We have a very large troupe and we meet every week for an hour and half on Thursdays. Here are some of our weekly agenda items and the kinds of things we cover under each. Our student board of officers makes an agenda to hand out and the plan for each meeting in advance so that we cover everything and still have fun. Obviously other items come up such as information for auditions for shows and the like, but these are our main ongoing topics:
Whole Troupe Activity
- Improv game(s)
- flash mob style dances that we all learn together as energizers and then also take to school dances
- General group games for fun
- Silly contests like game show style about information for trips and other upcoming activities
Preparing for Festival/competition
- different pieces take turns performing at each meeting for feedback from the group (we practice timekeeping and using the adjudication forms with this too)
- review of options and opportunities
- explain categories available
- Going over travel plans and needs (packing, costs, forms, $, ...) one or two each meeting as we get ready to go somewhere.
Thespian of the Week
- Each week the student board of officers takes submissions for thespian of the week and at each meeting they announce one thespian to be showered with love. The nominations and selections are based on noticing someone going above and beyond for the troupe and at each meeting we spend a few minutes where anyone who wants can share something they love about the person who is Thespian of the Week. The literally say "I love _______ because ________" and it's a pretty awesome thing to watch.
- Meeting every week means that most of our members are chosen at least once in the year and across all fo their time in high school often several times.
Upcoming Local Events
- shows and auditions coming up at other area high schools, colleges, or community theatre groups
- other events around town that might be of interest to the group
- local scholarships, food drives, service opportunities,... that relate to us in some way and/or have been sent for us to share
Big/Little Meet Up
- We assign all new members (littles) to a member who has been around for a while (bigs) to help them understand and prepare for competition, show auditions, and all of the chaos of a large troupe. Bigs help their littles find rides to and from meetings and rehearsals, they help them prepare for trips and festival, and even meet their little's parents to answer the parents questions too.
- Each week bigs and littles meet and go over in greater detail the questions and needs areas and bigs report back to the student board of officers if anything needs to be reviewed with the whole troupe because it's coming up a lot in questions.
- Sometimes bigs and littles do activities or crafts together such as making cards for teachers for teacher appreciation, or playing improv. games, and other social stuff to get to know each other and build family among the troupe.
Fundraising
- Our biggest ongoing fundraiser is program sponsorships from local businesses and community members
- We always try to have a fundraiser at least once a month, and we will talk about upcoming ones at each meeeting
Service Projects
- We manage our schools auditorium so students get to sign up to work tech for events that aren't our own theatre department's such as dance recitals, concerts, and non-profit events where they can earn community service and ITS points for their hours
- We do a number of other service projects throughout the year and will talk about upcoming ones and how to sign up and prepare for them at meetings such as face painting at the library's annual festival of books, dressing up in characters for charity events, and helping with disaster drills.
I hope this helps with some ideas!
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Kathleen McNulty Mann
mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.usProgram Director
Arnold High School Theatre
Thespian Troupe 6371
Panama City Beach, FL
District 10 Chair & State Logistics
Florida State Junior Thespians
Board Member
Membership Committee Chair
Florida Association for Theatre Education
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-30-2018 11:05
From: Jessica Fekete
Subject: Thespian Meetings
Hi everyone!!!
I'm a fairly new theater teacher and need ideas on what to do during my thespian meetings. Last year was the first year I went to a competition. They year before I chartered the thespian troupe. I know that close to competition time I can use meetings as rehearsal time, but what about the other days? I would really love to do some kind of community service project related to theater so my middle schoolers can get hours,too. Any suggestions on thespian meeting ideas will be greatly appreciated!
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Jessica Fekete
Upper Elementary & Middle School Teacher
Sunrise FL
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