It's similar here. My job is to teach English, but I run three of four big productions each year. (Our choir director produces the musical, thank goodness.) This keeps me in the building until 9:30pm every night from August until late November/early December. The late hours begin again after the musical ends in March for another eight weeks. Many nights I'm the last one out of the building, waiting on the last kid to be picked up. Like athletic games, there is an administrator at each or our performances, but again, like athletics, there is not an administrator at in the building during all of our rehearsals. As part of the condition of putting on these shows, I do need to have a cell phone on hand in the event of an emergency with one of the kids, but I don't get a fancy radio. Who would I call if I'm the only adult around anyway? In the past we have had issues with needing band-aids etc... and not have the nurse available. We're remedied this by purchasing our own first aid kits that we've stationed around the performance space. I have to call an ambulance for anything bigger than a minor scrape, which luckily I have not yet needed to do. I'm responsible for lighting, sound, set building, and painting- pretty much everything... and I teach English full time. Because I'm not technically in our performing arts department (this is reserved for band and choir), I'm not able to teach theater classes, which means tech needs to happen on the weekends or over the summer, or it doesn't get done. Of course this is on top of three preps of English, two of which are new courses that I need to design from the ground up next year. I have found solutions, though.
1. I choose my shows early and complete all the clerical duties months in advance (buying the rights, creating the promo materials, organizing tickets sales). You don't want the legal and financial things sneaking up on you at the last minute.
2. I design modular sets (flats, walls, periactoids) that can be recycled year after year once repainted. I also design my fall shows in the spring/summer so that all set-building can happen over the summer, and since it's modular, it's easier to store.
3. I crowd source labor from eager backstage kids to do things like paint, organize, and clean. I don't trust them with too many tools (we don't have a shop class that can teach kids some basics building and safety techniques at our high school), but painting, hanging costumes, organizing the prop closet, and sweeping the stage saves me hours a week.
4. After blocking is finished, I have a trusted upperclassmen "student director" run rehearsals so that I can be backstage handling whatever other tasks (costumes, sets, props etc...) need to be done.
5. I design the lighting of the show outside of rehearsal using only 2-3 stand ins. This ensures a bit more focus and maximizes rehearsal time.
6. I pass on many decisions to the kids themselves. For example: if we do a Medieval show, I pull all our costumes from that era and tell the kids to find a costume that fits them AND their character. Of course, I hold veto power, but I'm usually quite pleased with how many kids make great, conscious choices about their costumes... and it saves me hours or deciding these things on my own before having the kids try them on.
7. I know my performance space and my kids like the back of my hand. I've been working on this stage with this population since 1992, so I understand the perks and its quirks. I'll never have fly space, so when I choose a show, it can never have rigging. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of both your space and your kids narrows down what types of shows you can do. Once I consider these, then I read scripts like crazy until I find the right one.
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Christopher Engler
English teacher
Theater director
Loves Park IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-30-2019 06:24
From: Irene Imboden
Subject: Feedback from high school colleagues
1. There is an administrator present for our fall production but not for rehearsals, build days (weekend) our one=act or cabaret style performances. They do not attend our awards at the end of the year either.
I work often with diabetic students and got permission to have a small fridge in the backstage girls dressing room so I can keep juice and water cold. I also have peanut butter crackers from the school nurse in a mouse/insect proof container.
A few years ago, I started asking for copies of emergency medical forms for my cast and crew since we are here after hours.
2. When I started teaching 26 years ago, I taught 3 speech and 3 drama classes per semester. The certifications changed, our school "needs" changes and now I teach: 2 drama classes (2 Drama I first semester and 1 Drama I and 1 Drama II second semester), 2 Honors English 9 classes, 1 College Credit Plus Public Speaking course and 1 American Literature II (Senior English elective) or regular English 9 class each semester.
I agree with you, it's a LOT when you consider my 5 preps plus after school activities compared to any colleague in my department with 3 preps and no extra curricular activities. I know we went into this knowing the after school commitment, but boy, has the curricular part ever changed.
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Irene Imboden
Teacher/ Drama Director
Troy City Schools
OH
Original Message:
Sent: 05-29-2019 14:00
From: Amy Sando
Subject: Feedback from high school colleagues
I need to get some feedback on what happens with other high school programs.
1. Do you have an administrator at your performance or at least someone in charge who is in the building on your Sat. evening shows. I ask because my new administrators, of which there are 4, do not attend any of my productions or the improv shows, short-film festival, or Open Mic nights that we host. Neither do they make seem ask about our Thespian competitions. I don't like this situation but I am dealing with it. What is a bigger issue for me is the liability issue in being left alone in the building. Fridays there are custodians somewhere on campus cleaning who I am to contact if needed. On Saturdays, there is no other adult on campus. I am no OK with this, especially since there is an admin at every sporting event with their walkie talkies on hand. So I am wanting to know what the norm is. A former board member expressed surprise that I was left alone, so I thought I would reach out and ask you all.
2. For those who teach both Drama classes and run the theater arts program at your school, how many other classes do you teach. When I started at my school 10 years ago, I taught 1 English, a speech class and 3 drama classes. For the past 2 years I have assigned 4 English classes, Drama 1, and Advanced Drama. I am having a hard time getting my admin to understand how burned out I am getting. I run the program by myself with no tech director to pick up production duties for me. I asked for a lighter teaching schedule but I just received my schedule and it is the same. I want to know how many of you have a similar load or did. Any talking points to help me. I have explained my hours and responsibilities in running a drama program but I do not feel heard.
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Amy Sando
Minden NV
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