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Personally, I was not impressed. It seemed like a TV show about high school written by people who hadn't been in a high school. The show, A.P. Bio is a more accurate depiction of a high school today.

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Bradlee Skinner
Green River WY
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY

I did a whole "scree" on this several months ago.  I could tell in the trailers that it was going to be a disaster.  What I couldn't tell was how outright offensive it would be to those of us in theatre education.

Every school is different; every administration offers varying degrees of support; some communities embrace shows like "Spring Awakening" while others would burn the school down for producing a show that even mentions LGBTQ issues.  But to pit two teachers at odds over a struggling program simply because some producer at NBC thought it would ratchet up the "drama" ... sigh.

"Friday Night Lights" worked because the game of football was always at the forefront of the storytelling.  Everything revolved around the game and/or the team.  "Rise" failed (for me, at least) because only a handful of folks know or care about what goes into putting on a show.  Watching a line of defensemen running drills actually works on television.  Watching two teachers discuss an antiquated light board, yawn.

Why did we only rarely see the kids singing and dancing?!!  There was genuine stage talent in that cast.  Several actually have Broadway credits.  Yet, we hardly ever saw anyone actually PERFORM!!!  But we did have a very realistic moment in which a subordinate teacher desperate to maintain his job due to a plethora of family issues tell his principal to "Get off my stage!"  Ah, realism.

Like you, I also got choked up as Rosie Perez's character told the history of her program in the prop room.  But what about the audience watching the show that had no idea what shows she was referencing?  That's always a problem with doing a mass-market show about theatre: it's a VERY niche audience.  Everyone, even if they're not fans of football, understands the rudiments of the game.  Theatre makes little or no sense to those not involved with it.

"Rise" put the emphasis on the issues rather than on the process of producing the show.  "Glee" worked because there was a constant emphasis on the music and the joy that comes through performing.  Granted, it was a stylized, over-simplified depiction (completely polished performances with only an hour or two of rehearsal...?), but that's showbiz!  

Isn't that why we all got involved in theatre in the first place: the joy, the novelty, the challenge of putting on a show?  "Rise," either consciously or not, trivialized theatre and made it into a backdrop for a host of "After-School Special" subplots.

Hopefully, there are writers/producers out there that ACTUALLY have experience with school theatre that are willing to keep trying.  Maybe with all of the "re-boots" happening on TV, it's time for a handful of gutsy, brilliant writers/producers to bring back one of the best TV shows ever, that just HAPPENED to be about high school performing arts: "Fame"!

------------------------------
Josh Ruben, M. Ed.
Fine Arts Head
Northwest Whitfield HS (dba, The Northwest Theatre Co.)
Tunnel Hill, GA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY

Someone said the story was based on a real person? Really? I don't know about any of you, but 1.) A director would NEVER burn costumes!! 2.) Did they even buy the rights to these 3 shows the kids were told to act in, That alone would have been way too much money for their budget! and 3.) Really?? Spring Awakening?? Did they get all those thousands of changes approved?? (The writers would never have agreed to changing the show that much! ) and Really? Keeping your job after going against the administration??​ And then the program was cut, but he was not fired? Rosie would have figured out how to make it work with zero money! It just had way too much in it that could never happen in a real situation, BUT I did watch it! It kept me interest because I kept thinking, "What else are they going to do that would never happen??" A BUNCH!! Yes, Rosie was the only thing real in the entire show!

------------------------------
Suzanne "Mama" Craig
MS/HS Theatre/Speech
Lipscomb Academy
Nashville, TN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY

Yes, it was loosely based on a real person, but they threw out every detail about his life to make it palatable for a mass audience, I guess - though a TV series about a young gay man trying to being a theatre director in a working class Pennsylvania town would have been infinitely more poignant and entertaining. 

That was their whole problem: they didn't trust that reality was going to compelling enough to make people watch. So they added all levels of fakeness into the show. 

I'd argue that they needed a former theatre teacher on their writing staff - someone who had experience both as a writer and teaching. I don't know where such a person could be found, but I'm sure if NBC looked hard enough they could find one and I'm just sitting here waiting by my phone for no reason at all.

------------------------------
Don Zolidis
Austin TX
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-01-2018 13:31
From: Suzanne Craig
Subject: "Rise" TV show

Someone said the story was based on a real person? Really? I don't know about any of you, but 1.) A director would NEVER burn costumes!! 2.) Did they even buy the rights to these 3 shows the kids were told to act in, That alone would have been way too much money for their budget! and 3.) Really?? Spring Awakening?? Did they get all those thousands of changes approved?? (The writers would never have agreed to changing the show that much! ) and Really? Keeping your job after going against the administration??​ And then the program was cut, but he was not fired? Rosie would have figured out how to make it work with zero money! It just had way too much in it that could never happen in a real situation, BUT I did watch it! It kept me interest because I kept thinking, "What else are they going to do that would never happen??" A BUNCH!! Yes, Rosie was the only thing real in the entire show!

------------------------------
Suzanne "Mama" Craig
MS/HS Theatre/Speech
Lipscomb Academy
Nashville, TN

Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY

I, for one, am glad (in maybe a selfish way) that you write for the stage Don Z... I get a huge kick out of so many of your pieces (even more so when I actually produce them) <g class="gr_ gr_301 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="301" data-gr-id="301">please please</g> keep writing for the stage!!!

------------------------------
[Drama] [Dan] []
[Drama Teacher/Director]
[Dublin Coffman HS]
[Dublin] [Ohio]
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-01-2018 21:19
From: Don Zolidis
Subject: "Rise" TV show

Yes, it was loosely based on a real person, but they threw out every detail about his life to make it palatable for a mass audience, I guess - though a TV series about a young gay man trying to being a theatre director in a working class Pennsylvania town would have been infinitely more poignant and entertaining.

That was their whole problem: they didn't trust that reality was going to compelling enough to make people watch. So they added all levels of fakeness into the show.

I'd argue that they needed a former theatre teacher on their writing staff - someone who had experience both as a writer and teaching. I don't know where such a person could be found, but I'm sure if NBC looked hard enough they could find one and I'm just sitting here waiting by my phone for no reason at all.

------------------------------
Don Zolidis
Austin TX

Original Message:
Sent: 09-01-2018 13:31
From: Suzanne Craig
Subject: "Rise" TV show

Someone said the story was based on a real person? Really? I don't know about any of you, but 1.) A director would NEVER burn costumes!! 2.) Did they even buy the rights to these 3 shows the kids were told to act in, That alone would have been way too much money for their budget! and 3.) Really?? Spring Awakening?? Did they get all those thousands of changes approved?? (The writers would never have agreed to changing the show that much! ) and Really? Keeping your job after going against the administration??​ And then the program was cut, but he was not fired? Rosie would have figured out how to make it work with zero money! It just had way too much in it that could never happen in a real situation, BUT I did watch it! It kept me interest because I kept thinking, "What else are they going to do that would never happen??" A BUNCH!! Yes, Rosie was the only thing real in the entire show!

------------------------------
Suzanne "Mama" Craig
MS/HS Theatre/Speech
Lipscomb Academy
Nashville, TN

Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY

I watched the show, and was sorry it was cancelled, even though it had a "too hard to believe" plot. I often found myself yelling at the TV, however, I enjoyed the actors' work as the show was full of talent.

I was able to read about the actual drama teacher, Lou Volpe (that the show was about), and was relieved to find out that the TV show was more fiction than fact. Mr. Volpe was approached to produce the first high school production of Spring Awakening as one of his last productions, after a long successful theatre career. It was a true honor. He was hesitant and first got the school administration and community support before producing this iconic debut.

The way the TV show depicted this made me question the theatre director's sanity (ie. he took the baton away from the conductor and started directing the pit himself?!?).
And of all musicals- Spring Awakening!!?? This is not something you just decide to produce at the high school level in a conservative community as your first musical, without discussing it with at least the principal. 

I think Lou Volpe's real story would be better TV - or maybe a play, or movie? 


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Valerie Farschman, Drama Director
MLS Theatre Company, Troupe 1422
Marion L Steele High School
Amherst, Ohio
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-08-2018 15:44
From: Daniel Stowell
Subject: "Rise" TV show

I, for one, am glad (in maybe a selfish way) that you write for the stage Don Z... I get a huge kick out of so many of your pieces (even more so when I actually produce them) <g class="gr_ gr_301 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="301" data-gr-id="301">please please</g> keep writing for the stage!!!

------------------------------
[Drama] [Dan] []
[Drama Teacher/Director]
[Dublin Coffman HS]
[Dublin] [Ohio]

Original Message:
Sent: 09-01-2018 21:19
From: Don Zolidis
Subject: "Rise" TV show

Yes, it was loosely based on a real person, but they threw out every detail about his life to make it palatable for a mass audience, I guess - though a TV series about a young gay man trying to being a theatre director in a working class Pennsylvania town would have been infinitely more poignant and entertaining.

That was their whole problem: they didn't trust that reality was going to compelling enough to make people watch. So they added all levels of fakeness into the show.

I'd argue that they needed a former theatre teacher on their writing staff - someone who had experience both as a writer and teaching. I don't know where such a person could be found, but I'm sure if NBC looked hard enough they could find one and I'm just sitting here waiting by my phone for no reason at all.

------------------------------
Don Zolidis
Austin TX

Original Message:
Sent: 09-01-2018 13:31
From: Suzanne Craig
Subject: "Rise" TV show

Someone said the story was based on a real person? Really? I don't know about any of you, but 1.) A director would NEVER burn costumes!! 2.) Did they even buy the rights to these 3 shows the kids were told to act in, That alone would have been way too much money for their budget! and 3.) Really?? Spring Awakening?? Did they get all those thousands of changes approved?? (The writers would never have agreed to changing the show that much! ) and Really? Keeping your job after going against the administration??​ And then the program was cut, but he was not fired? Rosie would have figured out how to make it work with zero money! It just had way too much in it that could never happen in a real situation, BUT I did watch it! It kept me interest because I kept thinking, "What else are they going to do that would never happen??" A BUNCH!! Yes, Rosie was the only thing real in the entire show!

------------------------------
Suzanne "Mama" Craig
MS/HS Theatre/Speech
Lipscomb Academy
Nashville, TN

Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2018 14:01
From: Roger Paolini
Subject: "Rise" TV show

   Before we all go back to school, a question for the fun of it: What did theatre educators think of last spring's TV series, "Rise"? I had high hopes for a "Glee"-type popular show that focused on theatre in schools. I expected a lot of teen angst, and it did not disappoint in that department. I was hopeful for a show that "got it right" when dealing with what we do in school theatre. Too bad it's main character was a misguided English teacher who simply took over a drama program from a dedicated veteran, and was determined to shake things up by producing "Spring Awakening" (??!!) in a small Pennsylvania steel town. The series almost lost me there, but I loved the drama teacher, played by Rosie Perez, who stayed with the musical (she had already started "Grease") because "it was all about the kids" and she didn't want to abandon them. My absolute favorite scene took place in her prop room when she picked up a number of props and told this guy exactly what show it was from, who used it, and how she personally made or paid for it. "My whole life is in this room," she told him. It brought me to tears. How many of us can relate to that? The series was canceled after its last episode when the superintendent of schools shut down the production after the director refused to make the requested cuts. What did he expect?? An uncut "Spring Awakening"? Really? I was sad to see a great opportunity missed. Maybe next time.....

Roger Paolini

Buffalo, NY