be successful.  While I will greatly miss Cam and his brilliance, I wish him nothing but the best in the next chapter of his life. Despite major changes in our department, the show must go on.  It's been exciting to see the first wave of auditions for Shakespeare.  I was blown away by a few surprise auditions.  I've always wished that Shakespeare wrote more parts for women, Now I'm wishing he wrote more power-scenes for women.  I might be doing some gender flips.  I'm so excited to see new people come into the team.

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...